I'm sure thats the case. Though it also helps that their fans will buy the next installment, and these server shutdowns will push the stragglers ahead.
Instead of having Madden 09, Madden 2010, etc servers, I wonder if they could come up with a more generic protocol that would simply be "Madden Server". There could be the main central server that everyone gets on regardless of their version, something that handles the matchmaking and such. Then each individual game spawns a "mini-server", kind of like the instancing of Guild Wars (or any MMO, really).
So no need to "shut down" servers for individual games. If the traffic slows down then that just means fewer spawned instances of the 09 game and it won't be taking anything away from the main server farm that they are going to be hosting anyway. This is even easier if the game is not hosted on dedicated servers and is instead hosted by the players themselves with the EA servers simply acting as a matchmaking service. If thats the case then this shutdown is even dumber.
Excellent idea.
All this of course assumes EA doesn't just want to be dicks and force people to buy the newest version of their sports games.
Oh, I'm sure that's part of their plan, too - Especially since the last PC Madden will have their servers shut down. I bet it means Madden might be coming back to the PC - then again, if it's not profitable here, maybe not.
We know EA said their sports games might come back to the PC, but likely if they do, w/ a very different business model. I'm thinking if they do this - as I stated way above - they drop one sports game for a said generation (maybe for 5 years - usually the life of a console generation or the life of a PC for most people who do upgrades now and again) - but each year have yearly roster updates + a new game mode for paid-DLC. Why not? I mean, it's a better looking business model then say buying Madden every year for roster updates, tweaks, and maybe one new game-mode at full-freaking price.
Another big problem is - around the end of the year, EA banks out the Entire EA Sports Collection for That Year (includes Tiger Woods Golf, NBA Live, Madden, NHL, NASCAR) at the same price of $40 that I could've spend on ONE of those games earlier in the year. I think that's a lot of decent sports games for the bang-for-that-buck. I'd guess many gamers will sit and wait for the Sports Collection Box For The Year.
