If our gaming future is to exist largely online, then I’m becoming increasingly sceptical of whether Sony deserves my money. The company has built the PlayStation Store into an unparalleled empire, but it’s about to gut popular racing game DriveClub and wipe it from its servers. If you already happen to own the Evolution Studios developed racer then you’ll still be able to access it, but all of its flagship features will be absent – and certain pieces of content will be cut, too.
Look, I understand that the Japanese giant is a business and it has to make cost cutting measures at times. I imagine that a game like DriveClub, with its underlying emphasis on leaderboards and social connectivity, likely eats into the company’s precious coffers. And yes, when there’s presumably a small community of people playing, it probably sees that as an unnecessary expenditure. But if that’s the case: what the heck are we paying for PlayStation Plus for?
The manufacturer may argue that your annual subscription fee is invested back into the PlayStation Network’s overall infrastructure: voice chat, cloud saves, parties, et al. But the price has been going up while the value has been going down, so how can it justify gutting popular first-party games when we’re paying for the privilege to be able to play them online? LittleBigPlanet may still be running, but why would you ever want to invest time and effort into the upcoming Dreams when the company is acting this way?
The thing is, this isn’t an isolated incident: Gravity Rush 2 recently had its online component removed, after fans campaigned to keep it alive for a few months longer. In the case of Kat’s sophomore outing, it doesn’t actually detract from the game, but it’s a bad look all the same – the sequel was barely a year old before it wanted to pull the plug. Kill Strain, meanwhile, didn’t even get to a year – it was shut down and erased from history like it didn’t even exist in the first place. Drawn to Death is next in line.
I know that there’ll be critics of this article pointing out just how unpopular all of the abovementioned games were likely to be – but that doesn’t make it acceptable in the slightest. There’s no guarantee that a title’s servers will stay online forever, but I can still play Gears of War on the Xbox 360 if I want to – it’s almost 15 years old. Sony’s respect for its back catalogue stinks, and as we move into an era of digital software and forward compatibility, I think it needs to take a long hard look at itself.
Y’know, I defended the platform holder with the whole Gravity Rush 2 fiasco – I felt it was an inconsequential part of the game. But I’ve had to reconsider my stance with this DriveClub debacle – I mean, is Gran Turismo Sport next? The game’s supremely popular and growing every month at the moment, but how long before it’s considered a sunk cost? How long before it’s time to turn the servers off and effectively kill the game?
The most amusing thing is that Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida recently said that the publisher wants to develop more online multiplayer titles. At this rate, give us all a break and don’t even bother.
Do you care that Sony's turning off the servers for its online games so quickly? Have you been affected by one of its closures? Has its strategy caused you to reconsider whether to buy any of its multiplayer games? Flip the switch in the comments section below.
Please note that some external links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.
Comments (141)
Everybody's Golf will be next.
Getting real tired of Sony's crap lately.
Interesting.
It IS worrisome in this perspective.
I’ve seen this happen already in different form but same substance on the App Store.
Although it could be argued that there you don’t pay for a “Plus” service.
Yet.
I don't think the servers should be switched off for any game until at the very least well into the next generation.
I made a comment in a previous article about the same possibly happening with GT sport.
I've never like the fact that what was originally released was effectively an un finished mess.
If I get the urge the fire up the original Ps1 gran turismo I can be safe in the knowledge it will play exactly as intended. In 20 years if I want to play GT sport (unless I still have the same Ps4) I'll just be playing a broken mess with all its best features missing
Spot on article. As isolated incidents I don't care much about these servers shutting down, but in the context of the PlayStation Plus service it's a real bad look.
I was about to renew my annual Plus membership, but Sony shutting their servers down and decreasing the Plus value makes me wonder where the heck I'm actually paying for.
That being said, removing the online components from Gravity Rush 2 actually made it a better game in my opinion.
This isn't just a sony issue. But this is the future of gaming, well actually the present. But as long as the game can still be played offline, I can handle the disappointment. But for those always online, server connected games, this is way worse for.
@Marios-love-child Well when they turn off GT Sport's servers there'll basically be no game left. It's been built entirely around online, which I'm personally fine with — BUT they can't then go turning it all off after a few years.
I could understand there decision if we’d moved onto next gen already, but to do it to game of this gen is crazy.
@Hego Sometimes they do it within a matter of months! It's embarrassing!
Interesting times we are living in - wouldn't say I'm worried (yet), but Sony have definitely been making some weird/stupid decisions lately & would be bad if they slowly let all the goodwill they built up earlier this gen slowly erode away just as the next gen is on the horizon.
Love this article thanks @get2sammyb.
Genuinely annoyed at DriveClub getting cut off. Such an awesome game, may not have sold as well as GT Sport but I'm pretty sure it still sold a few million or so.
The thing is, it has longer lasting effects on people's trust in Sony. In the same way how people (myself included) were worried about if Sony would support VR after the way they treated the Vita.
I will not buy a game that has online Content alone, And this is the reason why. They shut it down and you’re stuck with nothing.
Your starting to sound like some of the moaners that have infested these comments of late and they hardly need encouraging. As I said in the previous article if enough people were actually playing these games then they wouldn't need to shut them down. Let's not forget that Microsoft delist their Forza games from a few years ago as well so it's hardly just a Sony thing. And finally if your outraged by this but you haven't played either Gravity Rush or Driveclub then sorry but your part of the problem. Companies need people playing their games as soon as possible and if their online required then that's the risk you take, end off. This bloody week we've you lot honest.
Here here Sammy!!! Well said!!
Is the thing legal? Is there any note on the games boxes saying that a part of the game you are spending money for will be unavailable?
EDIT: Yep, it's clearly written on the back of the box.
This is the best article that I've ever seen Sammy write. RESPECT.
I don't care about driveclub but gravity rush 2 did nothing wrong
Yup, I agree with this article, sony shouldn't make a big portion of their games online if they want to cut it as fast as possible when the games isn't successful.
Yet another entry in the ever-growing list of reasons for me to bow out of keeping "up-to-date" with this hobby.
@andreoni79 Yeah, they make clear that they reserve the right to turn the servers off at any time. Which is fine... I just don't think people expect games like DriveClub to be going offline any time soon.
Insert baby crying gif.
Good point, well made. If the servers were completely dead 24/7 then perhaps I would be sympathetic to them closing them so early. But I very much doubt that's the case here. And as you suggest, it does set a worrying precedent.
Id say GT sport will only happen once a new one comes along. As the current success of the e-sport side of things is that it was ultimately intended for that purpose...
Im not a fan of how this has headed, this is a symptom of the online connectivity nowadays, with games as service and MT's slowly dominating...
Some games work it well to a degree... Others not so.. Im currently enjoying Division 2 , a game really built for multiplayer and so when it eventually dies i wont miss it in later life, not as much as say a Driveclub, whose single player content was eventually strong and will be hamstrung by the lack of connectivity which was baked into the single player modes.
I feel sorry for younger potential retro gamers of the future. im fortunate enough to have grown with the Master System n Megadrive and most of my classics are around and unaffected, but for the later generations who will look to do as i do and play their retro titles when older, its going to be disappointing for many, thanks to they way games are made now...
As much as i get that numbers of player dwindle over time, is it really a massive issue enough for Sony to kill them off in this way... I dont believe so...
It's tricky because do you wait and see if a game really takes off before handing over your money? Then you're simply contributing to the game's demise.
Good article though. Next time someone accuses you of being an unquestioning Sony fanboy, just copy/paste a link to this
@AdamNovice Whoah whoah whoah, this website is only for fake outrage now, add in some "arrogance" comments about sony with a fake crossplay outrage on top.
This is but one of the reasons most of my gaming is still based around single player content, and why I have a preference of buying physical copies of games.
I love online features in games, years ago I played the crap out of the first 4 Halo games (1-3 and Reach) and a lot of COD all back when I was in High school and my first year or so of college. Loved it! But when it comes down to it, I cannot revisit that. But single player games, like Xenoblade, Final Fantasy, Mario, Pokemon, Kingdom Hearts, I can revisit that time after time into the future. Those games do not rely on online functionality to get the full enjoyment.
@WebHead run along with your fake outrage LMFAO,!!!
You should tweet this article to Shuhei Yoshida so he sees it.
It's my opinion that if you want an online-only or mostly online game as a publisher, it's your duty to keep it open for at least five years or well into next gen. Heck, have a couple of servers running it, even if only a handful of people are playing at a time. It's the reason why I actively try to avoid online games; they become pretty much unplayable after a while, and it's truly a shame when that happens after only a year or two.
@AdamNovice I was playing Gravity Rush 2 when they announced the server shutdown; which was pretty stupid because there was a bunch of content locked behind the online mode. It's still stupid. I don't even know why they decided to implement an online mode in the first place, but it is what it is. However I do think they should've supported it for longer than they did. No, it wasn't a system seller, but they knew that beforehand, so there was no reason to expect a ton of people occupying the servers.
And whilst I don't own Driveclub (yet), I've recently bought a PSVR headset and I'm looking for a racing game that support VR. But if they're going to shut down everything soon, I don't think I'd want to invest in a game like that. Will the same thing happen to GT Sport? Who knows? But it doesn't instill any confidence imo.
I agree. Of course they're not going to make their servers available forever, but they should be kept up for at least a few years after the game is released.
That incident with Gravity Rush 2 made me very reluctant to buy it. It'll need to be heavily discounted before I'll consider getting it now.
@get2sammyb to be honest it is putting me off them a little, surely plenty of people still play Driveclub and couldn't they have put the full version on PS plus? Over on Xbox they are actively resurrecting old 360 games with their online components intact and even improved yet SONY are shutting down current gen games. It's crazy, especially at a time when people will be considering next gen consoles and backwards compatibility will likely be a selling point
@Medic_alert This should also be the case with games that have expiring licences which will be delisted from psn (i expect licences are the reason for driveclub going offline too tbh). Often the first you hear of it is when the game is no longer available, such as lumines electric symphony, digimon cyber sleuth etc.
There are many titles i would have bought with some warning
@crimsontadpoles Drive club released in 2014, when the servers shutdown it will be 6 years in 2020, they have given people a years notice in advance when they shut down.
@Medic_alert You mean like they already have? 6 years it will have been online when it shuts down and years notice in advance..................
Meanwhile, 2015's Splatoon, stuck on a dead system that almost nobody owns, still fully supports its multiplayer component (aside from splatfests and special events, obviously).
Anyway, this sort of thing is a big reason while I'll never fully embrace online-heavy games. I'd like for the games I buy to not be expensive frisbees in under a decade.
@crimsontadpoles Gravity Rush 2 is still a full single-player experience. Also, it has been on sale for less than $10, so I doubt the price will be an issue.
Here is the thing. It doesnt make them a laughing stock. It makes them realists. If Sony told you the daily concurrent average and peak player counts for all the exampled used you probably wouldnt be nearly as surprised/upset. I looove Gravity Rush but the aesthetic and genre make it niche, Drawn to Death was an utter dissapointment and just a bad game, Killing Floor was late to the party and didnt crush it on PC either. Drive Club is unique in that it's a 1st party title (well defunct but whatever). But being a 6 year old console (when servers shut off) and a launch window title with GT Sport being constantly updated with free stuff and QoL patches this all makes perfecr sense to me. If 5 years isnt long enough til fill your online racing itch i think thats on the consumer.
@Ralizah The real question is, how many people still play Splatoon on wiiU compared to Gravity Rush 2 on ps4?
I don't really feel strongly about this if I'm honest. It's an unfortunate reality of modern gaming. Twenty years ago it wouldn't matter if Sony stopped printing copies of Vib Ribbon - once you've bought it you can play it long after they've stopped producing it because it wasn't selling.
Here, with our increasing reliance on online gaming and connectivity, there are going to be casualties. Sony doesn't have an endless supply of money, and if DriveClub isn't proving popular or making money, then it's entirely predictable they'd shut down the servers and allocate those funds to something that will hopefully be more popular.
It's sad for the people who play DriveClub but Sony is a business, and if something ain't popular enough then frankly they'd be mad to keep paying to keep it alive.
@Medic_alert What? You moaned about a notice period of 6 months, I told you they are giving you 12 months.........
@AdamNovice Well said, but the number of comments perfectly explains why the article was written in the first place. Internet rage = clicks.
@Cpt_Price ahahahahhaha
Honest to god this website has been going down hill for a while now.
@get2sammyb Atleast you can play the game offline and even play with friends locally.
Still, I 100% agree with your opinion. What annoys me is that even incredibly old Xbox 360 online games are still up and running.
And this is why I don't buy online only games, the old Sony arrogance of old seems to be rearing it's ugly head again and that's good for no-one
This is exactly why I'm incredibly skeptical of Sony's desire to create more multiplayer first-party games. Their track record recently has been quite bad, and it's clearly not their strength. We have enough live service/multiplayer games on the market. Sony should focus on what they're good at: story-driven single-player games.
@Cpt_Price some of their 1st party have expanded to 2 teams as well. And they did open a new one to take over uncharted out in Cali. I think they are good. You have to remember that Sony far and away had already invested in more and better studios. MS still doesnt have as many 1st party studios as Sony even after their recent acquisitions
Why don't they just make them part of the ps+ game collection permanently?
@get2sammyb
I hope not with VR mode on the way it will make the game sell again and bring the game back alive.
It seems like games come out at full price £50+ and a year or 2 year then it's not on online and you can't get trophy 100% because of the online trophy's.
I have quite a few games that are 80% trophy complete because the other 20% are all online mode and the servers are offline.
If they are going to do this they should remove online trophy's.
Apart from the games that are 100% online only games like destiny and the division for example.
@AdamNovice
You have a few good points and I really dislike the outrage culture nowadays. However Pushsquare also have some good points and it's a fair discussion.
Just an idea, why can't they put Drive Club permanently in the ps+ offering (of course as an addition)? That would keep the server going for sure.
You would be amazed at the amount of PS3 closures versus the Xbox 360 closures.
To be fair, they'll surely only kill GT Sports servers after a new game in the series has been released. But the whole situation is a mess anyways. It's weird that even Nintendo keep their serves alive for longer.
@Gamer4Lyfe oh stfu I'll post my opinion where I want. Seriously its disappointing how defensive this community has gotten. How dare I voice my frustrations with sony?
Good points Sammy. I was thinking of buying Gravity Rush 2 as I enjoyed the demo but the online component getting shut down was enough to turn me off buying the game. Seemed an odd decision by Sony at the time.
@Cpt_Price agreed. Consistently for 4 gens they have delivered a solid experience- if not the best. I dont think the hubris is back from ps2 to ps3 days.
@zeppray yes, like a disc paperweight. and yes sony shouldn't bother but there is nothing we can do with the progress moving fast towards online only and cloud gaming, i've been saying this for a while now.
@get2sammyb the Vita version got the bullet a long while ago already, I didn't even notice it until I decided to grab it on sale. While very playable and fun as it is, I estimate the game was the last nail in the coffin of my brief affair with PSN trophies. 😏
Still, again, it IS playable and fun - and purchasable to this day. Today's news is a different beast, and one I can't help getting tired of even while acknowledging that publishers remain in their right to unleash it if they so wish. Multiple games get pulled because of a limited brand (or even music) license, other games get pulled due to criminal buzz around voice actors, and now we have a game pulled off... together with its online component? Like I said earlier, we aren't even talking an incurably server-crutched freemium here. I agree, this part does make you wonder how our current PS+ money is enough to host 100 Gb of reserved cloud storage per subscriber yet not enough to host 15 Gb of an imminently offline game on the store itself. 🙄
To be honest, I am stunned by the news of Driveclub being switched off. In a week that Xbox announce the OG Xbox version of Battlefront 2 (the best Battlefront) as a Games with Gold for April, a game that can be played ONLINE with other Gamers on XB360/XB1, this news about Driveclub sounds like an April 1st bad joke.
Its not a game I own myself and not the type of game I play online either but this is ridiculous. I could play old Forza games online if I want to and games much older too.
What does it say for any potential Backwards Compatibility on PS5? Obviously not every game with the 'full' game experience will be on PS5, not if you include the online functionality and any trophies associated with the online features. The games and the full experience aren't safe - even if you own a PS4...
@get2sammyb As I understand Gravity Rush has things you need online to unlock and Sony didn’t update the title first to allow to be easily u locked without online. Rediculous and leaderboards are so easy to keep up relativity speaking I’d imagine.
I’m losing faith in Sony’s online games because if everyone else doesn’t but it’s gonna be bad for me. He games online gets shut down years before it has any business doing so. I agree with articles so much. I said Sony was putting a bad precedent with GR2, and look what happened.
This should stop right away. I hope Sony gets a backlash and decide not to shutdown DriveClub servers. Its still my favourite racing game on PS4.
Was just about to pick up the recently released PS4 Hits version. Glad I didn’t.
@Jaz007 You're correct about Gravity Rush 2.
It’d just be better if Sony’s disclaimer would be more clear up front when purchasing the games, like, “Sony is committed to keeping the online servers functional and in operating order for a period of at least __ years from (game title’s) release date of _____, and the announcement of the online server’s decommission date will be publicly posted (URL here) and in scrolling text upon the game’s start screen at a bare minimum of ______ days prior to the event.”
The user may not like it, but at least the expectations would be made really clear up front, and the user would know what he’s working with.
@Shepherd_Tallon i agree that some odd decisions have been made. The censorship issues come to mind. I dont know any company that would say the reason is due to lack of player engagement. Same reason they didn't come out and say Vita and PS3 were ditched with plus because very limited users were using the features. At the end of the day i think GT Sport servers are waaay busier and Sony didnt want to keep feeding an already expensive dead horse. I want transparancy as much as the person but i doubt it would be to that degree
Well, @get2sammyb, no disrespect intended but maybe if the same energy had been shown for the bs that happened with Gravity Rush 2, this situation wouldn't exist. This is why I hate the lazy 'well I don't care about it so it doesn't matter' attitude in regards to certain things. You don't care about GR 2 or the fans, that's cool, but instead of siding with the giant corporation (something people do far too often these days) maybe if you had said 'this is bs' the game you do care about wouldn't have suffered the same fate. Too late to start caring now. Like was said about GR 2, 'Sony is a business, it has to watch its bottomline.' Sucks but it is what it is. Not like Sony is the only company in the industry who acts this either. I hate that all of them do it but as consumers we've allowed publishers and devs to get away with some real garbage tactics.
I couldn't care less for the multiplayer part of the game, but to delist it from the Store completely... man, that's a bad move. Sony, with such questionable decisions you're encouraging people to switch to the competing platform.
@WebHead
Yup. This isn't a Sony problem alone though. EA takes heat for every decision it makes but unfortunately, and I'm as guilty as anybody, we sometimes tend to let companies we really like get away free of criticism. If the future of gaming is going to be digital-only, with a heavy focus on online aspects, we have to start calling everybody out for practices like this. Or, just deal with the consequences, even if that means losing a game, forever, that you've put hundreds of dollars into. It can longer be pick and choose based on situation. Publishers and devs seem to believe things can only be viewed in black and white with no gray area, gamers have to start thinking the same way. You either side with the corporation or the consumer. I know where I'll stand and it's not with the a-holes in suits sitting in ivory towers.
@Gamer83 It was harder to care about Gravity Rush 2 because it's primarily a single player experience. DriveClub obviously isn't.
Games should be supported as long as the console gen is supported.
@Gamer83 I'm just sick of these doofuses trying to tell me where I can and can't voice my opinion.
@Belazur Thanks for reading.
@get2sammyb
But there were still people who enjoyed those features and some content was tied to it. For you it wasn't a big part of the game and the loss didn't bother you that's cool, but it was still a garbage move that effected others, people did speak out and they were told to shut up. Now all the sudden we should care? Same energy...
@get2sammyb great write up, Sammy. Fingers crossed this doesn’t continue, but it doesn’t look good.
@Belazur You didn't read it!? How do you know it's an "embarrassing hot-take" then?
@Gamer4Lyfe Well since you don't like this site, we will see you around.
A lot of people want everything to be online lately but a lot of them dont realize the downside such as closing servers, removing games from being downloaded etc etc
“I understand that the Japanese giant is a business and it has to make cost cutting measures at times. I imagine that a game like DriveClub, with its underlying emphasis on leaderboards and social connectivity, likely eats into the company’s precious coffers.”
While I agree, with PSN making such insane profits there really is no excuse...
I was actually considering picking GT Sport up soon but I think I might reconsider...
Like others that have commented have already said, developments like this are one of the primary reasons I’ve mostly stuck with single player gaming over the last several years. If you invest in something that multiplayer centric and the support is suddenly pulled, you’re left with nothing. Personally, I think it’s a poor move by Sony. I don’t think most mutliplayer titles should lose server support until the next generation’s console comes into play.
@get2sammyb Sammy I think you need to do a reader poll on this one...!
Would be interesting to see the general consensus of opinion.
I agree. Plus, the less people that are playing a game, the cheaper it must be to keep the online bit running. Lack of popularity is no excuse.
@Dodoo Yeah good idea!
Excellent article, Sammy,
I agree 100%.
Well I was saying this throughout the week that it was pretty bizarre Sekiro wasn't really being advertised on the The Store, not that I even have the game but I just wanted to point out that, Sony is displaying a little bit of dictatorship with this whole digital sales is picking up, online is the future, so we have all the power to do whatever.
I mean look how they've stopped selling game download codes to retail outlets. Overpriced 60 pound new games on the Store. Shutting down servers, God of War and other exclusives not being available for pre-order on Amazon. I think our dear old Sony is becoming something that isn't like them. But at least I like the Sales though, I'll give them that but they better check the path they're straying these days.
You never had this problem with the Megadrive.
@Flopsy Jesus get ahold of yourself😂😂. It's not that deep for you to type up that convoulated expostion...
Kodera is a legendary undercover Microsoft agent. Ripping up the company, ethos and brand one step at a time.
Bring back the old guard this is getting embarrassing.
Dang daugh! Sony is on a roll!
@Flopsy
"hubris"...
Gotta love internet overreactions.
When gamers cheer on online only services and and buy into the disaster that is known as service based games then this is what you get, server shutdowns soon after games release.
Everyone was warned about this happening and yet people still went along with it. Enjoy your service based games that will have half of its features taken away a year after release thanks to servers being shut down, you all wanted and asked for this by supporting this behavior.
@malbhet Maybe some people are ok with this?
Most online games are enjoyed when they come out anyway, not 5 years later when hardly anyone is playing them. Why constantly think about the future and not enjoy the present? I'm sure gamers who are currently playing APEX are enjoying it even if it won't exist in 3 years.
DC is all but dead online these days (I occasionally fire it up and it's easy to see that). Sony have all the data they need to see that it's no longer effective to pay for its upkeep so they're canning it. The game tracks a ridiculous amount of stats, clubs etc and all that data is mostly dead weight now. Why pay for it when that money can be saved and perhaps invested elsewhere? It makes sense. No drama needed. It certainly doesn't make them a laughing stock, it makes them smart.
The hell is Sony doing? Is this some sort of tide recession before a huge tsunami? I hope so because budget 2018 e3 appearance, no e3 in 2019, badly received state of play, server shut downs, censorship, lack of news on updates like ID change, cutting back and giving out poor quality games for PS Plus etc does not cast a positive light on them at all. They will seriously need to come out swinging with PS5 announncement.
I am pleased. Makes decision-making on what to spend time/money a lot easier - buy games you know you can play when you want, with no worries. Since it goes hand in hand with PS+, I don't have that either.
It's why I won't be renewing my subscription to plus because next month's games look like crap, Conan Exiles is currently in sale at £17 anyway and it's only a year old I think. The Surge I've never heard of the way plus is going right now it's starting to go down hill like the PS3s did when PS4 was about to launch
We got great games for free for PS3 like Warhammer 40k Space Marine, Deux Ex HR then a few months later nothing but crap, exactly like the way PS4 free stuff is coming. 6 years isn't long for a game to have it's servers cut off I don't care what people say why not offer it to plus for next month instead of Conan. It might have sparked some players
Coudn't they just just drastically lessen the amount of servers, but still let the online features stay? I mean if the player count is smaller, the servers just should be proportionally reduced. Also why is it so rare for steam games to have servers shut down, when their online is free??
@naruball I recently played Resi 5 online on the PS3 with a friend. I think there’s good reason to wonder about this.
Thank you!
I really appreciate this article @get2sammyb.
This is just ridiculous on Sony's part, and Driveclub, having a significant amount of content be online, is a sure sign of some terrible policy to come.
Seriously! What the bloody hell are we paying for Plus for? They need to opt for some Amazon servers or something... Anything!
Why should the entire player base pay for 6 people who want to play some old decrepit online game - Popular games stay online, dead games die - ¯(ツ)/¯
I really enjoyed Driveclub and have all the DLC but am a busy busy Dad and though I haven't played DC for a year or so I'm by no means finished. I'm currently playing Rdr2 and it'll take me 3-4 months to finish as did Horizon before it.
That's over 7 months for me to finish 2 games, I don't want Sony turning off stuff I fully intended to enjoy at some stage in the future.
@naruball There are plenty of older games being played to this day, hell Nintendo and Sega are literally re releasing classic consoles to make money off of their old games. Everything you just said is idiotic.
@Nakatomi_Uk The was a PlayStation plus edition in June 2015 It had less tracks and cars but was otherwise the same as the version they sold. That’s the version I have and don’t play anymore.
This is why I never buy always-online games. They eventually will die, and I do not want to buy a video game which has an expiration date not imposed by me.
I made my mistake with D&D Online - never again.
I love DC. I’d be bothered, but I haven’t played it for 3 years. Happy to see it go now frankly. Next!
@Medic_alert I totally agree on that point. I still think they should release a patch for Gravity Rush 2 which never should have a online unlock feature.
the tone of article comes across as somebody throwing the toys out the pram, to be honest. by the time they close DriveClub, it'll be out six years. i've no idea what technology runs DriveClub, but if its servers are something like Windows 2008 or 2012, the licensing costs for extended support can be a colossal amount of money. it's usually cheaper to be on the latest version of anything, and if the active playerbase is small, the investment/effort to upgrade the servers might not be worth it.
you can still play uncharted 2 multiplayer on PS3 for example (if you can find an active game that is), but it uses P2P. naughty dog have said they chose to use that model because it means not needing to keep expensive servers online when the playerbase becomes very small. so the longetivity is increased. but then everyone complains when games use P2P so....
Surely it's already been said...
We don't own any of the games we buy. We're buying licenses to play said games.
Physical copies too. Read the small print.
To be fair no one would keep a restaurant open just for 5 returning customers, from what I’ve seen only a handful of people play the games.
The Tomorrow Children... It lasted, what, a year and a half? And we're not talking about a game that has lost some of its functionality here -it's GONE. It was an acquired taste, to be sure, but not to have even the option of checking it out anymore is a great shame. Many, many people miss that game a lot as an art piece, myself included.
@Shepherd_Tallon This is a trend though. A dangerous one. People said we overreacted when GR2 lost its online parts. Now this happened. What’s next?
@naruball because games always used to be available indefinitely.
While we are moving forward with the times, we are actually moving backwards in these regards. Now you can’t play games indefinitely, they have limited life. You’re a consumer. This is not pro-consumer. It might not bother you in the slightest, but you’re still losing something you used to have for no extra benefit.
Also we are heading to give Sony all the power. They will monopolise their games and in doing so give them all power to do what they want. Market forces that exist now and drive prices will not occur... (unless Sony decide to drop prices themselves, but what will be their motivation for that if they 100% control their market?)
I actually am a Driveclub player, even if I also own GT Sport (and Forza 7 for the record). Still, Driveclub remain an excellent arcade racer. It really evolved into something really special (bikes ! VR ! What ?!) and it is still visually astonishing.
I'm becoming really, really tired of this attitude from a brand that I truly love. Zero communication in months (I know they're working on PS5 but come on, no reason to remain THAT silent), and a succession of decisions that I cannot agree with.
Of I recall, for me, it all started with Gravity Rush 2. I own the game SINCE DAY ONE, but like many others games, it's in my backlog, waiting for me to find the time to give it a go. And Sony decided to cut come content (yes, content : it seems that the online fonctionality gave access to costumes. And now ?)
The only thing that makes me stay with Sony, honestly, is my PSVR.
I hope they won't stop supporting it soon.
lol gran turismo sport is not going anywhere... it is too successful to be axed. it is part of the reason as to why driveclub is being removed. everyone is playing gt sport now. until the next gt game releases, gt sport is safe.
DriveClub was the first game I purchased for my launch PS4. I didn't want a free limited version from PSplus. Took a year to get that copy of the game. Even with the many launch issues I still loved it.
@Shepherd_Tallon What game from a big publisher has had a server shutdown like GR2 or DriveClub this quickly? Most games stay online for ages. They stay online until the next gen has happened. Especially GR2, what game from a big publisher has had that happen?
@MinerWilly Agreed. I'm in the save situation. As a dad of two my free gameplay time is limited and i tend to stick to one game at a time. RDR2 took me a little over 3 months to finish. Amazing game. But it doesn't mean I'm done with DriveClub for example.
Gonna re-download and have a go this week actually. All this talk about DC has got me excited to play it again.
@Porco erm Gran Turismo 6 servers were shut 4 years and 4 months after launch. Thats even less than the DriveClub servers are getting so GT Sport isn't as safe as you suggest.
my point was, they won't turn off the server until AFTER the next gt game releases, which makes perfect sense.
It's bad, but Sony have been doing this a long time, look at their history on electronics, tons of products that failed commercially that they ditch as soon as they can and leave the people that supported them unsupported.
loads of companies turn off servers when games become unpopular/unsustainable, but because nobody plays them or cares it doesn't make big news. look at lawbreakers - that game didn't even survive a year. EA regularly turns off servers pretty quickly - though they do have a lot annualised stuff.
if the future is all digital, people had better get used to this, and not just server shutdowns. suppose you've subscribed to google stadia, and you're playing witcher 4 or some other really long rpg and with barely half the game finished, you're told you've got til the end of month to finish it because it'll be no longer available - it happens all the time with video on netflix and amazon prime. why would it be any different for games?. it definitely happened with onlive - ubisoft for example pulled some of their games from it, after they were initially available.
I've only bought DC recently, on SALE, from SONY, yes on the PSN store (with most of the dlc. There was no mention of any closure or anything when I bought the game. Now some of the features won't be available, which is actually quite frustrating. If I knew, I might have spent my money elsewhere, on a different driving game. We should partition to keep the servers on for a bit longer, 5 years just too short.
@malbhet
"everything you just said is idiotic"
The irony is strong with this one.
There you go. The only language internet tough guys like you understand.
@Folderoll Ah, yes. Unlike those other companies that support their failed product for years to come.
Makes sense.
@naruball
It does if you want people to be early adopters of any future product.
@Dodoo So would it be pro-consumer to make simple 3 hour long single player games with no patches, even if they have serious bugs only so that they can be enjoyed indefinitely?
We're comparing apples to oranges.
@Folderoll Ninty ditched Virtual Boy and WiiU and their successors were incredibly successful, even at launch. If you're going to make an argument, support it with some evidence instead of making general statements that have little to do with reality.
@get2sammyb Do you know how 'playable' Driveclub will be once the servers are shut down? I was thinking of picking it up before it's delisted but if I'm literally not going to be able to do anything other than stare at a menu or do the 'tutorial' then I won't bother. If I can basically do everything I could have one anyway, just not against other people online, then I'm fine with that as I don't play online anyway.
You can add Tony Hawks Pro Skater 5 to the list as well. I know, again, it got critically mauled but it's also the only skateboard game available this gen (I know, how is that even possible) so it's OK for a bt of stress free gaming. But they shut servers down on that and the whole game was based online, so Sony took that off the store as well. Another game lost in time.
As for Driveclub, that is a solidly excellent game, if not THE best racing game on the system so, unless it's a licensing issue, I'm amazed they are withdrawing it entirely from the store.
I know I'm a bit late to the party with this one but I just want to say how much I appreciate that, while a Sony-focused website, Push Square are always happy to call out Sony on anything it disagrees with. Good read and agree that Sony's recent moves have me worried. PS Plus is a premium-priced subscription and it doesn't feel like we're getting premium returns for that price.
Still pretty gutted about Gravity Rush 2, as I bought the game on sale and not long after, they nix the online functions before I even got a chance to try 'em.
Couldn't agree more, it's not a good look for Sony
@tomassi - there is a ton of stuff do offline - you can play all the tour mode events offline (and with the DLC) there is a lot of them. without online, you won't be able to play head-to-head, or online races, and all of the social 'club' features won't work, and the asynchronous challenges (like posting a best lap time, or best drift score) and its 'ghosting'. and obviously you won't be able to earn the platinum trophy.
i suppose an option they could have considered would be to patch it and remove the online components and make it into an offline campaign racer - there is more than enough races, tracks, cars to keep occupied for quite a while. but with evolution gone, there's probably no software support for it anymore.
project cars servers have been closed, and i think it came out after driveclub. though it has had a sequel.
It is like anything, I can't get annoyed for individual examples because I have not been affected and I see the business side of the equation but I do have an interest in game preservation.
I think an online title does need a mandatory period of support to protect consumers. If a company risks putting online into a game that should be factored into their business decisions. Drawn to Death bombed, sure, but that is a risk with any game.
Sony and other publishers WANT us to embrace an online future. They want always online, they want digitial stores, they want patches and evolving games. However, they have to prove the naysaysers wrong and this is the complete opposite.
https://n4g.com/news/2253319/former-driveclub-director-gives-clarification-regarding-delisting-situation
@leucocyte Well, I like to have a driving game on my system just for variety so as long as I can go on there, have a decent selection of tracks and still race against computer AI, then I'm more than happy to be honest. I don't game online so don't really care about that stuff, it's more the type of game where I fancy a half hour break from something else.
@naruball Says the moron who ignored the facts made in the exact same comment he's quoting yet ignored the very first part that debunked the BS argument he was trying to make in defense of service based games.
You truly lack common sense don't you lol:D
this site is turning into a whine fest guessing Drive Club has dried up the studio does was closed years ago that made it would love to no the number of players on it? guessing tiny.
I have not played it for ages might go get them online trophies why I can.
For me, Sony are becoming arrogant and remind me of 90's Sega in a way. I've lost all faith in Playstation and won't be buying anymore games for my Playstation, especially when I can play online for free on any game I choose on Steam (where possible).
Even my Wii U still has servers I can play on which I commend Nintendo and the third parties for despite the lack of sales.
This is exactly why I refuse to buy any single player game that requires a constant internet connection. I can still play my master system from over 3 years ago. Retro gaming is huge. Will we have such a thing as retro in the gaming world one day??
If I spend £50 plus on game for the single player, I’d like that purchase to not come with an life span that I don’t control and yes whilst Sony are taking the piss, lets not forget you can’t even play an Xbox One without accessing the Internet first. Feels kinda like I’m renting anything that requires a server with a lifespan.
It is just plain naive to think that every server for every game we play nowadays won't be shut down some day. Ever since gaming started steering towards online, this has bothered me to no end. Things are getting even worse with all the cloud streaming bullcrap of late. I can still play my copy of Megaman 2 and will always be able to until my NES explodes (and after that, I can pay someone to fix it), but will youngsters from today be able to say the same about their childhood favorites 50 years from now?
Disgusting - I mean they haven't even waited until the end of the PS4 life span. They have a cheek to have Drive Club reduced in the Spring Sale. If I am playing Drive Club off-line it better not sit with Network unavailable across the screen, I seem to remember this at launch when there were issues with the servers. I am not a fan of these on-line only games, if the publisher doesn't get the profit or fanbase they expected, they will shut down the servers screwing the people that did bother to buy it. Obviously they are massive costs involved to run and maintain server equipment but it just leaves a bitter taste in ones mouth!
The swamp is rotten to the core, so much they can't stretch to make DLC that can be used offline available for free!
Tap here to load 141 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...