Disaster! The damn mega Lizard has just trashed another impromptu alley through your city skyline, but don’t worry because Sims now get disaster relief. The Red Cross is coming to SimCity.
In a deal with ten National Red Cross Societies, EA is donating 80% of the proceeds for the new DLC to the organisations. This bundle aids Sims and can ”help real people”.
Red Cross relief centres will pop-up in a city around certain structures once a disaster has abated, and provide healthcare much like other emergency services.
Mayors will plunk down a Red Cross Relief Centre that holds two vehicles. ”When a meteor strikes, an earthquake occurs or a tornado touches down, Red Cross tents will appear in various locations throughout a player’s city. Sims that would have been critically injured are instead cared for at the Red Cross tents,” explains EA.
The Red Cross DLC is priced at £7.99 with over 80% going to National Red Cross Societies. ”Collaborating with the Red Cross is a small way for EA to help others through our creative work,” said Patrick Buechner of EA Maxis.
“The content we created alongside the Red Cross not only gives aid to the Sims within our players’ cities, it also enables players to help real people who have suffered from disasters in the real world. After recouping our development costs, the remaining proceeds will go to the Red Cross to help support their work across the globe.”
I’m sure we can all reframe from cracking-wise about how if Red Cross services in SimCity are meant to help clean up a disaster then ‘why hasn’t the game uninstalled’, or ‘wouldn’t they be working 24/7?’ We’re too mature for that.
“This creative partnership with SimCity will help us reach a new audience and raise awareness of the work of the Red Cross during real world disasters,” said Mark Astarita, Director of Fundraising at the British Red Cross.
“This will bring the Red Cross to life for gamers in an exciting and interactive way while raising vital funds to support our work helping people in crisis in the UK and overseas.”
The Red Cross set became available from September 17th and will be available to purchase for one year, with the content then restricted to only those who bought it. Visit the EA Origin store for more information.