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.
4 comments:
I'm sorry, But I would have to disagree. They need to expand as much as possible. It will not split the player base at all. In fact, It will increase. Therefore, making more money. You are forgetting that most console gamers can't purchase a computer with the capabilities to play pc games. Sega has different departments working on each version of the game. It will not slow them down. I can only imagine how much they made from the console version of psu. And in my opinion, If they did not put forth some of that money into making a pso2 version for the 360, I feel robbed of my money. It would deem unfair for them to take the money earned on that game just to be used for an exclusive pc version.
This game "Needs" to be released for console as well. For my sake and many others. It will not be hard to work with m-soft because they have already done it.
@Skibert77:
As primarily a console gamer myself, I have to unfortunately take the side of Minus X here. I can empathize with what you are saying regarding the money issue between console and pc gaming. I have been playing the Phantasy Star series for quite some time as far back as the days of the now deceased Dreamcast.
Look, there is no way to argue that releasing versions of the game across multiple platforms would undoubtedly increase revenue for the company. However, in the case of Xbox 360 vs. Playstation 3, Microsoft would not make it possible to have a cross-platform server between other consoles and the pc.
From my long winded experiences with SoA, I can verifiably say that this would not end well. Early on, being able to play the original Phantasy star online globally with many japanese friends provided a much more populated healthy gaming experience. However, Sega's long running problem (and mostly referring to the American portion of the company) simply lies in game support. With the most recent example of PSU and being one of the fellow members of the PS2/PC server, I can say that we definitely got the shaft. The split between consoles and nations did not yield an all around win for users.
I will give you that having multiple gaming platforms involved would make the game much more accessible and likely increase server population. Not to mention the possibility of having that population become global would be beneficial in that situation. Separating the servers has only proved to be a futile attempt at money making and ends with the showing of SoA's lack of competence in gamer support in relation to Sega's Japanese counterpart.
Now to get to the last rebut. Most anyone today as access to some sort of computer. Judging by the now released hardware requirements for the alpha version of the game, these are well within reasonable parameters. Most gaming pc's today well exceed these requirements to a monstrous degree. It should not be terribly difficult for anyone who has purchased a computer within the last few years. In which case having a PC exclusive release would still yield a relatively healthy user population.
Phantasy Star Online started on the Dreamcast and I had both PSO and Ver.2. I then purchased it on the Gamecube and imported a broadband adapter soley to play that online. I then puchased the Xbox versions ranging from the (disater that was) the card game to PSU and it's update on Xbox 360.
The only time I have ever had a PSO game on the PC was blueburst and that was when there was nothing else left.
This game started on a console and should remain on a console.
You will most certainly be cutting out a HUGE percentage of PSO's fanbase if you made this a PC exclusive. Look how poorly the Online Final Fantasy games faired.
I would like to say Phantasy Star started on consoles first. The Sega Master System. So if anything it should be on consoles first. And another thing PSO and PSO episode 1-2 did awesome on consoles. So people need to stop complaining and give some thanks to the consoles for keeping the Franchise going. Bring PSO2 to the consoles please and combine servers it would be so much easier for everyone thank you
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