Gamers outraged over Sony terminating servers for ‘SOCOM’

After 10 years, Sony plans to terminate all ‘SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs’ servers for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable by August 31, 2012.

The news was announced on the SOCOM forum that stated, “On August 31, 2012 Sony Computer Entertainment America will be terminating the on-line service for the following PlayStation®2 and PlayStation®Portable ("PSP") software titles:

PlayStation®2 system: SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs, SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs, SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs, SOCOM Combined Assault.

PSP system: SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo, SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 2, SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike.” The gaming community has reacted negatively to the news on online forums and news aggregators. Gamers on N4G.com have expressed their outrage while a SOCOM forum titled SONY, DO NOT SHUT DOWN THE PS2 SOCOM SERVERS! has received up to 49 replies. Luken Bacher of TheRealSOCOM.com, an online news site dedicated to the SOCOM-series, voiced his disappointment in the termination of the servers. "Countless SOCOM fans, including myself, have been hoping that a new SOCOM would be announced to mark the 10 year anniversary of the franchise", stated Bacher in his article. "Instead, the SOCOM servers will be closed 4 days after that milestone." SOCOM is a series of third-person tactical shooters developed exclusively for Sony's gaming systems. The series started with SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs, which was one of the first console games to feature online multiplayer. Its sequel, SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs, has been hailed as one of the best online games for the PS2.