> "I hate to disturb you when you’re playing SimCity,"

I really cannot believe they actually started the post with that line. The very reason they are in this PR nightmare is because people have been unable to play the game.

Too soon Lucy, too soon!

They might as well have said "we can't hear your complaints over the sound of money rolling in".

There's a subtle piece here that a lot of folks are missing: it's not just EA, but also Maxis, independently responding to the community. Maxis being the developer, EA being the publisher. That's why part of this is a shitstorm, Maxis and EA are sharing contrary words with the community, so the community sees double-speak and stops trusting anything from EA or Maxis.

Because Maxis is a wholly owned subsidiary, I assume what is said by Lucy Bradshaw is actually filter and vetted, if not scripted, by EA corporate PR. If not, shame on Lucy for being so tin eared. If so, shame on Lucy for letting it happen.

There is no Maxis, only EA.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxis#Acquisition_by_EA

"Oozing high fructose corn syrup" is what first came to my mind when I read that.