EA announce server shut-downs including Online Pass games

[Momo]

The new server closures mean that online play will be impossible in this handful of titles after 13th April. The games effected include Burnout Revenge, FIFA 10, The Godfather II, MMA, Need for Speed ProStreet and The Saboteur.
 
 Even more casual titles like EA Sports Active and EA Create are to be hit with server closures.
 
 The most recently released game on the list is XBLA and PSN title Spare Parts. It’ll have been out for just over 15 months when its online gets the chop.
 
 BeefJack reports that some gamers are getting irate with EA closing servers for online pass titles such as EA MMA – a game that asked users who purchased the game second hand to pony up cash in order to pay online.
 
 The game has been out for a mere 18 months, so some may have purchased the online pass to fight online recently – but closures like this are covered in the license agreement we all ignore and agree to when redeeming online passes.
 
 More details, an official statement and a full list of titles that have had their online spiked can be found on the EA website.
 

http://www.vg247.com/2012/03/19/ea-announce-server-shut-downs-including-online-pass-games/
 
 

April 13, 2012 -- Online Services Shutdown
 
 

•                      BOOM BLOX Bash Party for Wii
•                      Burnout™ Revenge for Xbox 360
•                      EA Create for PC, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360
•                      EA Sports Active 2.0 for PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360
•                      EA Sports Active NFL Training Camp for Wii
•                      FIFA 10 for PlayStation Portable and Wii
•                      The Godfather™ II for PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
•                      MMA for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
•                      Need for Speed™ ProStreet for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
•                      The Saboteur™ (loss of The Midnight Club access) for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
•                      Spare Parts for PlayStation 3 Xbox 360

                          March 31, 2012 -- Online Services Shutdown
 
 

•                      BATTLEFIELD™ 3: Aftershock for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch
•                      Fantasi Safari for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch
•                      Ghost Harvest for iPhone

[Stoney Mason]

Its lame but its not a surprise or anything.


Remember a couple of years ago back when all the forum and reddit nerds declared EA the king of publishers and how awesome they were.

[Momo]

There was a time EA seemed to be turning the corner ito output and customer approval, sadly they discovered that they can get away with screwing folk and make more money off it.

[Stoney Mason]

I would argue they've been nearly the exact same company when they were called "good" or "evil". And that's going back many many years. People suddenly assume a company is "good" or "evil" based on them putting out a few titles they like versus actively judging their actions and policies overall.

That being said I don't really care about who is perceived as good or evil. If a company puts out games I like, I buy them. If they don't, I don't. All that other stuff is simply forum wank.

[Great Rumbler]

Fun.

[Momo]

I very much care about company policy. If two companies put out the exact same game for instance and one was Valve and the other EA, I would buy the Valve version because I am much, much more comfortable with their policies and customer orientation.

[Stoney Mason]

I very much care about company policy. If two companies put out the exact same game for instance and one was Valve and the other EA, I would buy the Valve version because I am much, much more comfortable with their policies and customer orientation.

Everybody is entitled to pursue their own activities. Just speaking for myself I don't give a shit about policies and love for companies. I simply buy games. If Amazon has a game on sale for cheap. I buy from them. If Steam does, I get it from them. If somebody else does, I buy from them. I buy COD games. Don't really care about Activision on a publisher level. If they put out something I want I get it.  I only care about policies and customer orientation if it directly connects with the individual products I buy. But that's me.

Yeah it sucks that EA does this. And then turns around and lies about the reasoning behind why they do it. Its not going to stop me from buying the next game I want from them if I really want it.

[Momo]

Thats fair enough. I buy capcom games, even if I hold only ill will towards their policies. You have to admit though in the case of EA shutting down games you paid to play online only 18 months after launch, a wild heap of bullshit appeared. It's the kind of thing that should place doubt in your mind as a consumer as to the value and longevity of the product you bought. Much worse than Crapcpoms DLC/hyper editions bullshit.

[Stoney Mason]

Thats fair enough. I buy capcom games, even if I hold only ill will towards their policies. You have to admit though in the case EA shutting down games you paid to play online only 18 months after launch is a heap of bullshit. It's the kind of thing that should place doubt in your mind as a consumer as to the value and longevity of the product you bought. Much worse than Crapcpoms DLC/hyper editions bullshit.

I think I was the first dude on here who posted about when EA first started this online pass bs. It mainly bothers me simply because they kept lying about why they were doing it and talking about giving better service to existing customers. It's one thing to get fucked, at least tell me the truth about why you are doing the fucking. EA doesn't even have the courtesy to do that.

The real lesson to learn from this on a consumer perspective since EA isn't going to stop doing online passes, is to simply pass on the non-triple A stuff they put out with regards to online. Because that's what's gonna get the shaft fastest when it comes to online shutdown. I guarantee they aren't shutting down the bad company 2 or battlefield 3 servers anytime soon.

Just to be clear I think its bogus. I just like to be honest. I don't like when GAF gets all hot and bothered and acts like people are gonna boycott companies. That's not how normal people work. They take these things on a case by case basis instead most of the time.

[Momo]

I think that MMA game is still very much in action as EA hasn't put out a successor yet to my knowledge.

[Stoney Mason]

I think that MMA game is still very much in action as EA hasn't put out a successor yet to my knowledge.

It's actually not a bad game either. It's just not very popular which is why its on the cutting block. There probably won't be a sequel to it. The UFC brand is more dominant from THQ.

[Eel O'Brian]

So, The Saboteur thing - does it mean you just won't be able to redeem the code anymore, or does it actually do some kind of online check when you boot the game and it's just going to be blocked for everyone from now on? Because that seems to be the bullshittiest thing of all, if so. It's a fucking single player game, there is no online component. The minimal amount of data being transferred by the approximately one dozen people a year who buy the game isn't really costing anyone, assholes.

[Beezy]

Burnout Revenge had a good run. I should've played my copy when I had the chance. Oh well.

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

Boom Blox Bash Party also had a shitload of community made levels that I assume will forever now be impossible to download.  There really wasn't online play, more of a Little Big Planet sorta fanmade creation sharing, same with EA Create.

I sure am glad I never spent dozens of hours tinkering with stage creators to make something that I can no longer share with the world.

[Sho Nuff]

More reason for me not to buy games

[Trent Dole]

How many other companies pull  this annual server closure shit anyway? The only ones I ever hear about doing so en masse are EA themselves. Shutting down something like Boom Blox which just has some user created content on it shouldn't be an acceptable thing.

[Joe Molotov]

Better get your Galactic Readiness up now before they shut down the Mass Effect 3 servers.

[Dickie Dee]

Dumb question but can multiple games be run from a server? If people aren't actively playing them could they just stick all these legacy games on one and just stick it in a corner somewhere?

[Brehvolution]

Dumb question but can multiple games be run from a server? If people aren't actively playing them could they just stick all these legacy games on one and just stick it in a corner somewhere?

The whole wii online experience runs off a 486 so I'm guessing yes.

[Eel O'Brian]