EA's financial problems from last year, it seems, are continuing to have repercussions. Even after cutting 1,500 employees in November, the publisher is still looking to reduce operating costs. As a result, the company is killing off a number of game servers on three separate dates in the coming months.

February 2 will see the largest number of game servers shut down, followed by a few more on February 9. While many of these games are a few years old and on older systems (such as FIFA 07 for PC), some of the games on the list are shockingly recent. The most surprising shutdown revelation is Madden 09 on all platforms, which will occur on April 6. Of course, no plans have been announced to turn off servers for Madden 10, but fans have got to be wondering if they're only going to be able to play that game's online mode for roughly a year before it, too, is shut down.

It makes sense to shut down many of these servers, since they cater to what are most likely a small number of gamers at a significant expense to EA. However, the shutdown of servers for titles like Madden 09 and NASCAR 09 seems like a heavy-handed attempt to force players to pick up newer entries for these series. It's a shame that EA is having such problems that it is forced to such drastic measures, but it's even more of a shame that the company is using such tactics on general consumers. Here's the full list of affected games:

April 6, 2010 Online Service Shutdown

Madden 09 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Wii and Xbox 360

February 9, 2010 Online Service Shutdown

FIFA 07 for PC

for PC Madden 07 for Xbox 360

for Xbox 360 Madden 08 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PC, Wii and Xbox 360

for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PC, Wii and Xbox 360 NHL 08 for PC

for PC Tiger Woods PGA TOUR 07 for PC

for PC UEFA Champions League 07 for PC

February 2, 2010 Online Service Shutdown