Archive notice: This article was originally published on November 12, 2007. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The world’s largest video game developer Electronic Arts (EA) is showing itself to be a benefactor and donating one of its games to a humanitarian organization. As the company has announced, EA is donating the original version of SimCity from 1989 to the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) organization. OLPC develops, produces and distributes notebooks at the lowest possible prices, which are intended to make it possible for children around the world – including in socially disadvantaged regions – to gain access to modern education.
“EA is donating the code of the original SimCity to OLPC so that all laptops from the project can be equipped with it. However, this does not mean that SimCity is now available as open source,” explains Kerstin Müller, PR Manager Electronic Arts Germany, in response to an inquiry from pressetext. The idea for the cooperation originally came from OLPC consultant John Gilmore, who was familiar with SimCity and regarded it as a suitable addition to the humanitarian project. The first laptops from the organization’s production are to be delivered at the end of the year in countries such as Uruguay, Mexico, Ethiopia, Haiti and India.
“We are delighted that with this donation we can make our contribution to the OLPC educational project. SimCity is entertaining and at the same time educationally valuable, since the player learns to build and maintain their city creatively and with limited resources,” says Steve Seabolt, Vice President Global Brand Development of the Sims label. In the game, the user takes on the role of the mayor of a city that is to be newly built and is responsible for many things. During the course of the game, important decisions repeatedly have to be made, such as choosing a suitable energy source or managing the financial budget. But players are also confronted with disasters and emergencies such as earthquakes or floods. SimCity has therefore already received several awards and is frequently used in schools as an educational tool.
However, Electronic Arts currently plans no further donations to OLPC. “But we are constantly looking for further opportunities to use resources in such worthwhile projects,” Müller told pressetext. Colleagues in the USA would currently, for example, be collaborating in a similar way through The Sims with Carnegie Mellon University and the educational software developer alice.org.
Further links:
- Electronic Arts
