PlayStation Exclusive Shutting Down and Being Removed From Sale
A PlayStation exclusive is shutting down and being removed from sale. Fortunately for PS4 and PS Vita users, while the servers of the game are completely shut down, it hasn't been removed from sale in all regions. PlayStation is increasingly defined by its big-budget, high-profile exclusives. On PS4, this has included games like Bloodborne, God of War, Marvel's Spider-Man, Ghost of Tsushima, The Last of Us Part 2, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, and Horizon: Zero Dawn. This is just PS4 exclusives made or published by PlayStation though. There are also third-party exclusives, like Persona 5 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake. Not all PS4 exclusives are of this sublime quality though. There are also games like Grand Kingdom, which has its audience, but doesn't hold the same weight. That said, it's losing whatever audience it has seven years after its release.
This week, Spike Chunsoft announced that servers of the game in Japan are shutting down on March 29, three years after the servers were shut down in the west. That said, while the game has remained available on the PlayStation Store in the west, it's being pulled from sale in Japan on February 28.
Why the game is being removed for sale in Japan and not in the west, we don't know. Could be down to laws in Japan versus elsewhere. This could also be a harbinger of what's to come, which is to say, it may be removed from sale in the west in the near future. If this is the plan though, Spike Chunsoft doesn't relay it. That said, considering the game is published in the west by NIS America -- who hasn't said a peep about any of this -- it probably wouldn't.
Grand Kingdom is a tactical role-playing game that hit back in 2015 via the PS4 and PlayStation Vita, but only in Japan. It didn't come west until the following year. A spiritual successor to 2011's Grand Knights History, it's unclear how it performed commercially. What we do know is how it performed critically, garnering Metacritic scores of 76 and 78, depending on the platform.
As always, we will keep you updated as the situation evolves. In the meantime, for more PlayStation news, rumors, leaks, and speculation, be sure to check out all of our past and extensive coverage of the platform by clicking right here.