EA-Land to be shut down in August
Yeesh, that was quick. Just around two months after it was put before the public, EA announced via a blog post that EA-Land (which was The Sims Online rebranded) would be closing up shop on August 1. Current subscribers can get $15 off a game at the EA Store or a three-month membership to Pogo.Unsurprisingly, that hasn't satisfied most fans, who were able to spend real-world money to improve their EA-Land experience. Threads (here and here) were flooded with comments from users like:
"Well. I'm SO freaking glad that I put so much REAL LIFE money into this game. Thank you for letting us ALL down."
"Did I mention I just payed $150 last night for the founders account I've always dreamed of. Way to go... Perhaps you could have told someone sooner."
"I really just can't believe it's going to be over.....and I really can't believe they think a few months of POGO can make up what we're losing here."
Some of the comments were more conciliatory, some even began plans to buy the game outright. But it was clear that even if the world itself may be dying it leaves behind an impassioned, angry populace.
[Via Eurogamer]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
riggs @ Apr 30th 2008 9:05AM
come on, what were they thinking...its EA for christ, mary, joseph and pete's sake.
FOXHOUND @ Apr 30th 2008 9:13AM
No kidding. EA's PR department could've either given them discounts or let them used the purchase money toward other EA products to save face for the shutdown.
Pan @ Apr 30th 2008 9:16AM
It's almost as if EA is TRYING to get bad publicity.
Leilock @ Apr 30th 2008 9:20AM
Anyone playing anything other than WoW has to understand that these games are gonna have a shelf life. However they still get 4 months to use their goodies. Adeu
Undead Priest @ Apr 30th 2008 9:30AM
Even WoW is finite. Something will come along sooner or later and take it down.
LaughingTarget @ Apr 30th 2008 9:35AM
Finite but long-term. Ultima Online is still kicking, going on 11 years (EA by the way), so WoW still has at least 7 good years left. Doesn't change the fact any virtual items purchased in it are non-transferrable when it goes kaput.
TSO was a failure when it launched the first time and current subscribers really should have noticed this end when they were wandering the virtual world and it looked like the aftermath of an apocalypse.
Ignatius @ Apr 30th 2008 9:21AM
What's funny is that they've let this thing twist and convulse in its death throes for years, but they knocked Earth and Beyond out when it had probably ten times the subscribers as TSO.
GRANTED @ Apr 30th 2008 9:27AM
i don't know what a founders account is, but id have to have a gun to my head to pay $150 for it.
monkeymonkeymonkey @ Apr 30th 2008 9:27AM
I say these people need to get a life. Using real world money in a virtual world is just plain stupid. If you really have to do it though, dont count on the virtual world to exist tomorrow.
Dio @ Apr 30th 2008 10:25AM
Wow, this really sucks. I hope people get their money back. This is kinda like the iPhone price dropping so soon after its release. Apple reimbursed the people who bought it a few months prior to the price drop :)
KamenRiderTakoyaki @ Apr 30th 2008 10:50AM
$150?! Who spends that much on a freakin' game?
Joystick Hero @ Apr 30th 2008 11:01AM
Rock Band enthusiasts.
I know I did.
barbe brenner @ May 2nd 2008 10:50AM
first off u need to know whole story they promised that was coming in the days to come ... the day befor amnesty poof 90 days notice without a why ... this is NOT JUST A GAME TO US it was so much more,.,,, so read what EA promised for cahsouts and this and that befor u judge the ppl u have stuck around with them through hell and back if it wasnt more than just a game we would have left long time ago... we alll still have hope.....
ScottG13 @ Apr 30th 2008 11:04AM
As a shareholder, I approve of EA cutting money losing segments. Move resources into something profitable.
byaccident @ May 1st 2008 7:43AM
Screw you ScottG13. It's assholes like you, who don't give a shit about the consumers, that made EA suck so bad in the first place. Of course your fine taking money from people, and then "Cutting the losses."
ScottG13 @ May 1st 2008 8:36AM
hahaha Really? So business should simply hemorrhage money "for the consumers?" Nice. Anytime you sign up for an MMO, you have to be prepared for your fantasy land to disappear when it is no longer a good business investment for the company that owns it. These aren't pro-bono happy land community projects. I give EA props for being willing to experiment in segments other than Madden every year. Some of them are tremendous like publishing Rock Band and some of them suck like a Second Life knock off with fewer flying dildos.
poke50uk @ Apr 30th 2008 11:33AM
Tried it, and for freebie customers it was terrible... glad I didnt pay a penny
free trail was awful, and took 2 days for it to finishing updating correctly after serveral failed installs..
they wonder why it died
Kujel @ Apr 30th 2008 1:02PM
A shitty simulator could never have made a good MMO!
BMErdin @ Apr 30th 2008 2:19PM
Didn't EA just say something about a month ago about how they were dedicated to keeping games running for the duration?
BMErdin @ Apr 30th 2008 2:21PM
Here it is. Even specifically mentions The Sims.
http://multiplayerblog.mtv.com/2008/04/01/ea-capcom-disagree-on-longevity-of-individual-games-spore-maker-cites-10-year-plan/
Bienchen @ May 5th 2008 4:24AM
Even though I am an adult , I truly enjoy playing the game with my 2 boys (14 and 16 years).
EA-Land is also a genuinely safe place for kids to interact with each other.
It's nice to know that in these times of cyber bullying and cyber crime that there is such a place for kids to play.
Most importantly, I think most of us who play EA-Land would miss the friendships that have developed.
Even though most of us have never met and may never meet, EALand pals are true pals.
With EA-Land gone where do we turn?
Sure we can turn Second Life, WOW and even Pirates Online,
but the truth is, we all want to be a little selfish, we all want that great feeling that only TSO (Ea-Land) can provide us with.
The magic that we are Sims!! The magic there is a game without fights, sex, war and monsters!
Electronic Arts now also took away the option to log in the game for all free Members which dont have a premium account.
So every of this free members cannot use the game until august 1/ 2008, they got shut down immediately
Please help us and make Electronic Arts reconsider their decision to close EA-Land.
like we do on http://www.playercampaigns.com/
Bienchen @ May 5th 2008 4:26AM
edit: free accounts are able to play again now. seems they heard it
Tori in TSO @ Feb 18th 2009 3:45PM
I have been a player in TSO/EA Land since June 2005, and it was not just a game to me, I am 40 yrs old 4 kids and I needed the sims online for a lot of social and friends, laughter, and just plain have fun... it's sad that games that you FIGHT and KILL have taken such a huge popularity... makes me fear for our future. People just don't care about having FUN anymore, and violence is now the main concentration in games. I was a person that had no car, no job, and was a stay at home mom, and needless to say I lacked the social life intensly - The Sims Online / EA Land saved me from falling into a severe depression... so all of you out there who thinks that the TSO was a failure... think again. Enjoy your violence with WoW and all those other crap games
Tori in TSO.... forever!