EA Donates Copies of SimCity for Every OLPC

Fun it may be, but EA hopes its classic SimCity title can also help foster creativity and problem-solving in children.

While One Laptop Per Child computers are already slated to have a handful of open-source games included on them, one major game publisher will take that list of games to the next level by donating an old-school classic from its archives. Electronic Arts announced on Thursday that it would donate the original 1989  version of SimCity on every OLPC sold.

Besides being a fun way to get kids using the computer, EA believes SimCity can also help them learn. “SimCity is entertainment that’s unintentionally educational,” said Steve Seabolt, vice president of global brand development for The Sims Label, in a statement. “Players learn to use limited resources to build and customize their cities. There are choices and consequences, but in the end, it’s a creativity tool that’s only limited by the player’s imagination.”

SimCity played a similar role after its original release in the U.S., with 10,000 copies finding their way into classrooms as educational tools. National Engineers Week Future City Competition continues to use SimCity 3000 in its annual design contests.

OLPCs just recently began production at a facility in Changshu, China. The program hopes to get them into the hands of children in Uruguay, Peru, Mexico, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Haiti, Cambodia and India by the end of 2007.