Anyone who would VOLUNTARILY put an always on web-connected microphone and videorecorder into his or her home is a complete idiot.

@FreedomPrime @vishisluv7 Another publisher / developer would buy EA (and its IP's) at bankruptcy auction, fill the gap, and do a much better job than EA ever did. Somebody's going to make Madden and FIFA every year.

The success of Minecraft destroys any argument that PC games must have ridiculous DRM for people to buy them instead of pirate them. Also a pirated copy ≠a lost sale. Although always online DRM is frustrating, I tolerate it for really good games like D3 and SC2. My biggest problem with the new SC game is the small map size which takes away any real urban planning decisions. I want this game to be good but I just don't see it happening, especially after playing the beta.

@MXVIII @thebeasle City of Savannah is 280 sq. kilometers. Tybee Island by itself is 7 sq. kilometers. Of course if you're talking about the Historic District / Riverfront then yes that's about 2 square kilometers. Personally I like the big planning of interstates, avenues, and mass transit. But if small is your thing then I hope you enjoy the game.

@MXVIII @thebeasle Yes. The individual "cities" are 2 square kilometers. Multiple "cities" (3 in the beta) form a "region" but there are huge gaps and "great works" in between the cities. The tile size is too small to do any real city planning. Game Spy has a pretty good preview of the game discussing the small map size (and I know from playing the beta).

All the press in the world doesn't make this game any better or the maps any bigger.

@MXVIII Most if not all cities are larger than 2 square kilometers.

@trencher10B All cities are the same size (about 2 square kilometers). I found this to be about 10 city blocks by 10 city blocks in the beta. Way too small for me.

My problem is more with the game itself than the DRM. There are so many fundamental problems with this game that DRM is just another reason not to buy.

I bought Diablo 3 and really enjoyed it. But Diablo already had a huge multiplayer component and community. In other words, there were actual benefits to having an online character and being able to jump into your friends' games. SimCity has ALWAYS been a single player experience. This is a pure push for DRM with little or no multiplayer benefits. The blog post is even called "The Benefits of Live Service" and Lucy Bradshaw refers to SimCity as a "live service."

I won't be pre-ordering this live service. If it gets really high critic and user ratings I will consider a purchase, but I'm not holding my breath. This game really looks terrible.

@Drokuz "Why does every article end every comment I read about this game get me less excited? "

Because the game is going to be terrible.