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EA shutting down over a dozen game servers

Broadband services for Online Pass-enabled EA Sports MMA shutting down on April 13; Godfather II, Spare Parts, and Burnout Revenge also affected.

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Electronic Arts will shut down online servers for more than a dozen console titles beginning next month, including one game that uses the Online Pass, the company has announced on its website.

EA is punching out the game servers for its MMA game.
EA is punching out the game servers for its MMA game.

Online services for EA Sports MMA across the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 will end on April 13. This marks the first time EA has shut down online support for a title using its Online Pass initiative.

The Online Pass program was devised to give publishers a way to make money off of used game sales. Under the program, new copies of games come with a onetime-use code that will activate a game's online functionality. Those who don't have such a code because they purchased the game used can pay a fee (typically $10) for access to online components. It was spearheaded by EA, but other publishers, like THQ, Ubisoft, and Sony, also employ the tactic.

EA is also switching off game servers on April 13 for Burnout Revenge (Xbox 360), The Godfather II (PC, Xbox 360, PS3), and the Xbox Live Arcade game Spare Parts (Xbox 360, PS3). EA's policy states that the company shuts down servers for games that represent fewer than 1 percent of peak online activity across all EA games.

Titles affected on March 31. Release date in parenthesis:

Battlefield 3: Aftershock for iOS (February 2012)
Fantasy Safari for iOS (November 2011)
Ghost Harvest for iOS (June 2011)

Titles affected on April 13. Release date in parenthesis:

Boom Blox Bash Party for Wii (Mary 2009)
Burnout Revenge for Xbox 360 (March 2006)
EA Create for PC, PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 (November 2010)
EA Sports Active 2.0 for PlayStation 3, Wii, and Xbox 360 (November 2010)
EA Sports Active NFL Training Camp for Wii (November 2010)
FIFA 10 for PlayStation Portable and Wii (October 2009)
The Godfather II for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 (April 2009)
EA Sports MMA for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (October 2010)
Need for Speed ProStreet for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (November 2007)
The Saboteur (loss of The Midnight Club access) for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (December 2009)
Spare Parts for PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 (January 2011)

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