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PSO2.. (Phantasy Star Online 2) is real!

brain_stew said:
Only on GAF would you have people outraged that an MMO is PC exclusive. Unbelievable.

? This really shouldn't be surprising that people are upset. The series has always had it's roots in the console base, so naturally when you'd think of a sequel you'd imagine it would be playable on consoles. Especially since a lot of console owners don't own PC's that are really up to snuff for gaming, like my own for instance.

While there have been ports to the series to PC it's never been exclusive.

That and the Phantasy Star Online series is not an MMO, so it's more expected to hit consoles, so yes this is surprising.
 
brain_stew said:
Only on GAF would you have people outraged that an MMO is PC exclusive. Unbelievable.
Well its fanbase started off on consoles so I'm not surprised. I'm actually going to try and get a PC soon because of this though! Expect me in the halp me thread next month.
 
Tain said:
Seeing PC as lead for this was a huge "fuck yes" for me. There's absolutely nothing but good that can come out of that call.

Exactly. Screw those that want to see the game suffer just so they can pick it up on their platform of choice. Its an MMO, the PC is its natural home and means that SEGA can do an awful lot of things to improve the experience immensely. The franchise has been PC focused for several years/iterations now anyway, so this news should surprise no one.

After 5 years of this generation there's still not a ground up MMO released on this generation of consoles, and Microsoft won't even buckle on their policies for FF14 ffs. That should give you more than enough indication that bringing an MMO to these consoles is hardly straightforward and tell you that if you give a crap about playing them, you're going to have to invest in a decent PC. Sucks if you don't already have a capable PC but it is what it is and at the very least gaming capable PCs are cheaper than they've ever been these days. Even if it does come to consoles eventually, its still going to be a gimpy experience at best.

Also, the PC being the target platform doesn't negatively affect the control options at all, it only expands them. There's been plenty of PC games released over the years that play best on a controller.

Anyway, port begging isn't allowed on these forums so lets leave it at that. Its PC exclusive until we hear any different, the bitching isn't going to change that.
 
brain_stew said:
Exactly. Screw those that want to see the game suffer just so they can pick it up on their platform of choice. Its an MMO, the PC is its natural home and means that SEGA can do an awful lot of things to improve the experience immensely. The franchise has been PC focused for several years/iterations now anyway, so this news should surprise no one.

After 5 years of this generation there's still not a ground up MMO released on this generation of consoles, and Microsoft won't even buckle on their policies for FF14 ffs. That should give you more than enough indication that bringing an MMO to these consoles is hardly straightforward and tell you that if you give a crap about playing them, you're going to have to invest in a decent PC. Sucks if you don't already have a capable PC but it is what it is and at the very least gaming capable PCs are cheaper than they've ever been these days. Even if it does come to consoles eventually, its still going to be a gimpy experience at best.

Also, the PC being the target platform doesn't negatively affect the control options at all, it only expands them. There's been plenty of PC games released over the years that play best on a controller

Anyway, port begging isn't allowed on these forums so lets leave it at that. Its PC exclusive until we hear any different, the bitching isn't going to change that.

IAWTP. Although, I believe with the ps3/360 having harddrives, that actually removes a lot of the limitations. As I said in the past, PSOnline was approached with content that was already on disk but locked away to be unlocked in a time release manner. This was how they had "new" content.
 
I just want to play a game like PSO on my TV with my friends on voice chat through xbox live. Sitting at my desk on vent playing WoW is great, but it's a very different experience then PSO. PSO is Borderlands for me. I'll obviously play it on PC if it's good, but I imagine most of my friends that would give it a chance are only on console. My PC friends stick to "hardcore" MMO's.
 
Cartman86 said:
I just want to play a game like PSO on my TV with my friends on voice chat through xbox live. Sitting at my desk on vent playing WoW is great, but it's a very different experience then PSO. PSO is Borderlands for me. I'll obviously play it on PC if it's good, but I imagine most of my friends that would give it a chance are only on console. My PC friends stick to "hardcore" MMO's.

Then get a HDMI cable and 360 controller, problem solved. Any poster on GAF won't have trouble finding plenty of decent guys to team up with.
 
Segata Sanshiro said:
Going PC-only is an interesting choice. That's going to kill it in Japan.
Going PC-only is their only choice if they really want to provide global support and keep everyone up to date. PSO's and PSU's US/EU servers and updates were always behind the Japanese ones. It was ridiculously frustrating. After 10 years, they finally got the hint.
 
Blueblur1 said:
Going PC-only is their only choice if they really want to provide global support and keep everyone up to date. PSO's and PSU's US/EU servers and updates were always behind the Japanese ones. It was ridiculously frustrating. After 10 years, they finally got the hint.
Yeah, I mean, the game's going to be better for it without question, but it's odd to see them willing to give up the Japanese audience to do it.
 
Segata Sanshiro said:
Yeah, I mean, the game's going to be better for it without question, but it's odd to see them willing to give up the Japanese audience to do it.
AFAIK, they've got a good amount of Japanese players subscribing to the PC version of PSU so they're probably confident that they'll transfer over to PSO2.
 
Blueblur1 said:
AFAIK, they've got a good amount of Japanese players subscribing to the PC version of PSU so they're probably confident that they'll transfer over to PSO2.
Perhaps. With Falcom giving up on PC though, the non-porn to porn ratio in PC game shops is skewing even worse than ever.
 
Segata Sanshiro said:
Yeah, I mean, the game's going to be better for it without question, but it's odd to see them willing to give up the Japanese audience to do it.

Honest question, what is with the extreme phobia of PC games in Japan? I mean, I can't forsee this being a particularly demanding game and even laptop integrated graphics are getting super fast these days (they'll surpass console performance before PS02 launches) so why are so many so reluctant to use the machines many will already have?

I'm completely oblivious to the realities of the market but it just seems so strange, especially since the PC dominates all other asian gaming markets.
 
brain_stew said:
Honest question, what is with the extreme phobia of PC games in Japan? I mean, I can't forsee this being a particularly demanding game and even laptop integrated graphics are getting super fast these days (they'll surpass console performance before PS02 launches) so why are so many so reluctant to use the machines many will already have?

I'm completely oblivious to the realities of the market but it just seems so strange, especially since the PC dominates all other asian gaming markets.
Well, I can't say for sure, but I do know that having a PC in the home is a relatively new thing in Japan (kind of started picking up just this last decade), and it's still nowhere near the ratio of other countries. Netbooks really caught on here just as laptops were finally starting to move too, so that's done some damage. Throw in stuff like the slowing down of gaming in the home, a reticence to purchase things online/digitally, disinterest in key PC genres, and lack of support from key Japanese game developers and it all adds up to a weird picture.

Also doesn't help that to buy a PC game here, you have to walk into some of the scariest fucking shops I've ever been in. Five aisles of cartoon porn and one little shelf of proper games.
 
brain_stew said:
Honest question, what is with the extreme phobia of PC games in Japan? I mean, I can't forsee this being a particularly demanding game and even laptop integrated graphics are getting super fast these days (they'll surpass console performance before PS02 launches) so why are so many so reluctant to use the machines many will already have?

I'm completely oblivious to the realities of the market but it just seems so strange, especially since the PC dominates all other asian gaming markets.
Because they actually don't. The adoption rate of PCs in Japan is much lower then the West since they just use their Mobiles instead.

That being said Japanese gamers aren't completely phobic of PCs. In my experience with FFXI, Japanese players made up the majority (mind you I was about 5 years LTTP).
 
Luigiv said:
Because they actually don't. The adoption rate of PCs in Japan is much lower then the West since they just use their Mobiles instead.

That being said Japanese gamers aren't completely phobic of PCs. In my experience with FFXI, Japanese players made up the majority (mind you I was about 5 years LTTP).
A huge chunk of the Japanese FFXI subscriber base were still using PS2s and possibly still are, though I haven't seen any stats in a couple years. It's funny actually, the ratio of PC FFXI players to PS2 FFXI players were essentially flipped depending on the country.
 
brain_stew said:
Exactly. Screw those that want to see the game suffer just so they can pick it up on their platform of choice. Its an MMO, the PC is its natural home and means that SEGA can do an awful lot of things to improve the experience immensely. The franchise has been PC focused for several years/iterations now anyway, so this news should surprise no one.

After 5 years of this generation there's still not a ground up MMO released on this generation of consoles, and Microsoft won't even buckle on their policies for FF14 ffs. That should give you more than enough indication that bringing an MMO to these consoles is hardly straightforward and tell you that if you give a crap about playing them, you're going to have to invest in a decent PC. Sucks if you don't already have a capable PC but it is what it is and at the very least gaming capable PCs are cheaper than they've ever been these days. Even if it does come to consoles eventually, its still going to be a gimpy experience at best.

Also, the PC being the target platform doesn't negatively affect the control options at all, it only expands them. There's been plenty of PC games released over the years that play best on a controller.

Anyway, port begging isn't allowed on these forums so lets leave it at that. Its PC exclusive until we hear any different, the bitching isn't going to change that.

First of all it`s not an MMO per say,you being a PC guy should know that,and it worked just fine 10 years ago,on a console,when most people where playing the damn thing on 56k modems...yeah it`s going to look better on a 1,000 bucks PC,but it`s a lobby type,4 player co-op(not MMO) and its perfect for a console and I would be very surprise if they don`t make a console version down the line...the more the better.
 
Segata Sanshiro said:
Going PC-only is an interesting choice. That's going to kill it in Japan.
Arent the Japanese very PC happy? I always thought so from the Doujin scene and such. What was/is the subscriber base for MH Frontier?
 
PSO's natural home is on consoles, that's what it was designed for and why it stood out so much and got the dedicated following it did.

Since the Dreamcast, things went to pot by fracturing the fanbase time and time again. It's best times since then were Episode I&II on the Gamecube but that was very much going against the grain with an online title on a console not known for it. Even getting the broadband adaptor was a bit of a mission.

After Gamecube the userbase just fractured time and time again, and then PSU put a big nail in the coffin by alienating everyone and splitting the servers. By this point the old PSO community which was so strong in the early days was killed off.

Phantasy Star Portable has shown they realise what they needed to fix that was broken and lost so utterly with PSU, and worldwide servers for PSO2 would be a big step in rebuilding the community but it DOES need a console version as well. It's what the series is known for, and it would be very odd to make a big deal of it's 10th Anniversary while ignoring what made it a success in the first place and cutting out a load of potential players. It would be a very Sega style move though.

I will play it on whatever I need to, but I'd rather play it on a console.
 
Segata Sanshiro said:
A huge chunk of the Japanese FFXI subscriber base were still using PS2s and possibly still are, though I haven't seen any stats in a couple years. It's funny actually, the ratio of PC FFXI players to PS2 FFXI players were essentially flipped depending on the country.
Fair enough. Well then I'm going to use the fact that Monster Hunter Frontier is still up and running after 3 years (with regular expansion packs) to be proof that there is a sustainable PC MMO market in Japan.
 
DECK'ARD said:
PSO's natural home is on consoles, that's what it was designed for and why it stood out so much and got the dedicated following it did.

Since the Dreamcast, things went to pot by fracturing the fanbase time and time again. It's best times since then were Episode I&II on the Gamecube but that was very much going against the grain with an online title on a console not known for it. Even getting the broadband adaptor was a bit of a mission.

After Gamecube the userbase just fractured time and time again, and then PSU put a big nail in the coffin by alienating everyone and splitting the servers. By this point the old PSO community which was so strong in the early days was killed off.

Phantasy Star Portable has shown they realise what they needed to fix that was broken and lost so utterly with PSU, and worldwide servers for PSO2 would be a big step in rebuilding the community but it DOES need a console version as well. It's what the series is known for, and it would be very odd to make a big deal of it's 10th Anniversary while ignoring what made it a success in the first place and cutting out a load of potential players. It would be a very Sega style move though.

.
 
Luigiv said:
Fair enough. Well then I'm use the fact that Monster Hunter Frontier is still up and running after 3 years (with regular expansion packs) to be proof that there is a sustainable PC MMO market in Japan.
It certainly can be done, although the difference in sales potential between Monster Hunter and Phantasy Star is nearly a factor of ten. At any rate, I'm sure if they can't get enough subscribers going, they'll poop out a port on one of the systems, just like Capcom did to try and drum up a little extra business for Frontier.
 
Segata Sanshiro said:
It certainly can be done, although the difference in sales potential between Monster Hunter and Phantasy Star is nearly a factor of ten. At any rate, I'm sure if they can't get enough subscribers going, they'll poop out a port on one of the systems, just like Capcom did to try and drum up a little extra business for Frontier.

If they've learnt anything from recent years, they'd launch day and date with console and PC version with unified worldwide servers. That's how you rebuild the PSO community. Not by chucking out a port somewhere down the line, while PC users are already far ahead and then run into the same differing content problems that doomed PSU.

If they mean business they'll launch on PC+PS3, unified worldwide servers, and I honestly believe then they could get back onboard a lot of fans of the series who gave up on it long ago.

Otherwise I fear you are just going to get a game that services just the hardcore remaining PSO/PSU players and gets lost amongst WoW, Diablo 3 and everything else on PC.

PSO2 being announced was by far the biggest game announcement I could have hoped for, but until we get more details the underlying worry (from being PC only, to even things like mentioning item synthing) is that Sega really don't have a clue what they are doing with the game anymore and using the name PSO2 is more rebranding than getting back to what made the game so special in the first place.
 
I'm really not sure why you guys keep falling for this name thing when the name is associated with teams that aren't there anymore. It's not like SEGA just puts on the doctor hat and suddenly can perform surgery.
 
I said it before and I'll say it again. It's going to be only PSO2 in name. It's like the rebranding of ATI to AMD for the Radeon series. I don't see why the worry and concern with things like item synthing. Since the advent of PSU, they've been wanting to further develop the series than leave it as barebones as it was in PSO. Honestly, PSU was extremely expansive once it settled in. PSOnline started to blur the line between online rpg and MMO in terms of it's own identity. You had your own rooms (So like housing in MMOs) that you could decorate. Your character was fully customizable appearance wise, with over dozens of different outfit choices. There was massive lobbies all around. And actually, PSU supported up to 6 players, not 4. More and more, they wanted to create an even bigger experience.
 
Segata Sanshiro said:
Going PC-only is an interesting choice. That's going to kill it in Japan.
Perhaps they've view decided Phantasy Star Portable as the Japanese targeted version of Phantasy Star and PSO as the Western targeted version.

If this is happening, I wonder if they're changing PSO to reflect that.
 
Segata Sanshiro said:
I'm really not sure why you guys keep falling for this name thing when the name is associated with teams that aren't there anymore. It's not like SEGA just puts on the doctor hat and suddenly can perform surgery.

Well Phantasy Star Portable shows atleast someone is still there who gets something of what made PSO so special. And the teaser text about going back to global servers is a big bit of the philosophy of what PSO was about and which PSU ignored.

But yeah, the magic of the Dreamcast days with teams given the freedom to do exactly what they wanted and the ideas of those people is long gone. I don't expect miracles, but I'll remain hopeful until we get a full blow-out of information on PSO2. If a console version isn't part of that though, I think the game is pretty much doomed to failure as a PSO sequel. I'd have a lot more confidence in the game, the size of the community it would get, and the level of support post-release if it was on both.

I heard talk of a PSO2 event on PSO's actual 10th Anniversary, which would make sense. Anyone know if this is true? Would make it December 21st.
 
Also what gets me here is people sprouting off assuming they know what PSO is all about and it's philosophy. Who really knows better than the develpment teams themselves? If anything, it's constantly changing and evolving. This is almost as bad as people questioning Sakamoto and Samus's personality.
 
kiryogi said:
I said it before and I'll say it again. It's going to be only PSO2 in name. It's like the rebranding of ATI to AMD for the Radeon series.

It's a fair assumption but you don't have to repeat it over and over again.
 
kiryogi said:
Also what gets me here is people sprouting off assuming they know what PSO is all about and it's philosophy. Who really knows better than the develpment teams themselves? If anything, it's constantly changing and evolving. This is almost as bad as people questioning Sakamoto and Samus's personality.

Erm, when when you throw a lot of things out the window that the original PSO made a very big deal about at launch you can sort of describe that as going against the philosophy of the original game. Worldwide servers, word select, generating an international community was one of the key parts of what PSO was about. And hyped as much by Yuji Naka at launch.

With PSU they either didn't get it, or deliberately changed philosophy. Dropping things like this, as well as lots of other things key to what made PSO what it was. And have been changing back ever since, culminating now in PSO2. However it turns out in the end.

The fact they have been backpeddling ever since PSU suggests that *shock horror* they didn't know better and have since learnt that.
 
kamorra said:
PSU is a similar looking game with a vastly different gameplay. After putting way over 1500 hours in Episode 1 &2 I refuse to call PSU a sequel. ;)


^^ this

PSU has nothing to do with PSO storyline wise. Falz isn't even the end boss...actually I'm trying to figure out how he ended up in the game anyway.... It's a few items in PSU that pay homage to PSO but that's it. I rather get a proper sequel to PSU over PSO. PSU's storyline is a tad bit more interesting. I mean I was in the middle of a town when all these bots started attacking me because they were "infected".



For those who keep saying it's coming to consoles...Gibbles says he's still waiting for Blue Burst to show up on the original Xbox.
 
jobber said:
^^ this

PSU has nothing to do with PSO storyline wise. Falz isn't even the end boss...actually I'm trying to figure out how he ended up in the game anyway.... It's a few items in PSU that pay homage to PSO but that's it. I rather get a proper sequel to PSU over PSO. PSU's storyline is a tad bit more interesting. I mean I was in the middle of a town when all these bots started attacking me because they were "infected".

Falz and De Rol got thrown in a year into PSU's life (the original PSO levels were all part of a max attack event) think it was to try and lure some of the PSO fanbase back in.

Segata Sanshiro said:
I'm really not sure why you guys keep falling for this name thing when the name is associated with teams that aren't there anymore. It's not like SEGA just puts on the doctor hat and suddenly can perform surgery.

Yeah, with Yuji gone I don't know why I got so hyped when I first found out they were doing PSO2, it has quickly died off tho.
 
Segata Sanshiro said:
Well, I can't say for sure, but I do know that having a PC in the home is a relatively new thing in Japan (kind of started picking up just this last decade), and it's still nowhere near the ratio of other countries. Netbooks really caught on here just as laptops were finally starting to move too, so that's done some damage. Throw in stuff like the slowing down of gaming in the home, a reticence to purchase things online/digitally, disinterest in key PC genres, and lack of support from key Japanese game developers and it all adds up to a weird picture.

Also doesn't help that to buy a PC game here, you have to walk into some of the scariest fucking shops I've ever been in. Five aisles of cartoon porn and one little shelf of proper games.

Thanks for the insight, I just struggle to wrap my head around the concept of a mobile phone being the primary computing device for so many. It'd drive me insane having to do more than small amounts of on-the-go browsing/emailing on a smartphone.
 
brain_stew said:
Thanks for the insight, I just struggle to wrap my head around the concept of a mobile phone being the primary computing device for so many. It'd drive me insane having to do more than small amounts of on-the-go browsing/emailing on a smartphone.
I don't know, I like that texting is linked to an email account you have there instead of your number. Makes them more accessible.
 
Nirolak said:
Perhaps they've view decided Phantasy Star Portable as the Japanese targeted version of Phantasy Star and PSO as the Western targeted version.

If this is happening, I wonder if they're changing PSO to reflect that.

I guess that would make sense. Even if it was on the PS3, would the market for a console PSO really be all that huge in Japan? Most Japanese gamers don't seem to have much drive to "upgrade" from their portable iterations so maybe its a lost cause anyway. Best of concentrating on getting the primary SKU in the west right first if that's the major market for the game, as the competition is fierce.
 
I always felt PSO's premise was to make an accesible online type MMO for console players. PC has dozens, if not hundreds, of MMOs. Why would anyone choose to go with this when they can go with an MMO just as accesible, and larger, like WoW? Sega needs to bring back PSO where it belongs.
 
animlboogy said:
I wonder if this is a worldwide sales trade-off due to Microsoft's stance on patching games and wanting a cut of MMO revenue? They could always make it a PC/PS3 game in that case, though, and not sacrifice potential Japanese PS3 sales.

I guess the whole thing is weird, and it still stinks of free to play to me, even though we have so little information.

I'm not personally worried in a lot of ways -- I'm typing this from a PC connected to my TV, and I always had a keyboard balanced on my lap for PSO so it won't feel too different -- but I hope this ends up hitting a console at some point. One of the major selling points of this series was that it was one of the few online RPGs made with consoles in mind. If there was ever a crowded market I would not want to bet on doing well in right now, it's PC MMORPGs.

Agree, can't see how it will seriously compete with Knights of the old republic, DC Universe and the other big one...

If it stuck to its console roots it might stand a chance but even there its going to come up against FF14 in Japan, going to be interesting to see what they do with it and where they try and fit it in.
 
Vilix said:
I always felt PSO's premise was to make an accesible online type MMO for console players. PC has dozens, if not hundreds, of MMOs. Why would anyone choose to go with this when they can go with an MMO just as accesible, and larger, like WoW? Sega needs to bring back PSO where it belongs.

"Accessible" games aren't limited in appeal to consoles, you know. Heck, the market for accessible free 2 play MMOs is absolutely huge and PSO is potentially a good fit for that market. If it was targeting consoles that option would be completely off the table. PSO has always felt like a Diablo clone in concept (just without the mouse clicking) and those games can sell incredibly well on the PC even with a none existent marketing budget (see: Torchlight).
 
Well here's hoping an event on PSO's 10th Anniversary on December 21st gives us more details, screens and videos on what exactly PSO2 is going to be.

If it was going to be Western focussed though, I don't think they would have chosen TGS to reveal it and a trailer with reams of Japanese text in the background giving hints about what it is about. Has there even been a proper press-release from Sega US/EU yet?

Initial hype has now worn off, back to Nu Sega reality, but I shall keep the faith for a while longer. Like a lot of other people here though I get the feeling they are struggling with what to do with the game, how to place it, and how to get back to a non-portable PSO.
 
kyo_daikun said:
Falz and De Rol got thrown in a year into PSU's life (the original PSO levels were all part of a max attack event) think it was to try and lure some of the PSO fanbase back in.

Oh I know..I did those runs hundreds of times.
I was talking about offline story mode(well online single player story mode on 360)
At this point the only fun part of PSU: AOI is getting in a room full of king rappys, whip out the casino SUV with the giant rappy coming out the sky, then the game melts down.
 
jobber said:
^^ this

PSU has nothing to do with PSO storyline wise. Falz isn't even the end boss...actually I'm trying to figure out how he ended up in the game anyway.... It's a few items in PSU that pay homage to PSO but that's it. I rather get a proper sequel to PSU over PSO. PSU's storyline is a tad bit more interesting. I mean I was in the middle of a town when all these bots started attacking me because they were "infected".



For those who keep saying it's coming to consoles...Gibbles says he's still waiting for Blue Burst to show up on the original Xbox.

PSP2i will finally tie it into PSO actually... In which I think will set way for PSO2.
 
starmud said:
will have to wait and see, but SOA says the game will follow something more in line with phantasy star zero vs PSU.

http://dualshockers.com/2010/10/25/sega-breaks-silence-about-phantasy-star-online-2/

also, sega announced that the pso BB server will be closing down before christmas and they plan to open a pso2 beta not long after. some invites will go to pso BB (jp) players :o

with that, it seems like we might get to see the game fairly soon :D

December 21st is PSO's 10th Anniversary in Japan.

I'd expect Sega to stage an event then.
 
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