EA to preview games in select Apple stores (yes, SimCity)

December 11, 2008 | MG Siegler | Comments | |

When I wrote last month that I had seen and played an early build of EA’s SimCity for the iPhone, many of you seemed excited (to say the least). Well, now you can have a chance to preview the game as well — in an Apple Store — provided you live in one of the few select cities.

Apple stores in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago are hosting these “EA Games Sneak Peek” events on select days in December. The idea is for EA to show off all of the games it currently has in the App Store for the iPhone and iPod touch directly to consumers, and also to show previews of two of its newest games due to launch this month: SimCity and Need For Speed Undercover.

Along with SimCity, I also got the chance to play Need For Speed Undercover last month; it’s a solid racing game that utilizes the accelerometer well. Other games sure to be on display are Monopoly (which just launched and is a lot of fun), Spore (which is kind of lame), Tetris, Scrabble and many others.

Here are the upcoming dates (unfortunately the New York event was a few days ago):

12/13 (LA) – Apple Store Third Street at 2:00 PM
12/14 (SF) – Apple Store San Francisco at 2:00 PM
12/20 (Chicago) – Apple Store North Michigan Avenue at 2:00 PM
While this is certainly a win for SimCity addicts (like myself), the real winner with these events will undoubtedly be EA. After all, getting in Apple’s good graces with regards to the App Store can easily propel an app to stardom (not that gaming powerhouse EA really needs to worry much about that). We’ve seen this time and time again, first with apps that Apple features in the App Store, then with apps it features on its Apple Store demo units and displays and most recently with apps showcased in its commercials.

Update: SimCity for the iPhone is now available.

[photo: flickr/paul halloway]

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About the Author, MG Siegler

MG Siegler writes about technology trends and new media for VentureBeat, with a focus on mobile topics, social elements and key news stories. Before that, MG wrote about technology on his blog, ParisLemon. Originally from Ohio, MG attended the University of Michigan where he studied film. He's previously lived in Los Angeles where he worked in Hollywood and in San Diego where he did web development. He now lives in San Francisco.