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EA shuttering SimCity Social, The Sims Social and Pet Society on June 14th
For a while, it looked like EA was ready to stake a large part of its gaming future on social networking, introducing Facebook-oriented ports like SimCity Social and The Sims Social as well as more original titles. As it turns out, the game publisher isn't quite ready to be a social butterfly: following an earlier cull that focused heavily on sports-themed web games, EA is axing SimCity Social, The Sims Social and Pet Society on June 14th. There's no mystery to the shutdown, as EA explains that strong initial demand rapidly tapered off -- name recognition got the company's foot in the door, but didn't keep it there. Fortunately, gamers who feel jilted will at least get an incentive to switch to more popular games from EA's PopCap studio, though the company hasn't provided any additional details there except to say an offer is coming soon. We're all in favor of shifting resources to where they'll be truly appreciated, although we can't help but feel sorry for SimCity fans that have just been burned twice in a row.
EA opens SimCity Social on Facebook, really, really hopes you'll 'like' it
Sure, it may not have been the most, you know, explosive launch at this year's E3 -- but if Facebook "likes" are any sort of metric (which, granted, is debatable), EA's newly reborn and heavily-socialized SimCity has a bright future ahead of it. SimCity Social opened up shop on the Zuckerbergian social network this week, letting players plan and build cities, harnessing the site's massive user base to build friendly relationships or form rivalries between towns. The 800k or so likes the game has currently racked up clearly aren't enough, so EA is offering up exclusive content for those who click the friendly thumb. And seeing as how sitting in front of your computer wouldn't be complete without some fried breakfast pastries, Dunkin' Donuts is getting in the act, allowing players to gift coffee and doughnut "Boosts" in-game.
