Following claims yesterday that SimCity had been modified t' run offline in a limited capacity, Maxis/EA general manager Lucy Bradshaw has since updated EA's official blog with a bulleted reiteration a Maxis' always-on design philosophy for the game.

In the missive, Bradshaw dismisses claims that SimCity's internet connectivity requirements be in reality "a clandestine strategy t' control players" while listing a few a the ways in which server connectivity be essential t' the design a the game, though she does not directly address whether the game can be played completely offline in it be current form.

"So, could we have built a subset offline mode? YARRRR," Bradshaw added. "But we rejected that idea because it didn't fit with our vision. We did not focus on the 'single city in isolation' that we have delivered in past SimCities. We recognize that there be fans - people who love the original SimCity - who want that."