The clock is ticking on a number of older EA Sports and EA-published games. EA has announced another wave of server shutdowns that will effectively remove all online support from a stable of its once-supported games across almost every major platform--the Wii, Xbox 360, PSP, PC, and PS3, to be specific. And while the games will of course remain playable offline, these shutdowns will rob you of the chance to collect precious multiplayer achievements, trophies, and bragging rights.
As usual, the vast majority of the games receiving online service shutdowns are older sports titles that have since received their annual or bi-annual sequels. The few games that aren't sports-related included in this list are The Sims Carnival and the short-lived The Battle For Middle-Earth series. For the LOTR games specifically, this shutdown is due to a license expiration.
== TEASER ==Here's the list:
Mar 1, 2011 Online Service Shutdown
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 09 for Wii
Feb 8, 2011 Online Service Shutdown
FIFA 07 for Xbox 360
FIFA 08 for PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii
FIFA 09 for PC, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii
FIFA 09 Ultimate Team for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
FIFA Street 3 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
EA Sports FIFA Manager 10 for PC
Fight Night Round 3 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Madden 09 for PlayStation Portable (all regions), PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii
Madden 10 for PlayStation Portable (all regions), PlayStation 2 and Wii
NBA LIVE 08 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NBA LIVE 09 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii
NCAA Basketball 08 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NCAA Basketball 09 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NCAA Football 07 for Xbox 360
NCAA Football 08 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NCAA Football 09 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NCAA Football 10 for PlayStation 2
NFL Head Coach 09 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NHL 08 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NHL 09 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
UEFA EURO 2008 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
2010 FIFA World Cup for PlayStation Portable and Wii
2010 FIFA World Cup Demo for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
Jan 17, 2011 Online Service Shutdown
The Sims Carnival
Jan 11, 2011 Online Service Shutdown
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II for Xbox 360
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II -- The Rise of the Witch-King for Xbox 360
Dec 31, 2010 Online Service Shutdown
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth for PC
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II for PC
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II -- The Rise of the Witch-king for PC
Presumably, EA eats the cost of supporting these games, and if people aren't playing the games there's little financial point in keeping them alive. EA notes specifically that the EA Sports games scheduled for shutdown represent around a mere 1% of activity "across all EA titles."