Last week, the Japanese PC/PS2 PSU servers began their fourth anniversary celebration with a new event while the regional Xbox 360 servers skipped regular maintenance. A lot of players were annoyed and frustrated at the lack of updates and expressed it loudly on the official forums.
Fear not, everyone! Sega does in fact care about its Xbox 360 players and doesn't want them to quit.
In fact, Sega of Japan cares so much that it has rewarded the US/EU community with rehashed content. Four Parum missions -- Train Rescue, Endrum Remnants, Dual Sentinel, and Duel in the Ruins -- will be receiving S3 difficulties this week to go along with the Parum GBR that begins after Friday morning's maintenance.
The news was somehow posted on the Sega of America site first, so we're not sure how long this GBR will last, but odds are it will stick around until sometime in mid-October.
UPDATE: The Japanese site has been updated and it looks like this GBR will run for a ridiculous five weeks, until Friday, October 29. I guess the folks at Sega of Japan are planning some long vacations next month!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Keep PSO2 PC-Only, Please
With Phantasy Star Online 2 just recently announced and having no set release date in the United States, the debate on the official Sega forums has turned to whether or not console versions of the game will be developed.
This thread in particular should be held up as the prime example of why there should not be any console versions of PSO2. In that thread, console players of Phantasy Star Universe (primarily those on Xbox 360, where the servers are still active) try to make a case for a console PSO2, arguing that a PS3 or Xbox 360 would be a good fit for the next-generation game. Towards the end it pretty much turns into a fight between the PC PSU players and the Xbox 360 PSU players. Been there, done that.
I strongly believe that Sega should keep PSO2 far, far away from the consoles. A console version of the game would only help to split up the community. The US/EU version of PSU demonstrated that very nicely. Also, no console versions means that Sega has to maintain only the PC version, meaning that it would be easier and quicker to roll out content updates. (And for you Xbox 360 PSU players that would like to claim otherwise, don't forget that Sega of Japan is also handling PC/PS2 content updates in addition to the Xbox 360's updates.)
Of course, a PC-only PSO2 has other advantages. It'll probably look nicer and run better; right now, it appears that PSO2 is actually being developed specifically for PCs, which is good. A PC-only game also keeps the door open for future expansion, since personal computers aren't limited by expensive proprietary storage (see: Xbox 360). The PC can also do voice chat, so it's not like anybody would be losing that functionality without a console.
Advocates for a console PSO2 claim that it would be a safe haven against the evils of PC hacking. I'm a professional software engineer, so I think I can call bullshit on that one; any programmer that's worth a damn should be able to write server code good enough to stop those things from happening in most cases. Not to mention that Sega should care enough about the game to remove those people as quickly as possible.
Finally, I'll single out the Xbox 360 specifically because a version of PSO2 developed for that console would surely result in console-separated servers. And we all saw how well that turned out for the US/EU version of PSU. I personally think that a PC-only PSO2 increases the likelihood of international servers, though it's way too early to tell if that will happen. If we get console versions of the game, I'm not holding my breath.
We still don't know much about PSO2. As I said before, there's still a long way to go before we get to play it. However, everybody is hoping that Sega gets this one right. Let's start by making PSO2 PC-only.
This thread in particular should be held up as the prime example of why there should not be any console versions of PSO2. In that thread, console players of Phantasy Star Universe (primarily those on Xbox 360, where the servers are still active) try to make a case for a console PSO2, arguing that a PS3 or Xbox 360 would be a good fit for the next-generation game. Towards the end it pretty much turns into a fight between the PC PSU players and the Xbox 360 PSU players. Been there, done that.
I strongly believe that Sega should keep PSO2 far, far away from the consoles. A console version of the game would only help to split up the community. The US/EU version of PSU demonstrated that very nicely. Also, no console versions means that Sega has to maintain only the PC version, meaning that it would be easier and quicker to roll out content updates. (And for you Xbox 360 PSU players that would like to claim otherwise, don't forget that Sega of Japan is also handling PC/PS2 content updates in addition to the Xbox 360's updates.)
Of course, a PC-only PSO2 has other advantages. It'll probably look nicer and run better; right now, it appears that PSO2 is actually being developed specifically for PCs, which is good. A PC-only game also keeps the door open for future expansion, since personal computers aren't limited by expensive proprietary storage (see: Xbox 360). The PC can also do voice chat, so it's not like anybody would be losing that functionality without a console.
Advocates for a console PSO2 claim that it would be a safe haven against the evils of PC hacking. I'm a professional software engineer, so I think I can call bullshit on that one; any programmer that's worth a damn should be able to write server code good enough to stop those things from happening in most cases. Not to mention that Sega should care enough about the game to remove those people as quickly as possible.
Finally, I'll single out the Xbox 360 specifically because a version of PSO2 developed for that console would surely result in console-separated servers. And we all saw how well that turned out for the US/EU version of PSU. I personally think that a PC-only PSO2 increases the likelihood of international servers, though it's way too early to tell if that will happen. If we get console versions of the game, I'm not holding my breath.
We still don't know much about PSO2. As I said before, there's still a long way to go before we get to play it. However, everybody is hoping that Sega gets this one right. Let's start by making PSO2 PC-only.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Phantasy Star Online 2 Announced
Sega's live stream from its presentation last night at the Tokyo Game Show produced an interesting image. The Phantasy Star community had been speculating about this for awhile, and recent developments had seemed to indicate it was coming, but it's now official.
Phantasy Star Online 2 is on the way. Right now the game is announced only for Japan, and PSU GM Edward stated as much in the new official PSO2 forum, but I think it would be absolutely ridiculous if the game did not eventually make its way to the West.
As of now, the game is scheduled to be released in 2011 for the PC. Some preliminary details of the game were translated and posted over at fansite PSO World. Based on the information provided, it almost seems as if Sega is looking to blend the best elements of PSO and PSU into a single game, which is something the community seems to be clamoring for. Apparently, PSU gameplay elements such as item synthesis and photon arts will also be making their way over to PSO2, although significantly overhauled (according to the translated information). It will be interesting to see how that works.
This announcement seems to have gotten the community very excited, as you might be able to imagine. A discussion of the new game is underway over at the new Sega PSO2 forums. Obviously, there's still a long way to go before anybody gets to play anything, but this is certainly a great start!
Oh, and so long, PSU.
Phantasy Star Online 2 is on the way. Right now the game is announced only for Japan, and PSU GM Edward stated as much in the new official PSO2 forum, but I think it would be absolutely ridiculous if the game did not eventually make its way to the West.
As of now, the game is scheduled to be released in 2011 for the PC. Some preliminary details of the game were translated and posted over at fansite PSO World. Based on the information provided, it almost seems as if Sega is looking to blend the best elements of PSO and PSU into a single game, which is something the community seems to be clamoring for. Apparently, PSU gameplay elements such as item synthesis and photon arts will also be making their way over to PSO2, although significantly overhauled (according to the translated information). It will be interesting to see how that works.
This announcement seems to have gotten the community very excited, as you might be able to imagine. A discussion of the new game is underway over at the new Sega PSO2 forums. Obviously, there's still a long way to go before anybody gets to play anything, but this is certainly a great start!
Oh, and so long, PSU.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Welcome to Reality
When the PC/PS2 servers closed back in April, PSU GMs offered the suggestion that the closure would actually be better for the game in the long run. With Sega focusing resources on just one version of the game, maybe the US/EU servers could catch up to the Japanese servers. The remaining Xbox 360 players were thrilled.
Almost six months have passed since then, and the Xbox 360 PSU landscape looks very different. Aside from the release of the supplemental update in July, there have been few, if any, glimmers of hope to even suggest that the US/EU servers are catching up. Since the release of the supplemental update, the regional servers have received exactly two new (conditional) missions and a few updates to the GAS feature. There have been no content updates in September.
Now it looks like players are starting to wake up and face reality.
Sega of Japan has announced that there will be no maintenance this week, despite the fact that the Japanese PC/PS2 servers are starting their fourth anniversary event this week. Players do not seem to be taking the news too well, as evidenced in this thread on the official forums.
In the days after the PC/PS2 server shutdown, we blogged a little about the blind faith that some members of the Xbox 360 community had in Sega to deliver on the pledge to catch up to the Japanese servers. It should be mentioned that PSU GMs never actually promised to do such a thing. So I'm not sure why players are expressing anger and frustration now about something that was never going to happen anyway.
The Xbox 360 servers will never catch up to the Japanese servers before closing -- I'm almost certain of that, and if I'm wrong (not likely), then so be it. Before long, the next Phantasy Star console game will be released, and the Xbox 360 PSU servers will vanish into nothing, leaving behind all of the unreleased content. If you don't think that won't happen, consider the fact that Sega of America did it once already with PSO: Blue Burst. It will happen.
That's the new reality of playing Phantasy Star games online in the West. Welcome, Xbox 360 community.
Almost six months have passed since then, and the Xbox 360 PSU landscape looks very different. Aside from the release of the supplemental update in July, there have been few, if any, glimmers of hope to even suggest that the US/EU servers are catching up. Since the release of the supplemental update, the regional servers have received exactly two new (conditional) missions and a few updates to the GAS feature. There have been no content updates in September.
Now it looks like players are starting to wake up and face reality.
Sega of Japan has announced that there will be no maintenance this week, despite the fact that the Japanese PC/PS2 servers are starting their fourth anniversary event this week. Players do not seem to be taking the news too well, as evidenced in this thread on the official forums.
In the days after the PC/PS2 server shutdown, we blogged a little about the blind faith that some members of the Xbox 360 community had in Sega to deliver on the pledge to catch up to the Japanese servers. It should be mentioned that PSU GMs never actually promised to do such a thing. So I'm not sure why players are expressing anger and frustration now about something that was never going to happen anyway.
The Xbox 360 servers will never catch up to the Japanese servers before closing -- I'm almost certain of that, and if I'm wrong (not likely), then so be it. Before long, the next Phantasy Star console game will be released, and the Xbox 360 PSU servers will vanish into nothing, leaving behind all of the unreleased content. If you don't think that won't happen, consider the fact that Sega of America did it once already with PSO: Blue Burst. It will happen.
That's the new reality of playing Phantasy Star games online in the West. Welcome, Xbox 360 community.
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