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lordnikon
rank 59
Posted:
Wed Jan 04, 2006 7:32 pm
quote : #1
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Posts: 2839
Type: NTSC-U/C
Electronic Arts is at it again, just like clockwork. 3 titles are already and have been offline for months. While 6 more titles are set to go offline on January 13th. I hate to say this, yet again, for the 100 millionth time, but I just have to. Local Arena Network functions are our savior! Appreciate games that have LAN! I say this, because this time around, it hits a little closer to home. The games going offline arn't just sports games. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and The Sims: Bustin' Out are already offline! They were taken down on August 15, 2005!

Here is a total list of all the games that recently went offline, and are soon to go offline. I linked the titles of the games below to their PDB's. I have moved all of these games to the Graveyard. So if you want to get a last minute game going, click on the links below to PM some gamers to setup a game. 2 of these you already knew were going offline, however I probed deeper and found many many more games getting axed.

(Note: I am unable to determine if this effects the PAL Region or Asian releases of these titles)

Already Offline:
08/15/2005 The Sims: Bustin' Out
08/15/2005 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
10/05/2005 Madden NFL Football 2004
*Users' collections affected: gRiMgRaVy014, LNA-Big_D, Bronco, DietGarfield, Weapon X

Going Offline soon:
01/13/2006 James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing
01/13/2006 SSX3
01/13/2006 NFL Street
01/13/2006 Need for Speed: Underground
01/13/2006 MVP Baseball 2004
01/13/2006 Fight Night 2004
*Users will be removed from these PDB's once the games are offline:
BluntWrapTexas, kingofgrills, Mir_wan, dannycas, DarkLink, DietGarfield, Gforce, mariobay, MICHAE2414, Mir_wan, TheMytho, Gforce, gRiMgRaVy014, Weapon X, DarkLink, killer-elite, MasterChief


After the games going offline over the summer, and after seeing this batch of games, I decided to just do a complete EA PS2 Online analysis for the future.

There is some good news out of all of this. Two games, EA cannot ruin for us. Luckily Medal of Honor Rising Sun has a LAN function, but it is after the DNAS screen which prevents it from being truly Online Forever. If you are unable to reach the master list, the game will prompt you asking if you would like to host a Local Area Network session. So if you were thinking about picking up this title, fear not! Buy it, as it is a great game, and even if EA takes if offline we can play it via a Tunneling application. Quite a few gamers here own this game. Also, this game was released in November of 2003. So it has already been online for quite sometime. This is the ONLY online enabled console Medal of Honor game, and is a PS2 Online exclusive. The community for it still has a ton of gamers online. So, I don't think it will be going offline anytime soon.

TimeSplitters Future Perfect was developed by Free Radical, and was merely published by Electronic Arts. The game is truly online forever. It is the only EA published console game to ever feature a LAN mode. This is obviously because EA didn't develop the game. I suspect this game won't be terminated anytime soon as it was just released this past spring.

Burnout 3 and Revenge will most likely stay online. These were developed by Critereon Games. These 'could' go offline but, I don't think the chances are as high as the other games.

EA currently has a total of 27 PS2 Online Games in North America. They could release more sports games, but seeing how they treated games such as SSX On Tour, and NFS Most Wanted, there probobly wont be any more non-sport network enabled titles coming to the PS2. One game published by EA, Battlefield Modern Combat, runs on GameSpy technology. I cannot predict in anyway how long this game will stay online. It will probobly stay online longer because it uses GameSpy.

Here are the termination predictions for all EA Online titles within their sphere of influence:

Unpredictable:
TimeSplitters: Future Perfect
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun
Burnout Revenge
Burnout 3: Takedown

Could go offline late 2006:
Nascar 2005: Chase for the Cup
MVP Baseball 2005
NBA Live 2005
NBA Street V3
NCAA March Madness 2005
Madden NFL 2005
NCAA Football 2005
NFL Street 2
NHL 2005
FIFA Soccer 2005
Fight Night: Round 2
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2005

Could go offline early 2008:
GoldenEye: Rogue Agent
Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects
Need for Speed: Underground 2
Nascar 2006: Total Team Control
NBA Live 2006
NCAA March Madness 2006
Madden NFL 2006
NCAA Football 2006
NHL 06
FIFA 06
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2006
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MasterChief
rank 16
Posted:
Wed Jan 04, 2006 11:23 pm
quote : #2
profile : pm
Posts: 298
well shit.

fuck off EA.
  _________________
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gRiMgRaVy014
rank 10
Posted:
Thu Jan 05, 2006 6:25 am
quote : #3
profile : pm
Posts: 131
Type: NTSC-U/C
This is the most titles seen on the cutting board in a long time all at once.
 
DaMan
rank 19
Posted:
Thu Jan 05, 2006 3:27 pm
quote : #4
profile : pm
Posts: 355
Type: NTSC-U/C
Yeah it is a shame, but there are 3 items on the list that I want
1) Medal of Honor RS and that's still a go.
2) NFSU 1 I could still get this although the urgency is no longer there.
.
..
...
and for a distant 3rd Goldeneye Rogue Agent; although I never really planned on getting it.
I know you would'nt do this lordnikon, but because of EA's attitude (since the NFL licence stuff ) if I buy one of there games it'll probably be pre-owned , even though for the prices that MoH goes for , that might be an exception Wink

EDIT:
Did'nt realize I was echoing what you said in the EA Charging for online? Thread.
Great minds think alike Laughing
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gRiMgRaVy014
rank 10
Posted:
Thu Jan 05, 2006 4:32 pm
quote : #5
profile : pm
Posts: 131
Type: NTSC-U/C
I tried using ICS for Goldeneye and it wouldn't connect for some reason. I don't think its offline though even though I just wanted to try it.
 
dwachill
rank 7
Posted:
Thu Jan 05, 2006 4:44 pm
quote : #6
profile : pm
Posts: 50
*Begins Rant*

EA doesnt care about anyone or anything but money. I believe that if a company puts an online feature into a game, there should be a required 5 year time table before they are allowed to take it offline. Since one of these games drawing points is the ability to play online, it should be illegal to take that away for a while. Them telling people that the games feature online play, then taking that away is just a bunch of shit. Look at the prediciment EA has put on NFL fans. When NFL2k5 goes offline, NFL fans who like to play there football games online are going to be forced to buy the new Madden each year. And the worst part is, its not just EA. Granted, they are the worst, but Activision is doing the same thing with Tony Hawk. Fortunately they are leaving them up longer than EA is leaving its games up.

*Ends Rant*

Sorry, but i needed to get that off my chest Rolling Eyes
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lordnikon
rank 59
Posted:
Thu Jan 05, 2006 5:04 pm
quote : #7
profile : pm
Posts: 2839
Type: NTSC-U/C
DaMan wrote:
I know you would'nt do this lordnikon, but because of EA's attitude (since the NFL licence stuff ) if I buy one of there games it'll probably be pre-owned , even though for the prices that MoH goes for , that might be an exception Wink

EDIT:
Did'nt realize I was echoing what you said in the EA Charging for online? Thread.
Great minds think alike Laughing


Well, I still buy games brand new, my recommendations were merely for those who were very fed up with the sports game issue and felt they didn't want to support the company anymore. The only EA game for the PS2 I own is MOH Rising Sun. And If I didn't own it now and were going to buy it, I would still buy it brand new. Plus you can get the game for a really cheap price now brand new so, might as well.

dwachill wrote:
*Begins Rant*

EA doesnt care about anyone or anything but money. I believe that if a company puts an online feature into a game, there should be a required 5 year time table before they are allowed to take it offline. Since one of these games drawing points is the ability to play online, it should be illegal to take that away for a while. Them telling people that the games feature online play, then taking that away is just a bunch of shit. Look at the prediciment EA has put on NFL fans. When NFL2k5 goes offline, NFL fans who like to play there football games online are going to be forced to buy the new Madden each year. And the worst part is, its not just EA. Granted, they are the worst, but Activision is doing the same thing with Tony Hawk. Fortunately they are leaving them up longer than EA is leaving its games up.

*Ends Rant*

Sorry, but i needed to get that off my chest Rolling Eyes

I keep stressing that those Tony Hawk games have LAN, and if uers really do not want to upgrade, to the new wacky insane Tony Hawk games where you are riding a wheelchair on telephone wires, then users should round up a posse of gamers and tunnel the game.

I am going to get some more information up about tunneling soon.

As far as the EA issue, I think most of use grew up playing PC online games where the developers took a great deal of extra time to make an online game with a solid competative featureset. Then they usually would release mod tools to the community, and then you'd have this huge worldwide thing going on surrounding a single online game. New maps, new mods, new online features, update patches, and new communities springing up all over the net.

We want to dig into an online game and actually use it.

Instead EA is just souless. Its a cycle and you know every year now EA is going to pull the online functions from their games. You feel as though you are buying a game on a corporate time clock rather than an interactive experience.

I mean, we have all had these theories about EA but up until now it has sort of been just pre-judgement. However now the curtain is coming down and we are seeing EA for what they really are. I could have predicted that this would happen, but I think we were all hoping EA would turn it around somehow and cut this shit out.

Gamers purchased video games with the intent to play them online. Maybe not today, maybe not tomarrow, but some afternoon people expected to find some people and play the game online. Just having the capability is a very appealing feature. On top of this I spent time adding all of their games to the online game list, and working with the artwork and posting new stories about these games. Instead it was all wasted time. I cropped covers scans for the PDB's for all of their games.

Next time they start pulling games I won't be suprised. However this time, I am really ticked off about it.

Whenever they release a new Online game, it iss like, "Why support it?" Especially if this community is one that looks to casually form niche communities around game titles.

I can tell you all one thing. I am damn glad the New Releases page on the Online Game List has no EA titles in it.

Good riddance!
  _________________
The most effective, in this war?
The Bydo have it... and they control it.
TheMytho
rank 38
Posted:
Thu Jan 05, 2006 6:52 pm
quote : #8
profile : pm
Posts: 862
Type: NTSC-U/C
lordnikon wrote:

I keep stressing that those Tony Hawk games have LAN, and if uers really do not want to upgrade, to the new wacky insane Tony Hawk games where you are riding a wheelchair on telephone wires, then users should round up a posse of gamers and tunnel the game.


I think that every new Tony Hawk installment adds a little something new to the core gameplay. This year, it was the vert rolls, and last year was the Natas Spin. The whole 'wacky insane riding a wheelchair on telephone wires' thing was in THUG 2 (THAW still had some crazyness, but it wasn't as stupid as that). To me, it would be a little hard to go back to older Hawk games down the road, since they do not contain the newer gameplay features, but if some friends wanted to play, I'd be down.

lordnikon wrote:
I can tell you all one thing. I am damn glad the New Releases page on the Online Game List has no EA titles in it.

Good riddance!


Damn straight.

-Mytho
 
dannycas
rank 3
Posted:
Fri Jan 06, 2006 7:39 pm
quote : #9
profile : pm
Posts: 12
Damn, I liked NFSU 1! Even though I didn't play it often, I still had fun times playing my friends and winning a few (lucky) races against very good racers. I still remember my first big win, it was on 'To 7th and Sparling'. I think that's the best NFS game I've played. Anyway...I have Timesplitters for the Xbox, and I think it's Game of the Year. I'll probably pick it up for PS2 in the near future, since it's getting pretty cheap for a used copy. Free Radical are very good developers, I've loved every game they've made. I can't wait til their next game...
 
MICHAE2414
rank 24
Posted:
Thu Jan 12, 2006 10:41 pm
quote : #10
profile : pm
Posts: 497
With these games going offline, the online game list shows that about 70% of all the PS2 "graveyard" games are EA titles. *shakes head* I got some play time on SSX 3, 007 and NFSU tonight, though, but yeah. Dang.

BTW, in case you feel like changing it on the online games list, NFSU doesn't support buddy lists. There's no EA Messenger or anything.
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lordnikon
rank 59
Posted:
Fri Jan 13, 2006 8:56 am
quote : #11
profile : pm
Posts: 2839
Type: NTSC-U/C
I remember when I first started this site and the Dreamcast had more available online games than the PS2. I often forget that, while I was a late adopter with Dreamcast Online, with Playstation 2 Online I was there from the beginning. I remember playing Twisted Metal Black Online right when the game first came out. My brother recieved his in the mail for his network adaptor. Then he got Socom 1. I bought Midnight Club 2 when it was first released, and it was the 18th online game for the PS2 in North America.

Many of you have been here for just as long, and have watched the Online Game List grow over the years. You have seen PS2 Online evolve with each week of releases.

Coming from the Dreamcast, and seeing the current PS2 Online Graveyard makes my blood boil. It is so big. I really didn't think it would get this bad so soon.

However, I soon wash away this sad feeling with a smile when I see the System Link list. 29 LAN compatible titles spanning 7 gaming genres. This is quite awsome, and more than enough gaming goodness to satisfy our thirst.

Games without LAN capabilties will not be online forever. Some will be online for quite sometime, however they are still vulnurable and can eventually get taken down. Enjoy these games while you can. I also want to point out that you should take this into consideration when buying online titles. It would be wise to pad your collection with more LAN titles. Its pretty nice knowing a company can't pull the plug on your fun prematurely.
  _________________
The most effective, in this war?
The Bydo have it... and they control it.
YouBlowinMyHigh
rank 9
Posted:
Fri Jan 20, 2006 11:18 am
quote : #12
profile : pm
Posts: 123
Oh god Fight Night 2004 is gone............... Man this is messed up another game goes offline in my dwindling collection.Im gonna boycott EA im TIRED OF THIS!!! lol
  _________________
...
Zebulus
rank 2
Posted:
Fri Feb 03, 2006 9:21 am
quote : #13
profile : pm
Posts: 7
Why is it exactly that they take games offline after they have only been online for a very short time? Lord of the Rings hasnt been online that long at all, has it. I can remember the day it was released.
 
TheMytho
rank 38
Posted:
Fri Feb 03, 2006 1:48 pm
quote : #14
profile : pm
Posts: 862
Type: NTSC-U/C
Many factors are taken into account, such as user traffic, age and if a sequel is coming. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King has been out for about two years now, so traffic was probably low. There was no sequel to the game (LoTR: Third Age was a RPG) though.

I wouldn't consider many of EA's gaming endeavors to be awesome, but it still hurts to see a game go, especially if you had/have fond memories of playing online. Many of the Dreamcast gamers can relate to this. Crying or Very sad

P.S: Nice avatar Zebulus.

-Mytho
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