Sony Infuriates Gamers After Dazzling Driveclub’s Unceremonious End
Despite leading the console wars, PlayStation 4 is coming off a lackluster year in terms of exclusives. Something needs to change. | Image: Source: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/AFP
Fans are up in arms after Sony delisted Driveclub from the PlayStation store a day earlier than planned. Sales of the driving game were slated to end on Aug. 31, but gamers hoping to pick up the game alongside a last-minute discount were unable to do so from Aug. 30 at 17.00 GMT.
The official blurb on the PlayStation website read as follows;
PlayStation will cease selling DRIVECLUB, DRIVECLUB VR, DRIVECLUB Bikes and all DLC and season passes related to those games from Aug. 31, 2019, at 23:59 BST.
Driveclub Fans Feel Betrayed
One enraged gamer took to the PlayStation forums to colorfully express his dismay;
“What a bunch of lying twats Sony are… Clearly stating that the content is available until 31/08 at 23:59 and then removing it more than 24 hours beforehand. A***oles.”
Countless Twitter users mirrored the sentiment about Sony’s early delisting of Driveclub;
A Story of Redemption
Driveclub’s history is one of redemption after surmounting a devastating launch to become one of the most widely acclaimed driving simulators of this generation.
Successive delays, missing features, and buggy servers gave way to a turnaround that other beleaguered developers can only dream of emulating, despite the ultimate demise of its developer Evolution in 2016. Extensive free post-release updates fixed many of the failures that plagued the game at launch and transformed it into a responsive and enjoyable driving experience alongside implementing one of a breathtakingly splendid wet weather system.
Marrying a subtle blend of fast-paced arcade-like momentum with the unforgiving and weighty exactitude of a die-hard simulator, Driveclub nailed an equilibrium that highlighted its gorgeous racing backdrops and the sleek lines of the countless vehicles added post-launch.
It’s no so much that Sony axed sales early without a word of warning, but players were dispossessed of a final chance to secure a copy of the game in the lead up to the shutdown of all online Driveclub servers on March 31 next year.
While eager fans rightly lambast developers for failing to deliver working games at launch, Driveclub’s bastardized swang song does little to convince studios in the same boat that there is indeed purpose or even long-term redemption in the arduous task of bringing a game back from the brink of disaster.
