EA has announced some new server closures. Within this is The Saboteur.

"Wait" you might say, "The Saboteur is a singleplayer only game!"

Yes, it is. It ends up what EA means by server closure is that the "Midnight Club" DLC will no longer be available for download. So if you don't have it already, you never will. If your console dies, you won't have it anymore. It is singleplayer content that no longer will exist.

Kinda scary huh? With this specific example it's just some boobs and gamling games, but it's still heinous. Also imagine it happening to something more significant like Mass Effect DLC.

Thoughts?

(P.S. The PC version has the DLC included on the disc).

Let me see if I understand this correctly. A DLC for a single player game is held on one single server, so now this specific server goes down, it is not possible to get this DLC any more?

Does not seem like a very viable business strategy, is it like this with all console DLC's?

So they're actually trying to kill Origin for the second time?

EA have been doing this with all of their games... removing servers that host DLCs mean nothing else except the game is officially out of support.

It's never been done for singleplayer content as far as I know. Usually multiplayer support dies, which is expected when you purchase. Losing DLC content you paid for however is ridiculous.

Nope, just part of software's lifecycle.

There's a difference between offering support and cutting someone off from a part of the game.

Well, nothing says that they have to give you access for a longer time... as I've said in another thread, most lossless EDM audio selling websites give you only 24 hour window for you to download the audio you've bought.

Yyyes, because buying something and then not having access to it because EA said so, and thus not getting the complete game you have bought in the first place, is perfectly fine and there's nothing wrong with it. Thank god I'm on PC, getting cut from content you paid for is probably the only thing piracy is good for...

This. What the hell? who actually thought this was a perfectly reasonable idea?

Things like that have happened before, although probably for other reasons. Some Premium modules (a kind of early DLC) for Neverwinter Nights for example are lost to us, too, because they were only ever offered as DRM-protected downloads and they (Atari?) eventually stopped supporting them (and I'm not talking about the Premium Mods included in the Diamond Edition, because that's only part of the Premium Mods available earlier, maybe even the weaker half, who knows).

And yeah, I agree, it's sucks big time, especially since there doesn't even seem an option to get them on GOG, due to complicated licensing and/or the DRM they used.

Console hardware does not allow for easy backups like a song download on a PC does.

And yes, I know, nothing says they have to continue offering it. I don't recall mentioning this being illegal. What I am saying is it sucks and is scary.

Microsoft letting them host their own servers for multiplayer games and DLC was a stupid move.

Yeah, that's a good PC example. There is also the DLC for original Xbox games which can no longer be downloaded. I know Splinter Cell had some bonus levels and KotOR had some downloadable goodies.

Indeed. It just cements this will happen eventually to all console DLC you buy from EA. Since some of my favorite parts of Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age 2 were in the DLC this is a real shame. Shit even the original Dragon Age... one day Shale will be unobtainable.

At least on PC cracks and backups mean this can never happen usually. The only reason those Neverwinter modules are unplayable is because they had persistent server requirements which basically made them multiplayer only.

Even GOG could shutdown tomorrow. After all they do not earn any money from re-downloads only costs. However then I would just get my GOG games from my archive or from elsewhere. This DLC you probably cannot get from elsewhere?