EA: Origin "experiencing overwhelming demand," many users unable to download SimCity

SimCity_Univesity City

SimCity opened its doors at midnight to eager US mayors anticipating the city-management reboot, but like most other major online-based game launch windows , response and connectivity issues rapidly reared their ugly heads. The Origin servers shuddered beneath excess load as piles of players queued full downloads of the game's digital edition, as they inexplicably weren't given the option to pre-load files. Forum threads filled with complaints popped up like a line of apartment blocks, and in one such thread , Origin Global Community Manager Marcel Hatam says refund requests are available for those affected by launch problems.

"If you regrettably feel that we let you down, you can of course request a refund for your order at http://help.origin.com/contact-us , though we're currently still in the process of resolving this issue," he writes.

Hatam doesn't offer any further reason why SimCity lacked a pre-load option beyond an apology and "It didn't come together, unfortunately." Even the boxed version of the game doesn't include all the necessary installation files, necessitating an additional download over Origin to complete.

Elsewhere, Creative Director Ocean Quigley sympathizes with those experiencing a rocky launch, saying in a tweet , "I'm sorry that Origin is preventing you from playing SimCity. It's extremely vexing."

We're still updating our in-progress review of SimCity , and our resident mayor Tyler most recently talks about the ongoing issues surrounding the live servers.

Omri Petitte

Omri Petitte is a former PC Gamer associate editor and long-time freelance writer covering news and reviews. If you spot his name, it probably means you're reading about some kind of first-person shooter. Why yes, he would like to talk to you about Battlefield. Do you have a few days?