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Continue reading “Microsoft Announces Game Removals For Xbox 360”
Tag: Xbox 360
GTA Online Sunsets Legacy Consoles
Defiance Is Dead: On Xbox 360
It was a tough decision, like throwing out spoiled milk.
Update: Microsoft To Blame For Warface Shuttering
Following up on the announcement that Warface would be shutting down its Xbox 360 services, Crytek has come forward to finger Microsoft as the culprit. A representative of Crytek told Game Informer in a statement that the decision to shut the servers down was made by Microsoft, acting publisher of Warface on the Xbox.
“With Microsoft acting as publisher for Warface on Xbox 360, we are bound by their decision to phase out the game on their console.”
The Warface server officially shuts down in February. The PC service remains unaffected.
(Source: Game Informer)
Warface Shutting Down On 360 In February
Crytek has announced that it is sunsetting Warface on the Xbox 360 this February, less than a year after the servers went live last April. Registration for new players has already been disabled, while current players can continue playing but will be unable to purchase more currency. Xbox players are encouraged to continue playing on PC.
(Source: Eurogamer)
This Is The First Part: Secret World 360 Delayed Forever
Before the discussion begins, let me just put something out in the open: I would love to see an MMO on the Xbox 360. Final Fantasy XI has somewhat of a monopoly, and Phantasy Star isn’t an MMO in the traditional open world sense, so that leaves Final Fantasy with the reigns. I don’t own a 360 (used to), but I know plenty of people who would love to see DC Universe, Everquest Next, Planetside Next, or even DUST 514 or The Old Republic moved over to Microsoft’s console. That being said, after the number of cancelled MMOs for the console in just the past two years, I have no faith that Microsoft will ever allow another MMO on the system (remember, Final Fantasy XI was allowed because Live was in its infancy, according to Square).
I hold the same true to Undead Labs’ MMO, but my statement over The Secret World on the 360 is only affirmed by today’s announcement that the console version is on hold. Indefinitely. How do I know? Funcom commented this:
“We are focusing on the PC version right now. That is our primary market and we want that version to be as good as possible.”
Sounds like the MMO edition of “it’s not me, it’s you.” Actually, now that I think about it, this sounds like something Cryptic said regarding Champions Online. I could use a flashback right about now…
“It has always been, and still remains our intent to release on consoles, and as soon as we’re able to share more information about it, we will.”
-Daeke, Community Manager, Cryptic Studios, on Champions Online on consoles.
That would be it. Now bring it home with what Cryptic said about Star Trek Online on the consoles.
“It’s something we can readily do in terms of technology. We’ve had it up and running on certain consoles, and had plans and designs in order to take advantage of those platforms. But as it stands right now it’s a little difficult to make that final leap on the business side of things. So, currently, just like Champions, the console version of Star Trek Online is on the back burner.”
That’s the important figure. It’s not the technological side, it’s the business side. Let’s not also forget Funcom’s intent on releasing Age of Conan on the Xbox360 and what came of that venture (read: nothing).
I’ll say the same as I said with Undead Labs’ MMO. If it does release on the 360, it will play in a form that isn’t really an MMO, but rather closer to Call of Duty in that it features a persistent leveling system but takes place in stagnant, lobby based, locally hosted match making servers.
More on The Secret World as it appears.
Undead Labs: Class3 on 360, Your MMO Not So Much…
Undead Labs is on the MMO Fallout list of “Developers We’d Like To See Succeed,” and not just because they are promising us a zombie MMO, although that reason covers the basic essentials. Thanks to a publishing deal with Microsoft, Undead Labs is taking the Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment route by first creating a zombie game on Xbox Live Arcade, that will set up the story and structure that their zombie MMO will be built around. While Class 3 will start out as an open world third person action title, Undead Labs will be inching the IP closer to MMO territory.
Although Class 3 will be an Xbox Live Arcade exclusive title, I want to make it very plain and clear that Xbox users should not put a lot of faith in Undead Labs’ MMO similarly appearing on the system. Microsoft may be publishing this title, but the company has a long history of snuffing out MMOs from much bigger companies. Age of Conan, Champions Online, Star Trek Online, and Final Fantasy XIV are just a few of the titles that were slated for release on the 360, but pushed back into oblivion or outright canned as a result of Microsoft’s interference.
The issues with an MMO on the 360 are quite simple, once you understand Microsoft’s system for their online games. Releasing regular patches is difficult, as Microsoft has to certify every update. The MMOs take up a lot of bandwidth that would go through Xbox Live’s servers, and most of the companies expect Microsoft to open their MMOs up to silver members, because who wants to pay for internet + Xbox Live + subscription fees just to play an MMO? The Xbox360 version of Final Fantasy XI is playable on a silver account, and even Square has admitted in the past that FFXI only made it onto the console because Live was in its infancy at the time, and that the company does not expect similar results for FFXIV.
So if Undead Labs does get around to making their MMO (rather than finding Live Arcade games a more feasible form of income, which it likely is), expect it to pop up on the PC and possibly the PS3. If their MMO does appear on the 360, it won’t be an MMO in the traditional sense of a persistent world. Microsoft would never allow it, although as publisher they may at least ensure that the title does not release on the PS3.
I stand by what I said last August.
As much as I hate to play the pessimist, those who are waiting out on a 360 version of Final Fantasy XIV might as well wait in line behind those still hoping for a console edition of Champions Online, Age of Conan, and Star Trek Online, who are standing right over there with the folk waiting for Duke Nukem Forever and the rapture.
…Ignore the Duke Nukem tidbit. Good thing I’m such an optimist, right?
If this pre-release hype doesn’t have you foaming at the mouth, you are likely a long-time MMO player and have heard this drivel a thousand times over. I have a theory that the bigger the company’s mouth is prior to release, the more disappointing the game is.
Oh. More on Undead Labs’ MMO as it appears.
Champions Online on the 360: Officially Canned
“It has always been, and still remains our intent to release on consoles, and as soon as we’re able to share more information about it, we will.”
-Daeke, Community Manager, Cryptic Studios, on Champions Online on consoles.
One downside to the internet is that anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of “hey, you said this.” I don’t think I need to remind Mythic of Mark Jacob’s now famous quote regarding the health of MMOs being tied to how many servers are opened post-launch, but I digress. Back when Champions Online was still in closed beta, Cryptic still had high hopes to get the title out on the Xbox360, as one of the few console MMOs on the market. I even commented on Champions Online in 2010: A Blue Moon Year.
“Will we ever see a new 360 MMO? Champions Online and Age of Conan are just two titles slated to release on the Xbox360, and we learned earlier this year that it is Microsoft’s doing that is delaying these titles. With the cancellation of the planned BBC streaming, alongside another year of no MMOs on the 360, Microsoft continues to make an ass of itself in regards to its live service.”
Since I’ve already revealed the spoiler in the title, there’s no point delaying this any longer: According to a Cryptic Studios developer, the console version of Champions Online has been canned, with no plans to revive the project. In a post on the official forums, Jackalope had this to say:
“100% of our focus is on making the current PC product the best it can be. There are no current plans for a console version of Champions.”
-Jackalope, Cryptic Studios, on Champions Online on the 360.
This quote does answer a few questions players had, namely why Champions Online was announced for the consoles, but the more recent Cryptic title Star Trek Online has had minimal buzz about a console release. You can take Jackalope’s word with as much salt as you please, as this would not be the first time a high level employee has said something stupid or patently false about the game they work on, however we are going to have to take his word for the moment.
I’m sure Microsoft’s well touted ability to turn developers away from putting MMOs on their consoles had something to do with this decision, but the less-than-stellar reception to Champions Online since release may have been the final straw that broke the console’s back, in a manner of speaking. I’m sure the community will find some way to spin this news in a million different directions.
For those of you still waiting for a console MMO that is not Final Fantasy XI, or Massive Action Game, you are still out of luck. Age of Conan is still allegedly making its way to the Xbox360 this year, with The Agency, All Points Bulletin, and Free Realms bounding in next to an unnamed Turbine game, as well as possibly a Blizzard MMO.
MMOs on the consoles have historically had less of a chance of not only surviving to completion on the console platforms, but actually making it out the door to warm welcome. Searching deep enough, you can find a substantial list of MMOs dating back to the Xbox/PS2 console generation of console MMOs that were canned. So far Final Fantasy XI is the only console MMO to gain and keep a large number of subscribers, and even at that Square Enix has announced no plans to place Final Fantasy XIV on the Xbox360, although it will make its way to the Playstation 3.
More on console MMOs, and Champions Online, as it appears.
MMO Fallout 