Gran Turismo 5 was released just three years ago, but Sony is already pulling the plug on its severs.
One of the increasingly valid concerns people have over DLC and games that require online servers is the fear that one day, those servers will shut down, leaving sections of the game unplayable. For Gran Turismo 5 that day is near, with Sony announcing that its online servers will come to a close on May 30, 2014. What’s more, after 30 April 2014, players will be unable to purchase any Gran Turismo 5 DLC, as it will disappear from the PS store forever.
Specifically, Sony says that the following services will come to an end: Online Lobby, Seasonal Events, Museum, News, Community, Remote Race, Log in Bonus, Online Dealership and DLC purchase.
If you’ve purchased the “Racing Car Pack” and “Course Pack” (including those purchased as part of the “Complete Pack”), you’ll have to access the PlayStation Store and purchase the [Family Upgrade] for the items in question. The upgrade is free of charge, and ensures that you’ll be able to re-download the DLC in the future.
If you wish to re-download already purchased DLC after the April 30 cut-off date, you will still be able to do so from the [Download List], accessible in the PlayStation Store. However, this will not work with the “Paint Pack” and “Racing Gear Pack”, which once deleted from your system will be gone forever!
So there we go. It looks like Gran Turismo‘s online shelf-life is only as long as the gap between the next game’s release. Gran Turismo 6 has already had several cars released for free for the game since it’s launch, and plans to have a substantial amount more. I wonder what will happen when its severs inevitably go offline?
Source: Gran Turismo
