November 9, 2007
What a nice gesture...Although GamePolitics has occasionally taken Electronic Arts to task for corporate callousness, we must give credit where it's due.
EA announced yesterday that it will donate the original SimCity as an installed program for computers issued through the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative. From the press release:
OLPC is a not-for-profit humanitarian effort to design, manufacture and distribute inexpensive laptops with the goal of giving every child in the world access to modern education.
By gifting SimCity onto each OLPC laptop, EA is providing users with an entertaining way to engage with computers as well as help develop decision-making skills while honing creativity. This is the first time a major video game publisher has gifted a game to the world.
OLPC is set to begin distributing specially-constructed laptops in Uruguay, Peru, Mexico, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Haiti, Cambodia and India by year's end. OLPC advisor John Gilmore, familiar with SimCity, suggested the idea.
GP: While giving away an 18-year-old piece of software might not seem that impressive, it is for several reasons. One is that the original game, believe it or not, is still selling. I myself bought it as a Wii download recently. Also, SimCity's simplicity, relative to the latest 3-D versions of the game, is well suited to the PC's issued by the OLPC program.
Joystiq has more...
You can make your own donation which will buy an OLPC laptop for a child in a developing nation. There's even a give-one, get-one program for those who would like to own their own OLPC laptop.
Comments
I'll be sure to continue to. But the RIAA can still stick it
Nov 13 is the release of SimCity Societies too by the way. Maybe this is a bit of marketing strategy as well? Good gesture though all the same! I'm sure the kids will love it.
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
Random Tower: Game News and Commentary
Nothing beats the original. Not even the SNES version. Sure the SNES one has bowser, but the PC version just has the proper feel and nostalgia.
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
Random Tower: Game News and Commentary
That is not true at all. Unless you consider activision to be a indie publisher..
Still this is great news and from the last company I'd have expected such a charitable action.
The original is still a solid game, and most kids could acquire some handy lessons from it. That, and it's a gateway drug, getting the kids hooked on SimCity so that when they grow up they go out and by the latest versions of SimCity, giving EA a nice return on its investment.
Yes, I'm perhaps a bit overly cynical, but it's a nice gesture by EA in any case.
!!
Whew... Sorry about that folks. I was momentarily possessed by the ghost of Jack's career. In all seriousness, this is a good move for EA. The game is educational, and the positive PR speaks for itself.
Charity? Hahaha! Like EA is capable of ethical game development.
Marketing, baby, marketing.
j/k Good game. I never really got hooked on the series myself, but it's an occasional good time-waster.
It is not official abandonware. EA has never released it to public domain. They also release it from time to time in combo packs.
E. Zachary Knight
Divine Knight Gaming
Random Tower: Game News and Commentary
Next to Wacko Jacko, you are the second-worst spammer on this site. Here's an idea... go to your nearest grocery store and get a life. You can find them in the "Get Real" section next to the clues. Have fun!
Anyway, kudos to EA for this charitable gesture.