Killzone 2 servers are not live - Sony

By Robert Purchese Published 10 February, 2009

No problem with promo copies.

Sony has told Eurogamer that Killzone 2 multiplayer servers are not active, and won't be until sometime close to its launch on 27th February.

Thus, the pre-release promotional copies currently out there will not work online until servers are up and running. There's nothing wrong with the discs themselves.

The platform holder was speaking after reports of Killzone 2 promotional copies not working online popped up on the official US PlayStation forum.

Promotional copies are distributed before release to industry insiders. They often end up on eBay, fetching sky-high prices from eager fans.

Both Xbox 360 and PS3 promos come without a manual or any disc-art, but otherwise are identical to regular retail games. The words "promo only - not for resale" are also clearly printed on the discs.

Killzone 2 will be released exclusively for PS3 from 27th February. There's a PSN demo to be tried until then.

Or there's our Killzone 2 review to read. We quite liked it.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (45) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • TheBoyChris #1 3 years ago

    It is news, it's just not news you're interested in.

    I wonder why they've left them off? Maybe to stop negative press over empty servers, or last minute tweaks to the server code? Did they give a reason at all?

    (Edit: Removed ratty comment...)
    Edited by 1 at 10/02/09 @ 13:52

  • the_sas_man #2 3 years ago

    They are working...it's just that no-one is playing the crappy MP

  • Doctor_What #3 3 years ago

    You know, I suspect that they won't have any problems with empty servers for a very long time yet. No, I think the reason is that it costs a big pile of money for the servers and they don't fancy paying all that out for a small bunch of journalists. I don't blame them. People really are determined to pick holes in the game, aren't they?

    EDIT: And there, the_sas_man proves my point. What's the obsession with kicking this game? It's got near-unnanimous rave reviews, it's a hardcore title, it's a good console FPS, it's got phenomenally solid graphics, and it's on the PS3 where this kind of quality is needed to really fill out the catalogue. The absence of co-op is a big gripe, but otherwise what on earth is the problem here? Is it simply that fanboys think it's on the 'wrong' console?
    Edited by 1 at 10/02/09 @ 13:58

  • mcbi4kh2 #4 3 years ago

    Maybe to stop negative press over empty servers?

    I wonder why they've left them off?

    Did they give a reason at all?

    Im going to answer all these questions at once......

    ....becasue the game hasn't been released yet.

  • andijames #5 3 years ago

    @ the_sas_man

    I take it you've played the "crappy MP" then?

  • kangarootoo #6 3 years ago

    @the_sas_man

    A childish comment from a child's mind.

  • TheBoyChris #7 3 years ago

    Im going to answer all these questions at once......

    ....becasue the game hasn't been released yet.

    But you'd still want your servers running to test their durability, etc... there's many reasons for and against having them on or off, I'm just wondering if there's an official reason :)
    Edited by 1 at 10/02/09 @ 14:03

  • VandelayIndustries #8 3 years ago

    Considering that you still find plenty of full rooms on R:FoM over two years after release I would think the same will hold true with this.
    Also, does anybody know if custom games on Killzone 2 will be hosted on their servers like Resistance, or will they be Player hosted like CoD?

  • Kenshin001 #9 3 years ago

    I was getting a bit worried knowing the game is not out for a couple more weeks and the servers are not live. I mean what if I wanted to play some MP with the game that I don't have and is not on sale yet? I wish the servers were live so that I could look at the black screen on my TV and pretend to play a game with my friends with the game I do not have and will not be available until the end of February.

  • MasterNameless #10 3 years ago

    I'm definitely waiting on my purchase of this game, the controls really put me off in the demo. Plus, with MP possibly being the biggest draw for me, coupled with Sony's track record of fucking up their servers in one way or another, I'm definitely going to hold off until I hear some positive feedback on how the online side is going to work. Lag free(within reason, mind you), decent voice chat and a usable friend invite system is all I ask for.

  • HermitArcader #11 3 years ago

    Post deleted at 09:17:39 22-12-2011

  • Moonprince #12 3 years ago

    Fear 2 servers still not active and that's out on Fri no? Doubt its an issue...

  • Widge #13 3 years ago

    Hm I forgot about post release servers. SP it is then!

  • Beano #14 3 years ago

    "What's the obsession with kicking this game?"

    Because the game actually lives up to the hype and xbots are desperate to find ways to bash it now that the reviews doesn't. Sad but true.

  • chessboxer #15 3 years ago

    The servers are off to stop people leveling up in the multiplayer and because the game isn't officially out yet. Missing a few days gaming in Killzone 2 can leave you quite far behind a lot of players who started at the same time as you.

    @ the_sas_man

    I've been a long time PC FPS gamer and Killzone 2's multiplayer is the first console game which has got me really excited. Playing games such as UT99, UT2004 and the various Counter-Strike incarnations, my standards are very high and Killzone 2's MP is very, very good (I've been in 2 beta phases for it).

    If GG enabled mouse and keyboard, it would be even better but would alienate a lot of people and would also have to have options similar to UT3 for playing with/without a controller online.

  • MasterNameless #16 3 years ago

    "What's the obsession with kicking this game?"

    It's nothing to the amount of kicking that Gears 2 is getting in the other thread. I guess it's always jealousy or something from either camp. Fantards, all round, need shooting from cannons into the sun.
    Edited by 1 at 10/02/09 @ 14:32

  • kangarootoo #17 3 years ago

    @TheBoyChris

    Its trivial to run servers but not make them available to the public. When they say "the server's aren't on yet" they don't mean there are no Killzone 2 related server runnings anywhere in the world (they will have been running for months probably, for all the reasons you suggest). They just mean they aren't open to the public yet, and the official reason for that will be... the game hasn't been released yet :)

  • Xerx3s #18 3 years ago

    "Because the game actually lives up to the hype and xbots are desperate to find ways to bash it now that the reviews doesn't. Sad but true."

    Thanks, that made me lol.

  • Furfoot #19 3 years ago

    "Thanks, that made me lol."

    Thanks, that made lol.

  • MasterNameless #20 3 years ago

    "They chose a cheap console. And now they are pissed off."

    Urgh, that doesn't help. One fanboy comment turns you into exactly the same, just on the other side of the fence. Try to rise above it will you...

    /adds gunpowder to cannon

  • tomnol #21 3 years ago

    I'm definitely waiting on my purchase of this game

    Oh, the world will certainly end without your purchase. Thanks for the heads up.

  • kangarootoo #22 3 years ago

    "They chose a cheap console. And now they are pissed off."

    Don't rise to the bait. If some nobber wanders in here with some hollow trolling comment to make, the very last thing you want to do is respond in kind. Hit the ignore button (or at the very least just stop reading said comments), and then return to the discussion at hand. Believe me, you will feel better for it.

  • kangarootoo #23 3 years ago

    @MasterNameless

    snap :)

  • Benno #24 3 years ago

    When are the Gears of War 5 servers up? I want to play damit

  • miiiguel #25 3 years ago

    My sis husband (there's an english word for that...) gave me some promo copies of a couple of games, and they are not the same as retail ones. They come with a big "PROMO COPY! NOT FOR RESALE" on the cover. It's ugly. It's free.

    edit: evilfoxdude is a 360 aficionado again (weekly update?) ? Now the PS3 is a cheap console ?
    Edited by 1 at 10/02/09 @ 15:06

  • MasterNameless #26 3 years ago

    Awww, a little upset that someone isn't 100% sold by the demo? Shame. You seem to care enough to comment don't you ;)

    I was simply saying that I wasn't convinced, and how the multiplayer pans out will define whether I'll get it or not. Which, funnily enough, is what this news story touches on. Am I not allowed to comment on a game I'm interested in anymore? Or is it just that your hype-goggles can't possibly comprehend someone not being completely besotted by a game they've hardly played?
    Edited by 1 at 10/02/09 @ 15:07

  • kangarootoo #27 3 years ago

    @miiiguel

    The term is "brother in law"

    :)

  • miiiguel #28 3 years ago

    @ kangarootoo: thanks! ;)

  • MasterNameless #29 3 years ago

    @kangarootoo

    Sometimes I feel I'm wasting my breath(or, err.. fingerprints?) I admit, but we have to try. :)

  • skillian #30 3 years ago

    xbots are desperate to find ways to bash it now that the reviews doesn't.

    Anyone who reads EG comment threads even casually knows this to be true. And I don't own a PS3, nor have I ever played Killzone 1 or 2.

  • MasterNameless #31 3 years ago

    "Anyone who reads EG comment threads even casually knows this to be true. And I don't own a PS3, nor have I ever played Killzone 1 or 2."

    How is this different from any exclusive game on either the 360 or PS3?

    edit: damn it! One line and still a spelling mistake :/
    Edited by 1 at 10/02/09 @ 15:20

  • mikeck #32 3 years ago

    @miiguel

    I'm not sure your point on the promo copies...it's only the packaging (or lack of it) that is different, the promo copy of the game will be the same as the retail version in terms of the game on it. The game will play the same, it's just that it has 'promo copy' written on it that's different.

  • penhalion #33 3 years ago

    Yea I get promo's occasionally. No idea what list I ended up on to get them though as I never fill in those Sony or Microsoft dev questionaires. I guess a work colleague thought I simply forgot to fill them in or something...

  • teabagger #34 3 years ago

    @ Nick_Nukem. Nope, most of the people that worked on it have got copies too. They're retail versions too - not marked 'promo only'.

  • Xerx3s #35 3 years ago

    "Anyone who reads EG comment threads even casually knows this to be true. And I don't own a PS3, nor have I ever played Killzone 1 or 2."

    Anyone who reads the comments threads also knows that the same people who are moaning here gladly invade any 360 related thread and turn it into an absolute train wreck. I can't remember a single high profile 360 thread that wasn't completely swamped by the other side. This thread hasn't even been touched compared to some other threads out there. Hypocrite much?
    But then phrases such as xbot are a pretty clear give-away of that.

  • ronuds #36 3 years ago

    "Because the game actually lives up to the hype and xbots are desperate to find ways to bash it now that the reviews doesn't. Sad but true."

    That comment is sad but true...true only in that it was said. :D

  • kangarootoo #37 3 years ago

    It strikes me as bizarre that fanboys on opposing sides seem to hate each other so much, when in fact they have far more in common with each other than they do with anyone else in here.

    Though looking out at the rest of the world, its not such a surprise really.

  • booner #38 3 years ago

    "Gears of war 5 servers are not live either, I fail to see how this is news. Only about 3 people have promo copies of Killzone 2."

    We have had 2 copies in our office.... we are either very lucky or you are talking out of your arse

  • GamesConnoisseur #39 3 years ago

    EDGE review score of Killzone 2 not very high was it in response to comments of 'xbots trying to bash the game now 'all' the reviews are gushing positive'!?

    Still Metacritic score of 92 is not insulting as some of my fav games of the past year got less than that.

    My other 3 PS3 owning mates at work also has their gripes about the control but all agreed something just getting used to and now just hurry up with the release and put us out of our misery at all this squabblings BEFORE the fecking game is out!

  • Cider-X #40 3 years ago

    I have it as well, it is not as rare as you think.. game is an 8/10 for me.

  • DAN.E.B #41 3 years ago

    evil foxhound is still on here spouting his bullshit?

    I put that retard on ignore months ago!

  • influenceuk #42 3 years ago

    i have the promo/review copy and the game is awesome and looks amazing. story is ok, typical fps really. personally i love the game, and think the wait was worth it.

    then again i would say good things, i got the game free lol

    just wish the servers were up but then again they do the same wth pre release blu-rays and bd live
    Edited by 1 at 11/02/09 @ 01:31

  • kangarootoo #43 3 years ago

    @DAN:SOLO

    Then stop acknowledging his comments!

    Sheesh :)

  • zuljin #44 3 years ago

    @Vertical Stand
    Don't wait. Get in there early, in the beta it was very frustrating if you were left behind in the leveling, because it takes a while to unlock the better classes.

    @Nick_Nukem
    I managed to borrow a copy, and someone else in the comments here as well, and obviously the reviewer.

    That makes 3 people on this site already.

  • miiiguel #45 3 years ago

    @ mikeck : you're right on the 0's and 1's part, which are the same. The art covers aren't though (the letering is huge and ugly!, it messes the whole cover!). And I dig that stuff... :}
    Edited by 1 at 11/02/09 @ 12:50