http://www.twitch.tv/eightysixed/b/485538859?t=8m
Basically it's being delisted because Konami sent the request to delist from Sony without telling LZ, even though Konami makes money from every copy sold. They have to send the QA before the 17th to prevent it from disappearing. If they don't make it in time, it's going poof until January. There have been multiple requests to delay the request until the 31, and neither Sony or Konami would allow it.
EDIT: From Skullheart
http://skullgirls.com/forums/index.php?threads/konami-console-updates-you-will-want-to-read.1156/
Note that, if you purchase the game before it is de-listed, you are still able to access the game freely through your PSN/XBL account download history.
Yes, the game will be relisted, this isn't permanent.
EDIT: What /you/ can do to help support LZ, also from Skullheart.;
EDIT; from Ravidrath
Basically it's being delisted because Konami sent the request to delist from Sony without telling LZ, even though Konami makes money from every copy sold. They have to send the QA before the 17th to prevent it from disappearing. If they don't make it in time, it's going poof until January. There have been multiple requests to delay the request until the 31, and neither Sony or Konami would allow it.
EDIT: From Skullheart
http://skullgirls.com/forums/index.php?threads/konami-console-updates-you-will-want-to-read.1156/
Following Lab Zero ceasing relations with Konami, Konami has asked for Skullgirls to be delisted from PSN and XBLA on the 17th and 31st of this month, respectively. Mike is working really hard to get a build through QA to be published by Autumn(360)/MAQL(PS3-world)/CyberFront(PS3-Japan), but details are sketchy. One of the reasons a new build is necessary is that if SG keeps using the same Communications ID for the game, Konami would be able to shut the game down whenever it wants.
Lab Zero only found out about this through a Sony account manager after the request had been approved, so the decision is probably final. They have requested the date for the PSN takedown be moved until the end of the month, but after climing that Sony and then Autumn wouldn't let them, all three asked for the date to be moved and Konami has not responded since then.
Note: Sony has said that people won't have to re-buy the game through the store, but because this has not happened before nobody knows exactly how the transition will work.
Note that, if you purchase the game before it is de-listed, you are still able to access the game freely through your PSN/XBL account download history.
Yes, the game will be relisted, this isn't permanent.
EDIT: What /you/ can do to help support LZ, also from Skullheart.;
What you can do -
- Please, don't talk shit about Konami online. It isn't going to change anything, makes us look bad, and makes them think that they've made the right decision. Nothing good will be achieved by ripping into the powerless intern managing Konami's twitter account, etc.
- Test out the latest Beta build if you have it. Mike has very little time to test the build before submitting for QA (Monday) if we want to prevent the game from disappearing after getting pulled. If you know how, using the -log option to run the game may be useful.
Update: The best way to let Mike know about any issues with the Beta is to comment on the Patch Notes update on Steam, or else send a PM @Mike_Z on here.
- Keep playing, and keep having fun. This isn't the end of the world.
- If you want to buy a copy of the game to help support Lab Zero, buy the Steam version. The PS3 and 360 versions won't result in any extra money for L0 at this point, and Konami gets a cut from those.
EDIT; from Ravidrath
To clarify...
This was going to happen at some point, because the business relationship with Konami was dissolved to allow patches to move ahead.
The parts that are shady are:
- Filing the request without conferring with Autumn or Lab Zero to see if we could even transition in time
- Lying to Sony and to Autumn, saying the other said moving it back was impossible
Their reason for doing this is because the lawsuit with Konami over DefJam Rapstar is over, and they're trying to stop dealing with Autumn forever as soon as possible. There's a lot of bad blood there.
That said, we are pretty forcefully requesting that the delisting be pushed back to 12/31 to buy us time, and I think we're going to get that.
We're going as fast as we can, but there's a lot that needs to happen:
- Get a new Communications ID for online service, which takes a few days since it must be issued from Japan
- Before we can do that we need to get an IP whitelisting issue sorted out with Autumn
- Set up the leaderboards and trophies again, since this will effectively be a "new game" as far as PSN is concerned
- Get everyone's existing purchases to carry over to the "new" version
- Get Autumn a publishing agreement for SCEE and other territories
- Get the latest build submitted and tested once we have the Communications ID and leaderboards, etc. set up
If everything goes perfectly we MIGHT be able to avoid any downtime, but there is so much to do and so much of it is reliant on learning this stuff and waiting for IDs, etc. that I don't think we're going to be able to avoid any downtime in the US. Downtime in other territories will be all-but-impossible to avoid, just because we have to set up new publishing arrangements with those territories.
Yes, this sucks, but we're used to this kind of thing at this point. We shouldn't have to be, but we are. So we'll roll with it and once this incident has passed, there should be significantly less drama moving forward.
Also, just wanted to give a shout out to Shane, Roberto, Jonathan and everyone else at Sony that has helped us on this so far. We would be completely lost without them, and they've been a huge help in helping us navigate this minor crisis. Once this is resolved, we're definitely sending them tasty gifts of some kind.