Capcom has today revealed that two PlayStation 2 titles are kissing their online services goodbye. Both Monster Hunter and Resident Evil: Outbreak will no longer have any supporting servers as the external company providing them is pulling out of PS2 online service.
Resident Evil: Outbreak was an online co-op game in which teams of players pooled their resources to escape the zombie threat in Raccoon City, while Monster Hunter gave you the task of, well, hunting monsters. You won’t be able to enjoy the multiplayer features of either game from December 31st onwards.
Capcom itself stated that it wanted to be able to continue supporting these two games, despite how old they were. “We’ve tried to extend the contract, move it someplace else, etc. It’s not happening,” admitted Capcom in its blog. “The hosting partner (who I guess remains nameless here) is just quitting the business entirely and doesn’t want to mess around with the time/money involved in porting anything. Thanks to everyone who has kept these games fun online for so many years.”
Who here is affected by this, if anyone? While hard to imagine people still enjoying online games on the PS2 (which never had that big an online following anyway), you can bet that there are people out there, somewhere, due to be bitterly disappointed by this. It’s a shame, but what can you do? Business is business, and as per usual, it’s the Monster Hunter players who get crapped on.
