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Sony had an exclusive FPS and they killed it.
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00:00If an online brand has its servers pulled or is discontinued from digital stores, it
00:04could be done forever.
00:05Although certain shooters, roleplayers or battle royales might still function offline,
00:09it's a real kick in the teeth when the servers close shop, especially if the property had
00:13a passionate online community.
00:15Sytrees on this list may have been popular in their day and developed a devoted fanbase,
00:19but that didn't stop Sony from shutting them down for good.
00:22I'm Sy, this is WhatCulture and these are 10 PlayStation games Sony killed.
00:2810. SOCOM Confrontation
00:30A development team should be really confident in a recognised IP before deciding to switch
00:35things up and turn a mainstream entry into an online multiplayer focused game, and since
00:40SOCOM Confrontation was the first instalment in the military series that wouldn't contain
00:44a single player campaign, this decision was risky.
00:48Having said that, Slot 6 Games' franchise was impressively consistent to this point,
00:52so this new direction had potential, but due to technical issues, constant lag and game
00:57crashing bugs, this PS3 tactical shooter was a major misfire.
01:01Also, SOCOM Confrontation is an awkward name to say out loud, so it probably didn't help.
01:06Tied to the side, many actual gameplay issues were resolved over time, but Confrontation never
01:10redeemed itself due to lack of maps, graphical limitations and unambitious gameplay.
01:15Sitting with a score of 63% on Metacritic, the underwhelming multiplayer title is the
01:20lowest rated SOCOM of them all.
01:22A mere three years after launch, Confrontation's servers were put to rest.
01:26The online services for the follow-up SOCOM 4 came to a close on the same day.
01:31The reason why Confrontation ranks so low on this list is because it's technically still possible to play it.
01:36In 2001, die-hard fans reverse engineered the servers for the defunct online game,
01:41and using a private connection, Confrontation found a way to live on, no thanks to Sony.
01:46That said, the aforementioned SOCOM 4 from 2011, which fared really no better, remains the last
01:52game in this now-buried franchise.
01:549. The Legend of Korra
01:56After the success of Avatar The Last Airbender, a sequel was commissioned by Nickelodeon called
02:01The Legend of Korra.
02:02When this follow-up was a smash hit, Activision published a beat-em-up based on the beloved cartoon,
02:07with Platinum Games serving as the lead development team.
02:10Since the studio had worked on innovative combat games like the Bayonetta series and Metal Gear Rising
02:14Revengeance, the cel-shaded fighting property appeared to be in safe hands.
02:19But due to uninspired combat, empty levels and a lack of enemy variety, especially in the bosses,
02:24Legend of Korra felt like the laziest of lazy tie-ins.
02:28With the rampant bugs, this train wreck could easily be mistaken as a barely functioning beta,
02:33and after how awful M. Night Shyamalan's last Airbender film adaptation turned out,
02:37you'd think that the fanbase had suffered enough.
02:39Thanks to the abysmal reviews, the digital-only title sold extremely poorly,
02:43and since it failed to make much money, Activision weren't keen on continuing to pay the licensing
02:48fees.
02:49As a result, Legend of Korra became digitally unavailable three years after release.
02:53Since it never received a physical release, it's been impossible to buy since.
02:58Considering how adored the animated series is, it doesn't really matter that the game's bad,
03:02there are people out there that want to own a copy, and that's just not possible anymore.
03:078. Swords of Gargantua
03:09On paper, virtual reality should work well with a game like Swords of Gargantua. The self-proclaimed
03:14Sword Combat Simulator has the hero using their oversized blade to slash enemies and deflect attacks.
03:19If the slicing and dicing mechanics were executed correctly, Third Wave's Sword Fighter could've been
03:24a phenomenon. Too bad, then, that this PSVR title is a steaming pile of doo-doo.
03:29No matter how skilled a player is, there's nothing you can do to combat the clunky controls and
03:33inconsistent movement. Since the gameplay doesn't always register a parry or a jab, the player's best
03:38bet is to flail around aimlessly hoping to hit something in the game, not in your front room.
03:43Sadly, there's no hope of these issues being patched as the PS4 version was delisted after a
03:48two year run. Three months later, the servers went kaput.
03:52Since the multiplayer and single player require internet access, this decision rendered the Sony
03:56port of Swords unplayable. Yes, it's still available on Steam, but the PS4 version has gone the way of
04:01the Dodo, which is appropriate because as I said, it was doo-doo. No official reason was given behind
04:06this sudden decision, but it doesn't seem likely that Swords of Gargantua will be available on a Sony
04:11system anytime soon. 7. Nobi Nobi Boy
04:15After the success of the Katamari series, Kaya to Takahashi released a similarly whimsical game called
04:20Nobi Nobi Boy in 2009. In each level, an elastic worm creature called Boy must twirl its body at
04:26certain angles to stretch out as much as possible. And though Kratos didn't name the character,
04:30it's genuinely called Boy, and the more Boy expands, the more points he's awarded,
04:35allowing him to unlock new areas. Much like Katamari, the PS3 title is incredibly addictive,
04:40despite its simplistic and pretty silly premise. Although there's no real goal, finding elaborate
04:46ways to make the wiggly hero expand is deeply satisfying. Even though modern gamers would have
04:50a blast with Nobi Nobi Boy today, and I mean just look at it, it's absurd, it would just blow up on social
04:56media. Obtaining this gem nowadays is a bit problematic since it was taken off the PlayStation
05:01store in 2018, meaning you can't get your hands on Nobi Nobi Boy unless you already purchased it.
05:07Look, playing devil's advocate here, it's understandable when companies like Sony shut
05:11down the servers of lesser known IP that came out over a decade ago. But Nobi Nobi Boy comes from a
05:16fairly prominent and respected developer, and you can't help but think that it had its legs,
05:20not that worms have legs, cut out from underneath it. 6. Gran Turismo HD Concept
05:26As the title suggests, Gran Turismo HD Concept served as a sneak preview for the upcoming PS3
05:31racing simulator, Gran Turismo HD. Despite minimal content, Polyphony Digital's free
05:36advertisers showcased enough material to build anticipation for the real deal.
05:40Less than a year after Concept's release, head director Kazunurayamo, she decided to go in a
05:44different direction, which led to the creation of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, a demo for a new sequel,
05:50called, surprise surprise, Gran Turismo 5. Though GT HD Concept only contained 1 track and 10 playable
05:57vehicles, GT5 Prologue boasted 70 cars, 6 tracks and 50 events. Since Prologue offered smoother gameplay
06:04and better physics, it was clearly the superior of the two. And so for this reason, it wasn't long
06:09before GT HD Concept was purged from the PlayStation Store, effectively replaced by GT5 Prologue.
06:15Even though it was a shame the original version never came to be, it was the right decision,
06:19after all, many ideas planned for Gran Turismo HD, including noticeable car damage and online
06:25racing, were incorporated into Gran Turismo 5. Nevertheless, it would have been nice if
06:29Gran Turismo HD Concept was still downloadable purely for the sake of nostalgia, and as an artefact
06:35of Gran Turismo's history. 5. Dust 514
06:39It's hard to comprehend how awe-inspiring EVE Online was when it debuted back in 2003. The persistent world
06:45MMORPG is renowned for its complexity, range of gameplay and player interaction, as well as its
06:50gargantuan scale. After all, the spacefaring roleplayer contained nearly 8000 star systems.
06:56Just when it looked like CCP Games couldn't get more ambitious with it, they created a multiplayer
07:01spin-off called Dust 514, which tied to EVE Online in a unique way. Rather than existing separately,
07:07interactions in one game had consequences in the other, whether it be political, social or environmental.
07:13To build hype to the absolute max, Dust 514 was totally free. How could anyone not be excited
07:19for this potential game-changer? Though the customisation and player interaction was awesome,
07:23this PS3 title was let down by atrocious graphics, glitches around every turn, and a heavy focus on
07:29grinding. Oh, there goes my excitement. Even if Dust 514 was a triumph, it was fighting an uphill battle
07:35from the beginning since it was released six months before the PlayStation 4, as well. With Sony fans
07:40flocking to the next-gen console, interest in the Cosmic spin-off dried up quickly, and Dust 514
07:45closed its doors in 2016. Despite the fact that EVE Online is still going strong after two decades,
07:51its offshoot failed to last three years. 4. No Mercy
07:56Best known for making pinball games, Zen Studios partnered with Marvel in 2009 to develop an arena-based
08:02shooter called Punisher No Mercy. And it would be easy to bag on this game. It is bad. I mean, it's really bad.
08:08In fact, it's so bad that it's not really anything. In fact, it's nothing. There is basically nothing
08:12in this game. It almost doesn't exist with how slight in content it is. Seriously, the story mode
08:18is composed of four matches. Seriously, four. The multiplayer has a couple of options, but it's not
08:23engaging enough due to the empty levels and mineral weapons, of which players can only carry three at a
08:28time. Worst of all, the dull FPS doesn't try to have any fun with the Marvel brand, to the point where
08:33it's easy to forget that this is a Punisher game. Due to the poor reception, nobody would have
08:37blamed the powers that be if they closed the servers down, but since the Marvel licensing with
08:42Zen Studios was set to expire just a couple years after the release, it was wisely decided to put this
08:47trash out of its misery. In early 2011, the comic book dud was taken off the PlayStation Store less
08:53than two years after its debut. Although there is often understandably outcry when a game is killed
08:58off for good, even the biggest of Marvel fans didn't notice or care when Punisher No Mercy was
09:03taken out back and executed. 3. Drive Club
09:07Pushing the technological boundaries with its flawless car renders, Evolution Studios Drive
09:11Club looked like it was set to be something truly special. Considering each car was composed of 260,000
09:17polygons and took seven months to develop, it probably would have been easier if the developers
09:21manufactured actual automobiles. Thanks to all the buzz, the racing simulator was among the best-selling
09:27games on the PlayStation 4, shipping 2 million units. However, Drive Club was met with heavy
09:32criticism due to its poor online capabilities, inconsistent AI and lacklustre gameplay. Creators
09:38tried to make up for it with a bunch of patches, and they threw in additional features at no extra
09:43charge, including an innovative weather system that factors in cloud formations and movements of
09:47trees and grass. But unfortunately, the bumpy start cost Drive Club dearly since it didn't bring in
09:53enough cash to turn much of a profit. When Evolution Studios shut down in 2016, the updates of course
09:58came to a grinding halt, signalling the beginning of the end. And sure enough, the online servers for
10:04Drive Club, Drive Club VR and Drive Club Bikes were switched off soon after. Although the single player
10:09functioned fine, it wasn't the same, and the future of this burgeoning series was snuffed out.
10:142. MAG
10:16Before its release in 2010, MAG looked like it was going to have a long and prosperous future.
10:21Zipper Studios' MMO Military Shooter was the first game to maintain 256 players simultaneously,
10:27which was the world record at the time. Each eight-player squad was overseen by a leader who
10:32was selected if their rank was high enough. This mechanic incentivised players to be extra diligent
10:36during their playthrough so that they could be promoted to team leader later. Since the missions
10:41involved airstrikes, parachuting, tanks and planes, the gameplay had a tremendous amount of variety,
10:46and with the well-structured skill tree, vast customisation, and a plethora of diverse modes,
10:51MAG was a wonder to behold. Yes, it suffered from a few glitches and janky animations,
10:56but it wasn't enough to ruin the entire experience. With a couple more patches, MAG really could have
11:01been epic. However, everything went belly up when Sony unceremoniously shut down Zipper Studios in 2012
11:08due to quote, resource realignment. Yay, capitalism. When the developers went bust, it was no surprise when
11:14the servers were turned off less than two years later. MAG may not have been perfect,
11:19but it deserved a much longer run. And number one, of course, PT.
11:24Ten years later, and this one still stings. Ten years, Jesus Christ.
11:30With Hideo Kojima working alongside Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro, PT was set up to be
11:35truly groundbreaking. Despite only being 20 minutes long, the horror experience was lavished with praise
11:41due to its eerie atmosphere, disturbing imagery, and photorealistic graphics. And when the ending
11:46revealed PT was a playable teaser for an upcoming Silent Hill project starring Norman Reedus,
11:51it couldn't come out soon enough. Although drastic changes in gaming
11:55development are nothing new, what came next was truly heartbreaking. After Kojima and his
12:00senior staff parted from Konami, the PT follow-up Silent Hills was cancelled.
12:05Just to row an ocean's worth of salt into the wound, PT was withdrawn from the PlayStation Store
12:10three days later, a decision that was regarded rightfully as spiteful, unprofessional and cowardly.
12:15It caused such an uproar that several gamers rebuilt PT from scratch or ported it onto other
12:20systems, but due to legal issues, these recreations were rendered unplayable.
12:25Many of the games on this list deserved so much better, but PT is in a universe of its own in terms of
12:32its influence on the gaming industry, with many horror games taking a nod from an unfinished project,
12:37no less. And one, of course, that you can't play unless you spend a lot of money on a PlayStation 4
12:44on eBay that still has it installed. Oh, isn't that great? Thanks, Konami.
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