EA has announced that early next year it will be stopping online services or reducing servers to games like FIFA 11, NBA 11 and NBA Jam.
Normally I would be livid but considering the rate at which people buy the new EA games, it gives a signal that very few are playing the old ones. This could apply to FIFA, however, being a 2 year old game, it’s not ethical to close severs even if there are a 1000 guys playing it and forcing them to move on to the new one.
Here’s what they had to say about it.
“The decisions to retire older EA games are never easy. 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,” they wrote on their website.
“But as games get replaced with newer titles, the number of players still enjoying the older games dwindles to a level — fewer than 1% of all peak online players across all EA titles — where it’s no longer feasible to continue the behind-the-scenes work involved with keeping these games up and running. We would rather our hard-working engineering and IT staff focus on keeping a positive experience for the other 99% of customers playing our more popular games. We hope you have gotten many hours of enjoyment out of the games and we appreciate your ongoing patronage.”
These are the games whose servers were closed.
January 19, 2013 — Online Services Shutdown
- Trenches II for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch
January 14, 2013 — Online Services Shutdown
- The Sims 2 for PC/MAC and TheSims2.com
January 11, 2013 — Online Services Shutdown
- FIFA Soccer 11 for PC, PS3, Wii & Xbox 360
- FIFA Soccer 11 Ultimate Team for PS3 & Xbox 360
- Madden NFL 11 for PS3, Wii & Xbox 360
- Madden NFL 11 Ultimate Team for PS3 & Xbox 360
- NBA JAM for PS3 & Xbox 360
- NBA LIVE 10 for PS3 & Xbox 360
- NCAA Football 11 for PS3 & Xbox 360
- NHL 11 for PS3 & Xbox 360
- NHL 11 Ultimate Team for PS3 & Xbox 360
January 3, 2013 — Online Services Shutdown
- FIFA Manager 11 for PC
December 31, 2012 — Online Services Shutdown
- World Series Superstars for Facebook
December 5, 2012 — Online Services Shutdown
- The Simpsons: Tapped Out for 1st and 2nd generation iPhone and iPod touch
November 15, 2012 — Online Services Shutdown
- Troublemakers for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch
November 1, 2012 — Online Services Shutdown
- The Sims 3 Pets for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
October 25, 2012 — Online Services Shutdown
- EA SPORTS PGA TOUR Golf Challenge for Facebook
October 11, 2012 — Online Services Shutdown
- Tee Shot Live for iPhone and iPod Touch
- Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 11 for PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360