EA officially announces the already revealed return of the SimCity series in SimCity Societies, which is scheduled for release this November. The announcement outlines a change in direction for the series begun by Maxis that's now in the hands of Tilted Mill Entertainment:

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — June 12, 2007 — The return of one of PC gaming’s most popular series – SimCity™ – is here! Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that SimCity™ Societies™ is in development and is scheduled to hit retail stores this holiday season. Featuring an all-new, revolutionary feature set, SimCity Societies allows players to construct not only the cities they desire, but create their cultures, societal behaviors and environments as well. Build an artistic city, haunted town, green city, spiritual community or most any society you want! Using the accessible, innovative and versatile city-builder, players can create their own kind of city in SimCity Societies.

“SimCity Societies allows players to create a variety of cities with the unique societies they desire,” said Vice President and Studio Head of The Sims Division, Rod Humble. “There is such a variety of cities to build from in SimCity Societies – and they’re all such a blast to play. Sometimes I build an aggressive police state where stragglers are dragged off to re-conditioning centers and emerge ready for work. Other times, I build a green community in the tropics, where the citizens grow their own food and have a small environmental footprint. With so many options to choose from, SimCity Societies is the most flexible city building game ever!”

Players start by choosing from a variety of more than 350 building types, each of which allows them to combine, connect and re-arrange structures freely. Players can challenge authority and experiment with what happens when citizens flagrantly disobey power in an unruly Orwellian society. Or if players are feeling happy, they can build a Fun City filled with Ferris Wheels, Gingerbread Houses and Chocolate Factories! Inspiration can come from a wide range of architectural periods ranging from the realistic to the fanciful; from the industrial age to futuristic designs, with each structure reflecting its name and nature, many offering a click-on action for fans to play upon! As each city evolves, players will be able to unlock new buildings that can help advance – or regress – their society.

SimCity Societies introduces an all-new, revolutionary feature set for players to combine buildings that will produce or consume new kinds of resources called “social energies.” How you mix and match these resources – industry, wealth, obedience, knowledge, devotion, or creativity—determines the social energy of your city. Will your city be happy and creative, spiritual and knowledgeable, will it be wealthy and powerful or obedient and fearful? Its fate is in your hands!

Not only will players be able to build from any or all energies, but the cities will look and behave differently depending on the energy combinations the player makes. From futuristic metropolises and fantastical haunted cities to obedient Orwellian states and devout contemplative towns – what to combine and connect is up to the creator.

The SimCity franchise is one of the most popular PC gaming franchises in history, having sold more than 17 million games worldwide to date since the SimCity launch in 1989. Subsequent base game releases include SimCity 2000™ (1993), SimCity 3000™ (1999) and SimCity 4™ (2003).

SimCity Societies is being published by Electronic Arts and developed by Tilted Mill Entertainment. It is scheduled to be available in retails stores across North America and Europe in November 2007.