((This isn't really so much of a question, as much as a "Oh darn, I guess it's what it is right now, here's what I think" post for EA.))
Hello! My pseudonym online is Prof Blahson.
I'm an XBLA user. I discovered Skate in its second iteration, and have been a big fan since.
A few years ago (wow, it's really been a while, hasn't it?), Skate 3 came out. We were ecstatic in our small, yet very tightly knit, community of video-makers and fake-skaters. Some of us had picked up the series in Skate 2 (such as myself), and really came along in our fake-skating abilities, making teams, forming our own styles of skating and filming, and general ideas.
We had tons of fun.
I made a bunch of great friends through the game. We knew each other. We'd be there to help others out if they needed, jam with each other, make videos, all that good stuff. We would help others start off if they wanted it, and were constantly critiquing and praising each other's work. It was the best.
Unfortunately, I know I, along with a ton of other members, had to move away from the game for a while. School, work, moving, life stuff - it was too much to try and handle a fake skate team, along with going to school double-full time (me), or trying to start a family (teammates/other friends).
Recently, I came into a plethora of free time. I'm out of school for summer break, at my own apartment, and I figured: "HEY! Let's make some fake-skate videos again! It really helped as a creative outlet, and I'd love to keep doing it!" So, after much effort to get Live started again, I popped in the game, and started working from scratch. I rushed through to sell the 1 mil. boards again (took me two full nights) to unlock stuff, re-downloaded DLC packs, and I got to the point where I wanted to upload a video.
So I skated, made a shot, and now it's online.
The unfortunate part is, I can't access it.
I did a little research as to why, which led me here, where I found out that hardly a month ago, the servers were shut down. Major bummer!
While I would like to yell and shout over how big a deal this is to us, how "EA IS STEELING M@H MUNIE$ DFGHJ," I'm not going to.
The fact is, I got a lot of playtime out of this game. So much happened in the amount of time that I was in the Skate 3 community! Skate 3 was the only game I played (or at least, my most played). Literal tons of hours of effort were put in to make videos of this game. We shared more than ever before. Parks, videos, graphics, ideas, whatever it was, everyone knew it!
It's unfortunate that the servers were shut down. I understand that it could be a bit of a drain on a company to work with something that many people left a while ago.
But there's another unfortunate part to this, too: I feel like EA is missing out by doing this.
Now, I'm not sure about the opportunity costs of returning the website back to where it was. But I feel like if it was, there'd be a much happier fan base, and therefore a much happier company. The game would return to being about sharing ideas, such as it is marketed.
Again, I'm sure that there were many valid reasons for retiring the website. I'm not saying they weren't, and I'm not going to blame the company for protecting its interests.
I would simply like to submit a cordial request that putting the sites back up be considered, for the fans. This amazing game, Skate 3, is marketed as a "Team Game." On the box it tells players that we can share our parks, videos, and graphics. Unfortunately, much of this access is now restricted to the slower, in-game processes. Skate.Reel is laggy and slow. Skate.Parks don't load for me half the time. And what about graphics? I can no longer represent the team I created in Skate 2 on the bottom of my board or the back of my hat in game.
I can still see my clips and parks on my Xbox, but I can't get to them on my computer, where it really matters!
Unfortunate indeed.
I just hope that there's a slight chance that we could see the site being reestablished in the near future. By removing these features from the game, you're further removing players from enjoying the game.
Which neither side would really like, I'm sure.
Regardless, I would like to end this letter by saying that while I'm extremely disappointed in the lack of online features now, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game. If this means that I no longer play the game, so be it (however, that's extremely doubtful - nothing is better than landing that sick gap or hitting that gnarly rail).
We are an intelligent community. We'll be able to figure out a way to continue sharing our ideas with each other.
Unfortunately, it probably will not end up the way the game intended.
Thank you for your time.
Respectfully,
Prof Blahson.
