Gaming Forums => General Gaming => Topic started by: pokepal148 on February 01, 2019, 12:50:18 AM
Title: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: pokepal148 on February 01, 2019, 12:50:18 AM
Not only did we mostly lose the Wii Shop Channel but we also lost online gameplay for Warhawk, Twisted Metal, PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale, and Sound Shapes thanks to Sony shutting down the servers.
I always wanted to play Warhawk but when I got a PS3 I was under the impression that the servers were already gone. I only found out they were still running when Sony announced they were shutting them down.
Title: Re: The video game server shutdown watch.
Post by: lolmonade on February 01, 2019, 09:03:47 AM
In a way, it's actually kind of amazing that Sony has kept PS3 servers online this long. You hear stories of the limitations older consoles have on the online services they want to offer due to how the legacy systems are tied to it. I suspect with February being the last month they offer games for the console on PS+ and the rumors churning about a possible PS5 announcement coming sooner than later, that we're not far from it.
And in a way, Nintendo going first has given implicit permission for Sony/Microsoft to follow suit on how they did it - cutting the cord and offering people no way to re-download their games.
Microsoft is the one currently poised to have the most user friendly approach to this given how they're handling backwards compatibility (and even reviving servers for some of the xbox 360 games). Interviews with Phil Spencer have shown they're likely to be the first of the big three to be all-in on game streaming, too, so they have an incentive to have that approach.
Title: Re: The video game server shutdown watch.
Post by: RABicle on February 17, 2019, 08:01:34 AM
This is good. When games become scarce they pass into legend. See also: PT.
Title: Re: The video game server shutdown watch.
Post by: Order.RSS on February 28, 2019, 02:59:09 PM
May 30th Bandai-Namco will shut down (https://www.siliconera.com/2019/02/28/the-nintendo-wii-us-lost-reavers-will-be-lost-forever-on-may-30-2019/) their free-to-play experiment Lost Reavers on Wii U. Microtransactions are possible until March 28th, after which you have 2 more months to enjoy whatever you purchased I guess.
Did anyone play this here ever? I might give it a go next month or in April before servers close down, maybe someone wants to join?
Title: Re: The video game server shutdown watch.
Post by: ThePerm on February 28, 2019, 11:37:40 PM
I played a little bit of lost reavers. As little as could be played.
Title: Re: The video game server shutdown watch.
Post by: ShyGuy on March 01, 2019, 10:29:14 PM
I thought Lost Reavers shut down years ago? It was a badly executed mediocre concept. 4 online players charge into a "dungeon" and shoot enemies for loot then fight their way out.
Title: Re: The video game server shutdown watch.
Post by: Mop it up on March 09, 2019, 01:29:12 PM
May 30th Bandai-Namco will shut down (https://www.siliconera.com/2019/02/28/the-nintendo-wii-us-lost-reavers-will-be-lost-forever-on-may-30-2019/) their free-to-play experiment Lost Reavers on Wii U. Microtransactions are possible until March 28th, after which you have 2 more months to enjoy whatever you purchased I guess.
Did anyone play this here ever? I might give it a go next month or in April before servers close down, maybe someone wants to join?
I downloaded this a long time ago but never actually tried it out. I'd be willing to give it a go with you sometime! I don't think you and I have played a game together, so that could be interesting.
Title: Re: The video game server shutdown watch.
Post by: Order.RSS on March 13, 2019, 02:40:37 PM
I downloaded this a long time ago but never actually tried it out. I'd be willing to give it a go with you sometime! I don't think you and I have played a game together, so that could be interesting.
Sure, sounds like a fun idea! I got to play it with Lemonade last weekend on their stream, and we had a surprisingly good time. Granted like 80% of the fun stems from hanging out with someone, as the game itself isn't mindblowing, but it's quite a bit better than I expected. I'll shoot you a message on Discord to see how/if our timezones overlap.
Title: Re: The video game server shutdown watch.
Post by: ShyGuy on March 13, 2019, 10:27:07 PM
Facebook is down, and I can't play Farmville!
Title: Re: The video game server shutdown watch.
Post by: Stratos on March 15, 2019, 10:49:14 AM
Sign me up for the Lost Reavers playthrough. I tried it for a short bit, but never got too into it. Maybe we can find some time this weekend.
Title: Re: The video game server shutdown watch.
Post by: Mop it up on March 15, 2019, 03:40:11 PM
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: Spak-Spang on April 02, 2019, 05:46:46 AM
I mean, all online games will eventually die if they host the game on servers that a company maintains.
If I was a business I would look for games that have a devoted fanbase that require online games, and offer to continue hosting games and servers for fans for a price/subscription. Then try to collect as main variety of games that have gone down as possible. This business model is probably only possible in the PC market place, but it could be interesting.
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: pokepal148 on May 01, 2019, 04:54:03 PM
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: pokepal148 on May 22, 2019, 05:48:04 PM
RIP Ouya and Razor TV.
link (https://support.razer.com/console/razer-forge-tv/)
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: broodwars on June 02, 2019, 10:52:02 AM
Both seasons of MineCraft: Story Mode are getting yanked from every platform after 6/25/19. Yes, even if you own them, you won't be able to redownload them. And if I remember correctly, the disc version is just the first episode with download codes for the others, so that wouldn't be a decent alternative.
SHINY DIGITAL FUTURE! :rolleyes:
I wouldn't be surprised if we saw a similar announcement for all the other Telltale Games soon, which reminds me...I need to pick up a physical disc of Tales From the Borderlands.
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: Adrock on June 02, 2019, 09:22:00 PM
That’s definitely a concern, and unfortunately, there’s no perfect solution either. These days, data on physical versions are part of a game due to patches and/or whole sections of a game being download only. Were DS games patched? I don’t think they were, and if not, that may be the last major hardware release in which we consistently got an entire game on physical media. On top of that, optical discs rot. Digital is weirdly the best way to preserve these games though not without caveats. If the server shuts down or a publisher pulls the game, better hope your download is safe.
That said, I’ve been considering going all digital next generation now that microSD capacity finally reached 1 TB. I can probably get by on 1 TB, definitely 2 TB. Physical versions don’t have the benefit they used to. It really hit home when the Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night brand manager announced to Kickstarter backers that stretch goal content would be delivered as free updates as they’re finished similarly to Shovel Knight. A good portion of the game’s content won’t even be on the Switch game card once all is said and done. I’m at the point where I’m wondering why I’m still collecting these things. I don’t even like bringing out my old consoles. I bought Nintendo’s Classic Edition consoles partially because I can’t be bothered with composite cables.
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: RABicle on June 17, 2019, 02:56:11 AM
I'm just going to put it out there; if you take the time / spend the money to playthrough Minecraft Story Mode in the nearly 4 years since it came out, you probably don't care.
I endorse everying Adrock said and have been fully digital since the 3DS launch and I have no regrets.
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: broodwars on June 17, 2019, 07:22:32 AM
I'm just going to put it out there; if you take the time / spend the money to playthrough Minecraft Story Mode in the nearly 4 years since it came out, you probably don't care.
I endorse everying Adrock said and have been fully digital since the 3DS launch and I have no regrets.
And here's the problem I have with that point of view: what if you wanted to replay it at some point? What if you were just now either getting into Minecraft or getting your friend/child into MineCraft? New people are getting into those games every day.
What if you'd cleared if off your HDD in the past to save space? What if you were playing it and had some sort of catastrophic hardware failure, so you lost the installed game in your hard drive?
That last one happened to me at the start of the year with my PS4 when my HDD failed. I would have been so pissed if I'd lost access to a game I'd legally bought as a result of that. And Mojang's not going to allow redownloads after 6/25/19. Hell, they're doing something really absurd right now on the 360 to allow redownloading despite de-listing the episodes: they're listing them at $99.99 a piece to discourage people from downloading them.
On a side note, apparently Tales from the Borderlands has been de-listed as well. Glad I have my physical copy of that one with all the episodes and patches on the disc.
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: ejamer on June 17, 2019, 08:22:27 AM
I've never seen a (Wii or Wii U) game have this happen unless purchased second-hand and in less than optimal condition from the outset. Do people here have first-hand experience with disc rot, or is it largely hearsay?
My understanding - which could be incorrect - is that this depends largely on your own behavior. Treat the games well, and you have very little to be worried about. Even if problems do manifest, it's likely that you'll have the physical copy longer than some of the digital versions are made available.
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: UncleBob on June 17, 2019, 09:56:45 AM
Disc Rot is not a matter of if, but when.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_rot
Maybe if you stored your discs in some kind of multi-million dollar sterile, air tight, light-proof chamber... but then, you can never play them.
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: Stratos on June 17, 2019, 01:08:48 PM
Huh, I had a buddy a few years back complaining of disc rot. Several of us thought he was making up the concept to excuse away his poor disc storage habits as none of us experienced similar problems unless a disc was damaged on accident. Guess we were mistaken, though he still was rough on all his game and music discs (leaving them out, dropping them between cushions of the couch, stacking them bareback haphazardly in a corner).
Makes me even more appreciative of those home-brewers and hackers who are getting the emulators running on PC and preserving digital copies of every title. I am optimistic that over the next decade we will see a change in laws to better protect those who are archiving. There have been one or two promising bills popping up already to ensure people cannot be criminalized for their archival work.
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: ejamer on June 17, 2019, 02:28:21 PM
I totally believe that disc rot exists, and understand that the quality of printing and how discs are handled affects how quickly it sets in (some discs are more susceptible than others, and some people will have behaviors that make it more likely).
But I've got well over a hundred Wii games and a lot of Wii U games. Spot checks haven't shown disc rot on any of them - so the question is really more about longevity. Which will last longer: well-cared-for physical copies or digital download copies?
Unless you are relying on emulation to play the games (in which case, there is really no benefit in buying digitally anyway since nobody I know every creates "legal backups" of their downloaded proprietary content - instead they just download an already ripped and ready-to-play version) then I don't see how disc rot is a bigger threat to content than having the pricing and availability monopolized through digital distribution.
--- Edit: worth mentioning that I don't keep my games in a light-/air-proof chamber, but (a) always have them in their proper case when not being played, and (b) tend to play one game to completion at a time, which minimizes the wear and tear of getting them in and out of cases. I assume this is what most people treat physical objects that they want to last?
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: UncleBob on June 17, 2019, 03:49:14 PM
I'm a big fan of physical media... but to clear it up, you can't always see disc rot by looking at a disc. For sure, if you can see it, your disc is screwed, but it can be minor enough that it is unnoticeable until the machine tries to read that specific part of the disc.
That said, reasonably cared for disc should last many years. I still have CDs from 25+ years ago that play fine. And lordy... I took good care of my CDs in school, but for sure did not treat them like hospital tools.
The irony of any physical vs digital debate is that all digital relies on the physical. Be it company keeping physical servers operating or us players keeping a physical console working (Do any 360s still work without aftermarket parts? 🤣). Meanwhile, the physical side of things is so easily damaged, digital copies with backups and archival copies is the only sure-fire way to preserve this stuff.
All things considered, the video game media is a relatively new art form and it's astonishing how many games are "lost".
Keep in mind, we can't even agree on the date that Super Mario Bros. released in the US. I applaud efforts by actual preservationists and hope to see laws introduced that still protect the rights holder while protecting the art as well.
On an aside, how many shitty ROM hacks of Famicom games have probably been lost to the void. That would be an amazing archival project, dumping and cataloging all of those 7,000,000 in one Famicom-on-a-chip units. Rerez would lose his mind.
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: pokepal148 on August 18, 2019, 04:52:36 PM
So we lost Ducktales and we're losing the 3DS YouTube app. What a month it's been.
Here's a nice website that tracks this stuff. (https://delistedgames.com/)
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: ShyGuy on August 18, 2019, 11:42:40 PM
In all fairness, the 3DS YouTube app was running worse and worse.
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: pokepal148 on August 19, 2019, 01:00:29 AM
The 3DS YouTube app is a joke. The fact that YouTube runs better on a new 3DS browser than it does on the app is a testament to that.
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: nickmitch on August 20, 2019, 06:00:38 PM
Are there still 3D YouTube videos? Can you still watch them on a 3DS?
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: pokepal148 on August 20, 2019, 07:02:08 PM
You can watch them in 3D on the web browser on a new 3DS.
There's some neat stuff on there. NintendoLife did a bunch of Virtual Boy gameplay that they recorded and uploaded in 3D and there's probably some other neat stuff.
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: pokepal148 on October 09, 2020, 02:51:38 AM
Apparently pretty soon you won't be able to buy PS3 and Vita games on the web based PS Store. You'll have to use the console storefronts and neither of them are that great.
Title: Re: The Great Video Game Server and Services Shutdown Watch.
Post by: Shaymin on October 09, 2020, 09:18:22 AM
I can't even access the web store right now and I wonder if it's because I haven't had a PS4 in two years.
