• EA selling a game that they're going to revoke within a month! (with no disclaimer)
    67 replies, posted
[quote] [B]EA Selling Rock Band iOS Game for $5, Despite Looming Expiration Date[/B] By [URL="http://www.pcworld.com/author/Jared-Newman"]Jared Newman[/URL], [URL="http://www.pcworld.com/"]PCWorld[/URL] May 2, 2012 8:46 AM Electronic Arts is apparently looking to cement its “Worst Company in America” status by pulling the plug soon on Rock Band for iOS, a game that remains on sale for $5. Owners of the popular music game report getting a [URL="http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229222&pagenumber="]notification on the title screen[/URL] with the following message: “Dear Rockers, On May 31, ROCK BAND will no longer be playable on your device. Thanks for rocking out with us!” The fan site RockBandAide, which [URL="http://www.rockbandaide.com/16083/rock-band-ios-app-no-longer-playable-after-may-31/"]first reported the shut down[/URL], speculates that the songs in the game were licensed for a specific period of time, and that the licensing agreement is about to run out. Another explanation might be that the game requires servers to operate, and EA wants to shut them down, as it routinely does for the multiplayer component of old console games. Despite the game's impending demise, EA continues to sell the [URL="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rock-band/id333307161?mt=8"]iPhone version of Rock Band[/URL] in the iOS App Store, with no indication that the product will soon be worthless. EA also sells a sequel, [URL="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/rock-band-reloaded/id392026754?mt=8"]Rock Band Reloaded[/URL], but it's not clear whether that game has a time limit. Like its console counterparts, Rock Band for iOS lets players jam along to licensed songs from popular artists, but uses finger taps instead of plastic instruments to strum each note. The game originally cost $10 and included 30 songs, and EA sells more songs within the app for $1 each. Owners of the game won't be happy when they can no longer access the content they purchased. It certainly doesn't look good for EA, which was recently voted “[URL="http://consumerist.com/2012/04/congratulations-ea-you-are-the-worst-company-in-america-for-2012.html"]Worst Company in America[/URL]” in a Consumerist poll -- in large part because of outrage over the [URL="http://www.pcworld.com/article/253376/how_mass_effect_3_extended_cut_plans_to_save_the_galaxy.html"]ending to Mass Effect 3[/URL]. On the bright side, customers will likely be able to get a refund if they take their complaints to Apple, one commenter at TouchArcade [URL="http://toucharcade.com/2012/05/02/original-ios-rock-band-shutting-down-at-the-end-of-may/#comment-516667939"]points out[/URL]. The commenter reportedly spoke to an Apple support representative who was “genuinely surprised” by the situation. I guess the rep didn't consider that digital, connected content can be taken away just as easily as it is given. [/quote] [URL="http://www.pcworld.com/article/254839/ea_selling_rock_band_ios_game_for_5_despite_looming_expiration_date.html"]Source (PC World)[/URL]
How is that legal anyway?
[QUOTE=Mr. Someguy;35798263]How is that legal anyway?[/QUOTE] Probably covered by some of the text you usually agree to without reading.
Aaand a statement from a Harmonix rep: [quote]FYI, we've reached out to EA Mobile for more information and have yet to hear back. This isn't a title that we're publishing and we weren't at all involved with any decisions to discontinue availability and service. Hopefully the support we've shown the RB library over the years shows that we're more committed than that. We'll post updates if we hear anything back from EA Mobile. Sorry to all those affected.[/quote] [url=http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229222&p=4727276&viewfull=1#post4727276]Source[/url]
And this is why EA thinking about making an OnLive-style system for it's games is bad. They turn off the server and it'll be like the game never existed and you never owned it. But of course you'll never get those $50 back.
Why does EA do this? Just because it's old, doesn't mean no one plays it. I mean, look at burnout paradise. It's over 4 years old and still has over 200k players a month. But none of the pc players can buy the fucking dlc cars because HURP DURP NO ONE PLAYS THIS KILL THE SERVERS.
[QUOTE=Electrocuter;35798355]And this is why EA thinking about making an OnLive-style system for it's games is bad. They turn off the server and it'll be like the game never existed and you never owned it. But of course you'll never get those $50 back.[/QUOTE] That always online system they were talking about earlier was only concerning keeping all your saves and stuff for all platforms in a single server. It had nothing to do with having to be online to play games.
[QUOTE=Twistshock;35798279]Probably covered by some of the text you usually agree to without reading.[/QUOTE]Weren't those declared effectively worthless in some earlier US court ruling?
Discontinuing it I can understand but not making it playable at all?
[QUOTE=Medevilae;35798482]Don't update the app and you'll probably still be able to play. I still haven't updated Tetris ever since they fucked even it over.[/QUOTE] Pretty much this, if you don't update it you will be fine. If not, then switch off your connection from the app for about a day so it will skip the disable process. Same thing worked with a old Tap Tap Revenge app
[QUOTE=Sir Whoopsalot;35798612]Discontinuing it I can understand but not making it playable at all?[/QUOTE] Well... [img]http://i.imgur.com/RnPmB.jpg[/img]
[QUOTE]Electronic Arts is apparently looking to cement its “Worst Company in America” status by pulling the plug soon on Rock Band for iOS[/QUOTE] Nailed it.
[QUOTE=MightyMax;35798453]Why does EA do this? Just because it's old, doesn't mean no one plays it. I mean, look at burnout paradise. It's over 4 years old and still has over 200k players a month. But none of the pc players can buy the fucking dlc cars because HURP DURP NO ONE PLAYS THIS KILL THE SERVERS.[/QUOTE] They shut down servers that have less than 1% of the population it had at its peak But that's bullshit. Their free to play online golf game has maybe 3 people playing it on peak hours, and that shit's been running a long time with no end in sight. Explain that to me, EA? EA just scrubs as much as they can and pushes out the next title to milk more money, the same way Activision is with Call of Duty, Only Activision isn't cutting off the ability to play the game online with each release
maybe the license to the music used expired so they can't use it anymore?
[QUOTE=Sgt Doom;35798605]Weren't those declared effectively worthless in some earlier US court ruling?[/QUOTE] They're only thrown out by a court if they deem it too unfair or if it infringes on the customer's rights.
[QUOTE=HighdefGE;35798741]They're only thrown out by a court if they deem it too unfair or if it infringes on the customer's rights.[/QUOTE] I'd say this is pretty damn unfair, don't you?
[QUOTE=Sir Whoopsalot;35798751]I'd say this is pretty damn unfair, don't you?[/QUOTE] Kind of unfair. But not exceptionally unfair. The people who own the game are given warning that service is going to end, and people buying the game can find it out easily enough. Seeing as iOS games are not games, merely subscriptions to the application in question this is likely 100% fair (and you can get a refund anyway it seems). But it's still kinda retarded, if EA don't want to support the application anymore, they could push an update out that removes the store functionality, unlocks tracks already saved to the device so they don't need authorizing to play, and then shut down the content servers. Straight up killing the app is overkill.
it's very likely that the song licencing is time-limited.
[QUOTE=thisispain;35798931]it's very likely that the song licencing is time-limited.[/QUOTE] Mmm that's a good point with the idea of unlocking them. Music publishers like their royalties and probably wouldn't take to kindly to EA just letting their users have the music forever.
Why would you license music for a finite amount of time for something that isn't a TV or radio show?
[QUOTE=Mr. Smartass;35799015]Why would you license music for a finite amount of time for something that isn't a TV or radio show?[/QUOTE] I was going to say "To make money" but that doesn't even make sense.
[QUOTE=Mr. Smartass;35799015]Why would you license music for a finite amount of time for something that isn't a TV or radio show?[/QUOTE] you don't always get a say in licencing.
I'm hoping EA will eventually meet their demise and someone better might take their place.
[QUOTE=Simski;35799169]I'm hoping EA will eventually meet their demise and someone better might take their place.[/QUOTE] If EA go they all go. For a publisher like EA to fail there would have to have been a massive hiccup in the industry that has killed all the smaller publishers first. Or something goes horribly wrong and they run themselves into the ground, making other publishers take over and repeat the process until nothing it left. Oh, along with the developers under them, who kinda don't deserve that fate.
[QUOTE=Simski;35799169]I'm hoping EA will eventually meet their demise and someone better might take their place.[/QUOTE] Perhaps when they eventually die, all of the awesome developers they assimilated can escape, somehow?
[QUOTE=inconspicious;35799348]Perhaps when they eventually die, all of the awesome developers they assimilated can escape, somehow?[/QUOTE] Nope, they go with them as they have such strong ties with EA now. Unless another publisher (it'll be Activision) buys them out.
This is a wonderful preview for what future DRM from EA will look like. Get ready to pay $60 for games with experation dates.
[QUOTE=hexpunK;35799381]Nope, they go with them as they have such strong ties with EA now. Unless another publisher (it'll be Activision) buys them out.[/QUOTE] Can Valve please buy whatever is left of Bullfrog?
[QUOTE=Medevilae;35798482]Don't update the app and you'll probably still be able to play. I still haven't updated Tetris ever since they fucked even it over.[/QUOTE] It's safe to update Tetris, I updated the iPod Touch version of it on my iPad before updating on my iPod Touch which I mainly play it on, it's just a normal update. To get the new version, you actually have to buy Tetris AGAIN.
[QUOTE=Simski;35799169]I'm hoping EA will eventually meet their demise and someone better might take their place.[/QUOTE] Fingers crossed for Valve to take Ea's place and grow.
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