The SimCity fiasco is closing in on a full week now as the game has been plagued with server issues since the moment it became available. According to EA, they are doing everything possible to rectify the issue but if you're the game's publisher, you know by now that simply isn't enough.
Maxis general manager Lucy Bradshaw recently said on a company blog post that the server issue has improved significantly but some users are still experiencing response and stability problems. The simple answer for what went wrong is that a lot more people logged on than anticipated. She said more people played in ways that were never seen during the beta.
To help make amends, Maxis is going to offer SimCity players a free PC game download from the EA portfolio. Bradshaw didn't specifically say what game would be offered or if gamers would get to choose any title from EA's catalog. Furthermore, we are told that on March 18, SimCity players who have activated their game will receive an e-mail telling them how to redeem their free game.
Pay close attention to the wording here as Maxis' general manager didn't specifically say that anyone who purchases and registers the game before March 18 will get a free game. In fact, no real stipulations were mentioned at all. For all we know, EA / Maxis could limit the free game offer to users that were affected by server problems within the first week. Or perhaps it's just a poor choice of words and anyone that buys and registers SimCity before March 18 can get a free game.