Sony Set to Kill Off Online Features for SOCOM 4 and More In Q1

[Alex Co]

Sony Set to Kill Off Online Features for SOCOM 4 and More In Q1

Sony has announced the list of games whose online multiplayer will be switched off in early 2014.

In a rather gloomy way to usher in 2014, Sony has announced that they're turning off the online functionality for a list of games in early 2014. Notable titles included in it are Gran Turismo 5, the entire Resistance series, and SOCOM 4, which was released just two years ago.

This means that online multiplayer, leaderboards and other features will not work starting on the specified date. You can, of course, play single player, but for games like SOCOM: Confrontation and MAG, they will be unplayable completely, as the games themselves don't have offline modes.


As of 20 May 2014 you will no longer able to use the online features of the following game:

PlayStation 3
Gran Turismo 5

As of 28 March 2014 you will no longer able to use the online features of the following games:

PlayStation 3
Resistance: Fall of Man
Resistance 2
Resistance 3

As of 28 January 2014 you will no longer be able to use the online features of the following games:

PlayStation 3
MAG
SOCOM: Special Forces
SOCOM: Confrontation

If you're one of the few people still playing online in one of the games mentioned above, go set up a clan match or something to give that game a last hurrah, alright? Or at the very least, go play 'em while you still can.

Source: UK PlayStation Blog [http://uk.playstation.com/ps3/support/games/detail/item97821/Support-for-online-game-features/]

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[josemlopes]

This doesnt make any sense, these are all first party games, how retarded can they be.

It doesnt matter if no one is playing it, these are the games the manufacturers has to convince people to keep or buy their consoles.

 

[Dr.Awkward]

Only makes sense if they also patch in the ability to run private servers.

I mean, if you think about it, "Planned Obsolescence" is one of the worst things to come to gaming. If games want to become art, then how would this be fair to the game itself? You don't call a painting or sculpture "obsolete", but styles and fashions do fall out of favor, and after some time only several of the masterpieces of that moment still capture minds.

 

[Andy Shandy]

As of 20 May 2014 you will no longer able to use the online features of the following game:

PlayStation 3
Gran Turismo 5

[/quote]

Well that's one way to make people to buy the new game, I suppose. That's what the cynic in me says anyway.

Also agree that it's a bit shitty, what with them being first party games and all, third party games you can't do much about as a console manufacturer but you'd think they should at least keep first-party games going, particularly the ones that are online-only games.

 

[fix-the-spade]

This doesnt make any sense, these are all first party games, how retarded can they be.

Retarded nothing, they want you to buy a PS4.

Microsoft did much the same thing with the Xbox, once 360 landed they steadily switched off games, then switched off XBL completely, they'll likely do the same to the 360 now and Sony did the same to the PS2 (save FFXI). All of what Sony is killing are either 'finished' series or have sequels available now, Sony have decided that they don't want you playing anymore, whether you want to or not.

This is how tech companies drive sales, lovely isn't it.

 

[omega 616]

GT5 doesn't even seem that old but it is only the online portion and the new game is out.

The resistance ones are quite a shock, I remember them having quite good multiplayer, the one I had had a really good co-op multi-player mode. Your band of brothers vs the enemies to complete objectives, it was fairly challenging and quite large scale.

 

[idarkphoenixi]

And with these new games all being so heavily focused with online gameplay, cutting those servers will be even more devastating.

 

[heroicbob]

This is happening faster than i thought it would, so what happens to the games which cant be played offline? i have at least one.
Need for Speed Hot Pursuit requires an internet connection just to get past the main menu

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

This is the kind of shit these big companies do, and we're supposed to let them scam us into the "cloud"?

 

[sneakypenguin]

Ouch pulling the plug 2 years after release for R3 ouch idk if it was popular for MP but I thought the Resist series was "The" playstation exclusive fps along with killzone.

 

[Flammablezeus]

Wait, so there's no way to host our own online games or just (at the very least) set up a LAN? The reasons for people to own consoles (or at least the Sony and Microsoft ones) are falling every day it seems.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Except for the older Resistance games, these are all barely getting 4 years of support. Halo 2 got almost 6.
From Wikipedia on Gran Turismo 5: "As of 2013, it is currently one of the best-selling PS3 games and the best selling PS3 exclusive with over 10 million copies sold." WOW, just what kind of support was Sony talking about for a post-PS4 era PS3?" They could at least slowly take more servers down before the complete cut off and push it back a year.

This is why I don't buy games that rely on online for the entire experience. Halo and others at least had single player and LAN connectivity. It's bad enough when sequels come out that take much of the player base away to the next one(Gears of War, I'm looking at you). Then, you got online only multi-player, and always online DRM FOR SINGLE PLAYER GAMES!! As soon as they drop the servers, your expensive game that you might have bought 2 years ago and still enjoy is now a dud, unless they release a patch for private severs to take over or make it offline or let the hacks go without legal action.

But, that's not how they roll these days. Making a patch would cost too much in their eyes even if it would take one or two programers a couple days to make. And, both the patch and hacks would take away (a little bit of) revenue from the new game. So, I say boycott any series that has had a recent and successful game lose its severs because a sequel came out, and never buy always online DRM games with a single-player mode. We need to tell these greedy execs that we don't like this stuff and the only way they will truly listen is with their wallets. It worked with Xbone's fascist console DRM.

 

[The White Hunter]

Well shit. Resistance 3 is one of the best games on the system, the online has been dead since about a month after launch though. I'd rather see them restrict it to campaign co-op or something but alas.

This is the tragedy of locked off servers that can't be hosted by fans.

 

[Arnoxthe1]

Guys, Sony needs servers for their next games. I don't know why you're all flipping out. They can't keep adding on more and more servers until their budget explodes.

 

[jackpipsam]

Not shocking.
Sony has always done this kind of thing.

Thankfully Microsoft hasn't done that to their games on 360.

 

[thewatergamer]

Not suprised but still very dissapointed... More and more I'm glad I didn't buy a PS4 or Xbox One...

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

Not Resistance! Those fuckers!

I still play a bit of R2 co-op from time to time. That's a fucking shame. Why, Sony? You assholes?

This is why I don't like single player DRM and cloud services or other things that basically amount to "You need the internet to play this in any capacity". When your device can't play your game by itself you guarantee that some of the time this shit will happen.

 

[Strazdas]

Just another reason PC gaming is becoming more and more better - private servers.

This doesnt make any sense, these are all first party games, how retarded can they be.

It doesnt matter if no one is playing it, these are the games the manufacturers has to convince people to keep or buy their consoles.

If it costs more to upkeep the server than they gain from keeping it up they will shut it down. plenty of games with empty dead servers. I remmeber when i was playing F.E.A.R. i think 6 years after its release and decided to try multiplayer. There was a total of 12 servers with total of 4 players all in one server. I joined that and it was team deathmatch. Within the hour that i played the enemy team quit in frustration of how can a person they never saw kill them so easily, i have been playing fear MP first and last time that day. I never came back to that, but i guess those 4 people were happy the servers were still up. Is it worth keeping 12 servers up for 4 people though?

Only makes sense if they also patch in the ability to run private servers.

I mean, if you think about it, "Planned Obsolescence" is one of the worst things to come to gaming. If games want to become art, then how would this be fair to the game itself? You don't call a painting or sculpture "obsolete", but styles and fashions do fall out of favor, and after some time only several of the masterpieces of that moment still capture minds.

Its going to be worse when games with always-online functions like Sim City become more widespread (and they will). then shutting the server down will mean that singleplayer is down too and game is essentially broken.

 

[josemlopes]

Just another reason PC gaming is becoming more and more better - private servers.

This doesnt make any sense, these are all first party games, how retarded can they be.

It doesnt matter if no one is playing it, these are the games the manufacturers has to convince people to keep or buy their consoles.

If it costs more to upkeep the server than they gain from keeping it up they will shut it down. plenty of games with empty dead servers. I remmeber when i was playing F.E.A.R. i think 6 years after its release and decided to try multiplayer. There was a total of 12 servers with total of 4 players all in one server. I joined that and it was team deathmatch. Within the hour that i played the enemy team quit in frustration of how can a person they never saw kill them so easily, i have been playing fear MP first and last time that day. I never came back to that, but i guess those 4 people were happy the servers were still up. Is it worth keeping 12 servers up for 4 people though?

Only makes sense if they also patch in the ability to run private servers.

I mean, if you think about it, "Planned Obsolescence" is one of the worst things to come to gaming. If games want to become art, then how would this be fair to the game itself? You don't call a painting or sculpture "obsolete", but styles and fashions do fall out of favor, and after some time only several of the masterpieces of that moment still capture minds.

Its going to be worse when games with always-online functions like Sim City become more widespread (and they will). then shutting the server down will mean that singleplayer is down too and game is essentially broken.

I would get it if it was EA or another publisher but first party games? Exclusives are the biggest reason people have/keep consoles, if they decide to make them unplayable then there really isnt that much to them. Its in Sony's interest to keep their games working on their console.

 

[Strazdas]

I would get it if it was EA or another publisher but first party games? Exclusives are the biggest reason people have/keep consoles, if they decide to make them unplayable then there really isnt that much to them. Its in Sony's interest to keep their games working on their console.

They are not unplayable, only multiplayer part of them is down. Singleplayer is still playable.
Also if other posters are to believe, the games online part were dead for years now and noone was playing them. whats the point of keeping game working if noone is using it, even if it is an exclusive?