SimCity will need "internet connection to play" - no offline mode

It's been confirmed the upcoming SimCity title will need an always-on internet connection with no offline mode available for players.

Speaking to ArabicGamers, Brett Barry vice-president and general manager of Maxis, said it was a decision made that the studio believed would enhance gameplay.

"You do have to have an internet connection to play." said Barry.

"[T]he world of today is all interconnected in real life so we wanted to bring that to light and having people that this connected experience with things happening, with players all over the world with leader boards with resources that you could buy and sell online and all that kind of stuff we have this much richer game play having it online."

Pushed on whether there would be any offline game modes, Barry simply said that there was "no offline mode. You have to be online to play the game."

For our Middle Eastern players, this could pose as a problem as the digital infrastructure may limit the bandwidth, and hence the game. We asked if this had been taken into consideration for the emerging markets, especially if players are unable to play at all.

"I guess that we do recognise that but it's so fundamental to multiplayer to actually be online that we have made that decision to go that route," he said.

We'll have more on SimCity later this week, a full interview and you'll be able to see it all in our new TV show.