SimCity Societies Announced!

[Reed]

Here is the official press release:

SimCity Series Makes Highly- Anticipated Homecoming as EA Announces SimCity Societies for the PC
Tuesday June 12, 12:00 pm ET
Create Your Own Kinds of Cities with SimCity Societies

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The return of one of PC gaming's most popular series - SimCity(TM) - is here! Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS - News) announced today that SimCity(TM) Societies(TM) is in development and is scheduled to hit retail stores this holiday season. Featuring an all-new, revolutionary feature set, SimCity Societies allows players to construct not only the cities they desire, but create their cultures, societal behaviors and environments as well. Build an artistic city, haunted town, green city, spiritual community or most any society you want! Using the accessible, innovative and versatile city-builder, players can create their own kind of city in SimCity Societies.

"SimCity Societies allows players to create a variety of cities with the unique societies they desire," said Vice President and Studio Head of The Sims Division, Rod Humble. "There is such a variety of cities to build from in SimCity Societies - and they're all such a blast to play. Sometimes I build an aggressive police state where stragglers are dragged off to re-conditioning centers and emerge ready for work. Other times, I build a green community in the tropics, where the citizens grow their own food and have a small environmental footprint. With so many options to choose from, SimCity Societies is the most flexible city building game ever!"

Players start by choosing from a variety of more than 350 building types, each of which allows them to combine, connect and re-arrange structures freely. Players can challenge authority and experiment with what happens when citizens flagrantly disobey power in an unruly Orwellian society. Or if players are feeling happy, they can build a Fun City filled with Ferris Wheels, Gingerbread Houses and Chocolate Factories! Inspiration can come from a wide range of architectural periods ranging from the realistic to the fanciful; from the industrial age to futuristic designs, with each structure reflecting its name and nature, many offering a click-on action for fans to play upon! As each city evolves, players will be able to unlock new buildings that can help advance - or regress - their society.

SimCity Societies introduces an all-new, revolutionary feature set for players to combine buildings that will produce or consume new kinds of resources called "social energies." How you mix and match these resources - industry, wealth, obedience, knowledge, devotion, or creativity--determines the social energy of your city. Will your city be happy and creative, spiritual and knowledgeable, will it be wealthy and powerful or obedient and fearful? Its fate is in your hands!

Not only will players be able to build from any or all energies, but the cities will look and behave differently depending on the energy combinations the player makes. From futuristic metropolises and fantastical haunted cities to obedient Orwellian states and devout contemplative towns - what to combine and connect is up to the creator.

The SimCity franchise is one of the most popular PC gaming franchises in history, having sold more than 17 million games worldwide to date since the SimCity launch in 1989. Subsequent base game releases include SimCity 2000(TM) (1993), SimCity 3000(TM) (1999) and SimCity 4(TM) (2003).

SimCity Societies is being published by Electronic Arts and developed by Tilted Mill Entertainment. It is scheduled to be available in retails stores across North America and Europe in November 2007.

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070612/20070612005415.html?.v=1

[arcan]

WOOOWWW
More details and a date !!!!!!

[ManagerJosh]

Hmm. It sounds interesting, however I will reserve judgement until I get more facts and see how social aspects come into play as well as seeing how this new building code works out. I hope it isn't like rollercoaseter tycoon or zoo tycoon where everything is ploppable; that is extremely tedious and dulls gameplay

[mouse]

Thanks Reed maybe that will stop some of the foot stomping,demands and tears

[Sim Nation]

And we all know whos going to have the biggest and best cities , even if i dont enjoy building them -

[callagrafx]

Originally Posted by mouse

Thanks Reed maybe that will stop some of the foot stomping,demands and tears

I wouldn't bank it, knowing this bunch

Thanks for the release...It does sound extremely intriguing.

[NappySick]

Originally Posted by Sim Nation

And we all know whos going to have the biggest and best cities , even if i dont enjoy building them -

In your dreams Nation ,in ur dreams

[dorn]

Now that i have much more infos on this new game it could be that even i - as a SC hater/never liked it- will buy this game.

The concept really rocks in my eyes and the graphics are real cute- very good work TM!!

It might be a CotN-like game in the modern setting many people wanted..

[Corinthian]

After having been a fan of the SimCity series since the first incarnation, of the Sims and Sims 2, of each of the city-building games from Impression (Caesar I-III, Zeus, Pharoah, etc.), and of Tilted Mills' creations (Caesar IV and Children of the Nile), I was excited to hear the announcement last week. It was so devoid of anything truly informational -we heard from Chris what it wasn't going to be, sort of, or what it wasn't going to contain, sort of - that I was just simply excited to hear more. It was puzzling to me to read all the negative posts from "SimCity fans" towards the game, Tilted Mill, etc., while everyone had access to the same information, that is, practically nothing but some screenshots.

Now, with this press release, haters and naysayers have (almost) something to actually hate or say 'nay' to. Still, we haven't read any reviews of the game yet, so the only thing to do (as far as I'm concerned) is to remain excited about the game, because I love the series and the concept, and speculate about what the information we've received thus far means in gameplay terms.

Gameplay: create a city with a purpose, an identity. Fact is, with little differences here and there, every city in previous incarnations of SimCity was the same city. Different layout or focus, depending on the terrain; sometimes someone would build a farming community or only an urban one. But mostly, the city was the same each time. Now, it seems, we can actually build an environmentally friendly town in the tropics, and even interact with it in certain (as yet unknown) ways (some buildings "offer[] a click-on action for fans to play upon."), or whatever else. Think city character and vibe, like New Orleans, San Francisco, Singapore, Chicago, Communist Moscow, etc.

Sounds pretty awesome to me. I can't wait.

[Azeem]

Sounds interesting. Seems like I can build a virtual dystopia.

[King Faticus]

Re-Conditioning centers!!!??? FTW lmao

[LittleDutchBoy]

Originally Posted by King Faticus

Re-Conditioning centers!!!??? FTW lmao

SimCity: Gitmo edition

[Rnett]

Yeah you know the unruly Orwellian society...

[King Faticus]

Originally Posted by LittleDutchBoy

SimCity: Gitmo edition

lol

[Hardin]

I want lots of pollution and smog. A social energy that they will choke on

[Romaq]

Ugh. To me it sounds dreadful, but more like just the thing my wife would enjoy. Gingerbread houses? No word on custom content... no word on 'regional development issues'. This actually sounds like something my wife is going to enjoy, and I think she'll be happy to read the article.

I'll still have SC4, and perhaps with SC5 out hard-core development of SC4 can resume, or City Life 2 will prove interesting. Still and all, what EAGames tells Tilted Mills to crank out, Tilted Mills is contractually obligated to crank.

Gingerbread houses and lollipop trees?

--Romaq

[Hardin]

Well at least you wont be forced to build them.

[offspring_dude]

This game's appeal won't last longer than two weeks probably... be lying in bargain bins after Christmas. Can't believe some of the saps here who fall for this trite...

[UnzippedSim77]

Originally Posted by offspring_dude

This game's appeal won't last longer than two weeks probably... be lying in bargain bins after Christmas. Can't believe some of the saps here who fall for this trite...

I wouldn't bet on it. You are extremely out of touch with game sales and the base demographic of them. This, as far as I can see, is going to be a huge step forward from the game's stagnation at SC4... Wider audience appeal, usability, as well as having user definability as mentioned on other threads, this game, if it delivers what it's promising, is going to deliver for [almost] everyone - and incorporate kiddy appeal which will boost sales even further. Having a big success under their belts, that will allow TM and EA to develop further titles in the series, and possible expansions, thus CEMENTING Sim City's future for our and future generations. Time to let go of your gripes and give a bit of ground by admitting there is at least one or two aspects of the game that are appealing, rather than being a sarcastic ****USER EDITED TO SAVE TIME****. Happy screenshot hunting

[Future Guy]

Originally Posted by UnzippedSim77

I wouldn't bet on it. You are extremely out of touch with game sales and the base demographic of them. This, as far as I can see, is going to be a huge step forward from the game's stagnation at SC4... Wider audience appeal, usability, as well as having user definability as mentioned on other threads, this game, if it delivers what it's promising, is going to deliver for [almost] everyone - and incorporate kiddy appeal which will boost sales even further. Having a big success under their belts, that will allow TM and EA to develop further titles in the series, and possible expansions, thus CEMENTING Sim City's future for our and future generations. Time to let go of your gripes and give a bit of ground by admitting there is at least one or two aspects of the game that are appealing, rather than being a sarcastic ****USER EDITED TO SAVE TIME****. Happy screenshot hunting

There are several things that make this game good and bad. Kiddy appeal is not a good thing always, especially since most gamers today are in their late teens or 20's IIRC. Besides, kids don't sit down and play the same thing continuously like they used to. Who knows, they may with this game.

I'll admit it is an interesting concept to explore. If they had left zoning, water pipes, and the power grid in the game and got away from that awful GRID I'd be very interested. When I look at this game I see regression AND progression in the gameplay. Progression because it's a new concept with the societies thing but regression because they did NOT go back to the games roots (taking out zoning, water, and power is not returning to the games roots to me) and they continue to keep that stupid GRID.