EA has announced today that it will be shutting down its Facebook games made by Maxis thanks to a decline in player numbers. That means that from June 14, The Sims Social, SimCity Social, and Pet Society will all cease to exist. EA suggests that the move is “not surprising” given that other social games have also had to shut down recently (like those less popular Zynga titles that went at the end of last year).
In FAQs for each of the games, reps explain that the decision was made so that resources could be used elsewhere. EA suggests that players turn their attention to PopCap games instead, listing Bejeweled Blitz, Solitaire Blitz, and the new Plants vs. Zombies Adventures. To encourage this, EA will have a “special offer” for players of the three games above:
“For players who have enjoyed our games, we will be making a special offer to introduce you to a PopCap game. You’re a valued fan and we want to make sure you get a smooth transition to PopCap. More details about that offer will appear in-game soon.”
Unfortunately, none of the PopCap titles mentioned is anything like The Sims Social, in which players created customisable characters that could interact with and have relationships with other players' characters, build up their skills, earn currency with which to buy objects for their house, and more.
What with the recent troubles with the non-Facebook SimCity game, it looks like Maxis is struggling to prove itself. What can it do to win back customers?
