He also fiddled with other values to almost convert it to an offline, single-player game.

BBC: Gamer hacks SimCity to run offline

Lucy Bradshaw, head of SimCity creator Maxis, said an offline, single-player mode did not fit with its "vision" for the urban-planning game.

BBC: SimCity players offered free EA game

Modders have already enabled single-player mode for the game (or, rather, disabled always-online.) In fact, it appears that the game could run in a very similar fashion with a very similar vision while offline in single-player.

FORBES: EA Admits SimCity Could Have Run Offline

Features include the ability to search and browse by artist, album or track, create playlists and download music from Cloud Player to the device for offline playback.

ENGADGET: Amazon brings Cloud Player music service to the UK: choice of free or premium tiers from ?22 per year

Features include the ability to search and browse by artist, album or track, create playlists and download music from Cloud Player to the iPhone or iPod Touch for offline playback.

ENGADGET: Amazon brings Cloud Player music service to the UK: choice of free or premium tiers from ?22 per year

"Social games will become less about fantasy and more about tapping into real-life trends, " predicts de Halleux The EA executive talks about the possibilities of creating more of these "online-offline loops" in social games that take advantage of big events like holidays or player interests like sports.

FORBES: EA's Playfish: Big Real-World Sales In Virtual Goods Game