It's the end of the world!

First we had hacking (with some cool drama on the side) and now confirmation of the PSO2 servers being separate.

Clearly it is then end of Phantasy Star outside of Japan. I mean just look at a few of the topics popping up over at Sega's forums. First we have this one with the terrible servers aren't global news where someone suggests to not support the game at all. I for one think this is a great idea. I mean Sega gave some pretty bad support for PSU and clearly we all know they can't change so we shouldn't even give them a chance. Plus this is the perfect way for us to say to Sega: "please don't bother bringing these types of games outside of Japan." Who likes playing games in a language they can understand? Nobody that's who! This is a brilliant plan with no way it could ever backfire.

Also you already have other posts where people have already decided to stay with the Japanese version of PSO2. We all know we can't trust Sega of America right guys?! (or maybe they already bought a crap load of Ark's Cash).

Now to be positive for a moment:
On the other hand... what if Sega can really pull it off? With the servers separated maybe we'll see AC prices adjusted. Sure with the Japanese version we have to take in account of the poor exchange rate but the pricing is pretty bad; you want $16 for a month of the premium set? Nope. Plus if the servers were global Sega would probably be lazy and just make 1 USD / 1 Pound / 1 Euro, etc = 100 AC which would make it slightly cheaper but still not be all that great. Now if Sega can get the premium set price under $10 (5 would be ideal) and lower the pricing for that AC lottery deal we could have a real winner here.

Then maybe we could see PSO2 on Steam and maybe even take advantage of Steam trading (Sega already has a free to play game that uses it too). It would help the game get some much needed publicity.

Sure it may not be perfect but you know what? I don't want to jump through all these hoops to play and pay for a game in language I can't read (in addition to the the whole price/exchange rate thing I said earlier). As long as I get some entertainment out of the English version of PSO2 I won't be too disappointed. Probably.

Oh Well: PSO2 Will Have Region-Separated Servers

Many players were clinging to a shred of hope that Sega would make the right decision in this case, but it was not to be.

Gaming website 4gamer.net has posted an extensive interview with Phantasy Star Online 2 producer Satoshi Sakai regarding the development of the game and its future in Japan and abroad.

The unfortunate news comes at the end of the interview, where Sakai mentions that players in the United States and Europe will be on the same servers, which will not be linked to the Japanese servers.

This is definitely disappointing, but I suppose that it might not be much of an issue if the regional servers get regular content updates and proper support from Sega. A repeat of Phantasy Star Universe will be unacceptable; the players that went through that mess know better now, and will surely jump ship at the first sign of neglect. If Sega wants PSO2 to be successful in the West, it simply cannot afford to treat its US/EU players like second-class citizens.

Of course, Sega may be able to handle PSO2 differently thanks to the lack of console support (especially Xbox 360, which would have been a major stumbling block). But we won't know for sure until the game actually goes live.

This news isn't all that bad, though. When the US/EU PSO2 servers inevitably close prematurely, we can all just go back to playing the Japanese version of the game!

Here We Go Again, Maybe

As we've already posted, today was the day – Sega has officially announced a Western version of Phantasy Star Online 2, the official web site is now live, and Edward was hinting at a PSO2 announcement after all.

But we won't see the game in English until sometime in 2013. How exactly are players supposed to respond to this news?

A 2013 release is, in the best case, six months away. That gives players six months to progress through the Japanese version of the game, develop character(s) and enjoy the latest content, and decide that the English game is not worth their time. That's also an implicit indication that the game servers will not be linked internationally. It's a possible (and probable) gap in content between the English and Japanese servers.

Of course, six months is only the minimum. The release will probably be further away than January.

Did Sega learn anything from Phantasy Star Universe?

Of course, absolutely no detailed information was provided about the game, so for all we know, linked servers are still possible (though I wouldn't hold my breath for it). And, in a post on the official PSU forums, Edward mentioned that Sega is trying to figure out how to address content gaps that appear when the game goes live in the West. So I guess there is hope.

Though I'm happy that an English version of PSO2 has been announced, I'm extremely nervous that the 2013 release will kill the game before it even gets here. A lot of people (myself included) are already playing the Japanese version—will any of those people care enough to start all over again six months (or more) down the road? Will their money be saved to buy premium content on the English servers, or will it be spent on the Japanese servers where it will do more good?

If Sega wants to keep players interested in the English version of Phantasy Star Online 2, they should start talking.

PSO2 heading west

In 2013. Nice to hear this news but there goes any hope of global servers. Now I wonder how updates for this game will be with such a large gap from the release of the Japanese version.

In a post on the official Sega forums Edward@Sega commented about the gap in content between the two versions:

"There is already a focus in addressing the content gap. It was absolutely a problem for PSU. We want to make sure that it doesn't happen again."

Sorry I'm fairly pessimistic about this after playing PSU; as much as I want things to work out I'll believe it after I see it happen.

Don't Panic Just Yet

If you've been following the development of Phantasy Star Online 2 and have been hoping for a Western release (who hasn't been?) then you probably panicked yesterday following a wave of bad news from Sega.

First, news of massive losses prompted the company to announce that it would be canceling some games in the United States and Europe. The list of games was not provided, though Sega did state that profitable franchises such as Sonic the Hedgehog, Football Manager, Total War, and Aliens would not be canceled.

Second, following this announcement, Sega of America was hit with massive layoffs. According to IGN, the majority of layoffs were QA-related, though other positions also got axed. Obviously, it's never good to see things like this happen and we hope the people affected can get back on their feet quickly.

As you might expect, this news made Phantasy Star Universe players uneasy. On the official PSU forums, GM Edward assured players that near-term events would go on as planned, but couldn't provide any insight as to what the future holds for the remaining regional servers. We'll be watching this situation unfold in the coming weeks to see if Sega considers the Xbox 360 version profitable enough to continue. Stay tuned.

As for PSO2, the game has not been canceled in Japan (and likely won't be). The closed beta test is scheduled to begin at the end of April, with an open beta and final release likely to follow in June or July. The game has not currently been announced for the United States or Europe. However, I don't think this means that the game should be considered "canceled". The four "surviving" franchises that Sega listed in its press release should not be considered an all-inclusive list of titles that have not been canceled.

In fact, no definitive list of canceled titles was even provided (parts bolded for emphasis):

We conducted detailed reviews of earnings projections for titles targeted toward the U.S. and European markets and decided to narrow down sales titles from the following period and after to strong IPs, such as “Sonic the Hedgehog,”, “Football Manager”, “Total War” and “Aliens” which are expected to continue posting solid earnings. In accordance with this, we are canceling the development of some game software titles.

In other words, anything said about specific canceled games right now is pure speculation, so until Sega actually says that the Western markets won't be getting PSO2, there's no reason to panic.

Also consider the fact that Sega appears to be considering mostly digital distribution for PSO2, which could save a lot of money that would otherwise be spent on packaging and pressing discs. Hopefully Sega could recoup the costs of localization and other maintenance expenses through the sale of items in the cash shop.

If all else fails, we'll just have to play PSO2 on the Japanese servers—but right now we just don't know what the fallout will be from this news. All we can do is sit tight and hope for the best!

It's PC/PS2 Shutdown Day Again

One year ago today, Sega pulled the plug on the PC/PS2 PSU servers in the United States and Europe. Affected players were reflecting on their time in the game, moving to the Xbox 360 servers, or just moving on.

At the time of the shutdown, PSU GMs had argued that the closure of the servers would clear the way for faster content updates and the potential to catch up with the Japanese version of the game. Since the PC/PS2 servers were shut down, the Xbox 360 servers have received the supplemental update, a handful of missions, and the Absolute Zero event. Last week, the "Spring Event", aka the Third Anniversary Thanks Festa, appeared on the regional servers.

That might seem like a fair amount of new content. However, in the same time frame, the Japanese game has received even more events, and a third expansion for the game has been announced. Therefore I would argue that the pace of updates has not really changed at all; in fact, I think we might be further behind now than we were at this time last year.

Perhaps the PC/PS2 servers were not profitable; I suppose that would be sufficient justification to pull the plug for any major company. However, I don't think that the server shutdown has provided any long-term benefit to the Xbox 360 servers, aside from a population increase due to the migration of PC/PS2 players. So while those servers may stay around for at least the next year or so, players shouldn't get their hopes up when it comes to playing catch-up with the Japanese.

Official PSO Soon Finished Forever

Sega of Japan has announced that on December 27, 2010, the Japanese PSO: Blue Burst servers will be shutting down for good.

The shutdown of these servers marks the official end of Phantasy Star Online. This comes after a ten-year run on four platforms, beginning with the Dreamcast in 2000. It's been a remarkable run for the game, and although the official final shutdown of PSO is a sad moment for many, it should also be noted that there is a silver lining here as well.

In the shutdown announcement, it was also announced that Sega / Sonic Team is considering ways to give players the opportunity to beta test Phantasy Star Online 2. The common belief is that the PSO: Blue Burst servers are being shut down to prepare for PSO2, and if this is in fact the case, perhaps a release is not as far off as we all originally thought. However, no firm release date has been announced for either the United States or Japan.

The sale of Hunters Licenses ends on November 29, and free play begins on November 30th. After that, things could get interesting.

Sega of America, Europe Employees Laid Off

This is a rather unfortunate bit of news, especially considering the current state of the economy. Seventy-three employees of Sega -- 36 in San Francisco and 37 in London -- were handed pink slips yesterday as part of an effort to "implement a reorganization of its businesses within the American and [European] markets".

In this thread on the official PSU forums, GM Edward quickly confirmed the news and announced that nobody on Sega of America's PSU team was laid off. For now, that's good news for the regional servers, though in my opinion this "reorganization" doesn't exactly paint a picture of a corporation in good financial straits.

Whether or not the PC/PS2 servers were a casualty of the restructuring effort will probably never be known. Nobody knows exactly how much Sega was spending on maintenance of those servers, and Sega will probably never tell. Hopefully the Xbox 360 player population doesn't begin free-falling, because in an economic environment where struggling companies will cut costs any way they can, those servers would probably be first on the chopping block.

The complete story, including a full copy of the e-mail sent to Sega employees, can be read over at Kotaku. Hopefully everyone affected by this layoff will be able to rebound and find work elsewhere.

And it's dead

Well last night was the end of PSU. I wasn't really planning to get on last night but ended up seeing the game off with the GM's and other players that showed up.

My last day of PSU started off with everyone's favorite mission; yes that's right White Beast. I did two runs with some friends from PSO and a few randoms. I only did it cause Edward was in that area. I swear!

Oh my level 40 Boma Diga! Not like it matters now!

After the second run we were trolled by the game and received a chance to run one of the rare missions, unfortunately I forgot to take a screen shot of this horrible moment.

It's the first and last time I'll play this mission.

Luckily nothing good dropped or I'd probably would have rage quit right there. Anyway, there was some more lobby hopping after the mission and the final stop was the Falz Memoria lobby.

Oh hey 3 stars! I can't remember the last time I saw that many.

Crowding around GMs is fun.

Along with Edward, Clumsyorchid (aka Human M) and RubyEclipse (aka Melchior) came to say goodbye to everyone. The end came with horrible spam then all was quiet with just an error 057 message box.

The PC/PS2 servers got PSU's bad ending.

Well that was the somewhat short version of the last day of PSU. It was great to see and play with friends one last time and it was nice to see some activity on the server itself. It was fun while it lasted and I'd like to thank everyone I played with for the good times I had on PSU.

As for the blog: things might be slow for awhile but I'm sure I'll find a few things to talk about. Like that faster update promise for the Xbox 360 servers or if Phantasy Star Portable 2 makes it way west I could complain about its lame DLC; that is if we even get the option for it. Well only time will tell, so long for now.

Well, That's It

At approximately 3 AM EDT this morning, the PC/PS2 PSU servers were shut down.

A thread immortalizing the moments leading up to the server shutdown has been started on the official forums. Several screenshots of the final seconds have been posted there -- maybe you were in one! (I wasn't, because I can't function on 3 hours of sleep during the week. Maybe next time.)

Oddly enough, as many people noted on the forums, the PC/PS2 server population skyrocketed in the hours leading up to the shutdown. By the end of the whole thing Universe 1 showed 3 full stars! The question on my mind, and maybe many others, is this: Where have these people been? I can't remember the last time the PC/PS2 servers had 3 full stars of players. If just some of these players had stuck around for the long haul, would this server shutdown have happened?

On the other hand, I see last night's sudden increase in population as a damning criticism of Sega's management of this game. Obviously there are a lot of players out there who decided that it wasn't worth $10/month to be treated like second-class citizens by Sega of Japan. I do tend to agree with that, and in a way, I think Sega probably got what it deserved.

Worse, the poor management of this game may have turned a lot of players off to future Phantasy Star online titles. Hopefully Sega learned some lessons from the last 3 1/2 years of PC/PS2 PSU and will use them to create a better experience for players of the next game.

Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 PSU servers remain up on this Thursday afternoon, with the servers scheduled to go down for maintenance at 2 AM EDT Friday morning. As previously posted, a new mission and Easter lobbies will be added in this maintenance.

Despite the fact that the PC/PS2 servers may be gone, there's still plenty to talk about. There may be a glimmer of hope left for those players who weren't ready to abandon PSU just yet. On the Xbox 360 side, there will still be update news to post and discuss, and I have a feeling that in a few short months we'll see whether or not Sega's handling of the game will bring about the demise of those servers.

One final note before I close out this post: I did manage to get online for a few hours last night, and it was awesome to see (and run missions with) some old familiar friends and faces. It was fun while it lasted. Hopefully we'll all see each other again on the next Phantasy Star game -- whenever that happens!

Sega Blew It

There's not much more that can be done about this. Posted on the official forums, and discussed earlier right here on this blog, is the disappointing news that the PC/PS2 servers will be shut down at the end of March. Sega of America argues that there aren't enough players left to justify the cost of maintaining PC/PS2 servers.

I don't deny that there are very few players left on the PC/PS2 servers. How did we get to this point, though? How is it that the Xbox 360 community continued to thrive (and I'm using that term loosely) while the PC/PS2 servers continued to die?

People come and go from online games all the time, and this was to be expected with PSU, but the answer to this question is actually simpler than that: Sega of America killed the PC/PS2 servers. They blew it. Let's take a look back at some of the notable missteps:

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Leaving Moatoob locked at release. For three weeks after the game's initial release, the planet Moatoob remained unavailable while players ran around in just a handful of missions on Parum, Neudaiz, and the Guardians' Colony. Over that three weeks, the population declined from multiple full universes (at release) to just one or two. Yes, the Xbox 360 community also had to deal with this, but you can't argue the fact that this had a negative effect on the game right from the start.

Rampant item duping. Shortly after the Moatoob fiasco, some PC/PS2 players discovered a glitch that allowed them to dupe Scape Dolls and sell them for ridiculous amounts of money. The money soon spread to the rest of the community through the sale of elemental photons. The economy was permanently ruined, and Sega sat back and did nothing. Some players jumped ship.

Room hacking. Later in the game's first year, another exploit surfaced on the PC/PS2 servers that allowed a player to enter another player's room and access it as if it was their own. Players reported valuable items stolen from their shops. Sega acknowledged the problem and tried to fix it, and although the script kiddies were eventually banned, most players were never adequately compensated for their losses.

Error 65. Perhaps the most legendary screw-up in the history of the PC/PS2 servers began in April 2008, shortly after the start of Maximum Attack G, the latest in-game event. Sega's billing system for PSU had been fairly unreliable to this point, but during this event it finally kicked the bucket for good. Players whose subscriptions were up for renewal found themselves unable to log in for weeks. The situation got so bad that Sega decided to let PC/PS2 players into the servers for free while they tried to solve their billing server problems. Unfortunately, this left locked-out players with about one week to enjoy the event.

Sega responded by promising that MAG would be extended, but shocked players when the event was removed at the end of the originally allotted time period. The event came back nearly three months later. For many, this was too little, too late.

Lack of updates. The months following the second MAG event brought virtually no new content. Canceled server maintenance periods were a common occurrence. We bitched about the lack of updates on this blog for most of November 2008. There's not much motivation to play when the content you've got is getting old and overly repetitive.

The Xbox 360 demo. One of the perks arguably keeping the Xbox 360 community alive is a demo server that is available to Xbox Live Gold subscribers. Sega of America held various "demo weekend" events to get players to try the game out, and even offered rewards to subscribers as thanks for doing so. Xbox 360 players received a Tails statue, a Knuckles statue, Real Handgun and Real Handspear weapons, and a NiGHTS statue during some of these "demo weekends". PC/PS2 players eventually got most of these rewards, but not until months later.

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These certainly aren't the only issues the PC/PS2 servers faced over the last few years, but they are the most notable. Now, as the servers are scheduled to shut down in the next couple months, Sega of America will likely lose a number of PSU subscriptions permanently. Many players (including myself) invested a lot of time in the PC/PS2 game and are not interested in rerolling on Xbox 360.

In addition, the majority of PC/PS2 players are most likely playing PSU on a PC. The PC version of PSU is, without a doubt, technically superior to the Xbox 360 and PS2 versions. I imagine that there are a lot of PC players that do not want to go to the Xbox 360 and suffer the lag and slowdown problems that were not present on their PCs.

I understand Sega's reasons for deciding to shut down the PC/PS2 servers, but there is no way to spin this news in a way that will make players see Sega of America in a positive light. It would be nice if Sega could just patch the client to connect to the Japanese servers... but everyone knows that Sonic Team would never allow that.

In the meantime, free play for PC/PS2 players begins January 29 with the final event, Maximum Attack G+. After that, I guess it's back to Phantasy Star Online...

Who knew PSO would outlast the game that was designed to replace it, anyway?

PC/PS2 servers = dead

GM Edward@Sega has announced some bad news today: the PC/PS2 servers will be closing March 31st.

Apparently January 29th is the last day to subscribe and the beginning of free play on the servers but sadly you can only have access to the free play if you subscribe by the 29th. So I doubt there will be any change in the activity of the server during the free play period before the shutdown.

Update (1/22): Free play is available to anyone who had a subscription to PSU.

It's a shame to see the servers go but with the way the population was the last few months I'm not surprised that this finally happened. I'm annoyed to see it end this way because PSU it pretty much dead to me even with the Xbox version still around. Unless Sega offers some sort of character transfer I won't even consider playing it.

Also before I go: I found part of Edward's second post funny...

While sad, this is also a huge opportunity for the Xbox 360 version of the game. Players here are well aware that the Western version of the game has fallen behind the content schedule for the Japanese version of the game, but in focusing our resources on just a single version now, we do have the chance to actually close that gap.

...because this will not happen.