Sony to axe multiplayer servers

Sony has announced that online services for SOCOM 4, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation, and MAG will be closing down in January 28 next year, only months after the PS4 is scheduled to arrive.

Both MAG and Confrontation are multiplayer games only so will effectively be unplayable after the scheduled date.

MAG and SOCOM 4, developed by Zipper Interactive, both failed to achieve much success in sales after being released in 2010 and 2011 respectively, despite the first person shooters being exclusive to PS3.

After the relative failure of both games, Zipper Interactive was closed down in March 2012.

SOCOM: Navy SEALS Confrontation had similar issues at launch, receiving poor reviews amidst little fanfare. In June this year, Confrontation’s developer Slant Six Games temporarily laid off several employees to reduce the size of the team while they negotiate new business.

This is not the first time the servers have been shut down for a SOCOM game however.

SOCOM 2, along with several other PS2 and PSP SOCOM titles, was taken offline August 2012. Released in 2003, SOCOM 2 had almost nine years of activity, whereas SOCOM 4 will be shut down shortly before its third birthday.

Does making a game unplayable before it is even three years old put Sony in a bad light? Or were these games destined to die a short death? Tell us your thoughts below