Electronic Arts is raising eyebrows amongst its loyal customers by announcing the imminent closure of numerous servers dedicated to multiplayer matches. While it is typical for servers to come down after several years, EA is bucking the trend and shortening the leash, perhaps too much so. One of the servers that will be coming down on February 2nd is none other Madden 09, which I imaging still has a sizable number of players.

Your $60 investment a little over a year ago is now essentially worthless.

Why would EA do this?

Well, the cynic in me says this is a way to force any stragglers to upgrade their game to the latest version. It also tells gamers that in the future, you had better stay current or else you risk being obsolete in record time. This is an F-U to gamers from a company infamous for a protruding middle-finger.

Personally, I find this troubling and a bad sign. I hope gamers complain and EA reverses course, at least extending life a little longer. Paying $60 for a game is already ridiculous, but paying $60 for a game that will quickly become redundant in the eyes of its publishers is bad news for everyone.

Additionally, this spells trouble for the Used Games market. If you happen to venture into Gamestop and pick up an old copy of Madden, well, you’re screwed if you expect to play online, or a ton of other games that EA is bringing down.

Here’s the official line:

Online Service Updates

The following is an important update regarding online service for some older EA titles.

Servers for the games listed below will be shut down on the indicated dates. You may continue to play the games online up until these dates, but certain community programs may begin to close down prior to the shutdown dates.

All of us at EA would like to thank you for your valued participation in our online gaming community and hope that your enthusiasm for these games extends to our current lineup and beyond.

If you have further questions about your account or the shut down of these services, please visit http://support.ea.com.

Thank you,
Electronic Arts

February 9, 2010 Online Service Shutdown
FIFA 07 for PC
Madden 07 for PC and Xbox 360
Madden 08 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PC, Wii and Xbox 360
Madden 09 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, PC, Wii and Xbox 360
NHL® 08 for PC
Tiger Woods PGA TOUR® 07 for PC
UEFA Champions League™ 07 for PC

February 2, 2010 Online Service Shutdown
Facebreaker for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
Fantasy Football 09 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3
FIFA 07 for PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2 and PC
Fight Night Round 3 for PlayStation 2
March Madness 07 for Xbox 360
NBA LIVE 07 for PlayStation Portable and Xbox 360
NBA LIVE 08 for PS2, PlayStation Portable and Wii
NBA LIVE 09 for Wii – Europe only
NBA Street (2007) for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NCAA® Football for 08 PlayStation 2
NCAA® Football for 09 PlayStation 2
NASCAR® 08 for PlayStation 2
NASCAR® 09 for PlayStation 2
NASCAR® 09 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 – Europe Only
NFL Tour for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360
NHL® 07 for PlayStation Portable and Xbox 360
UEFA Champions League 07 for Xbox 360

Source