Watch The Dying Seconds Of PlanetSide
This is the way the world ends
"This is the way the world ends," wrote T. S. Eliot, "Not with a bang but a whimper." They didn't have video games then, see. The world of PlanetSide [official site?] ended on Friday with meteors raining from the skies, and... then a whimpering "Connection Error" message. Say, this 'poetry' jazz really is timeless, isn't it? Here, watch a world ending.
Steven Messner (our Canadian pal) was one of those the scene when it all ended, recording this:
Ta for capturing that! (Hope it's not weird I'm using something you didn't make for RPS in an RPS post?)
Sony Online Entertainment launched the MMOFPS 13 years ago - that's 13 years of endless attacks, counter-attacks, occupations, and takeovers across virtual continents with hundreds of players, aircraft, mechs, and other shiny warfare devices. I haven't played in years myself but was awed by the scale when I did.
The SOE gang kept PlanetSide running after they split off to become Daybreak Game Company, but announced in June that they couldn't do it any longer. "While we have run the game for free since 2014, due to evolving business needs and technical requirements it has become necessary to conclude this service," they said. They'll also close Legends of Norrath, the EverQuest spin-off card game, in August.
PlanetSide 2 is still going, mind.
Maybe now's a good time to revisit The 1%, a report from an impossible battle by that nice boy Quinns.