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Today Sony has shown me the ugliest face of the "always online" games.

Edit: I forgot the link to the announcement:

http://www.jp.playstation.com/op/players/dos/en/important/info_20150326.html

We regret to inform you that Sony Computer Entertainment will be ending service of Destiny of Spirits on June 30, 2015 (Tuesday). After this date, you will not be able to play or access the game, and all unused Destiny Orbs will expire.

For those who don't know the details.

Destiny of Spirit is a free to play game from Sony, available on Vita, where you can collect and trade spirits and use them to fight (kind of like Pokèmon or Chain Chronicle). In order to play, trade and anything else in this game you must be always online. Well today Sony has announced they are taking down the service, so the players wont be able not only to play, they even wont be able to get access to their collections.

Imagine Blizzard shutting down Hearthstone and you losing all your cards, well that have happened to this game, after June 30 of this year, people will lose everything, even the items they paid for and the game will only remains in the memories of the ones who enjoyed it.

I traded a lot in this game and the community had a lot of nice people. One of the saddest moments in this hobby for me.

13317321624_123334e624_z.jpg


R.I.P

2014-2015


Take out of service this thread if there is another already.
 
This has to be pretty awful for fans of the game. Sony is pretty bad about taking game servers down (after only 13 months in the case of the recent MLB game), so this doesn't help their reputation very much in the online space.
 
Kind of shocked since Yosp promoted it so much on his twitter feed. How much can it honestly cost them to keep it running and no longer update just to keep players happy?
 

Klossen

Banned
This is the tragic fate of all online games. One day, the service will shut down (no matter how cheap it is to maintain) and we'll be left with nothing but a corpse of what once was. This is partly why I never bought into the online hype that was a major thing some years back. Eventually, whatever you do online is going to be lost. This is also why I never invest much time in online to grind stuff.
 

Razlo

Member
This is the main reason I don't like online only titles. I like being able to play a game when I feel like it, no matter how many years from release it is.
 

soultron

Banned
I'd like to think I'd have the awareness that DoS is not a large game in terms of playerbase or profitability, therefore, subject to the axe anyday. That'd sway me from investing time or money. If I was to do so, I'd have to be ready and accepting of the outcome that it gets shutdown and all my investments become null and void.
 
I don't get why people are so obsessed with keeping what they pay for when they buy items in online games. You're not buying the item; the item doesn't exist. You're buying the use of the item in the game. If you really want to "keep" your item, take a screenshot of it. It's like complaining that you don't get to keep a plane ticket after you've used it, all you get is a lousy trip. You're paying for consumption.
 
Between this and the PSM closure and the latest Vita firmware removing maps functionality you can say Sony cares less about the Vita with every passing day.
edit: I played this game for a few hours too, it was pretty good. What is the reason they shut it down?
 

Lucumo

Member
I love it and hope people will eventually get frustrated enough to stand up to something like this (or at least they don't whine when something like this happens (I'm saying that in general)).
 
I've never heard of this game, but shutting down a service, especially one that you charged money for, after only a year is super shitty.
 

BibiMaghoo

Member
Only a year online is completely unacceptable.

Online games will always die eventually, but there needs to be a reasonable timescale for such things, and this is not it. They should be prepared to eat the cost for customer who bought it, or not go ahead to begin with.
 

Springy

Member
I never got into Destiny of Spirits, but I feel for you, OP, and the others that make up the community. Altogether shitty of Sony to shutter this one calendar year after launch.

But, hey, games aren't games, they're "services", and services end. Right guys?
 

Vlade

Member
And yet I still play destiny. :(

this is the very aspect that I will never ever get comfortable with about always (only) on games. I may suffer thru, but I cannot accept.
 

Bsigg12

Member
It seems like they're consolidating everything Vita related. Only being up for a year is tough though for those who bought in and enjoy the game.
 

Trogdor1123

Gold Member
Maybe they will patch it somehow and make it so you can play it offline.

To be fair though, anyone that plays an always online game must be willing to accept these issues.
 

AmuroChan

Member
I've never heard of this game, but shutting down a service, especially one that you charged money for, after only a year is super shitty.

Only a year online is completely unacceptable.

Online games will always die eventually, but there needs to be a reasonable timescale for such things, and this is not it. They should be prepared to eat the cost for customer who bought it, or not go ahead to begin with.


It's a F2P game. I've not spent a penny on this game and I've played this game for hundreds of hours.
 

sakipon

Member
I don't get why people are so obsessed with keeping what they pay for when they buy items in online games. You're not buying the item; the item doesn't exist. You're buying the use of the item in the game. If you really want to "keep" your item, take a screenshot of it. It's like complaining that you don't get to keep a plane ticket after you've used it, all you get is a lousy trip. You're paying for consumption.

I think a ticket is a bad comparison. So is some buff or buying stamina. Like stated in OP, these spirits were collectibles a bit similar to Pokemon or Hearthstone. People would like to look at them and fight with them every once in a while. It sort of falls in between a consumable and a bought item.

This wouldn't be such a big deal if they had included an offline mode.
 

unsightly

Member
on the one hand, now my girlfriend won't be begging me to login just to make demon babies with her every day.

on the other, that's depressing. it was a genuinely cool game, especially considering it's free.

RIP Destiny of Spirits. :[

Fuckin' Vita can't catch a break.
 

AmuroChan

Member
I think a ticket is a bad comparison. So is some buff or buying stamina. Like stated in OP, these spirits were collectibles a bit similar to Pokemon or Hearthstone. People would like to look at them and fight with them every once in a while. It sort of falls in between a consumable and a bought item.

This wouldn't be such a big deal if they had included an offline mode.

None of the spirits in the game can be bought. The only thing you can spend money on in the game are destiny orbs. So even if they were to let you keep them, what are you going to do with a bunch of destiny orbs?
 

kaching

"GAF's biggest wanker"
Knowing up front that this was F2P, online only, and that clearly its lifespan would be determined by its popularity, is there a general consensus about how long you would expect your investments in this type of game to remain viable? Personally, I wouldn't invest any more than I'd be ready to part with essentially instantly.
 

AmuroChan

Member
Knowing up front that this was F2P, online only, and that clearly its lifespan would be determined by its popularity, is there a general consensus about how long you would expect your investments in this type of game to remain viable? Personally, I wouldn't invest any more than I'd be ready to part with essentially instantly.

Exactly. Honestly this game has lasted longer than most F2P games have on the Vita.
 

BibiMaghoo

Member
It's a F2P game. I've not spent a penny on this game and I've played this game for hundreds of hours.

Sure, I should have phrased that differently, but the point remains as surely it existed to make money through some means, and therefore customers have spent money on it.

Point I was making is that when releasing such a game, you need to be prepared for it to fail without cutting off your customers use. If you can't do that, don't release the game.

I'd like to see some kind of ruling on such things, perhaps the courts insist that a minimum period of playability for a game exists if it has a chargeable element. This would certainly cut down on 'tacked-on' multiplayer, and remove the bullshit of FTP games not being free at all. They would have to be actually free to be able to be taken down at any time.
 
The game is F2P and they were upfront about it being online only. Those things live short lives, right? I am sorry for your loss, OP, but it's kinda the way of F2P games, I think.
 

jroc74

Phone reception is more important to me than human rights
Never played the game...but this sucks.

How successful does a game have to be to continue supporting it?
 

AmuroChan

Member
Sure, I should have phrased that differently, but the point remains as surely it existed to make money through some means, and therefore customers have spent money on it.

Point I was making is that when releasing such a game, you need to be prepared for it to fail without cutting off your customers use. If you can't do that, don't release the game.

I'd like to see some kind of ruling on such things, perhaps the courts insist that a minimum period of playability for a game exists if it has a chargeable element. This would certainly cut down on 'tacked-on' multiplayer, and remove the bullshit of FTP games not being free at all. They would have to be actually free to be able to be taken down at any time.

There's no way you can make this a legal thing. Any online game will only last as long as the online community can support it. In the same way that a website who charges for its services can die at any moment because it's not making enough money to sustain the costs. That's the nature of free market capitalism. The government can't mandate a minimum timeframe of active service unless it's willing to subsidize the cost themselves to keep the product alive.



A lot of games go in to maintenance mode (no major content updates), though. Pulling the servers is just shitty for a year old game from a big publisher like Sony.

Pulling the servers is shitty if there are a ton of people playing the game and spending money on in-game purchases. If the game is profitable, obviously the servers wouldn't get shut down. That's very common for F2P games. For every successful online F2P game there are a bunch that fails horribly within weeks/months of release and are shut down accordingly.
 
I spent about 100 buck in this game. Loved all my 500 hours in it. Got 100% of the trophies. Was finally able to let it go a while before Destiny came out on PS4. It really sucks that the game is beeing taken offline. I love the art in it and the mindless battles.

Wish they would somehow allow us to check our collections even with the servers offline tho.

Anyway, I shall take screenshots of everything! I still wanna tatoo one of the spirits one day. Maybe Shoryu or Konohanasakuya-hime.
 

BibiMaghoo

Member
There's no way you can make this a legal thing. Any online game will only last as long as the online community can support it. In the same way that a website who charges for its services can die at any moment because it's not making enough money to sustain the costs. That's the nature of free market capitalism. The government can't mandate a minimum timeframe of active service unless it's willing to subsidize the cost themselves to keep the product alive.

I think they can, and that they should. In other industries consumers are protected by a minimum use of a purchased item in the form of warranties and guarantees. That being that an item purchased will be fit for purpose for no less than a given time. In the EU for example, this is two years.

A product existing for a minimum time should be shouldered by the company that produces it. If they cannot achieve this, then they should not put it out. Obviously it's unreasonable to expect something losing money to exist forever, but there absolutely should be a minimum term, and the industry and customers would be better off for it.
 

cakefoo

Member
I don't get why people are so obsessed with keeping what they pay for when they buy items in online games. You're not buying the item; the item doesn't exist. You're buying the use of the item in the game. If you really want to "keep" your item, take a screenshot of it. It's like complaining that you don't get to keep a plane ticket after you've used it, all you get is a lousy trip. You're paying for consumption.
Buying a plane ticket is like buying a $40 MMO. Paying for a hotel is like buying a monthly subscription.

Buying items in a F2P game that shuts down after a year is like buying a day pass to DisneyLand, but 3 hours in, the park shuts down.
 

Rezae

Member
Wow. I actually really liked this game and put in a lot of hours when it first came out. Got back onto it a few months ago after re-buying a replacement Vita and saw the cool Killzone based summons they had added in. Also have Kat from Gravy Rush. They had some great cross-promotion with other titles in this. Yeah the game was relatively shallow if you really want to dig deep, but it was still fun. I can't imagine the cost to keep this up could be that much. It's active player base must be pretty low currently.

Sony is really turning into an online villain lately. I get the business side, but this just seems like a crap thing to do that can hurt your rep more than the $ you save. And the whole MLB thing seems super shady with the new title out.
 

Brazil

Living in the shadow of Amaz
I'm still very mad at this. I was slowly but surely progressing in the game, and now I lost all will to continue doing so.
 

AmuroChan

Member
I think they can, and that they should. In other industries consumers are protected by a minimum use of a purchased item in the form of warranties and guarantees. That being that an item purchased will be fit for purpose for no less than a given time. In the EU for example, this is two years.

A product existing for a minimum time should be shouldered by the company that produces it. If they cannot achieve this, then they should not put it out. Obviously it's unreasonable to expect something losing money to exist forever, but there absolutely should be a minimum term, and the industry and customers would be better off for it.

Ok, so go and talk to your nearest state representatives. I don't think this has any chance of happening, especially for a free to play product, but hey, I'd love to be proven wrong. I play this game every day. So I certainly wouldn't mind for it to stay alive.


Buying items in a F2P game that shuts down after a year is like buying a day pass to DisneyLand, but 3 hours in, the park shuts down.

What if it's a year and 3 months? or 2 years? or 5 years? What would be equivalent to a full day at DisneyLand?
 

BibiMaghoo

Member
Ok, so go and talk to your nearest state representatives. I don't think this has any chance of happening, especially for a free to play product, but hey, I'd love to be proven wrong. I play this game every day. So I certainly wouldn't mind for it to stay alive.

It's just how I feel about it, I'm not saying you are wrong, the likelyhood of it happening is beyond slim, I just feel it should be that way is all. That customers should be protected in this way for a certain amount of time. That would be better for everyone I think.
 
What's the point of paying for Plus when Sony shuts servers for this and MLB 14: The Show after little more than a year of being on the market?
 
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