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.
00:40And since SOCOM 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, Slant6 Games' franchise was impressively consistent to this point so
00:52this 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 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
01:35possible to play it.
01:36In 2001, die hard fans reverse engineered the servers for the defunct online game and using
01:41a 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
01:51the last game 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. When this follow up was a smash hit, Activision published a beat-em-up
02:05based on the beloved cartoon, with Platinum Games serving as the lead development team.
02:10Since the studio had worked on innovative combat games like the Bayonetta series and Metal
02:13Gear Rising Revengeance, the cel-shaded fighting property appeared to be in safe hands.
02:18But 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, and since it failed
02:44to make much money, Activision weren't keen on continuing to pay the licensing fees.
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.
03:13The self-proclaimed sword combat simulator has the hero using their oversized blade to slash
03:18enemies and deflect attacks. If the slicing and dicing mechanics were executed correctly,
03:22Third Wave's Sword Fighter could've been a phenomenon. Too bad then that this PSVR title
03:27is a steaming pile of doo-doo. No matter how skilled a player is, there's nothing you can do to
03:32combat the clunky controls and inconsistent movement. Since the gameplay doesn't always register
03:36a parry or a jab, the player's best bet is to flail around aimlessly hoping to hit something
03:41in the game, not in your front room. Sadly, there's no hope of these issues being patched,
03:45as the PS4 version was delisted after a two year run. Three months later, the servers went kaput.
03:51Since 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
04:11Sony system 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 certain
04:26angles to stretch out as much as possible. And though Kratos didn't name the character, it's genuinely
04:31called Boy, and the more Boy expands, the more points he's awarded, allowing him to unlock new areas.
04:37Much like Katamari, the PS3 title is incredibly addictive despite its simplistic and pretty silly
04:43premise. Although there's no real goal, finding elaborate ways to make the wiggly hero expand is
04:48deeply satisfying. Even though modern gamers would have a blast with Nobi Nobi Boy today, and I mean
04:53just look at it, it's absurd, it would just blow up on social media, obtaining this gem nowadays is a
04:58bit problematic since it was taken off the PlayStation Store in 2018, meaning you can't get your hands on
05:04Nobi Nobi Boy unless you already purchased it. Look, playing devil's advocate here, it's understandable
05:09when companies like Sony shut down the servers of lesser known IP that came out over a decade ago,
05:14but Nobi Nobi Boy comes from a fairly prominent and respected developer, and you can't help but think
05:19that it had its legs, not that worms have legs, cut out from underneath it.
05:236. 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, Polifoni 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 before
06:09GT 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. After
06:19all, many ideas planned for Gran Turismo HD, including noticeable car damage and online racing,
06:25were incorporated into Gran Turismo 5. Nevertheless, it would have been nicer if Gran Turismo HD Concept
06:31was still downloadable purely for the sake of nostalgia, and as an artefact of Gran Turismo's history.
06:365. Dust 514 It's hard to comprehend how awe-inspiring
06:41EVE Online was when it debuted back in 2003. The persistent world MMORPG is renowned for its
06:47complexity, range of gameplay and player interaction, as well as its gargantuan scale. After all,
06:53the spacefaring roleplayer contains nearly 8,000 star systems. Just when it looked like CCP Games
06:58couldn't get more ambitious with it, they created a multiplayer spin-off called Dust 514, which tied to
07:04EVE Online in a unique way. Rather than existing separately, interactions in one game had consequences
07:10in the other, whether it be political, social or environmental. To build hype to the absolute max,
07:15Dust 514 was totally free. How could anyone not be excited for this potential game-changer?
07:21Though the customisation and player interaction was awesome, this PS3 title was let down by atrocious
07:26graphics, glitches around every turn, and a heavy focus on grinding. Oh, there goes my excitement.
07:32Even if Dust 514 was a triumph, it was fighting an uphill battle from the beginning since it was
07:36released six months before the PlayStation 4 as well, with Sony fans flocking to the next-gen
07:41console interest in the cosmic spin-off dried up quickly, and Dust 514 closed its doors in 2016.
07:47Despite the fact that EVE Online is still going strong after two decades, its offshoot failed to
07:52last three years. 4. No Mercy
07:56Best known for making pinball games, Zen Studios partnered with Marvel in 2009 to develop an arena-based
08:01shooter called Punisher No Mercy. And it would be easy to bag on this game. It's bad. I mean,
08:07it's really bad. In fact, it's so bad that it's not really anything. In fact, it's nothing. There
08:11is basically nothing in this game. It almost doesn't exist with how slight in content it is.
08:16Seriously, the story mode is composed of four matches. Seriously, four.
08:21The multiplayer has a couple of options, but it's not engaging enough due to the empty levels and
08:25mineral weapons, of which players can only carry three at a time. Worse of all, the dull FPS doesn't try to
08:31have any fun with the Marvel brand, to the point where it's easy to forget that this is a Punisher
08:35game. Due to the poor reception, nobody would have blamed the powers that be if they closed the
08:39servers down, but since the Marvel licensing with Zen Studios was set to expire just a couple years
08:44after the release, it was wisely decided to put this trash out of its misery. In early 2011,
08:50the comic book dud was taken off the PlayStation Store less than two years after its debut.
08:55Although there is often understandably outcry when a game is killed off for good,
08:58even the biggest of Marvel fans didn't notice or care when Punisher No Mercy was taken out back
09:04and 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 two 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 was
10:32selected if their rank was high enough. This mechanic incentivised players to be extra diligent during
10:37their playthrough so that they could be promoted to team leader later. Since the missions involved
10:41airstrikes, parachuting, tanks and planes, the gameplay had a tremendous amount of variety. And with the
10:46well-structured skill tree, vast customisation and a plethora of diverse modes, MAG was a wonder to
10:52behold. Yes, it suffered from a few glitches and janky animations, but it wasn't enough to ruin the
10:57entire experience. With a couple more patches, MAG really could have been epic. However, everything
11:03went belly up when Sony unceremoniously shut down Zipper Studios in 2012 due to quote,
11:09resource realignment. Yay, capitalism. When the developers went bust, it was no surprise when the
11:14servers were turned off less than two years later. MAG may not have been perfect, but it deserved a much
11:20longer run. And number one, of course, PT. Ten years later, and this one still stings. Ten years,
11:28Jesus Christ. With Hideo Kojima working alongside Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro, PT was set up
11:35to be truly groundbreaking. Despite only being 20 minutes long, the horror experience was lavished
11:40with praise due to its eerie atmosphere, disturbing imagery and photorealistic graphics. And when the
11:46ending revealed 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 development are nothing new,
11:56what came next was truly heartbreaking. After Kojima and his senior staff parted from Konami,
12:01the PT follow-up Silent Hills was cancelled. Just to row an ocean's worth of salt into the wound,
12:07PT was withdrawn from the PlayStation Store three days later, a decision that was regarded rightfully
12:13as spiteful, unprofessional and cowardly. It caused such an uproar that several gamers
12:18rebuilt PT from scratch or ported it onto other systems, but due to legal issues, these recreations
12:23were rendered unplayable. Many of the games on this list deserved so much better, but PT is in a
12:30universe of its own in terms of its influence on the gaming industry, with many horror games taking
12:35a nod from an unfinished project, no less. And one, of course, that you can't play unless you spend a
12:42lot of money on a PlayStation 4 on eBay that still has it installed. Oh, isn't that great? Thanks, Konami.