Just yesterday we brought you the news that the iOS version of Rock Band was being discontinued. That didn’t just mean you wouldn’t be able to purchase the game any longer. No, according to the message shown to all current owners of the game, the app would no longer work starting on May 31st.
When asked, the rockers over at Harmonix (who own the Rock Band franchise) stated that they didn’t own the publishing rights to the iOS version of the game. EA held the rights to the game, and they sent out the message. However, it seems that it was in error. Today, users are seeing a new message, as shown above.
What’s interesting is that in just a day, EA has reversed their position on the matter. No public announcement has been made as to why they originally planned to cancel the title. I can imagine that the vast public outcry had something to do with their sudden change of heart.
In this case, we were fortunate. But what concerns me is that EA was going to completely shut down a game that many people had paid for. Sure, that’s something we see with MMO’s. However, to see a simple iOS game rendered unplayable one day, that’s actually a bit scary. I wonder how long it will be before we see other single-player games shut down with little warning.