160°

EA Online Service Updates

EA: "Our licensing deal with Middle-earth Enterprises has expired, forcing us to shutdown the online services for The Lord of the Rings™ games. We hope you have enjoyed playing these games online and appreciate your patronage. There's still time for one last epic tower rush!..."

wescan404850d ago

I think that it's a shame that EA is Shutting down it's online servers for so many games, I think that they should make it a point to inform potential buyers of their software that they only intend to allow you to enjoy the online portion of their games for 2 years then you'll have to pay to buy a newer game in order to continue to play their games. So in effect it's the same thing as the on line pass. If you don't purchase a new game and get a new code then they'll discontinue access to the online purchase of older games, in order to force you to pay for more games to enjoy online.

BattleAxe4850d ago

Talk about piss poor support....

Substance1014850d ago

Yep EA support sucks, Most of their games are terrible anyways.

Ill think twice before picking up a EA game.

wescan404850d ago

I don't mean to bash EA, I'm just saying that If I buy a game that has multi-player I want to play it for more than a year or two. I still to this day enjoy playing NFL 2k5 and wish like heck that it still had an online component available. but for me it still is a darn good game even though it's from 2005.

Inside_out4850d ago (Edited 4850d ago )

What an evil and disgusting company EA is...talk about low. Trying to hide behind percentages, the list of 2009/2010 games is huge. If you paid up to $80.00 for these games plus dlc you can't be happy. I hope some one takes them to court over this. If you sell a game and say there is multi-player and sell dlc then one can assumed the game is going to be around for a reasonable length of time...by industry standards...1-2 years is not reasonable. Take a look at this list...

EA announces massive list of online shutdownsJanuary 5th, 2011 @ 11:26
By Johnny Cullen

EA’s announced a massive list of games that it’ll shut down this year, beginning next week with Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II.

The rest of the list is EA Sports-related, with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09, FIFA 09, NHL 09, NBA Live 09 and Euro 2008 some of the titles up for the chop.
“These decisions to retire games is never easy,” said EA on its website.
“The development teams and operational staff pour their hearts into these games almost as much as the customers playing them and it is hard to see one retired. We hope you have gotten many hours of enjoyment out of the games and we appreciate your ongoing patronage.”
The full list of games and the dates they’re shutting down is below via the EA website.
Mar 1, 2011 Online Service ShutdownTiger Woods PGA TOUR® 09 for Wii
Feb 8, 2011 Online Service ShutdownFIFA 07 for Xbox 360
FIFA 08 for PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii
FIFA 09 for PC, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii
FIFA 09 Ultimate Team for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
FIFA Street 3 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
EA SPORTS™ FIFA Manager 10 for PC
EA SPORTS™ Fight Night Round 3 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Madden 09 for PlayStation Portable (all regions), PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii
Madden 10 for PlayStation Portable (all regions), PlayStation 2 and Wii
NBA LIVE 08 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NBA LIVE 09 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii
NCAA® Basketball 08 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NCAA® Basketball 09 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NCAA® Football 07 for Xbox 360
NCAA® Football 08 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NCAA® Football 09 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NCAA® Football 10 for PlayStation 2
NFL Head Coach 09 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NHL® 08 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NHL® 09 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 09 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
UEFA EURO 2008™ for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
2010 FIFA World Cup™ for PlayStation Portable and Wii
2010 FIFA World Cup™ Demo for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Jan 17, 2011 Online Service ShutdownThe Sims Carnival
Jan 11, 2011 Online Service ShutdownThe Lord of the Rings™, The Battle for Middle-earth™ II for Xbox 360
The Lord of the Rings™, The Battle for Middle-earth™ II, The Rise of the Witch-king™ for Xbox 360

Bnet3434850d ago

One good thing about not having dedicated servers, your online gameplay last forever. I know original Xbox Live was shut down, but all the games were playable for the entire generation.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4850d ago
gamerz4850d ago (Edited 4850d ago )

Yeah, when it comes to making a buck or screwing the gamers, EA takes the buck every time.

1. They are the first to offer DLC giving online players an advantage over those that don't purchase the DLC.

2. They are the first to add a $10 online pass to their games.

3. They are one of the first to shut down online servers after 2 years or less. Particularly offensive if you're paying for Xbox Live.

4. They buy licensing agreements which prevent other companies (2K Sports) from making competitive games instead of improving their own games and competing on merit.

5. They sell your information and now even their demos collect online info on you.

6. After four years the vast majority of their games are still only at 720p resolution. Come on ya cheap bastards, we want 1080p!

Yes, they publish some great games but they are one of the worst companies from a consumer standpoint, IMHO.

Megaton4850d ago (Edited 4850d ago )

Hello? "As of April 6 2010". It's 2011, bud. You're a year late with this.

Here are the server shutdowns I think you're trying to report on: http://www.ea.com/2/service...

spunnups4850d ago

This is crap. Sony has supported Warhawk, with dedicated servers, since 2007. People S on Sony sometimes, but they treat their loyal customers better than anyone.

Rush4850d ago

X random clan servers have supported Counter Strike since 2000 without taking a penny from people I don't see what's so great about Sony supporting a server not even 5 years old.

BattleAxe4850d ago

People still play Socom 2 which came out in 2003, so why are you trying to counter his point for absolutely no reason?

-X-4850d ago (Edited 4850d ago )

Off topic I know but I had to let that go since SOCOM 2 was the first console online game I played. SO much fun!!!! I remember when the PS3 clock messed up the first thing I did was go and play SOCOM 2 online.

K so back on topic. From all the online games I played EA servers suck. Hopefully they might improve on the servers that aren't going to be shutdown.

Maybe im hoping for too much :/

Oh and I found this article pretty funny. The title makes it sound like EA is doing something good with the servers. You click the link and BAM!! shutdowns.

The_KELRaTH4850d ago

Epic are another that support their online games properly - still plenty of active players for the original Unreal Tournament 1998.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 4850d ago
BrutallyBlunt4850d ago

Warhawk is still very popular. Sony is also not immune to shutting down servers.

http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

http://www.wired.com/gameli...

http://www.geek.com/article...

http://www.gamertell.com/ga...

Microsoft also shut down the original Live support for games like Halo 2 and Steel Battalion was also shut down.

Balt 4850d ago

Disposable games. Online gaming is here and now -- There is no nostalgia to be had and they will never age beyond their years of prime time deliverance. I hate online gaming for this reason. It's also ruining the single player experience and or potential to a bigger margin than you might think.

Why pour 40% of your resources into an online deathmatch when you know the servers will be shutdown in 2 years? Seems kind of pointless. And this is also why games made today are forgettable and forgotten so easily. There is nothing made today that will ever amount to a Pacman, Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros, Zelda, Metroid and so forth and so on. Classic, nostalgic gaming died a long, long time ago.

Arup024850d ago (Edited 4850d ago )

Uncharted has online multiplayer and it not ruined the SP, just sayin.

AKissFromDaddy4850d ago

They gotta do what they gotta do.

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50°

It’s Time for a New Lord of the Rings: Conquest

Game Rant Writes "Lord of the Rings: Conquest was like a fantasy take on Battlefront, and the concept really needs to be revisited in another Middle-earth title."

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gamerant.com
kingeliran563d ago (Edited 563d ago )

Hell no, it's time for proper LOTR single player open world RPG, and a new battle for middle earth RTS

senorfartcushion563d ago

It would be good if it was like conquest but we know it would be filled with microtransactions and battle passes. So no.

TheColbertinator563d ago

We need a new Battle for Middle Earth

70°

8 Terrible Video Game Ports that Were Practically Unplayable

Bad ports don't necessarily mean bad games, but they're inexcusable nonetheless. From the lazy to the straight-up weird, poor ports can cost companies a Bad ports don't necessarily mean bad games, but they're inexcusable nonetheless. From the lazy to the straight-up weird, poor ports are inexcusable.

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twinfinite.net
140°

8 Forgotten Games That Should Have Sequels By Now

There are oh, so many sequels in video games these days. We've got eight games that we wish would get a follow up.

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twinfinite.net
higgins783408d ago

I cant agree with a lot of games on this list. Far, far more deserving entries - which I wont go into now. All I will say is Blast Corps U...I can dream, cant I?

I_am_Batman3408d ago

The Darkness games are among my favorite games of last gen. Both were very unique in their own ways. I'd love to see a third iteration though I doubt it'll happen.

Folklore 2 would be nice as well.

idlet3408d ago

Folklore was great! Great mechanics and atmosphere. Shame it never got too much notice

I_am_Batman3407d ago

Yeah. If I hadn't played the demo I would've probably missed out on it as well.

Helloween133408d ago

Well apart from Jak and Daxter the rest are total crap and I for 1 are glad there was no more of that crap, now if you want to talk about Heavenly sword and Medievil now thats 2 that should have another go at this gen

TomLovesXBOX3408d ago

Legend of Dragoon. That is all that needs to be said.

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