SimCity Societies teaches players to think 'green'

by Jason Dobson { Oct 10th 2007 at 5:56PM }

With Maxis still hip-deep in Spore's primordial ooze, EA's decision to hand the next game in the storied SimCity franchise over to Caesar IV devs Tilted Mill was understandable, if not entirely welcome given the game's move away from being a 'realistic urban simulation,' a shift decried by fans to the tune of "you killed my baby!"

In keeping with the forthcoming SimCity Societies' touchy-feely approach, which looks to abandon simulation gameplay in favor of 'social energies,' EA has announced that the game will also include 'climate education' through "low-carbon electricity choices and carbon emission monitoring" thanks to a partnership with 'green minded' alternative energy organization BP. The goal, says EA, is to give players an "accurate" look at some of the causes and available solutions to the inconvenient truth of global warming, no doubt giving Al Gore reason to smile as he continues to tango with Mizuguchi.

Thankfully, according to EA, the game will not shove any eco-friendly environmentalist perspectives down players' collective throat. Instead, Societies will offer choices on how players wish to power their cities, leaving those of us who feel less at home hugging trees than we do while shoveling coal into the furnace free to do as we please when the game ships for the PC this November.

Tags: al gore, AlGore, bp, ea, global warming, GlobalWarming, green, inconvenient truth, InconvenientTruth, maxis, simcity, societies

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

blooh (CDF - Ass Ring) @ Oct 10th 2007 6:03PM

i wonder if environmental lobbies will bog down construction of non-green energy sources with red tape, like in real life, giving an incentive to just be "green" from the start, despite the slightly higher costs

Penguin Warlord @ Oct 10th 2007 11:16PM

Just to point out BP stands for British Petroleum which is a major gas & oil company.

Marty @ Oct 10th 2007 6:09PM

When the whole point of SimCity is to create a place where your sim-citizens like to live, I don't see why "green" energy being part of that goal as any kind of agenda.

Solar power plants don't create as much pollution as Coal burning plants. How could that possibly be offensive to anyone, other than the people who produce coal?

mr nimblewick (SegaDF - Jogurt Ring) @ Oct 10th 2007 6:09PM

"Thankfully, according to EA, the game will not shove any eco-friendly environmentalist perspectives down players' collective throat."

Good, cause I hates me some Earth.

mr nimblewick (SegaDF - Jogurt Ring) @ Oct 10th 2007 6:10PM

Plus, once Jesus comes back it's not going to matter anyway.

Bourega @ Oct 11th 2007 12:47PM

Seriously loled, thanks

ill trooper @ Oct 10th 2007 6:15PM

Sounds like a good idea to me, it is only a game after all, no real costs are incurred and it's only a difference in graphics really, so why not teach someone you can build growth in a sim-city by using solar or wind power instead of a mine or a dam (or whatever), it might make people think a little more eco-friendly in real life when it comes time to put in a new water-heating system or something.

I hope that 'anti-green' sentiment in your post was sarcasm, Jason... I don't really see a negative impact in getting people to look around and think about the planet a little more, even at a video game level. It's just the smart way to head towards, and it's gotta start happening. What we call 'green' today will likely seem pathetically wasteful in a hundred years, if we make it that far!

Thierry @ Oct 10th 2007 6:24PM

I'm pretty sure the previous Sim City was a bit green when it comes to which power station you want to build.

Nick @ Oct 10th 2007 6:32PM

Yeah, because BP is such an environmentally friendly company.

They spend more money on commercials telling people they're saving the environment than actually doing anything to help it.

Remember that corroded pipeline that spilled 260,000 gallons of oil into Prudhoe Bay? That was BP.

This shit is ridiculous.

Lemmiwinks @ Oct 10th 2007 6:32PM

Because really, whether or not global warming is a reality, giving two sh!ts about pollution is *so* not cool.

ThornedVenom @ Oct 10th 2007 7:09PM

Hopefully people get to see that videogames can be used for "nobler" purposes (education/awareness?) than being simply gorey, to be confused with certain "simulators".

blooh (CDF - Ass Ring) @ Oct 10th 2007 7:16PM

ooh i want gory disasters now! cmon floods, turn red with the bodies floating down the streets!

(i always inflicted every disaster on my simcities after a half hour)

ThornedVenom @ Oct 11th 2007 1:37AM

You're confused with Simplagues. ;P

FEEL THE WRATH OF GOD ON THESE PUNY MORTALS!!! EVOLUTION AND BIG BANG MY ASS!!!

Justin @ Oct 10th 2007 8:09PM

I'm wating for Sim City 5. Not some Sim "I'm too stupid to play an urban planning" game.

Oreo @ Oct 10th 2007 8:01PM

FUCK YOU EA! MAKE SIM CITY 5!!!

charles @ Oct 10th 2007 8:09PM

Yeah LOL "alternative energy organization" what bullshit BP is a massive oil company like any other, including Exxon. They just spend a lot of commercials to publicize the small amount they do in the alternative energy business.

Tom @ Oct 10th 2007 9:33PM

Here's an interesting factoid... the "P" in "BP" stands for "Petroleum"...

blooh (CDF - Ass Ring) @ Oct 10th 2007 9:39PM

and the B stands for Beyond, according to their ads

but they've been selling gas for a while now...

Tom @ Oct 11th 2007 1:40AM

Before that they were called "British Petroleum". I think they changed their name so they could seem more environmentally friendly, even though they have one of the worst environmental records ever. In 2006 their pipeline in Alaska leaked massive amounts of oil and they didn't fix it for about 5 months. They're not qualified to lecture us!

Tim Burns @ Oct 10th 2007 9:57PM

Are there BP branded refineries in the game that pump a couple tons of sludge and a ton of ammonia a day into the water table as well?

Miguel @ Oct 11th 2007 12:17AM

simcity societies sucks!

harrison_schaerr @ Oct 11th 2007 5:16AM

will wright-

i'm in ur computerz savin' ur planetz.

Aberu @ Oct 11th 2007 11:13AM

The Eco-terrorists even got to EA...

Bryan @ Oct 11th 2007 1:34PM

"Hay, let’s build a big ugly tower and then install a bunch of solar panels in its shadow."

Genius!

Maarten @ Oct 12th 2007 10:08AM

I work in the industry and let me tell you

"'green minded' alternative energy organization BP"

- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

James @ Nov 20th 2007 6:19PM

Hi, I just got this game yesterday and I played it for a while and I tried my hardest to get into it but it is like the worst thing I have ever played, you can no longer zoom out to see your city and there are so many buttons you can get confused very easily!I have long been a fan of the sim city games but I think that Maxis/EA games just hurt theirselves bad this time. The graphics are also not as great as I expected them to be. The whole Co2 thing though is cool and how you can cause global warming, the disasters are terrible!!! You have a choice of only 3-Earthquake,Storm,meteor shower! I miss my tornadoes and fires!!!!! If I were giving this game a rating it would probably be 2/10... It is NOT worth 50 fricken Dollars!!! 15 maybe but not 50!

Davros @ Nov 23rd 2007 4:24AM

I have to agree. I bought this game yesterday with an open mind and I have tried my hardest to get into it. I CAN'T!!! This is by far the worst of the franchise. I feel like I totally wasted my money. I really really hate the fact you can't zoom out. It's like playing "Sim City" for Dummies!