BIGGER than Battlefield 2042, why did it FAIL? - The Tragedy of MAG

Microsoft changed console gaming by launching the original Xbox with a built-in Ethernet jack in November 2001, a move Sony wouldn’t follow until the PlayStation 2 Slim received an embedded Ethernet port in 2004. The American-based console manufacturer also shifted the state of things with the introduction of Xbox Live and Halo: Combat Evolved’s robust online offering. But Sony took its share of unique multiplayer-related strides upon investing heavily in Zipper Interactive and the genre-defining SOCOM franchise. Thus, though it lagged behind in terms of network services, the PlayStation brand doubled down on innovating in the software department. Nowhere was this more apparent than in 2010’s MAG.

The Zipper-developed Massive Action Game once held the Guinness World Record for most players online in a console FPS, courtesy of its ability to simultaneously host a then-unprecedented 256 users. Above all else, MAG emphasized teamwork, which Zipper underscored with an inventive command structure that brought a sense of order to the expansive online conflicts. The intricate leveling system additionally proved impressive for the time, as did the relatively minimal server hiccups.

MAG struggled out of the gate in some respects, however, due to a lack of map variety, balancing issues, clunky controls, and a faulty spawn system. Zipper addressed most of the shooter’s shortcomings across several post-launch patches, ensuring the multiplayer title matured into a PS3 favorite. Yet, MAG’s online-only status ultimately culminated in its downfall, a slippery slope that began during the infamous PlayStation Network outage of 2011.

This is the tragedy of MAG.

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[GVMERS]

Do you think MAG would have survived if it were released today? Sound off in the comments below!

[superscott]

I was a QA tester on MAG at Sony San Diego back in 2009. We were part of that external team they referenced in the video and took part in stress testing the game. I felt like at some point around June/July of that year, the game had a pitch perfect balance of level size and design. At some point after I moved on to MLB ‘10 The Show, the devs smashed the levels into smaller versions and at launch it was totally thrown off balance because of the mass carnage of spawn camping. It was my first experience working in games and is one of my most cherished memories.

[brando]

This game was WAY ahead of it's time. Valliant effort.

[BiGBoSSMk]

"At the time, the crew assumed no one wanted to scour a massive map for resources in an action game"

Welcome... to the desert... of the BR.

[xlwxassassn]

MAG in my top 3 of all time, the revive system was balanced and the fact you could hear the enemy on Comms when they were close by was something I’d never seen done again to this day in an FPS

[kinggigan]

This game was truly something else. I still remember how MAG was after the outage. Pretty much everyday it was harder and harder to find a match. Its heartbreaking when something with so much promise barely has a chance.

[krisxaero]

MAG was fun. I remember playing it during 2010 Christmas, I was playing domination and my platoon were mic'd up. We were all strangers to each other but halfway through, our dialogue became more casual and we just started talking about our lives and our holidays. We were just taking our time. A match taking 30 minutes to complete was not the norm back then, and that was MAG's domination timer. So we took our time running to objectives and talked about life.

[beefjerky]

MAG was ahead of its time. 90% of people back in those days were obsessed with more casual FPS games like CoD, so a game that required teamwork on such a massive scale wasn’t very marketable back then compared to how simple and fun games like MW2 were. Today though, there’s much more diversity in FPS games than a decade ago. If MAG were to release today with updated graphics on the PS5, it’d have a good chance of being a success

[IusskhofTV]

MAG was crazy good! I had three accounts for each faction...damn i miss that game

[jefferydraper]

My son (he was a preteen at the time) talk about how much we miss playing this game. It is the only game we actually played together.

[MandelbrotMetalhead]

To this day MAG is still one of my favorite shooters ever. Loved the story, loved the built in team organizing structure, and loved the pacing.

[hvkreaper]

I would say that even with today's tech MAG would still be ahead of the times. Absolutely insane how they were able to put that many players into a match and the game didn't explode.

[zacharyking]

MAG is, to this day, my single favorite FPS game ever made. Can you imagine if we had this game during Covid? SO many people could still be playing it.

[kicknchickn]

Used to play this game with the bois. The world wasn’t ready for a FPS game on a massive scale

[AlexNichiporchik]

Sunk a good 250 hours into MAG. I really liked their progression system with unlocks. Way ahead of its time!

[michaelkhan]

This was one of the most fun I've ever had playing an fps, it truly made you feel like you were fighting a big battle that you could make a difference in

[hotrodhunk]

I loved mag. If only more people followed the command structure. When people would it was amazing seeing the different tactics you could use. Simplest and best was to focus on one objective, then when they are all going to one spot you switch to another really quickly before they could react. You'd have 100 people just run into B and take it.

[AnomalyAlter]

I was telling my friends about the game a month ago, and none of them had heard of it
Frankly, they didn't believe me when I told them a PS3 shooter had 256 players and ran decently
What a shame the stars aligned to shut it down. Really enjoyed my time with it

[molitva]

I miss this game so much. 256 players with three unique factions on ps3. Absolutely ahead of its time.

[Royalmerc]

I remember this game fondly I actually had a positive KD on this game. SVER absolutely dominated all game modes for a long while there, quick revives and quick kills is what made the difference. I remember confidently running into 3 to 1 fights because I knew my team would back me up. Really wish I could go back and play this game again :(. Good times.