Seriously. Im highly doubtful they shut it down while it has a strong userbase. They may have...but I doubt it.
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Sony turning off MLB 13 servers November 6th
- Thread starter oldmario
- Start date
Seriously. Im highly doubtful they shut it down while it has a strong userbase. They may have...but I doubt it.
SneakyStephan
Banned
Why would you defend this? what is wrong with you
I would assume it would be just like when MAG and SOCOM: Confrontation went down.
also, it doesn't matter if there's only 2 people playing. Don't charge $60 for a game and shut down servers after a year.
yeah no. maybe you should google that.
djplaeskool
Member
Nobody was playing MLB13 online a month after it was out.
Way to engage with his argument, and helping to prove his point.
If you're enough of a fan to be still playing 13 online I don't think its a stretch to pick up (a heavily discounted by november) copy of 14.
orthodoxy1095
Banned
This is true. I actually got my copy in late July 2013, and there was already a pretty small community. I love the outrage here. How many of you even play the series?
I wonder if they just did it and didn't announce it... Would anybody notice?
If the servers can be repurposed for use on a better game for more people it's worth it I guess. Sucks they are shutting them down but going from a few posts it sucked even when the servers were running.
If the servers can be repurposed for use on a better game for more people it's worth it I guess. Sucks they are shutting them down but going from a few posts it sucked even when the servers were running.
Principate
Saint Titanfall
Which will be closed in a year also. No wonder companies keep screwing us over. It's because of short sighted people like you.
PhantomZone
Member
They should keep it online for 2-4 years, not just 1 - 1.5 years
Now imagine if the company in question was EA instead. Would the thread have a different tone?
Unfortunate but I imagine the online presence for this game is non existent, which means there was server hardware sitting there not being utilized.
Still shitty for anyone who might casually want too jump online and play, but I can't really fault them if live servers are sitting there empty 98% of the time.
These types of games would fare better in a peer to peer setup in my opinion, or at least a p2p option, then there's no reason for this to happen.
Still shitty for anyone who might casually want too jump online and play, but I can't really fault them if live servers are sitting there empty 98% of the time.
These types of games would fare better in a peer to peer setup in my opinion, or at least a p2p option, then there's no reason for this to happen.
Off-Kilter
Banned
It's clear from all the faux outrage in this thread who actually played the game and who didn't.
For starters, and by far the most important reason, the online in this game is a ghost town. The community was never large to begin with, most have moved on, and it was pretty buggy to boot. We're talking like twenty or thirty people here, tops. Nobody would pay to keep servers up for an annualized game with a couple handfuls of people still using them.
Sports games by their very nature have short legs, and people who buy them tend to know that support will get dropped not too long after the next iteration. 20 months, as is the case here, is actually above average for this kind of thing. 2K tends to pull the plug in 12-18.
For starters, and by far the most important reason, the online in this game is a ghost town. The community was never large to begin with, most have moved on, and it was pretty buggy to boot. We're talking like twenty or thirty people here, tops. Nobody would pay to keep servers up for an annualized game with a couple handfuls of people still using them.
Sports games by their very nature have short legs, and people who buy them tend to know that support will get dropped not too long after the next iteration. 20 months, as is the case here, is actually above average for this kind of thing. 2K tends to pull the plug in 12-18.
Happy to play my part! Shutting down a year and a half old sports game with a low player count and with a newer iteration out really is the epitome of screwing your customers over.
The Elite
BOSS
It released late February of 2013 and will be shutdown November of 2014. Almost 2 years of activity. With sports games, I'm not really surprised.
The online community for the game is near non-existent.
Effigenius
Member
By the time that happens we will be playing tf3 and Destny 3 most likely. It's not like they will be shut off next year.
I buy very occasional sports games because I don't think enough changes year to year to justify a $60 purchase. When I buy one it is with the expectation that I won't get another format least a couple years. F other companies start doing this I think my occasional sports purchase becomes zero purchases.
Or just over a year and a half. Are they offering refunds?
orthodoxy1095
Banned
Seriously, I doubt many people understand how dead the community is.
Beyond that, The Show is unique even among sports games. It's a game that caters frankly to America. Compare that to a title like FIFA which is a massive, worldwide phenomenon. That means it has even shorter legs and an even smaller base community.
People know this happens with sports games, so the lesson learned here is to not pay the full $60 ever. I got my copy of The Show 14 for $20 from Amazon. When it gets shut down, I'll consider that money still well spent.
Effigenius
Member
The experience was buggy so they are justified in shutting them down after a year and a half? How about they fix their shit instead? Or offer refunds for a subpar experience. The Stockholm syndrome of some gamers is mind boggling.
Leafhopper
Banned
Well at least there is only one online trophy...
Seriously though they need to do something about turning off servers for games. It shouldn't be this soon
Seriously though they need to do something about turning off servers for games. It shouldn't be this soon
reptilescorpio
Member
Would require someone to sue them first to make it high profile enough first I expect
LurkerPrime
Member
If they think so little of multiplayer, why do they even bother including it? They ought to include a warning on the box, but I suspect they don't want to because potential consumers might not like it; and, of course, there's always the slight possibility MP will take off.
Really... these server shutdowns are ridiculous, especially so soon after release. (And yes, two years is nothing in the grand scheme that is a game's lifespan.)
$4theplayers
Off-Kilter
Banned
And where did I use that as justification? I'm just saying that's the reality of the situation. The fact that close to nobody is playing the damn thing is another reality of the situation.
Leafhopper
Banned
Tacked on Multiplayer is hip.
test_account
XP-39C²
How many are playing the game online?
CrimsonCommie
Member
It doesn't matter how large the online community is. My friend that lived 2000 miles away used to play me everyday in NBA 2K12 and then soon after 2K13 came out they shut the servers down. Neither of us got the new game so we couldn't play each other until 2K14 came out. Same situation here I'm sure there's still a few people that would rather play last years game instead of paying $60 for a slightly updated game. This is a shitty practice and there's no way anybody should be defending this shit.
JesseEwiak
Member
Why should Sony appeal to edge cases such as yourself when it costs them money? They're running a business, not a charity.
CrimsonCommie
Member
Because I paid to play the game online. Why are so many consumers anti consumer? Makes no sense. EA keeps all their sports games online for years no reason for everybody else not to.
I saw 4 people last night.. lol
I wish pubs/devs would release server sdks and documentation when they shut down online communities so fans can keep them alive. Ultimate fan service, but its such a small thing and would create such loyalty and good will.
Unfortunately the industry is move away for anything like that. Hell, were starting to get games that completely lock you out once the publisher says so. All digital is that way, and a few physical examples can be had.
Welcome to the digital future where you own a limited license, not a physical good.
Unfortunately the industry is move away for anything like that. Hell, were starting to get games that completely lock you out once the publisher says so. All digital is that way, and a few physical examples can be had.
Welcome to the digital future where you own a limited license, not a physical good.
don't cockblock on their opening.
ComputerBlue
Member
Joke post or serious? Because if serious then yeah, shut it down.
the game released almost 2 years ago...MLB 15 is releasing a few months after the server closing.
The Show fan base usually go to the next version as soon as it's out....and the few that don't usually skip a year.
Petrae
Member
Sports games are the ultimate throwaways. Consumers are expected to buy the newest one every year (or two, at most). Killing online servers is basically a nudge in that direction from publishers, plus it saves them cash on their end that is associated with server maintenance.
For me, I'm not terribly affected because I don't play online multiplayer. It does suck when servers go down, though, since certain other functionality dies when the servers die (see past Tiger Woods games, for example)... but that's just how modern video games are.
i love how all the people fake outrage as if they are actively playing the game, or ever even considered it.
MLB 13 is basically dead online.. it's only logical for Sony to pull the servers, if they have the figures that for example say "20 people online per day" vs. "thousands of people online in MLB14"
it just says the userbase moved on and so should they. The only thing they should do is not sell the product advertising Online play on the box. But i doubt there are many, if any, copies of MLB13 in the wild
MLB 13 is basically dead online.. it's only logical for Sony to pull the servers, if they have the figures that for example say "20 people online per day" vs. "thousands of people online in MLB14"
it just says the userbase moved on and so should they. The only thing they should do is not sell the product advertising Online play on the box. But i doubt there are many, if any, copies of MLB13 in the wild
Stop this comparison to EA and what they do. The Show, a game you only get on PS, doesn't draw near the revenue or player count EA gets from Madden or even NHL. They're releasing their games across how many platforms? At least 4.
The Show has never been a sales magnet to begin with..and the sales have gotten worse year after year. Couple that with the bad online and dwindling player count it makes absolutely NO sense for Sony to keep the servers going.
Sometimes, consumers need to put their big boy pants on and realize things happen for a reason. Gaming isn't a charity.
Another point- For as much as they get shit on, EA is the only one offering an online experience worth playing. SCEA and 2K are crap when it comes down to it.
Agent X
Member
The new one dropped four months ago, and you've still got three more months to play this one.
Are people here complaining just for the sake of complaining, or are they genuinely frustrated that a game that they're still playing on an active basis is being shut down? If you're in the latter group, then perhaps you should go do your fellow online players a favor, go to the community thread here, and bring this to their attention. I'm sure the other people that you frequently play online with will appreciate your concern. You could even find out if they plan on getting MLB 14 so that you can continue playing online with them.
CrimsonCommie
Member
Both make sports games so it's a perfect comparison. The reason the sales are worse is probably because the online sucks and shit like cutting the servers. If you're willing to accept this don't complain when something like this happens to a game you play. People that support anti consumer policies like this baffle me.
But at least they announced this unlike 2k
How can this be anti-consumer when there's barely any consumers left? It's not like this has a booming userbase that they shit on so people buy the newer iteration. They see servers being used, look at the player base, see the dismal numbers day to day and decide that those resources can be used elsewhere. From what I'm seeing there's more people that have cried foul in this thread than active users in that game. "I paid to play the game online" and you did, for 18 months you got to play as much as you wanted but now the players aren't there so why expect the support to be there?
CrimsonCommie
Member
Lol. We're complaining because this shit is gonna happen a lot more often if we don't and hell it still might anyway. And when I buy a game I expect the whole game to work as long as I have it. I know that's not always possible with online but 18 months is way too soon. I can't believe people are ok with this shit. When this starts happening to games you play I hope I don't see you complaining.
orthodoxy1095
Banned
No, it's not, because they are different sports with very different audience sizes, locally and globally. It's silly to compare something like a Madden game to an MLB game.
I know this is hard for people, but try not to just make things up. That is absolutely not why the sales are worse. The sales are "worse" because it's a game that's restricted to one console family. You can buy NBA Live on Xbox or Playstation. NHL 15 will be on both next-gen consoles and on PS3/360. FIFA is on like every platform known to man, including the PS2. Additionally, the game has a very American centric audience, and it's a very hardcore game. Bad online has almost nothing to do with it.
As people have explained, and as many of us have actually experienced, the game has a pretty small community only months after release. The community by now is ostensibly a ghost town.
It may happen more often with yearly games, it may not. When a company puts out a yearly game though you have to buy with the expectation that the second the new iteration is out you're on borrowed time. MLB 13 still works, everything is still possible to do except play online. It's not like if Destiny's servers go down or when MAGs went down, all offline features are still there and available. Most games I play online are fighting games and they tend to go on for a few years because they don't have yearly versions of them. However, whenever MKX comes out and MK9 servers go down I'll be fine with it, I had my fun and got my 60 dollars worth.
Let me ask something to you and anyone that posts this "3 year minimum" thing: why would you expect a gaming company that puts out a yearly version of a game to allocate resources and funds to keep the server up so a small userbase that refuses to upgrade for X reason or a group of people that want to buy older versions used, money of which the company will never see? It's not like they shut down with 9 months before the new version comes out, they shut down 8 months after the new game came out. Why is it a travesty that they stopped support of a game that basically no one is playing? "It doesn't matter how many are playing", it does to them because that thing is just using resources or money for no return. If customers en mass aren't buying a product or going to, let's say, some skate arena then why should the company continue to funnel money into that product or business for the handful of people that ARE buying or going?
It is a waste.