EA shutting down online servers for 49 games starting next month [Archive]

norkusa

08-02-2007, 06:54 PM

I realize they can't keep them up for ever but this is bullshit. A lot of these games are barely a year old:

http://kotaku.com/gaming/executioners-song/ea-killing-online-support-for-49-games-285403.php

My favorite post from the Kotaku comments pretty much sums up EA's position perfectly:

"You should buy our new ____ sports game!"
"I should? Why?"
"Because it features online play, so you can play with your friends!"
"But I have last years version, and I can play online with it."
"Not anymore!" *flicks a switch*
"You son of a..."
"Thank you for choosing EA!"

Promophile

08-02-2007, 07:00 PM

this is EA after all, the company that payed billions to have exclusive rights to NFL games when 2K gave them a little competition. I would be suprised if this DIDN'T happen.

ProgrammingAce

08-02-2007, 07:21 PM

Not to mention they were the ones who told Microsoft they wouldn't use XBL unless they were allowed to run their own servers (which no other company does, btw).

Cirrus

08-02-2007, 07:25 PM

This wouldn't apply for Burnout Revenge for the Xbox 360, would it?

BHvrd

08-02-2007, 07:28 PM

This is a surprising list for sure. Especially the playstation portable ones as there aren't many alternatives.

Good way to piss people off so they won't buy your products in the future. I swear who makes these god damn dumb ass decisions.

If they expect people will buy the new versions cause the old are offline, screw them, that's one crappy underhanded move.

-1 consumer here.

When it comes to the way companies are treating gamers nowadays, i'm not taking it anymore. Screw them, their micro purchase bullshit, and their heavy handed grasp.

I'm pissed.

roushimsx

08-02-2007, 07:33 PM

Wow, that's pretty shitty. I guess that's one way to "encourage" people to update to the latest version of a game series, even if it's inferior to the previous year's (which is sadly more common than it should be).

Still, there's no other choice than EA when it comes to Arena Football games, so if you wanna play online, you're fucked. :(

ProgrammingAce

08-02-2007, 07:35 PM

Not to mention they were the ones who told Microsoft they wouldn't use XBL unless they were allowed to run their own servers (which no other company does, btw).

I should amend that, obviously the 2 MMORPG's run their own servers.

And no, Burnout Revenge on the 360 isn't affected.

This kinda sucks for games who had online achievement points, eh?

Bronty-2

08-02-2007, 07:36 PM

Nesmaster

08-02-2007, 08:02 PM

So does this mean the achievement points in Tiger 06 will forever be unattainable after the shutdown? Since you have to play online to unlock them... Oh well the game already has glitched/unattainable achievements anyways...

Edit: Oh and the online game achievement in NBA Live 06. Achievement whores hurry before they're unattainable. :P

7th lutz

08-02-2007, 08:11 PM

This isn't a shock. Ea has a monoply on some sports licenses like nascar and the Nfl for making games. The newest nascar game doesn't have career mode unlike Nascar 2007.

I stopped buying ea games a couple years ago. It was not because ea bought out companys, it was because ea put little effort into their exclusive game licenses like the nascar series.

MarioMania

08-02-2007, 08:53 PM

Now I know why the Burnout 1 & 2 came out for the Gamecube..After #2 EA had the rights :(

Porksta

08-02-2007, 09:29 PM

Isn't it required that all 360 games have 1000 achievement points? So these shutdowns eliminate the points, so can't MS prevent this?

dylan0228

08-02-2007, 09:33 PM

Yeah, every store selling new copies of these games should have to pull them off there shelves. It would be considered "False Advertising" to market these games with Xbox Live support when it will no longer exist. I have a feeling there will be alot more to this story regarding the 360 versions. Come on Microsoft, step up to the challenge!!!

Garry Silljo

08-02-2007, 09:38 PM

This is why I think they shouldn't have online only achievements. Even if I bought some of these on day one, if I don't have the time to play these online right away, I'm just SOL. Players should be able to obtain achievements at their leisure.

dylan0228

08-02-2007, 09:45 PM

That`s why I think Microsoft might try to fix this issue. If this does happen, the online achievements should be automatically awarded to the player at the very least. I`d rather have the opportunity to attain them myself of course. It always seems like the people who invest the most money into there games are the ones who suffer the most.

Hep038

08-02-2007, 10:07 PM

I think its pretty much all because the wii is kicking ass too... EA didn't bet heavily on wii so their financial results are shitty right now. Wall street was widely expecting some cost cutting measures from EA this week to get things turned around, and I guess these online servers are part of that cost cutting.

Still sucks, of course lol

So because the Wii is selling so well EA is shutting down servers to old games? That is the biggest Nintendo spin I have ever seen. From what I have read on DP hooking up to play online with the Wii is a joke. I think your statement is more wish full thinking than anything else. I am sure most of DP members would love for Nintendo to put EA and Sony out of business. I think your post is proof.

XYXZYZ

08-02-2007, 10:23 PM

Gee, I sure hope this crafty, brilliant move makes their stock value go up! Their shareholders deserve it, and as an EA consumer I'm proud to be a part of it.:lovin:

Seriosuly, I think video game consumers nowadays want to be screwed. They love it, they can't wait for EA to bend them over, grease it down, and ease it in like a gentleman.

ProgrammingAce

08-02-2007, 10:39 PM

So because the Wii is selling so well EA is shutting down servers to old games? That is the biggest Nintendo spin I have ever seen. From what I have read on DP hooking up to play online with the Wii is a joke. I think your statement is more wish full thinking than anything else. I am sure most of DP members would love for Nintendo to put EA and Sony out of business. I think your post is proof.

Actually, he's right...

EA hasn't thrown their support behind the Wii, it's success caught them by surprise. As such, their profits this quarter aren't what they had expected them to be. In order to correct this, EA has to cut costs and increase sales. Servers cost money, so they're cutting back (or reallocating) their XBL servers. Since older games no longer have online play, people (sheeple) will buy newer versions. Two birds with one stone.

Mind you, i'm the furthest thing from a Nintendo fanboy there can be...

studvicious

08-02-2007, 10:44 PM

So because the Wii is selling so well EA is shutting down servers to old games? That is the biggest Nintendo spin I have ever seen. From what I have read on DP hooking up to play online with the Wii is a joke. I think your statement is more wish full thinking than anything else. I am sure most of DP members would love for Nintendo to put EA and Sony out of business. I think your post is proof.

How is this spin?? He was just talking about how EA said that they messed up by not fully embracing the Wii and their profits really showed it. And one way to try to recoup some of those profits is to cut back on things (servers). But nobody knows if one was actually related to the other. But I'm sure that one way or another they needed to find that money somewhere.

And I'm not sure about Sony, but I would LOVE to see ANYONE take out EA.

SegaAges

08-02-2007, 11:25 PM

Man would I hate to be a server admin for those games. Hopefully the server admins deal with all the games and not just a slim few, or else there could be a few jobs lost too just to cut corners.

I don't know, I am just hoping there are no people getting fired to cut costs.

scooterb23

08-02-2007, 11:27 PM

I'm curious how many people are actually online with any of these games at any one time.

Is it really that bad of news if they're knocking out support for games that noone is playing online? The achievement argument is a reasonable arguement, I'm interested to see how that plays out.

sabre2922

08-02-2007, 11:29 PM

I havent bought a NEW EA game since Tiger Woods '05 and that was in 2004 only because at the time me and 3 of my friends were on this " golf games at parties" kinda phase.

Yeah I pick up a new Madden every few years but it is always a used copy just like the Madden '07 i picked up the same week as '08 was released but overall I really despise EA as both a developer and publisher not just for rumors Ive read on the net and print but for their actual statements and real actions just like THIS one:bullshit:.

I also hate the fact that they acquired Criterion but so far it seems they are still the AAA developer they were before EA got their greedy hands on them.

LONG LIVE KONAMI AND CAPCOM:cheers:

PapaStu

08-02-2007, 11:40 PM

I realize they can't keep them up for ever but this is bullshit. A lot of these games are barely a year old:

Alot of these are old sports games. EA as a business that would offer contual support for these older games does not equate to sales and they, like any other game publisher needs sales to stay in business. This is one of those forced assurances that people will buy their new games every year. This isn't the first time that they've cut the online portion of the games (hell, they've been doing it since Madden and the gang have been going online for the PS2 every year about 2 weeks before the new game comes out) and it won't be the last. Are you sad that you can't play Madden 04 online anymore?

The only games in there I saw that wern't sports titles were Marvel Nemesis: Rise of The Imperfects, Need For Speed:bla bla bla and Burnout: Revenge... franchises that have new games on the very near horizion and thus fall under that umbrella mentioned above.

Yes its a bit frustrating, but in a market like we've got (sequel driven shovelware) that thrives (and survives) on its yearly release, I see and understand why they are doing it. On top of that it says on the boxes that the serves will shut down the following year (well they used to on the older PS2 Madden games) in fine print on the back of the box.

ProgrammingAce

08-02-2007, 11:40 PM

I also hate the fact that they acquired Criterion but so far it seems they are still the AAA developer they were before EA got their greedy hands on them.

Obviously you haven't compared the Renderware engine to Unreal 3 lately... One of them hasn't exactly kept up with the jonses.

Garry Silljo

08-02-2007, 11:47 PM

They love it, they can't wait for EA to bend them over, grease it down, and ease it in like a gentleman.

At least they have the courtesy to grease it down.

GarrettCRW

08-03-2007, 02:46 AM

At least they have the courtesy to grease it down.

Actually, the grease is out with this round of budget cuts.

Oobgarm

08-03-2007, 07:34 AM

I fail to see how this is such a big deal.

If you're playing online with any of the 06 sports titles EA is axing, drop the $20 or so and buy the 07 version. It'll have at least another year left for online play. Repeat this process every year. By the time you get around to buying a copy, EA is already making their money off next year's version, so you'll be doing little to boost their sales. Hell, if anything, you'll just be boosting the sales of the place you're buying it from since they basically already 'bought' the game from EA. It'll be more of a favor to them so they don't have to send old, unsellable stock back to their vendor for credit. One could even go the used route and buy from GameStop if they had no qualms about it.

As far as achievement points go, I understand the arguement, but if you haven't alreasy gotten those points from that game when you were really playing it, what would make you want to go back and try to get these once-unattainable, online-only achievements when there's pretty much no one else playing to begin with?

I anxiously await Nintendo's decision to drop online support for some of their titles, so I can hear some folks' 'rationalizations' for it.

studvicious

08-03-2007, 09:17 AM

I anxiously await Nintendo's decision to drop online support for some of their titles, so I can hear some folks' 'rationalizations' for it.

What support? :p

s1lence

08-03-2007, 09:21 AM

Doesn't surprise me at all though the achievement point deal is something that is frustrating. Probably why I hate online only achievements, especially in sports titles. I'm sure Burnout Revenge on the 360 will be soon to follow.

heybtbm

08-03-2007, 09:31 AM

I hate shit like this.

This just brings home the realization that someday, EA will shut down my beloved Battlefield 2: Modern Combat servers (for 360). I keep trying to find an online FPS that is as accessable and FUN as BF2MC, but it doesn't exist yet. I know there are a few great FPS's on XBL, but nothing equals it so far. I would imagine EA will shut down the server a few months after the new Battlefield comes out next year.

What really sucks about things like this are the games (like BF2MC) that don't have offline multiplayer. The player has no way to access the multiplayer maps without signing on to Xbox Live. Contrast this with the Tom Clancy or Call of Duty games...where you can play the maps online or off. As long as you have the game, you can access the maps. Once EA takes down the BF2MC server, I'll never be able to trod through the streets of Backstab or maneuver through the city in Deadlypass. The access to those places will cease to exist. That will suck.

norkusa

08-03-2007, 12:19 PM

This just brings home the realization that someday, EA will shut down my beloved Battlefield 2: Modern Combat servers (for 360).

Ugh, thanks for pointing that out. I was just about to trade my Tony Hawk's Project 8 for Battlefield 2 and I totally forgot it's an EA game. Just gonna keep my P8 now since I don't want to be stuck with a game that I'll only be able to play online for another year or so.

cyberfluxor

08-03-2007, 01:11 PM

Wow. I wasn't too worried about this at first because I don't play console games online. After reading some other responses, whenever I finally buy an Xbox 360 I'm staying the hell away from EA games. And I don't really play/buy sports games so at least it isn't that much of a blow for me.

heybtbm

08-03-2007, 01:20 PM

Ugh, thanks for pointing that out. I was just about to trade my Tony Hawk's Project 8 for Battlefield 2 and I totally forgot it's an EA game. Just gonna keep my P8 now since I don't want to be stuck with a game that I'll only be able to play online for another year or so.

Oh...but it's so worth it. Even one year left of online action makes it worth the trade. BF2MC is that good.

scooterb23

08-03-2007, 01:34 PM

That's what I'd think...BF2MC is what? $20-25 used now? Go get it, have fun with it...I suspect if a lot of people still play online, so EA hold off on shutting down servers on it until there aren't many people playing.

Kitsune Sniper

08-03-2007, 04:00 PM

Trebuken

08-03-2007, 04:29 PM

Sounds like a reeasonable decision to me...so many people are buying into the yearly upgrade of their favorite sports title that it does not seem too excessive.

jcalder8

08-04-2007, 02:23 AM

If these were 07 games I'd be pissed but come on almost all these games are 06 sports games. Does anyone even play these?

Like was said before just drop the 20 bucks at most and buy 07 when 08 comes out and you'll get another year worth of play. I'm actually impressed by EA with this. I would have thought that they would have stopped it after 18 months to help build up the hype for the new one and to get people to buy 07 before it drops in price because of 08.

norkusa

08-04-2007, 12:31 PM

If these were 07 games I'd be pissed but come on almost all these games are 06 sports games. Does anyone even play these?

Yeah, casual gamers who don't buy into the $60 roster updates every year still play them.

Microsoft still has old games like NFL Feever 2004, Inside Pitch, and Top Spin still online. It wouldn't hurt EA to keep them up another year or 2. Taking the servers down for games that are barely 2 years old is waaaaay too soon.

Greg2600

08-04-2007, 01:18 PM

EA, no surprise, as moving away from last year's title to this year's is standard procedure for them. It's understandable for sports games. But the shut down of Marvel Nemesis, Need For Speed, and Burnout is not right. Then again, when they had the Bond license, they did the same thing. In fact, they caved the Goldeneye Rogue Agent support so fast it was ridiculous, for a game designed primarily for online support.

I agree selling those games are fraudulent now.

This is exactly why I never subscribed to XBox live, and do not buy console games for their online abilities. I buy PC games for that. At least if the company shuts down the matching servers for a PC game, you can use a third party site or application to play other people. Does XBOX Live or whatever Playstation or Wii use allow users to host games, or there has to be a main server running for it?

s1lence

08-04-2007, 01:20 PM

Oh...but it's so worth it. Even one year left of online action makes it worth the trade. BF2MC is that good.

Well considering that the BF 1942 servers and BF Vietnam servers are still up and running I don't see this one falling off soon.

PapaStu

08-04-2007, 02:19 PM

I agree selling those games are fraudulent now.

It's not like they are still making these games. The stock that you might see is stuff that just hasn't sold at that store/outlet. If you were running a company that didn't make any money off of running servers of games that are 2+ years old, and continually were releasing NEW games in that same franchise, you'd do what you could to make sure those new games sold (and thus made you money so you could get more franchises and make more games).

unwinddesign

08-04-2007, 04:01 PM

So EA shuts down a load of crappy old games, and everyone flips out? Has anyone here been on Madden 06 within the past couple months [on the 360, no less]? It's a graveyard. EA isn't going to spend the thousands of bucks a month it takes to keep the server going just so 6 people a day can play online. That's just flat out dumb.

While we're at it, let's complain to Sega for shutting down support for Phantasy Star Online on Dreamcast. Oh noes!!! Evil corporate bastards.

If they were shutting down the servers to NCAA Football 08, then yeah, I could see where the anger is coming from.

Furthermore, it says that they can do this type of shit in the EA ToS. Of course, no one reads it, and those that do don't believe it anyway. You think it's just there to make you go through another screen? No, it's so when your beloved NCAA 2K5 on Xbox gets taken down, you know why.

Sheesh.

heybtbm

08-04-2007, 04:16 PM

So EA shuts down a load of crappy old games, and everyone flips out?

Nobody in this thread is flipping out.

While we're at it, let's complain to Sega for shutting down support for Phantasy Star Online on Dreamcast. Oh noes!!! Evil corporate bastards.

Exaggerate much?

Furthermore, it says that they can do this type of shit in the EA ToS. Of course, no one reads it, and those that do don't believe it anyway. You think it's just there to make you go through another screen? No, it's so when your beloved NCAA 2K5 on Xbox gets taken down, you know why.

Sheesh.

Yup, you get it alright. We'll never complain about anything again. Thanks for making it so clear.

calthaer

08-04-2007, 04:48 PM

Come on...did anyone ever expect EA to dole out treats to the gaming community? To release quality games that make you feel like you've rediscovered gaming? To continue to support online play for a game that they made their money off of years ago?

EA is about one thing, and one thing only: profit. They will stop supporting a game if there is no profit in it for them. They're not going to be charitable; they're a business.

Nintendo does the same thing, honestly. Seen any new e-Reader cards coming out lately? Seen them distribute promo Pokemon for old games that are no longer on store shelves? Seen them offer repair or replacement parts for your old NES? No. They want you to buy those NES games again on their virtual console. They want you to buy the newest Pokemon game. They want you to ditch the e-Reader in favor of their newest gimmicky attachment for the Wii.

There are very few companies out there that will do something nice for the community - whether it be in the form of free content downloads / add-ons, special promos or giveaways, or whatever. When you find a company that does that, remember it - there are probably real gamers working at that company.