*EDIT Scroll down for latest news on EA/Playfish social game shutdown-notice
In a bizarre move, EA/Playfish have announced today that they will be closing down both The Sims Social and SimCity Social. Why? Who knows. Check out the announcement below for SimCity Social and then let us know what you think in the comment section below!
SimCity Social is shutting down on June 14th.
We want to inform everyone in our community that as of June 14th, SimCity Social will be retiring on Facebook.
We know that you may be disappointed by this. Retiring games is never easy, we hope you’ve enjoyed playing SimCity Social as much as we enjoyed making it. Thank you to all of our passionate and dedicated players for supporting SimCity Social. We hope to see you in some of our other titles on Facebook and other platforms.
FAQ
What is happening to SimCity Social on Facebook?
On June 14th SimCity Social will be retiring on Facebook which means the game will no longer be available for play.
Why is SimCity Social being retired?
We had to make the difficult decision to close down SimCity Social so we can reallocate development resources to other titles that we hope you’ll have just as much fun playing. We hope you have gotten many hours of enjoyment out of the games and we thank you for everything you’ve added to the community.
When will SimCity Social be retired and no longer available for play?
As of June 14th, SimCity Social on Facebook will no longer be available to play.
Who will this affect?
Players of SimCity Social.
What can I play now?
EA offers a variety of other fun and free games for you to try. As valued players, we plan on offering you something to show our appreciation. Over the next few days, keep an eye on this post where we’ll announce a special offer to thank you for playing our game.
What if I have an existing balance of Diamonds in SimCity Social on Facebook?
Players are encouraged to spend their remaining balance of Diamonds in SimCity Social before the game is retired on June 14th. As of that date, any remaining Diamonds left in the game will be invalid.
What if I have a Playfish cash card I have not redeemed?
Players are encouraged to redeem and spend their Playfish cash cards before the game is retired on June 14th. After that date, you will need to contact customer service regarding your Playfish cash cards.
Please go to Help.ea.com and select Contact Us to contact Customer Service.
What will happen to the forums for SimCity Social?
The forums will be officially closed and taken offline on June 14th
*EDIT* EA Updated Statement
Today we are informing players of the difficult decision to retire some of our Facebook games: The Sims Social, SimCity Social and Pet Society.
After millions of people initially logged in to play these games, the number of players and amount of activity has fallen off. For people who have seen other recent shutdowns of social games, perhaps this is not surprising.
EA will continue to deliver popular titles for Facebook, most notably games from PopCap, including Bejeweled Blitz, Solitaire Blitz and the recently-announced Plants vs. Zombies Adventures.
For players who have enjoyed our games, we will be making a special offer to introduce you to a PopCap game. You’re a valued fan and we want to make sure you get a smooth transition to PopCap. More details about that offer will appear in-game soon.
Players with questions about the shutdowns can find FAQs linked here: The Sims Social, SimCity Social and Pet Society. The titles will go offline on June 14, 2013.
On behalf of the teams who developed these games, thank you for playing.
Thanks Platinum Simmers for the updated EA Statement
Never played them to be honest but I am curious as to why they are closing .. :S
i agree – EA should KNOW how to check if its popluar game is failing but if they drive all people off means NO where to play good games – alot of crap games – i believe if they should end Profit first than listening to people means they should not close any those – SHAME EA – this worst comapany ever that’s reason i want see company close down and replaced by better company who loves people feedback rather keeping games closing downs
I played both (more Sims Social than I’d like to admit), but I find this kind of sudden. Both titles were included as side games in the latest survey in The Official Sims Magazine. Strange!
This is exactly why I won’t buy online only games!
I know the base game was free to play but people spend money on extras and now they will be unable to play!
I wonder how long it’ll be before SimCity is switched off because they have either give up on it as a bad lot or because they want everyone to buy a new version??
I hope they learn their lesson and stop this online gaming nonsense. Leave Sims 3 alone. We aren’t as social as you think!
UK Gamer, I wonder too. I feel so stupid that I bought Sim City. I don’t know what I was thinking. If I bought my Sims 2 that way, I would no longer be able to play it. They have retired a lot of games.
Where did they mention they were shutting down The Sims Social? I only see SimCity Social.
I quit playing the s social. It was way too laggy,crashed my pc constantly and just wasn’t fun.
WHAT! I love SimCity Social.
Sounds like they may be ‘restructuring’ Playfish..
So, The Sims Social shuts down after less than two years, and SimCity Social shuts down after less than a year.
More reason for me to not even consider purchasing the new SimCity until EA implements offline play.
More City, Less Ville… I see!
I admit, I gave both games a decent amount of play. However, I’m glad I didn’t waste a lot of time on either of them. Good going, EA. You are now in the running for Worst Company in America for a 3rd year.
And this is why I’ve been getting more and more interested in RetroGaming.