Buy toothpaste, get the SimCity Attractions Set with five new buildings

Buy specially marked Crest or Oral-B products in the US and you'll earn a code to unlock SimCity's Attractions Set , a selection of five tourist-attracting buildings including "Giant Garden Gnome," "Dolly the Dinosaur," "Llarry the Llama," "MaxisMan Statue," and "the World's Largest Ball of Twine."

Still, this makes me a bit queasy. There's plenty of precedent for this kind of marketing, and I don't have a universally sour reaction to it, but adding more promotional buildings now doesn't improve the narrative of SimCity's launch, even if toothpaste is really just a roundabout way to buy some innocuous DLC buildings. It makes it look like a bin to stuff marketing into, and though we know there's more to it, what it looks like is what our guts react to. Right now, mine is trying to digest a big glob of fluoride.

Also, why are SimCity boxes sitting next to a PS3 and Xbox 360 in Crest's promotional image?

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.