Game Servers that aren't there anymore....

[mezrabad]

With my recent installation of Resident Evil: Outbreak File #2 and my discovery, frustration and disappointment that the online servers for the game are no longer functioning, I am forced to wonder just what and how many pc and console games requiring online servers (unprovidable by a consumer) for online multiplay or to access special features have become defunct.

My brief list, please post the ones you know of and I will add to it.

Shenmue Passport (Dreamcast)
Resident Evil: Outbreak File #2 (Playstation2) (I imagine there's a defunct #1 as well)
Phantay Star Online (Dreamcast, Gamecube)
Meridian 59 (PC, though I've heard there are some fan servers)
Autoduel (PC, NCSoft)

In some cases the games still work, in others (Autoduel) original disks may only be usable as coasters and tree ornaments.

What ones can you think of?

[Gapporin]

www.onlineconsoles.com has a pretty good list of what is and isn't still supported for online play. I'd provide links, but it's a three-pronged site (Dreamcast, Gamecube and PlayStation 2) with each info in its own seperate section. But just as an example, here's the list for Dreamcast.

[roushimsx]

sadly, Resident Evil: Outbreak and Monster Hunter will be joining the list of offline servers at the end of the month

Shame Steel Lancer Arena International went down earlier in the year, though it never really had a strong population. Maybe if the Ranker AI in the single player wasn't so god damn brutal then people would have been inclined to sink more time into the game and eventually check out the online portion.

[PentiumMMX]

Also, the US servers for Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst are shutting down this March. There are still free private servers, but the fact the last of the Sega-run US PSO servers are shutting down (Besides the Xbox version, which is deserted anyway, and will probably join soon) is a sad moment.

[Canadianzombie]

Steel Battalion for the Xbox is no longer supported, which makes the second game nothing but a shelf ornament.
Cheers
Mark

[diskoboy]

The day Ferarri F355 Challenge and Bomberman Online's (Dreamcast) servers were shut down, I died a little inside.

Actually, it was like that when most every DC game was shut off.

[mezrabad]

Steel Battalion for the Xbox is no longer supported, which makes the second game nothing but a shelf ornament.
Cheers
Mark

Wow, I didn't know about that one shutting down at all. That's really annoying considering the considerable investment one had to make in the controller. It was also a game I had put off buying (as my Xbox is foreign and modded and therefore not usable on Xbox live) until I had cash lying around to buy a second non-modded Xbox and the controller. Without the online component, there's just no way to play the game as it was meant to be experienced.

[fcw3]

Steel Battalion for the Xbox is no longer supported, which makes the second game nothing but a shelf ornament.
Cheers
Mark

Does the second game support system link ?

FRED

[kaedesdisciple]

Also, the US servers for Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst are shutting down this March. There are still free private servers, but the fact the last of the Sega-run US PSO servers are shutting down (Besides the Xbox version, which is deserted anyway, and will probably join soon) is a sad moment.

I wonder if those private servers will stay alive as long as the original PC PSO ones did. Speaking of the original PSO, anyone know if those private servers are still live, anyway?

[JWKobayashi]

I wonder if those private servers will stay alive as long as the original PC PSO ones did. Speaking of the original PSO, anyone know if those private servers are still live, anyway?

Yep...

http://www.schtserv.com/

[Half Japanese]

sadly, Resident Evil: Outbreak and Monster Hunter will be joining the list of offline servers at the end of the month

Shame Steel Lancer Arena International went down earlier in the year, though it never really had a strong population. Maybe if the Ranker AI in the single player wasn't so god damn brutal then people would have been inclined to sink more time into the game and eventually check out the online portion.

I was a little sad to learn upon reacquiring a ps2 earlier this year that S.L.A.I. was a semi-sequel to Phantom Crash for the Xbox, as Phantom Crash is one of my top Xbox games. I wish I'd have known earlier, as I would definitely have been playing it online, as the once-rumored patch for Phantom Crash never came to fruition. I heard from a friend and fellow P-Crash fan that S.L.A.I. sucked, and in fact my friend knew nothing of their connection based on playing it. While the new Kingdom Under Fire coming from Phantagram looks good, I really wish MS would fund a proper sequel to Phantom Crash, as it pretty much shits on every other mech game out there.


It's weird to see what's still online for the DC. I remember being an avid PSO and Unreal Tournament player on the DC, but UT went to shit when people figured out commands that pretty much killed the game (such as the one that paused the server). Either way, I can't imagine many people still wanting to play Ultimate Pool for the DC online.

[roushimsx]

I heard from a friend and fellow P-Crash fan that S.L.A.I. sucked, and in fact my friend knew nothing of their connection based on playing it.

SLAI was awesome when it wasn't fist fucking you with both hands. There was too much of a gap between the AI abilities of general enemies and the league rankers, so you'd plow through a level completely dominating everyone, have the ranker come out, and destroy you without breaking a sweat. The early rankers were difficult and they only got progressively more punishing as the game went on (while the normal opponents generally weren't much of a problem). It didn't help that it was also incredibly easy to go bankrupt from repair costs.

I guess Genki heard people complain that Phantom Crash was too easy and they decided to make a game so fucking brutal that it'd make them appreciate the difficulty curve of the previous game more. Hopefully they tackle the series again at some point and find a solid balance between the two, because everything else is just rocks so damn hard about it.

Tangent -> If anyone knows how to dump the soundtrack from SLAI, I'd love your assistance. Or if anyone already has the ripped soundtrack, I'd love you for a hookup. I found the file that the music is stored in, but I can't quite figure out how it's encoded (and the stock ps2 music ripping tools are of no use for the game )