EA shutting down BF1942, BF:V, BF2, BF2:MC and BF2142 +more

[cancel_man]

EA Service Update: http://www.ea.com/1/service-updates

This is linked to the GameSpy shutdown. Rather than porting their games to a new server infrastructure, they're going to end-of-life them.

[matsif]

they aren't even making an effort. sad to see great things on that list die. it's not even just the BF series, you got command and conquer generals, first 2 crysis games, medal of honor allied assault, neverwinter nights 1 and 2, star wars battlefront 1 and 2...

tis sad.

[FisherMan9999]

F*CK YOU EA,F*CK YOU F*CK YOU F*CK YOU I HOPE YOU ALL DIE SOON!

[Marseee]

Explains why they recently sold BF2 on Origin for £1

[Necromancer]

C&C Generals too? Shame, i didn't see another game similar to it.

[.Sup]

I (re-purchased) some BF series games recently so I wouldn't need phisycal disks. They are literally flinging poo in my face.

[elchino7]

Official and unofficial ?

[KoffeinFlummi]

This isn't EA's fault... GameSpy is shutting down. Why would they spend dozens of man hours setting up new infrastructures for games that have long been abandoned by their developers and are (for the most part) played by maybe 10 people at any given time (exaggerating of course)?

Sure it's sad. I actually went back once in awhile to play some Battlefront II, but hey, there's not really much you can do.

[Hitman47]

it's EA's fault because EA as a publisher stopped paying Gamespy for their services. Gamespy isn't a charity and EA is the one that made the big bucks on those games that they now abandon.

[.Sup]

This isn't EA's fault... GameSpy is shutting down. Why would they spend dozens of man hours setting up new infrastructures for games that have long been abandoned by their developers and are (for the most part) played by maybe 10 people at any given time (exaggerating of course)?

Sure it's sad. I actually went back once in awhile to play some Battlefront II, but hey, there's not really much you can do.

You'd be surprised how many people play BF2 for example. And every time I go back to 42 there are at least 2 or 3 GOOD fully populated servers. You only need one, they all rotate maps. Try different patches, I use two for 42 and I don't really care about other BF games but if 42 disappears from online gaming I would literally shed tears.

[cancel_man]

it's EA's fault because EA as a publisher stopped paying Gamespy for their services. Gamespy isn't a charity and EA is the one that made the big bucks on those games that they now abandon.

EA never stopped paying GameSpy. GameSpy was bought and sold several times in the past decade and the current owner (Glu) decided to shut it down. In fact, they've already shutdown services for games/publishers who were still actively paying for their hosting (article).

Now you can blame EA for not porting their games to a new hosting infrastructure (as other publishers have). Or open-sourcing them to let the community do it. If you're going to hate on EA, just make sure you do it for the right reasons.

[Hitman47]

article: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012- ... ts-service

which says publishers stopped paying.

[.Sup]

It doesn't really matter who's fault it is but the question (provided the cancellation of older BF series games is official) why there is lack of will to continue sustaining games online.

Thousands of gamers, of those many who have been playing the same game for more than a decade, will simply be left out to dry.

[cancel_man]

which says publishers stopped paying.

Your article is from December 2012 and discusses specific games which were being discontinued due to lapse. In April 2014 (last month) Glu announced they'd be shutting down all GameSpy services for all games/publishers even if they are in good standing. The fact that EA's games will still be functioning until June 30th (a month after GameSpy shuts down) tells me they're probably in good standing and GameSpy has to honor their contract.

I'm pretty sure the big publishers like EA, 2k, Nintendo, etc. who used the service were still paying their dues but they had also stopped investing in GameSpy years ago because they'd developed their own infrastructure (in EA's case) or moved to another (like Steamworks). So you're right in that EA wasn't doing anything to support or maintain GameSpy, but they continued to pay their dues to keep their game network alive until GameSpy decided to kill it.

It does kind of matter who's at fault because it makes you consider what games/publishers you want to follow. Steam, 2k, Ubisoft, etc. are making plans to port most if not all their games to new platforms and continue supporting them. EA is among those who have chosen to end-of-life many of their titles. This isn't the first time a major gaming platform has been discontinued and it wont be the last. If continued support of older titles is important to you, stick with publishers with a proven track record.

As for the thousands of gamers left out to dry- again, not a new thing. Some communities take it upon themselves to find a new way (GameRanger is a great resource), some go away.

[Digz]

flumi plz...go play some of those games and see that there is plenty activity. some bigger than bf4