Update: EA Apologizes With Free Games

As an admission of fault, and a personal apology to those who have purchased and registered Sim City, EA is offering a handful of titles that may be downloaded for free.

Anyone who registered their copy of Sim City before today(March 18th), will receive their choice of the following games: Battlefield 3(Standard Edition), Dead Space 3(Standard Edition), Mass Effect 3(Standard Edition), Medal of Honor Warfighter(Standard Edition), Need For Speed Most Wanted(Standard Edition), Bejeweled 3, Plants vs. Zombies, And Sim City 4 Deluxe Edition. These games may be downloaded until March 30th. 

In response to the now notorious issues with Sim City, Maxis said that "servers are green and we're seeing a record number of players all online and having a great time". While most of the issues have been resolved, Maxis has stated that they have no intention of implementing offline play. 

On an entirely unrelated note (clears throat...), CEO John Riccitiello has submitted his resignation to EA's board of directors today. The resignation is cited as being a "mutual agreement" related to the decline in financial results that EA has experienced in the past year.

Former EA President Larry Probst will step in as acting executive chairman until a replacement is found. The company has not said that Riccitiello's resignation is directly related to the Sim City debacle, but the timing seems fishy to say the least.

How this will affect EA's future plans remains to be seen. Check back for further updates and the latest gaming news. Be sure to subscribe to The De-evolution of Video Games.