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[duckroll]

An honest question: Did battle.net provide any additional content, like downloadable quests and the like? That's one of the things people pay for as part of the monthly fee in a traditional MMO, and it's also something that Sega offered with PSO in the past. If battle.net did something similar for free, then maybe you have a point.

For Diablo 2, Blizzard continued to support the game via patches that would add new items, new uniques, additional features, etc over time. While I will agree they're not really comparable to what Sega offered with PSO, it was great at the time because Blizzard was under no obligation to actually continue pumping stuff into a game years after it shipped.

For Starcraft and Warcraft 3 though, the excellent ladder system and player matching was and still is above and beyond anything provided by any other developer up to now. There were also free maps both for multiplayer and singleplayer, as well as excellent player-made custom maps with various different gameplay features and so on.

Another example of a game similar to PSO/PSU would be Guild Wars. It's free to play, but when they offer additional content and so on, you pay for those optionally. As long as you've been a PC gamer for some time, what Sega does with PSO/PSU is totally unacceptable on any level, but I guess the console gamers don't mind.

 

[Tellaerin]

For Diablo 2, Blizzard continued to support the game via patches that would add new items, new uniques, additional features, etc over time. While I will agree they're not really comparable to what Sega offered with PSO, it was great at the time because Blizzard was under no obligation to actually continue pumping stuff into a game years after it shipped.

For Starcraft and Warcraft 3 though, the excellent ladder system and player matching was and still is above and beyond anything provided by any other developer up to now. There were also free maps both for multiplayer and singleplayer, as well as excellent player-made custom maps with various different gameplay features and so on.

Another example of a game similar to PSO/PSU would be Guild Wars. It's free to play, but when they offer additional content and so on, you pay for those optionally. As long as you've been a PC gamer for some time, what Sega does with PSO/PSU is totally unacceptable on any level, but I guess the console gamers don't mind.

Heh, I own Guild Wars, Duck. I don't play it anymore because it's so damn boring (but pretty! ), but I own it. TBH, something like PSO's worth a few dollars a month to me because I know from past experience that I'm going to actually play it, unlike GW. Yes, it would've been nice not to have to pay for a Hunter's License like back in the Dreamcast days, but since they are supporting the game with new content and they are storing characters server-side (and at least making an effort to control cheating, regardless of how ineffectual it turns out to be), I don't feel as if I'm being cheated as long as the fees are low. Besides, I'm sure that rogue, user-run servers are going to spring up eventually for those allergic to monthly charges.

 

[Mrbob]

Sega finally smart. Take the battle.net route and gain more sales.

Superior 360 version FTW.

 

[duckroll]

TBH, something like PSO's worth a few dollars a month to me because I know from past experience that I'm going to actually play it, unlike GW.

Okay, then I agree completely. I find GW a boring piece of shit too, and I'm also not much of a fan of PSO, so yeah. If there was a game that DID interest me, I would be willing to pay without question. But that doesn't mean it's not a ripoff!

 

[Tellaerin]

Sega finally smart. Take the battle.net route and gain more sales.

Superior 360 version FTW.

Then again, PC and PS2 owners aren't paying $50 a year for XBL, either. I'd say that it evens out, pricing-wise. And that's also assuming that this news is actually true - a couple of people in the thread have expressed doubts about this 'Orange Lounge Radio'. (Me, I've never heard of them before, so I'm still waiting for a solid confirmation one way or the other.) I guess we'll know soon enough, either way.

 

[Skilotonn]

Then again, PC and PS2 owners aren't paying $50 a year for XBL, either. I'd say that it evens out, pricing-wise. And that's also assuming that this news is actually true - a couple of people in the thread have expressed doubts about this 'Orange Lounge Radio'. (Me, I've never heard of them before, so I'm still waiting for a solid confirmation one way or the other.) I guess we'll know soon enough, either way.

It's $50 (even cheaper at lots of places) a year to play ALL Live titles and features that are out now and all other features that will be coming in the future with Xbox Live...

It's $120 a year for ONE game with PSU... how does that even out?

 

[Tellaerin]

It's $50 (even cheaper at lots of places) a year to play ALL Live titles and features that are out now and all other features that will be coming in the future with Xbox Live...

It's $120 a year for ONE game with PSU... how does that even out?

Is it? I wasn't aware that the monthly pricing had already been confirmed for Western players, but I'll take your word on it. And while you're busy being a walking advertisement for XBL, remember that it costs nothing to play most PS2 and PC games online, while you're saddled with a $50 annual fee if you want to play anything online with an X360.

If it's true that X360 owners won't have to pay an additional fee to play, and if the monthly fee for a Hunter's License is $10, and if you don't care about console and PC owners being able to play together, then yes, you might have a point. (Since I've got PC- and PS2-owning friends who are interested in the game, that last feature alone is worth something to me, but I'm sure you've already sold all your friends X360's by now, Skilo, so I can understand it not meaning much to you.)

 

[duckroll]

remember that it costs nothing to play most PS2 and PC games online

PC yes. Not true for most PS2 games in Japan! That's half the reason why most of the PS2 online modes in fighters and/or various arcade/action games have their online modes removed in the US versions.

 

[Tellaerin]

PC yes. Not true for most PS2 games in Japan! That's half the reason why most of the PS2 online modes in fighters and/or various arcade/action games have their online modes removed in the US versions.

I know, Duck. I know. I've heard Dcharlie pissing and moaning on GAF about the monthly fees for online PS2 games in Japan more times than I've got hairs on my head. I think it's really shitty, but thankfully we're not saddled with anything like that here in North America, and I don't ever expect us to be, either.

 

[DCharlie]

I've heard Dcharlie pissing and moaning on GAF about the monthly fees for online PS2 games in Japan more times than I've got hairs on my head

it's such a shame that every time you get to hear it, it doesn't make the costs go down !

Hey, if i play the PS2 version in the PS3 , surely it'll be free anyways?!

 

[duckroll]

it's such a shame that every time you get to hear it, it doesn't make the costs go down !

Hey, if i play the PS2 version in the PS3 , surely it'll be free anyways?!

Not if KDDI has anything to say about it! :lol

 

[BuddyC]

If true, that's simply awesome!

Indeed.

 

[Tellaerin]

it's such a shame that every time you get to hear it, it doesn't make the costs go down !

Hey, if i play the PS2 version in the PS3 , surely it'll be free anyways?!

Heh, speak his name and he appears! :lol (Or was it just the talk of Japanese monthly online fees that summoned you forth? )

 

[DCharlie]

Heh, speak his name and he appears! (Or was it just the talk of Japanese monthly online fees that summoned you forth? )

just got out of bed, one of the first threads i clicked on! I was surprised!

No Monthly PSU fees - would be nice, but i'm going to have a guess and say "nope, there'll be fees"

 

[_Angelus_]

In all honestly I had given up on this game since I don't have that much time to play alot of games nowdays,and paying to play one single game monthly doesn't do it for me. But if this game comes with no extras to pay for each month then I'm probably prone to picking it up,probably the week it releases.

Hope it is indeed free for us 360 owners.

 

[jimbo]

Still not getting me to switch.
Seperate servers + voice instead of keyboard = no.

I'm sorry about what I am going to say. I just have to rant.

This is not directed at you personally, I just now blew a fuse because I am tired of hearing this. That second part is the most MORONIC statement ever. Holy shit am I tired of people who actually continue to claim that a keyboard for communication is better for real time online gaming than VOICE. It's VOICE people! And not only that, this happens to be a real time game, where you fight in real time. I can remember playing the Dreamcast version with a keyboard, and nothing, I mean NOTHING sucked worse than getting killed in the middle of a battle when all I was really trying to do is type something. It completely and utterly sucked. PSO is the perfect online game for voice chat and will always play better with voice chat. It was a million times better on the Xbox for this reason alone.

I mean honestly, can someone explain to me where is the enjoyment of having to stop your game, put down the controller, pick up a keyboard, type, then go back to the controller.....EVERY time you want to say something?

Have people who claim this even played online games with voice chat? If anything voice should be a reason to buy a game, not the other way around.

 

[Skilotonn]

Is it? I wasn't aware that the monthly pricing had already been confirmed for Western players, but I'll take your word on it. And while you're busy being a walking advertisement for XBL, remember that it costs nothing to play most PS2 and PC games online, while you're saddled with a $50 annual fee if you want to play anything online with an X360.

If it's true that X360 owners won't have to pay an additional fee to play, and if the monthly fee for a Hunter's License is $10, and if you don't care about console and PC owners being able to play together, then yes, you might have a point. (Since I've got PC- and PS2-owning friends who are interested in the game, that last feature alone is worth something to me, but I'm sure you've already sold all your friends X360's by now, Skilo, so I can understand it not meaning much to you.)

Hasn't been confirmed, but I'm sure it'll be in the $8-$10 range...

That $50 for Live is a "pay and forget fee" and is more than worth the price, because last time I checked, if I were to playing, say, SOCOM 3, and a friend of mine was playing FFXI, both on PS2, none of us would know either of us was online, nor be able to communicate outside of using the telephone, nor be able to invite one another into the other game...

And this is just a quick example off the top of my head... with the Live Vision camera coming out soon, we can make plenty more examples too!

I'd love to be able to play with PS2 and PC players, yes, but since Sega seemed to make that a non-option now (and looking at the last thread where the PSU servers were shut down and characters may possibly be wiped out, this may actually be for the better), there's no way I'd accept paying monthly for that mess...

And there is the infinitely better option of having voice chat to talk to people instead of typing, and a possibility of MS handling the servers themselves which would mean no more server hiccups like what's going on this very minute in Japan, or even hacking...

Oh, and I didn't have to sell the 360 to any of my friends, they all bought it on their own after seeing what it could do, and we all got it on launch day... we wanted next-gen now, and we when and got it...

I'm sorry about what I am going to say. I just have to rant.

This is not directed at you personally, I just now blew a fuse because I am tired of hearing this. That second part is the most MORONIC statement ever. Holy shit am I tired of people who actually continue to claim that a keyboard for communication is better for real time online gaming than VOICE. It's VOICE people! And not only that, this happens to be a real time game, where you fight in real time. I can remember playing the Dreamcast version with a keyboard, and nothing, I mean NOTHING sucked worse than getting killed in the middle of a battle when all I was really trying to do is type something. It completely and utterly sucked. PSO is the perfect online game for voice chat and will always play better with voice chat. It was a million times better on the Xbox for this reason alone.

I mean honestly, can someone explain to me where is the enjoyment of having to stop your game, put down the controller, pick up a keyboard, type, then go back to the controller.....EVERY time you want to say something?

Have people who claim this even played online games with voice chat? If anything voice should be a reason to buy a game, not the other way around.

Don't be sorry... I agree all the way...

 

[BuddyC]

Voice chat's nice and all, but sometimes I don't want to communicate verbally, be it because my roommates are trying to sleep or because I'm just not in the mood. That's why I'm happy to have the choice between voice and keyboard chat, and I fully expect Sega to include both forms of communication in the 360 version, just like they did in the Xbox iteration of PSO.

Then again, it is Sega...

 

[theREBELins]

I'm now semi-interested in this...

 

[Skilotonn]

Voice chat's nice and all, but sometimes I don't want to communicate verbally, be it because my roommates are trying to sleep or because I'm just not in the mood. That's why I'm happy to have the choice between voice and keyboard chat, and I fully expect Sega to include both forms of communication in the 360 version.

Then again, it is Sega...

Having both options is definetely good, so I hope for the people that DO want keyboard support like you, that Sega knows that the 360 supports USB keyboards...

 

[BuddyC]

Having both options is definetely good, so I hope for the people that DO want keyboard support like you, that Sega knows that the 360 supports USB keyboards...

Well, Sega and MS went out of the way to provide a USB adapter for the original Xbox last time around, and there's no real reason to remove a feature / aspect that's present in other versions, so here's hoping. It's always nice to have choices.

 

[Xenon]

This could be a great way for sega to test out the market.

$10 extra per game w/free online + extra revenue coming from DLC

or

$7-8 per month w/ free updates.


If the 360 outpaces the other ones by a great number you may see free PSU for all. Mayve we might see some worthy quests and addons due to the fact they will have to sell them to the public.

 

[Community Forum]

YES YES YES YES YES!

OMFG good news from Sega!

GIVE ME PSU!

 

[jimbo]

I wanted to put this in my other post but it got too long. Here's a snapshot of the PSO experience with a keyboard that I am sure many who have played it have felt the suckiness of it all too often:

* Party enters a room full of robots in the Mines. Puts controller down and quickly picks up keyboard...party is already fighting....
Me:"hey guys, everyone attack and I'll hea...."
.....wham...I get hit by a tank rocket.....screen turns red.
....back in town....
Me:hey guys can someone please send a telepipe?" ..
PM1: "....haaaaannnng...o.n....a...seCCC"
PM2:"...."help"
Me:"guys if you just send a telepipe I can come help"
*PM1 dies..back in town next to me*
PM1: "f*** got me too...what were you saying?*
Me +PM1: Guys can we get a telepipe?
PM2: "F*** yeah...got 2 special weapons!!!!"
PM3: "Me too!!!"
Me+PM1: "Dammit.Bleep.etc"

Or this:
Me: " So can someone tell me which quests I need to complete to get so and so weapon?"
*party continues on and leaves me behind*
"Me: Hey guys, which way did you go?"
PM1: "Cheeeeckk teh map"
PM2: "map"...****k..come on jimbo we need help here"
Me:"Ok. Wait for me please"
*I stop to check the map while cheking the map:
PM3: "Hey jimbo, you got any telepipes?"
*trying to quickly close the map and type back*
PM3:" Jimbooooo...you there?"
PM2: " Did he get disc?"
PM1: "I think so. Let's keep going you guys"
Me: "No I am here. Where you guys at? I was trying to type"
Party: "Fighting the boss". We thought you weren't coming"
Me: "F***. Sh**. Bleep."

Who feels me on this?

 

[bengraven]

****ing sold. +1 sales. Even though my 360 is broke.

 

[Tabris]

I thought you were joking.

360PSU = Voice chat
PS2/PC = Text chat

Basically, think of the divide in this community akin to Final Fantasy XI.

Huh? there's no divide. Everyone that owns FFXI on 360 has a keyboard and plays on same servers as PC/PS2.

 

[Nikashi]

Seriously, every Xbox game that involves ANY text entry supports USB Keyboards. Sega would have to specifically REMOVE the feature in this case.


I still can't believe people are bitching because of additional OPTIONS

 

[scarybore]

This could be a great way for sega to test out the market.

$10 extra per game w/free online + extra revenue coming from DLC

or

$7-8 per month w/ free updates.

I could live with that

This is excellent news if true. I was planning to get either the PS2 or PC versions simply because I daresay its where all the PSO peeps I used to play with (UGVD ftw!) would go but I was worried that my PC wouldn't be able to handle it and PS2 was my last resort, but with this news you would have to be a bit stupid not to go with the 360 version unless you really want to play with friends.

I feel bad for the peeps who are getting their character wiped, being a long term PSO player I know how that feels :lol

I wonder if they could give 360 users a choice so to speak. Play with 360 owners for free on a gold membership or have a silver membership and pay to play with the PS2 & PC folks.

I really hope they dont seperate the 360 but if its free I guess I can handle it.

 

[jedimike]

I keep one of those cheap ass roll up keyboards next to my 360. Comes in handy when sending text messages to friends. I see no reason why PSU would not have keyboard support in the 360 version. I also see no reason why Sega would not charge 360 owners a monthly fee.... except that they are anticipating revenue from microtransactions and are compensating like Atari is doing with Test Drive Unlimited.

 

[Tellaerin]

I'm sorry about what I am going to say. I just have to rant.

This is not directed at you personally, I just now blew a fuse because I am tired of hearing this. That second part is the most MORONIC statement ever. Holy shit am I tired of people who actually continue to claim that a keyboard for communication is better for real time online gaming than VOICE. It's VOICE people! And not only that, this happens to be a real time game, where you fight in real time. I can remember playing the Dreamcast version with a keyboard, and nothing, I mean NOTHING sucked worse than getting killed in the middle of a battle when all I was really trying to do is type something. It completely and utterly sucked. PSO is the perfect online game for voice chat and will always play better with voice chat. It was a million times better on the Xbox for this reason alone.

I mean honestly, can someone explain to me where is the enjoyment of having to stop your game, put down the controller, pick up a keyboard, type, then go back to the controller.....EVERY time you want to say something?

Have people who claim this even played online games with voice chat? If anything voice should be a reason to buy a game, not the other way around.

I'm with the OP. I just don't like voice chat in games in general. That's why it's never been a big bullet point for me. There are a few reasons for that.

One is that it takes me out of the game. I really don't want to hear what you sound like in real life. Hearing a squeaky twelve-year-old voice coming out of that big burly warrior in the party totally destroys any sense of atmosphere for me. Some people don't care about that, I know, but I do. (And voice filters only go so far.)

Another is that a lot of people act like idiots online. I like being able to hear the music and sound effects in the games I'm playing. I can't do that when people are singing into their mics, arguing with their family members, or constantly telling the rest of the group how drunk/high they are right now. Sure, I could mute them, but that pretty much makes voice chat pointless, doesn't it?

Finally, I'm a pretty decent typist, so communicating in-game while I'm playing isn't a big issue for me. (That's especially true of a game like PSO, where you can set up a bunch of chat macros ahead of time for emergencies.)

So for me, voice chat in a game like this is a minor convenience at best. What few positives I do see are overshadowed by the aggravation of dealing with idiots and the atmosphere-breaking intrusion of the real world into the game courtesy of the other players' voices. I know not everyone feels the same way I do, but it's far from the one-sided issue that your rant made it out to be, either.

 

[Nigglo Nash]

Voicechat kicked serious ass in PSO for Xbox.


I love how this thread turned into a voicechat = bad thread, like that was the real news in the thread.


This forum sucks serious dick. I blame the administration, hell look they are even adding to the derailment.

 

[Community Forum]

This forum sucks serious dick

Holy shit.

 

[demi]

Voicechat kicked serious ass in PSO for Xbox.


I love how this thread turned into a voicechat = bad thread, like that was the real news in the thread.


This forum sucks serious dick. I blame the administration, hell look they are even adding to the derailment.

ROFL, tru dat

 

[shuri]

Voice chat and no montly fees make the game interesting to me. I might consider it later on.

 

[Tellaerin]

Voicechat kicked serious ass in PSO for Xbox.


I love how this thread turned into a voicechat = bad thread, like that was the real news in the thread.


This forum sucks serious dick. I blame the administration, hell look they are even adding to the derailment.

The 'derailment'? A piece of unconfirmed news was posted - we don't even know if it's legitimate yet! WTF else are we supposed to be discussing? Or are you just annoyed because people are discussing a related topic instead of prematurely assuming the news is legit and spamming the thread with 'Wooo! Go X360!' posts?

And if this place 'sucks serious dick', junior, why are you even here? There are other gaming forums on the net. Go find one. If this is what we can expect from your posts, I really doubt you'd be contributing much anyway.

 

[LuCkymoON]

Whaaaaat? I'm talking about controlling your character with voice commands. That's just stupid. The guy said "voice instead of keyboard". Did he mean "Controller instead of keyboard"? Or was he just talking about typing "/speak DuffMan: Hay, let's kill this dragon." being better than just saying Hay, let's kill this dragon" into a headset...

woa...wow >_< I think my brain just stopped when I read that.

 

[kiryogi]

I never had any issues typing and it's actually a lot easier to handle especailly when you're playing on keyboard. Not to mention you have full access to everything. It's a been meddlesome to navigate on the Ps2 and if its the same idea on X360, probably a big pain too.

 

[Gunstar77]

This is great news if it is true. I was most likely going to skip PSU due to the monthly fee thing but now I am in.

 

[sangreal]

If it's true that X360 owners won't have to pay an additional fee to play, and if the monthly fee for a Hunter's License is $10, and if you don't care about console and PC owners being able to play together, then yes, you might have a point. (Since I've got PC- and PS2-owning friends who are interested in the game, that last feature alone is worth something to me, but I'm sure you've already sold all your friends X360's by now, Skilo, so I can understand it not meaning much to you.)

according to october's CGW:

Sega has no official word on how much, but bank on it being in line with monthly fees for Final Fantasy XI ($14.95 per month)

also, as I mentioned earler, the 3 magazines (CGW,OPM,EGM) all played together on the 3 platforms (360,PC,PS2)

 

[MrDaravon]

Voicechat kicked serious ass in PSO for Xbox.


I love how this thread turned into a voicechat = bad thread, like that was the real news in the thread.


This forum sucks serious dick. I blame the administration, hell look they are even adding to the derailment.

:lol :lol

 

[thetrin]

LOL PSU PS2

LOL PSU PC

LOLOLOLOL!

In other news, Sega is offering another free month for all PSU online players now because they're going to do a FULL SERVER WIPE! :lol

Kiryogi is crying himself to sleep.

He makes periodic visits to GAF to shout through his tears that PSU is awesome, and that I should play with him.

Not if KDDI has anything to say about it! :lol

Hey, just be glad it isn't NTT.

 

[Willy Wanka]

I still get the feeling there are going to be a lot of dissapointed people in this thread. Feel free to say "I told you so" if it is true however

 

[Lyte Edge]

I still get the feeling there are going to be a lot of dissapointed people in this thread. Feel free to say "I told you so" if it is true however

Yeah, I'm not going to get my hopes up on this one. I really hope it's true, but I don't see it happening. :/

 

[ethelred]

I just have to echo the... "wow, if true, completely awesome" sentiments.

PSO's glory days were back when it was free on the Dreamcast -- god how I loved the game at that point. It was all downhill after they started charging, and I was pretty sure the whole "free PSO" experience would be incomparable to anything PSU could possibly offer. But if this is true, just... damn.

 

[Tellaerin]

according to october's CGW:



also, as I mentioned earler, the 3 magazines (CGW,OPM,EGM) all played together on the 3 platforms (360,PC,PS2)

We'll see, Sangreal, but forgive me if I'm a little skeptical. I don't think that Sega would charge MMO-level prices for PSU, considering what they're offering. And if they are planning on gouging customers that hard, it means they're trying to squeeze PSU for all it's worth, in which case I doubt that 360 owners will be exempt from the monthly charge.

 

[kiryogi]

Kiryogi is crying himself to sleep.

He makes periodic visits to GAF to shout through his tears that PSU is awesome, and that I should play with him.



Hey, just be glad it isn't NTT.

I cry not, I got my story mode and my crew. I only offer for you to experience something you once loved, only 10x improved

 

[Hayami]

Technically you're still paying for it, but whatever.

thanks, pointdexter

 

[D.Cowboys]

At least it's understood the first time rather than ending up with a 12-year-old who sings while he plays the game.
I'm waiting to see Kiryogi's stance.

Give it a rest will ya? You act like you have no friends or can't find any on live that will be worth playing with.

 

[aerofx]

Any confirmation yet?

 

[SnakeXs]

Any confirmation yet?

You obviously needed to bump this and just couldn't post in the other, currently active thread about the SAME EXACT THING, could you?