The Sims Social: Play SimCity Social for free hot air balloon

It was only a matter of time before Playfish and EA started advertising their new Facebook game SimCity Social within The Sims Social, so it comes as no surprise that fans of Sims Social are now being given a chance to win a free hot air balloon for their pads.

The requirements for this cross-promotion are incredibly simple, asking you to play SimCity Social and complete the tutorial to receive your hot air balloon. You don't have to reach a specific level in SimCity Social, but this feature isn't entirely peachy. As of this writing, it seems like you need to be a completely new player to SimCity Social in order to get this cross-promotion to "click" in Sims Social. That is, the cross-promotion doesn't seem to track players that have long ago completed the tutorial, but whether or not this is a bug or a design choice remains to be seen.

Needless to say, if this is a promotion that only applies to new SimCity Social players, I can imagine plenty of existing players being mighty upset with the pair of EA and Playfish. It seems like a horrible design choice, but let's not forget that the duo has run into issues with the Sims Social before, where users weren't given what they thought they deserved.

We'll make sure to stay on top of things and will let you know if we find a sure-fire way to claim the free hot air balloon for yourself. UPDATE: Want to skip the drama between the two games and simply claim your free balloon? Click on this link. (Via Sims Social Quests)

Have you received your own hot air balloon, or did you already play SimCity Social in the past? Sound off in the comments!