What would you like first, the good news or the bad? According to Joystiq, SimCity will be available for purchase next year on digital distribution platforms outside of simply Origin. Sadly, this information — which really shouldn’t even need to be news — is the positive side of the story.
Given the focus on multiplayer elements like a global in-game economy, users are going to need active online access to Origin in order to play the game. I think we all know where we stand individually when it comes to this sort of requirement, no matter the reasoning behind its implementation.
Joystiq also reports that mod support will not make it in time for launch. “Right now we’ve got our work cut out for us to build the product up to the quality level it deserves as a SimCity,” explains Maxis creative director Ocean Quigley. “Then after we ship, we’ll make decisions about how we can and when exactly we’ll support mods. But it’s worth pointing out that the reason people are still playing SimCity 4 almost ten years later is because the modding community essentially re-created it and filled it with new content and fixed bugs and made it as much of a hobby as it is a game.”
SimCity requires internet connection to play, will be sold outside of Origin [Joystiq]
SimCity will not support mods at launch [Joystiq]
