@stev69 I was being sarcastic...but it's tough to tell in text, I guess.

@GoingPostal13 As I understand it, when EA shuts down a server it is for the online elements only...and the games are still playable. Since some hate that this game forces them to stay online they should hope for a server shutdown and EA will make the game offline only.

@CaoSong @lightpeak Was your private server available to anyone that pirated WoW? If not, then your example doesn't invalidate the main point he was getting at. The vast majority of pirated versions of online games lack features of the full version.

Also, even if someone waited for a "private server" version of SimCity with all the content, then they quite possibly would need an "always on" connection with a random hacker's server. Then you would have the same problem that people say they want to avoid with Origin DRM/"always on."