In a move that is sure to tick off a large portion of the world's gamers, EA has decided to shut down a bunch of its game servers. PlayStation University points out that EA is trying to shift users over to their newer titles by phasing out online support for older ones. Once the servers go down, users will no longer be able to play certain games online. The first of the server shut downs will take place on February 2nd, with more servers coming down on February 9th and April 6th.
The list of titles being shut down is sure to surprise many gamers, as many of them are fairly recent releases. Not only are Madden '07 and '08 getting the axe in the February 2nd shutdown, but in April, Madden '09 will also be shut down across all consoles. Europe, unfortunately, will also be getting a few extra shut downs that the US will not (NBA Live '09 for Wii and NASCAR '09 for PS3 and Xbox 360).
Without the ability to sign into EA's servers, it's unlikely that any sort of online gameplay will be possible (even P2P). If you're a big online sports gamer, get ready to pay for new games every year. It looks like this server shutdown thing could become a yearly event. It's only a matter of time till we see if this new strategy of EA's will work out in their favor, or not. Below is the list of servers that will be shut down.
Straight from the EA Online Service Update:
April 6, 2010 Online Service Shutdown
Madden 09 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360
February 9, 2010 Online Service Shutdown
FIFA 07 for PC
Madden 07 for Xbox 360
Madden 08 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PC, Wii and Xbox 360
NHL® 08 for PC
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 07 for PC
UEFA Champions League 07 for PC
February 2, 2010 Online Service Shutdown
Facebreaker for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
Fantasy Football 09 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
FIFA 07 for PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2
Fight Night Round 3 for PlayStation 2
March Madness 07 for Xbox 360
NBA LIVE 07 for PlayStation Portable and Xbox 360
NBA LIVE 08 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable and Wii
NBA LIVE 09 for Wii (Europe only)
NBA Street (2007) for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NCAA® Football for 08 PlayStation 2
NCAA® Football for 09 PlayStation 2
NASCAR® 08 for PlayStation 2
NASCAR® 09 for PlayStation 2
NASCAR® 09 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (Europe Only)
NFL Tour for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NHL® 07 for PlayStation Portable and Xbox 360
UEFA Champions League 07 for Xbox 360
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