Genre-Defining Game Provides Children With Fun and Educational Way To Engage With New Laptops
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 8, 2007--Today
Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:ERTS) announced the company will donate
the original SimCity™ -- the blockbuster 1989 game credited with
giving rise to the city-building game genre -- to each computer in the
One Laptop per Child (OLPC) initiative. OLPC is a not-for-profit
humanitarian effort to design, manufacture and distribute inexpensive
laptops with the goal of giving every child in the world access to
modern education. By gifting SimCity onto each OLPC laptop, EA is
providing users with an entertaining way to engage with computers as
well as help develop decision-making skills while honing creativity.
This is the first time a major video game publisher has gifted a game
to the world.
In SimCity, the player takes on the role of mayor of a new
municipality -- responsible for building and maintaining a place where
citizens can work and live happily. Doing so requires laying out
essentials such as housing, transport links, schools, factories and
shops. The job also requires an ability to choose wisely -- for
example, some power sources pollute, while others do not but are more
expensive. Players must also be financially savvy -- raising taxes
enough to guarantee an income that can be allocated to public services
such as policing and road repair, but not so high that business growth
is hampered or that citizens revolt. The mayor must always be prepared
for emergency situations as well, as earthquakes, floods and fires can
wreak havoc on the town and require an immediate response so that
fallout can be contained.
OLPC will begin distributing laptops in countries such as Uruguay,
Peru, Mexico, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Haiti, Cambodia and India by the end
of 2007. The idea to connect SimCity with OLPC came from internet
pioneer, activist and OLPC advisor John Gilmore who knew the game's
history and recognized its potential relevance to the not-for-profit
project. Not long after its 1989 release, SimCity became a phenomenon,
winning more than 24 domestic and international awards. The game soon
made its way into more than 10,000 classrooms as an educational tool
and became part of the annual Future City Competition, a contest that
still runs in seventh and eighth grade classrooms today.
"SimCity is entertainment that's unintentionally educational.
Players learn to use limited resources to build and customize their
cities. There are choices and consequences, but in the end, it's a
creativity tool that's only limited by the player's imagination," said
Steve Seabolt, vice president of global brand development, The Sims
Label. "The game should prove to be an incredibly effective way of
making the laptop relevant, engaging, and fun, particularly for first
time players. We are thrilled to be making this contribution to OLPC
to help meet their goal of educating the children of the world."
The SimCity franchise is one of the most popular PC gaming
franchises in history, having sold more than 18 million games
worldwide to date since the SimCity launch in 1989. Subsequent base
game releases include SimCity 2000™ (1993), SimCity 3000™ (1999)
and SimCity™ 4 (2003). The fifth installment of the series, SimCity
Societies, features an all-new, revolutionary feature set that allows
players to construct not only the cities they desire, but to create
their cultures and societal behaviors as well. It is being published
by Electronic Arts and developed by Tilted Mill Entertainment for
release across North America and Europe in November 2007.
About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City,
California, is the world's leading interactive entertainment software
company. Founded in 1982, the company develops, publishes, and
distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems,
personal computers, cellular handsets and the Internet. Electronic
Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTS™,
EA™, EA SPORTS BIG™ and POGO™. In fiscal 2007, EA posted
revenue of $3.09 billion and had 24 titles that sold more than one
million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More
information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be
found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
About SimCity™
The SimCity franchise is one of the most popular PC gaming
franchises in history, having sold more than 18 million games
worldwide to date since the SimCity launch in 1989. Subsequent base
game releases include SimCity 2000™ (1989), SimCity 3000™ (1989)
and SimCity 4™ (2003). The next installment -- SimCity Societies --
will be available for the PC and for mobile devices November 15, 2007.
EA, EA SPORTS, EA SPORTS BIG, POGO, SimCity and The Sims are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the
U.S. and/or other countries.
CONTACT: EA
Amanda Taggart, Sr. Publicist, 650-628-5673
ataggart@ea.com
or
fortyseven communications
Sibel Sunar, 323-658-1200
sibel@fortyseven.com
Brian Rubin, 323-658-1200
brian@fortyseven.com
SOURCE: Electronic Arts Inc.