Tired of seeing all this negative criticism, so I decided to write to Sega.

[Tetsaru]

Man... it seems that everything I read on these forums nowadays is bad news and people making fun of Sega/Sonic Team. Of course, I understand why; I'm fed up with them as well. But, instead of ranting HERE, I decided to send THEM something:

[spoiler-box]Hello, Sega of America; my username is Tetsaru. I have grown up as a gamer on the old Sonic the Hedgehog games, and in past years, have become an avid fan of the Phantasy Star Online series. Over a year ago, I subscribed to Phantasy Star Universe, and I must say, it is an extremely fun game to play...

...until recent months. I have been disgusted at how horribly managed PSU/AotI has been lately, and thus I wish to express my complaints towards what can POTENTIALLY be a great MMO game, like PSO once was.

After AotI was released (which, by the way, I have yet to see a physical copy in any stores near where I live), during the maintenance for the 2007 year Christmas Lobby, one of the programmers apparently left a debugging mission available to the public gaming community, allowing them to create infinite rare spawns of the seasonal enemies, and thus obtain multiple items, such as [B] Dagger of Serafi, etc. to their advantage (see the following YouTube link for an example):

http://youtube.com/watch?v=g2rFokWFaUE

Sonic Team implemented a rollback on the PSU servers due to this, fixing the error, but also causing many players to lose LEGIT progress in the game.

Later on, another rollback occurred due to the new "groll" items being glitched and causing players' inventories to be deleted after logging out and logging back in later (see the in-game screenshots I made here):

http://s241.photobucket.com/albums/ff189/tetsaru_arigashi/?action=view&current=psu20080222_031610_005.jpg
http://s241.photobucket.com/albums/ff189/tetsaru_arigashi/?action=view&current=psu20080222_031606_004.jpg
http://s241.photobucket.com/albums/ff189/tetsaru_arigashi/?action=view&current=psu20080222_031605_003.jpg
http://s241.photobucket.com/albums/ff189/tetsaru_arigashi/?action=view&current=psu20080222_031603_002.jpg

As of recently, the Max Attack: G event (which many were looking forward to, due to the retro PSO-style levels that everyone liked) was also marred with poor management, as many players experienced the billing error known as "Error 065" and could not log in. An extension of the event was promised to us, but has yet to appear after approximately a month, as well as the earned bonuses. As far as I know, Sonic Team is still up in the air about how to address this matter. Since my character, as you may have noticed in the above screenshots, is a Fortegunner class, the Spread Needle/G would've been a welcome addition, as long as it was trade-able...

...which leads me to another rant. During the 2008 White Day lobby, which only lasted 2 weeks, for some reason, the first 12-star gunner weapon was available (Love Inferno). As if 2 weeks wasn't enough, many players could not log in at all, due to the servers overheating. As of right now, melee characters have a 12-star weapon (Agito Repca... laughable translation there), techer characters have a 12-star weapon (Psycho Wand, which for some reason no longer has its old PSO stretch/retract animation), and the gunners have a 12-star weapon that barely exists. And all of the current best ranged weapons (Rattlesnake, Shigga Baret, Needle Cannon, Rikauteri... also Hirokteri, Degahna Cannon, and to an extent, Cubo Musrana) ALL drop in mission with "robot" enemies, which for some reason caused a lot of lagging issues for PS2 players...

...which leads me to my next area of concern. I am under the influence that Sega is more concerned with its Japanese playerbase (which is apparent due to them getting ANOTHER new event, while the US/EU servers are still stuck with the MAG incident), but I feel that giving more support towards the PS2 will only further drag PSU's potential down. And now, I am hearing about this new PSU game coming out for the PSP that will be able to upload character data from PSU. Nintendo used this approach for several games with the Gamecube and Game Boy Advance's "connectivity" feature, and although it was innovative, it was very costly for gamers, caused awkward controls, and overall provided a very poor gaming experience. I feel that Sega should take heed to this failure, and release their next expansion (if there even IS one) for the PS3 instead of the PS2, AND/OR provide hard drive support for the PS2 to make up for its lack of capabilities.

I could go on and on with all of the things Sega/Sonic Team has done wrong with PSU. Instead, I invite you to go to these forums and actually READ THROUGH some of the various topics and see the immense negative criticism your current US/EU playerbase is giving you:

http://boards2.sega.com/psu_board/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=9205cea510c10dc7b2176a46654c4525
http://www.pso-world.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=26

As a loyal fan of Sega's works, I would hate to see a once great series (along with Sonic the Hedgehog, for that matter) be reduced to utter crap, if it hasn't already. If any of your past mistakes have taught you anything, then I HIGHLY suggest you take action against the idiots who are causing these horrible atrocities, and prevent any further mishaps from occurring. I'd actually like to read some GOOD news from Chillaura and RubyEclipse sometime...

Sincerely and regrettably,

Tetsaru[/spoiler-box]

I'm sure there have been other people who have done the same, but it's high time someone actually DID something about it. If I ever get a response back, I'll be sure to post it here.

*EDIT* Apparently, the play button link to the YouTube video I posted doesn't work for some reason, but the text link above it does... O_o;

[SakuraJr]

Trust me Tsu, I've tried writing to sega too but so far, it's been for not

[Gunslinger-08]

Well, I don't think you missed anything. It'll probably get ignored, at any rate.

[Ffuzzy-Logik]

Not to rain on your pity party parade, but you'd have to translate it into Japanese and send it overseas for it to reach someone who could actually make a difference.

[SakuraJr]

Not to rain on your pity party parade, but you'd have to translate it into Japanese and send it overseas for it to reach someone who could actually make a difference.

AmEN to that XD

[Tetsaru]

Trust me Tsu, I've tried writing to sega too but so far, it's been for not

Well... even if I don't a response back anytime soon, SOMEONE'S gotta be reading this stuff. If Sega actually gives a damn about their company and their fanbase, then they'll do SOMETHING... >_<

[goldbrease]

glad to see someone did something other then complain

[Dhylec]

It's could be short & more to the point - a bit long - but you got the major points across. Now, if someone is willing to read & reply your letter - that's a different story. ;]

[Shinko]

I agree with Dhylec it could have been a bit shorter but you got all the main problems. I don't think you'll get a respond but that's being negative so, let's hope you do.

-_- though even if you do get one do you think they'll change anyway....
I'm pretty sure others did that same thing. Maybe a lot of ppl need to do it and do it lot

Let's just hope after the fixing of the billing site and the move of the servers, that things start to take a turn for the good

[Yusaku_Kudou]

Sega might not respond directly to your letter, but more people sending in e-mails to them certainly and eventually brings concern to management. Let's put this another way using a restaurant as an example. If one or two people complain about a dish on a very busy night, chances are that they'll go largely ignored. Indeed, one or two complaints is fairly normal and expected. If you are getting many complaints on a busy night, there's a problem; if you aren't busy and you're getting a lot of complaints, then you have a big problem.

The point is that Phantasy Star Universe doesn't have a lot of customers and many of them are complaining. Most have simply stopped going to the "restaurant" and moved on to other things they feel are more rewarding of their time. You can't run a business with a mediocre product and a staff who doesn't know what they're doing. I'm not blaming the GMs--they're the servers--I'm blaming the upper management, because they don't know what they're doing.

I feel that Sonic Team has lost touch with its bases on our side of the world. I'm betting the branch is barely profiting whilst problems continue to mount.

NA/EU PSU (and JP 360) feels an awful lot like it would be one of the restaurants on Kitchen Nightmares if it actually were a restaurant: http://www.hulu.com/watch/2197/kitchen-nightmares-sebastians#s-p1-so-i0

I used to be very patient and stand behind Sonic Team USA when problems showed up. Personally, I've had decent service and the GMs have been helpful. I especially like the GMs, but they are, again, the servers of the "restaurant" and have to take the heat for mistakes they have nothing to do with. The problem is, the people they have to pass word onto have their ears plugged while sitting on their thumbs with stupid looks on their faces.

[Tetsaru]

Heh, I could've gone on and on, but I was getting tired of typing... that alone should speak for itself. >_<

But, it's so depressing to see PSU go on like this... Sonic the Hedgehog (the original Sega Genesis one) was one of the first games/series I really got into. PSO was another series I got into with several of my close friends, and that was OFFLINE. Nowadays, there's just all these shitty Sonic games coming out (although I hope Unleashed fixes that), and PSU just keeps getting worse and worse. Even when that new mission on Moatoob came out recently (the one with the Bil de Melans), I played it a few times, got bored of it, and stopped because there just wasn't much point for me to run it. Every time I DO log on nowadays, I check to see what my friends are doing, and often times, they're just sitting around chatting. =/

Anyways, I encourage whoever still likes this game to also send their complaints to Sega. Surely with enough of us, they'll take notice. Until then, guess I'll just be trying to finish MGS4, lol... >_<

[Ahkaskar]

Here's my question--how did you send your message to Sega?

[Tetsaru]

Here's my question--how did you send your message to Sega?

It actually took me a while to find it myself, lol... but here's what I stumbled upon through Google:

http://help.sega.com/index.php

You'll have to sign up, and then send them a "ticket," as they call it. I don't see why they didn't just have a "Contact Us" link or something simple... =/

[rise urbanus]

Heh, I could've gone on and on, but I was getting tired of typing... that alone should speak for itself. >_<

But, it's so depressing to see PSU go on like this... Sonic the Hedgehog (the original Sega Genesis one) was one of the first games/series I really got into. PSO was another series I got into with several of my close friends, and that was OFFLINE. Nowadays, there's just all these shitty Sonic games coming out (although I hope Unleashed fixes that), and PSU just keeps getting worse and worse. Even when that new mission on Moatoob came out recently (the one with the Bil de Melans), I played it a few times, got bored of it, and stopped because there just wasn't much point for me to run it. Every time I DO log on nowadays, I check to see what my friends are doing, and often times, they're just sitting around chatting. =/

Anyways, I encourage whoever still likes this game to also send their complaints to Sega. Surely with enough of us, they'll take notice. Until then, guess I'll just be trying to finish MGS4, lol... >_<
i have not been on for a while but my big brothers and my good friends is what keep me goin:-)....sonic and pso also been my good games...:sleepy:

[Zwick_]

I agree with Dhylec it could have been a bit shorter but you got all the main problems. I don't think you'll get a respond but that's being negative so, let's hope you do.

-_- though even if you do get one do you think they'll change anyway....
I'm pretty sure others did that same thing. Maybe a lot of ppl need to do it and do it lot

Let's just hope after the fixing of the billing site and the move of the servers, that things start to take a turn for the good

I dont even think this is going to make a difference... moving servers isnt going to help them make better decisions, just have more room to make bad decisions

And now Zwicks remedy for the problem =)
Everyone send SOA an email electing me the new head of PSU operations and I will lead it to greatness =D... or just do what you think will work

[dc534]

It does not seam to be worrying them to much because they still have not really changed much of anything. All these new events just seem cut and paste to me the last two events were nothing but cut and paste of old material. I loved the idea they were going for with Mag but they should have made it like a Month long event, I think Firebreak was like a month long. They need to bring back that kind of feel to this game, Firebreak was amazing but these last events were just barely average in my book. I really could have done without them. Sure its nice that now we can all have Rucars and a few other rares but I feel they could have done just a little more with this event.

[ErtaiClou]

To think that day with the debug mission started so great only to end so horribly wrong....


I find it strange too that they don't have a contact number and just this ticket. Even if it is a recording that takes you through a hour of selections before a live operator, at least other companies have the decency to do that much.

If you call Sony or Capcom, yeah you might not get through but if you leave a message they'll call you back in the next few days. Real companies know that you need to talk with the customers like actual human beings do.

Good for you though, Tetsaru, doing what you did.

[Zwick_]

It does not seam to be worrying them to much because they still have not really changed much of anything. All these new events just seem cut and paste to me the last two events were nothing but cut and paste of old material. I loved the idea they were going for with Mag but they should have made it like a Month long event, I think Firebreak was like a month long. They need to bring back that kind of feel to this game, Firebreak was amazing but these last events were just barely average in my book. I really could have done without them. Sure its nice that now we can all have Rucars and a few other rares but I feel they could have done just a little more with this event.

MAG was a month long.... but I agree, firebreak was amazing (as was 1up). But the winter event was supposed to be a "cut and paste" event because it was celebrating that this game made it through the better year and took us back through all the hotspots of before. MAG wasnt so much a cut/paste as it was just repetitive. The mission never changed at all unless it was a "rare" spawn (i put that in quotes because it was more common than a regular spawn) and them implementing the leaderboard completely destroyed it because you couldnt have fun if you wanted to get the prize everyone wanted and instead just had to spam C runs to attempt to get it. The events SOA comes out with arent lacking originality, theyre only lacking effort

[Shishi-O]

WOW, i mean seriously,..WOW

I mean seriously, too bad there isn't staff at sega that gives a rats ass about it's paying customers,..WOW

I mean WOW, a game development studio that that totally caters to its customers ( lol, whew, must be a BLIZZARD outside, cuz It's chilly in here )

Me I play events, and am not even getting that anymore...

I think I'll settle for the 12* slicer as a reason to keep my account open.

But seriously until they get their crap together I will be playing WOW

[Zwick_]

WOW, i mean seriously,..WOW

I mean seriously, too bad there isn't staff at sega that gives a rats ass about,..WOW

I mean WOW, a game development studio that that totally caters to its customers ( lol, whew, must be a BLIZZARD outside, cuz It's chilly in here )

Me I play events, and am not even getting that anymore...

I think I'll settle for the 12* slicer as a reason to keep my account open.

But seriously until they get their crap together I will be playing WOW

Attempt to translate:
a lot of wows?
something about a blizzard?
you play WoW instead of PSU?

edit: Just picked it up, the blizzard refers to the co. that makes WoW, gotchya =)

[CelestialBlade]

A little long-winded and wordy, but gets the point across. Good for you for actually taking the time to write to them instead of just whining.

As for it accomplishing anything....I doubt it. But at least you can say you actually tried.

[Shishi-O]

lol yaa I couldn't take it anymore, I keep my account open though and all my chars are maxed ( thanks MAG, but as far as the amount of time they expect us to spend on a game with so little content... I mean seriously, the days of grinding one mission for months, in the hopes getting enough materials is completely over.

The event and new classes and items with aluminus was a saving grace, but now they aren't even delivering that.

All of my friends have quit....day one friends.

Except for maybe one guy, and he has spinal injury,.. And is currently playing GTA4

[Masterflower]

PSU/AoI is not a MMO o.o This is a Online RPG, MMO games dont go and read off a disc <_<; what sega of america should do is hired more ppl, i hope to god this game isnt being run by 2 ppl (John and other guy). What Sega of Japan should do is help out Sega of America and work as a unity and not "here do whatever or only do this." Also stop being lazy and reuse everything you made since the old Phantasy Stars. Only Square Enix can get away with remaking the same game 3 times cuz they can afford to do that. Its also funny how many say they think FF sucks yet so many are waiting for FF13 -_-; I think Sega should try and attempt to make new things, it will at least show me they tried. The recent set backs made by sega doesnt bother me anymore and it shouldnt to others. But yes PSU isnt a MMO <_< theres nothing massive about it, the worlds arent big and zones arent huge (notice how i never mention about population in a MMO) This game has too many limitations to be a MMO o.o Online RPG is good enough, i mean, they both online and a RPGish game but Massive isnt what ill describe these areas <<;;.

[Shishi-O]

they should be making up events and throwing them at us. Or a be mission
Wich varies blocks and enemies, with great drops,...where the hell do they get of giving us kersline in any mission with 12* boards dropping!!?

[Kylie]

I don't think writing them is going to help anything. After all, I'm pretty sure upper management calls all the shots and will never read our complaints; they probably just let the GM's handle it, whom read our criticism elsewhere and forward it, anyway (or try to). So, you see, posting it here is just as good as sending SEGA a letter, and I'd prefer to post here.

especially since, well, SEGA Of America can't do much of anything about the game from a content or technical outlook and can't even work on the things (properly) it is in charge of such as billing, policing, and GM stuff. :X I bet they wish they could, so why should I waste my time reiterating their problems? I'm sure any idiot can see they're doing a crappy job. I seriously doubt they're sitting there thinking they're the best company ever. They probably don't have ther money to improve - understaffed, mismanaged, etc.

[Shishi-O]

minescule multiplayer online

[Ryokai]

Seriously I argee with everyone that sega needs to get their act together. but I have seen GM's getting the blame for the problems which is quite sad since they always try their best to help people out. I somehow doubt this move will solve anything but who knows maybe we will get lucky but I doubt it.

[CelestialBlade]

Proof writing to corporations usually doesn't change much:

Vista still sucks.

[Sekani]

Naoya Tsurumi
Chief Executive Officer
(or)
Simon Jeffery
President and Chief Operating Officer
(or)
Takashi Iizuka
Sega Studio USA (Sonic Team USA)

Sega of America, Inc.
650 Townsend St
Suite 650
San Francisco CA 94103

(415) 701-6000
Fax: (415)701-6006



Hajime Satomi, CEO
Sega of Japan
1-2-12 Haneda
Ohta-ku
Tokyo 144-8531
Japan

+81-3-5736-7111
Fax: +81-3-5736-7066


Disclaimer: The above contact information is all corporate, not for customer support. If you want to bitch about not being able to log in for whatever reason you're not gonna get far.

[MiniBrian]

the best your gonna get back is a genetic message thats prob. gonna say "Thank you for your thoughts and concerns. We will take this into consideration." :)

[The_Gio]

Uhm im tired of seeing this, but you guys do know its not the ps2's fault right? its the fact that sega is LAZY, yes they reskin, but everything in every game is a reskin of another monster,their just reskinned so much you cant tell, like the color and AI pattern. I just think sega's lazy

[autumn]

Naoya Tsurumi
Chief Executive Officer
(or)
Simon Jeffery
President and Chief Operating Officer
(or)
Takashi Iizuka
Sega Studio USA (Sonic Team USA)

Sega of America, Inc.
650 Townsend St
Suite 650
San Francisco CA 94103

(415) 701-6000
Fax: (415)701-6006



Hajime Satomi, CEO
Sega of Japan
1-2-12 Haneda
Ohta-ku
Tokyo 144-8531
Japan

+81-3-5736-7111
Fax: +81-3-5736-7066


Disclaimer: The above contact information is all corporate, not for customer support. If you want to bitch about not being able to log in for whatever reason you're not gonna get far.

This is fantastic information. Even if all we get back is a thank you for your interest sort of deal it can be said that all least the player base tried to do something while their game slowly declined. Taking action is much better then writing poorly worded BAW-fests to the poor GMs who have to try to make us believe there is some sense in what their higher ups are doing. I'll be trying some of the above information and I'll post again if / when I get some reply. I would be eternally obliged if other people would take the time to do the same. We have what could be a fantastic game, most of us love it, why don't we try and do something for it?

[Tetsaru]

I actually got a quick response from ChillAura today, but it wasn't really the answer I was looking for:

[spoiler-box]Jason,

ChillAura here, the PSU forum admins are also the ones who handle PSU in-game support emails.
I actually saw this posted on PSO-world this morning too.

First of all we have been doing all we can to get these issues listened too by SEGA and Sonic Team, but the problems are just not something that anyone in the customer support or community can resolve, actually no one at SOA has the authority to crack the whip and get these issues addressed. We can pursue alternative ways to improve the value of a PSU subscription, but just can't get you game updates on a schedule that will please the users.

I really don't think letter writing is going to make much of a difference at this point, but if you want to get more attention I would recommend posting your concerns outside of the PSU community and seeing if anyone else is interested in what is going on with PSU.

-Jake (ChillAura)
SEGA Support[/spoiler-box]

Well, I appreciate the prompt response, ChillAura. I just hate the fact that not even the GM's, let alone Sega of America, is in a viable position to actually get the players' opinions across to the people running this game... -_-

And Sekani, thanks a lot for that contact info. If we could just find some email addresses for those contacts, I'd be glad to give those authorities a piece of my mind as well. =P

[Kylie]

Well, I appreciate the prompt response, ChillAura. I just hate the fact that not even the GM's, let alone Sega of America, is in a viable position to actually get the players' opinions across to the people running this game... -_-
Told ya. :-P

[Masterflower]

<.< oh yeah, Im sensing our servers will mysteriously disappear sooner then expected, If seems to be the best solution out of all the suggestion that have bein thrown into the air. >.>

[xjustsumloser]

dont worry, your letter will end up in the trash just like everything else sega gets from us, except our money. If you want to speak to sega, you need to stop throwing money at them for awhile.

[zandra117]

I actually got a quick response from ChillAura today, but it wasn't really the answer I was looking for:

[spoiler-box]Jason,

ChillAura here, the PSU forum admins are also the ones who handle PSU in-game support emails.
I actually saw this posted on PSO-world this morning too.

First of all we have been doing all we can to get these issues listened too by SEGA and Sonic Team, but the problems are just not something that anyone in the customer support or community can resolve, actually no one at SOA has the authority to crack the whip and get these issues addressed. We can pursue alternative ways to improve the value of a PSU subscription, but just can't get you game updates on a schedule that will please the users.

I really don't think letter writing is going to make much of a difference at this point, but if you want to get more attention I would recommend posting your concerns outside of the PSU community and seeing if anyone else is interested in what is going on with PSU.

-Jake (ChillAura)
SEGA Support[/spoiler-box]

Well, I appreciate the prompt response, ChillAura. I just hate the fact that not even the GM's, let alone Sega of America, is in a viable position to actually get the players' opinions across to the people running this game... -_-

And Sekani, thanks a lot for that contact info. If we could just find some email addresses for those contacts, I'd be glad to give those authorities a piece of my mind as well. =P

ChillAura basically just told you to translate it to japanese and post it on the JP boards because thats the only way anything will change.

Even then, you will probably get flamed by the JP community for posting NA/EU issues on JP boards and it will be deleted by admins.

[TecherRamen]

If we stopped giving them money though, they would probably just lol a little bit and close down our servers completely.

What does chill mean by get some one interested whose not part of the PSU community? like.. lawyers? can we sue? could this all be some obscure form of child neglect?... no no no. that would be like suing god...

so maybe all of us should unite and send a letter to everyone we can on some mutually agreed day. hell, we could all send the exact same message : SOS.... Save Our Servers.
not only to the people here in america, but also perhaps some officials residing abroad.

Tetsaru, your letter was good and to the point. It was long only because there were oh-so-many points TO be made...

[ErtaiClou]

Lol, who said the GM's don't check here?

Though the response is disheartening to say the least.

[Sekani]

For shits and giggles (mostly) I went ahead and faxed a letter to Sega's Japanese office. I'll let you know if I get a response.

[Shishi-O]

WTF!!

Chillaura just broke my fucking heart.

This is worst than when they gimped chikki

[Ryosuke_Kura]

In response to what ChillAura said.
Who outside of PSU would even care about what's going on?

It's also not great to read that no one can currently do anything to get these problems fixed. for us.

Like Shishi-O said, it's disheartening. =[
We're paying 10 dollars a month, and we're getting nothing but lousy service.

[Apone]

Well if the word spread to gaming publications and websites that arent fanbased then Sega would have to take notice to defend themselves.
As it is, there arent that many people who even know of this game, let alone play it. If the way this game was being handled got out to the mainstream media maybe, just maybe it could make a difference

[Colonel Mustard]

Maybe, I don't know for sure, but we could contact 1up (although, I confess, I am not sure what 1up is) about how Sega is treating the US customer. While they do not have a direct interest in PSU, they certainly, I think, would like not to be associated with what is now going on. Perhaps they would do us, another, favor and write a note about it on their, um, site?

Edit: 1up is apparently a videogame website. Be an easy, writes-itself, little blurb for a writer there to describe the joke that is PSU service. "We sponsored an event blah-bah-blah for Sega's latest console RPG, and now this is what's going on...."

Anyone with an account there should, as they say, hit them up!

[Skyly]

I would actually calling SOA do any justice.. I got the number..

[Ahkaskar]

Actually, contacting 1up is a really, really good idea.

[autumn]

Already done, although I encourage others to do the same. One contact may be overlooked but it is less likely that many will. I haven't heard back from 1Up yet. Hopefully it will be within the next few days.

[Colonel Mustard]

Actually, contacting 1up is a really, really good idea.

Why, thank you!

I do my best, which often is not so good, to help the community.

[MastGow]

Why dont make a generic text?, people can just copy & paste and send, it is much more easy, and people dont need to think (thats why people dont send e-mail to complain, they dont want to think =|)

[autumn]

Nonsense. Everyone should put in an effort. The thing that that has killed this game up to now was a LACK of that effort. If everyone is too lazy to write a legitimate email then this game is already doomed. When you write be nice to the outside people, tell them what is going on, and for the love of everything look better then "lol r game is te suc plz help" Use your heads guys.

[Colonel Mustard]

Nonsense. Everyone should put in an effort. The thing that that has killed this game up to now was a LACK of that effort. If everyone is too lazy to write a legitimate email then this game is already doomed. When you write be nice to the outside people, tell them what is going on, and for the love of everything look better then "lol r game is te suc plz help" Use your heads guys.At least would you mind posting the 1up contact info? That page makes my head swim!

[Phoenix_Black]

We could even try and get on G4, howw 'bout a TV Spot on AOTS about our cause? They do a lot of live chatroom interaction, and what not. Imagine a whole Chatroom stating our cause... It'd make a good story for them. They covered the Anonymous protesting, why not us?

[autumn]

Emails should go to (insofar as I understand things) to [email protected]. Its what was listed under who to send new ideas to.
And the idea of G4 would be HUGE if we could get it. I suppose I have more things to look into, just please don't let me be the only one doing it.

[Phoenix_Black]

I'm sending my e-mail right now.

[MastGow]

I'm sending too, everyone need to do that!

[autumn]

Thus far I've made tenative contact with G4, 1-Up and Game Informer. Where else should IO make overtures to?

[Phoenix_Black]

Here is my e-mail to 1Up, entitled : "S.O.S. = Save Our Servers"(I liked the idea.)

" Hey, I am user from the Pso-world.com forums. My username is Phoenix_Black. Late last year, you guys at 1up sponsered a fun event on Sega's latest console RPG, Phantasy Star Universe. Many plyers had fun at this event and we appreciated tha you guys sponsered it. Lately, it hasn't been fun on our game at all. Sonic Team has been unable to give us the committment we deserve for our ten dollars a month. Recently, we had another event called Maximum Attack: G. This event was pretty fun, but many of the subscribers were unable to play because of billing errors on Sega's billing site. Because of this, Sonic Team said they would extend the event to allow those who were effected by the billing error to get to enjoy the even. When it came time for our extension on the day the event normally would have ended, we were given the news that the extension would be postponed two weeks. When that deadline came around, we were told that we would have to wait again, this time until the end of June. Once again, our extension was delayed until next month, in July. There is even talk amongst the game managers that we will never get the extension at all.



During this 3 month period of delays, we were promised a period where we would not be charged for service. This free period never came. In fact, some players we even charged multiple times. Just a few days ago, Sega launched a whole new billing site, and when players attempted to subscribe recieved the same billing error that started this mess. As this continues, the rest of us are paying for a service provided by a company that promised bi-weekly updates. Within this 3 month period, we have recieved just two updates.



This is only the most recent screw-up made by Sega. Sega's incompetence has lead to several screw ups before this one, which have caused the North American/European servers to fall 9 monthes behind those of the Japanese. While the Japanese have had some screw-ups, their service is much more effeciant than our own. It has come to our atention that all of these issues are out of the hands of Sega of America, and the strings are being pulled by Sega of Japan, who, by evidence of their neglect, simply don't care about issues affecting us in North America and Europe. This has lead to many in our community to believe that Sega of Japan's actions might be based on racism. This is purely rumor, of course.



The community has decided that cancelling our accounts and denying Sega our money would not make Sega fix the issues that plague our servers. When faced with similar situations of previous online installments of the Phantasy Star series, Sega simply gave up and shut down our servers. We believe our only option is to bring to light the poor customer service being proved by Sega, showing the company's real business practices. To do this, we require strong influences, such as yourselves, in the gaming community to sread the word.



This was a game you sponsered, a very fun game at that, and now it is failing. We hope that you can make it fun again, as you did during the 1up Cup event."

[autumn]

At least we're trying something instead of ragging on the people who are trying and doing nothing. If you have some ideas pitch them around, just don't shoot down the little bit we have. Thats been all to much the trend lately.

[goldbrease]

how about yahoo, who did the yahoo cup? try some game magazines like the official sony and xbox, game informer, game pro, pc gamers! there are lots out there.

hey who knows, maybe even try some of the popular news stations.

[LuigiMario]

Man... it seems that everything I read on these forums nowadays is bad news and people making fun of Sega/Sonic Team. Of course, I understand why; I'm fed up with them as well. But, instead of ranting HERE, I decided to send THEM something:

[spoiler-box]Hello, Sega of America; my username is Tetsaru. I have grown up as a gamer on the old Sonic the Hedgehog games, and in past years, have become an avid fan of the Phantasy Star Online series. Over a year ago, I subscribed to Phantasy Star Universe, and I must say, it is an extremely fun game to play...

...until recent months. I have been disgusted at how horribly managed PSU/AotI has been lately, and thus I wish to express my complaints towards what can POTENTIALLY be a great MMO game, like PSO once was.

After AotI was released (which, by the way, I have yet to see a physical copy in any stores near where I live), during the maintenance for the 2007 year Christmas Lobby, one of the programmers apparently left a debugging mission available to the public gaming community, allowing them to create infinite rare spawns of the seasonal enemies, and thus obtain multiple items, such as [B] Dagger of Serafi, etc. to their advantage (see the following YouTube link for an example):

http://youtube.com/watch?v=g2rFokWFaUE

Sonic Team implemented a rollback on the PSU servers due to this, fixing the error, but also causing many players to lose LEGIT progress in the game.

Later on, another rollback occurred due to the new "groll" items being glitched and causing players' inventories to be deleted after logging out and logging back in later (see the in-game screenshots I made here):

http://s241.photobucket.com/albums/ff189/tetsaru_arigashi/?action=view&current=psu20080222_031610_005.jpg
http://s241.photobucket.com/albums/ff189/tetsaru_arigashi/?action=view&current=psu20080222_031606_004.jpg
http://s241.photobucket.com/albums/ff189/tetsaru_arigashi/?action=view&current=psu20080222_031605_003.jpg
http://s241.photobucket.com/albums/ff189/tetsaru_arigashi/?action=view&current=psu20080222_031603_002.jpg

As of recently, the Max Attack: G event (which many were looking forward to, due to the retro PSO-style levels that everyone liked) was also marred with poor management, as many players experienced the billing error known as "Error 065" and could not log in. An extension of the event was promised to us, but has yet to appear after approximately a month, as well as the earned bonuses. As far as I know, Sonic Team is still up in the air about how to address this matter. Since my character, as you may have noticed in the above screenshots, is a Fortegunner class, the Spread Needle/G would've been a welcome addition, as long as it was trade-able...

...which leads me to another rant. During the 2008 White Day lobby, which only lasted 2 weeks, for some reason, the first 12-star gunner weapon was available (Love Inferno). As if 2 weeks wasn't enough, many players could not log in at all, due to the servers overheating. As of right now, melee characters have a 12-star weapon (Agito Repca... laughable translation there), techer characters have a 12-star weapon (Psycho Wand, which for some reason no longer has its old PSO stretch/retract animation), and the gunners have a 12-star weapon that barely exists. And all of the current best ranged weapons (Rattlesnake, Shigga Baret, Needle Cannon, Rikauteri... also Hirokteri, Degahna Cannon, and to an extent, Cubo Musrana) ALL drop in mission with "robot" enemies, which for some reason caused a lot of lagging issues for PS2 players...

...which leads me to my next area of concern. I am under the influence that Sega is more concerned with its Japanese playerbase (which is apparent due to them getting ANOTHER new event, while the US/EU servers are still stuck with the MAG incident), but I feel that giving more support towards the PS2 will only further drag PSU's potential down. And now, I am hearing about this new PSU game coming out for the PSP that will be able to upload character data from PSU. Nintendo used this approach for several games with the Gamecube and Game Boy Advance's "connectivity" feature, and although it was innovative, it was very costly for gamers, caused awkward controls, and overall provided a very poor gaming experience. I feel that Sega should take heed to this failure, and release their next expansion (if there even IS one) for the PS3 instead of the PS2, AND/OR provide hard drive support for the PS2 to make up for its lack of capabilities.

I could go on and on with all of the things Sega/Sonic Team has done wrong with PSU. Instead, I invite you to go to these forums and actually READ THROUGH some of the various topics and see the immense negative criticism your current US/EU playerbase is giving you:

http://boards2.sega.com/psu_board/viewforum.php?f=3&sid=9205cea510c10dc7b2176a46654c4525
http://www.pso-world.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=26

As a loyal fan of Sega's works, I would hate to see a once great series (along with Sonic the Hedgehog, for that matter) be reduced to utter crap, if it hasn't already. If any of your past mistakes have taught you anything, then I HIGHLY suggest you take action against the idiots who are causing these horrible atrocities, and prevent any further mishaps from occurring. I'd actually like to read some GOOD news from Chillaura and RubyEclipse sometime...

Sincerely and regrettably,

Tetsaru[/spoiler-box]

I'm sure there have been other people who have done the same, but it's high time someone actually DID something about it. If I ever get a response back, I'll be sure to post it here.

*EDIT* Apparently, the play button link to the YouTube video I posted doesn't work for some reason, but the text link above it does... O_o;

Wheres the video?

[autumn]

Ty goldbrese, I'm not as familiar as I would like to be with the gaming mags out there. I've got a few more places to leave mail before I go to bed tonight now.

[goldbrease]

id like to note if you do contact a news channel your going to need to be very careful, they could end up useing it to make video games look bad if not worded politely and calmly. if its an angery post we could get a 7 o clock news section on psu is turning children into raveing lunatics.

[autumn]

I would LoL at that except it is all too true a statement. I would feel more comfortable keeping to the general gaming community for the time being.

[Lyric]

Well this is a refreshing idea. Doing something besides sitting around and whining. Count me in. I'll shove off some emails tonight and tomorrow as well. I'll hit 1up and G4 like you guys have.

As for other ideas, there's always Microsoft and Sony since the game is running on their systems and software. Though perhaps going to them would be pushing it? I dunno, just throwing it out there. Maybe Playstation Magazine or Xbox's Mag?

[Sasamichan]

ChillAura basically just told you to translate it to japanese and post it on the JP boards because thats the only way anything will change.

Even then, you will probably get flamed by the JP community for posting NA/EU issues on JP boards and it will be deleted by admins.

Typical JP behavior. :rolleyes:

[ForteGunnerW]

Maybe their trying their best but their best isnt enough? i mean get some people who arent japanese for once...? yu hear me sega?

[Darsh]

Sega couldnt manage their way out of a paper bag! So dont look for an actual response to your FANTASTIC AND WELL PUT letter of dissapointment. All companys care about is money. Sega is no exception. The proof in the pudding will be when they anounce that the MAG extention is cancelled (lots of people who joined late, segas saying your SOL) and they will hand out the rewards w/o any way for us to earn the sange at least untill another event, at which i predict .... quote me on this .... THEY WILL SCREW UP JUST LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE> ;D

[D1ABOLIK]

Dont expect any letter in return. I sent them a e mail where i very calmy and politely asked to have the AOTI offline content released for the 360. And went on to explain the benefits of it, that many of us would love the content, and that it was unfair to release it on one console and not the other. They never responded so i sent another one inquiring about the status, about 3 months after the first one, to which they responded that they had already answered my question and to not send another e mail. Even though i never got a response from the first one.

[Darsh]

I love those response emails that send out when they push the delete button w/o reading or caring about what people think or want. ;D <3 sega

[Shishi-O]

find and post to dengeki.

That aught to get their attention

Whats' jacked up? BLIZZARD responds within hours,... If only we could get our hands on a magic wand.

[goud71493]

...........

[autumn]

Wow, I'm pleased by the handful of others giving a hand as well. I think we still need moar people (aka everyone else :D)

[a-NUB-is]

Tetsaru,

I would just like to give you my thanks. Plainly and simply; you started this movement. You were, metaphorically, the big wave that sent out the little waves voicing your concerns. With everyone on here complaining as they have been, I really see the game that I love, you love, and we all share becoming a fantastic game just like PSO was. I am also following the movement and sharing my concerns with 1up in the hope that they will be able to push this forward, even if it is a baby-step. So let me say thanks once more, really this is great guys and lets not make it all talk and ACTUALLY bring this game back from the dark ages.

Thanks,
Anubis


*side-note* Whoever posted the video of the kitchens nightmares, I cant stop watching this thing its hilarious!

[Tetsaru]

Tetsaru,

I would just like to give you my thanks. Plainly and simply; you started this movement. You were, metaphorically, the big wave that sent out the little waves voicing your concerns. With everyone on here complaining as they have been, I really see the game that I love, you love, and we all share becoming a fantastic game just like PSO was. I am also following the movement and sharing my concerns with 1up in the hope that they will be able to push this forward, even if it is a baby-step. So let me say thanks once more, really this is great guys and lets not make it all talk and ACTUALLY bring this game back from the dark ages.

Thanks,
Anubis



Thank you for your kind words. :3 It's quite sad that Sega just doesn't seem to care about their US/EU playerbase anymore... it just seems illogical, considering they've always been hard up for money. Anyone who has a brain can tell you, if you want a successful business, you HAVE to take care of the needs of your customers. If I ever find any more email addresses to the proper people, I'm writing some more letters when I get the chance... MAN I wish I knew Japanese... >X(

[XGalvatronX]

I actually got a quick response from ChillAura today, but it wasn't really the answer I was looking for:

[spoiler-box]Jason,

ChillAura here, the PSU forum admins are also the ones who handle PSU in-game support emails.
I actually saw this posted on PSO-world this morning too.

First of all we have been doing all we can to get these issues listened too by SEGA and Sonic Team, but the problems are just not something that anyone in the customer support or community can resolve, actually no one at SOA has the authority to crack the whip and get these issues addressed. We can pursue alternative ways to improve the value of a PSU subscription, but just can't get you game updates on a schedule that will please the users.

I really don't think letter writing is going to make much of a difference at this point, but if you want to get more attention I would recommend posting your concerns outside of the PSU community and seeing if anyone else is interested in what is going on with PSU.

-Jake (ChillAura)
SEGA Support[/spoiler-box]

Well, I appreciate the prompt response, ChillAura. I just hate the fact that not even the GM's, let alone Sega of America, is in a viable position to actually get the players' opinions across to the people running this game... -_-

And Sekani, thanks a lot for that contact info. If we could just find some email addresses for those contacts, I'd be glad to give those authorities a piece of my mind as well. =P


I think what you're doing is a great idea.

However, it won't make a difference, and it's sad. Sega wants to shut down the US servers. Otherwise, they'd actually do something to stop people from leaving the games. They'd actually give us GM's who told us the truth about what's going on. They'd actually to make themselves look competent at running an online game. They don't, and it's disgustingly obvious.

I know people are saying don't blame Chillaura and RubyEclipse. The truth is, they are still reps of the company and the ones speaking to the community, and those 2 douchebags shouldn't be telling the community anything if they don't know what the hell it is they're talking about. Don't kid yourself, they don't give a crap about the game or the community. If PSU does shut down, they'll move on to be GM's for another game. They have nothing to worry about. They're jobs are safe.

They're basically lying to their customers and have been for months. I called them out on all this and they banned me from their forums. They know what they're doing, and have for the past few months. Don't be surprised if they PSO BB the US side of PSU.

As a loyal Sega customer for the past 25+ years, it's sad to see a company that I once loved and supported now represented by terrible customer service, and two completely worthless and incompetent spokespeople.

[Ahkaskar]

find and post to dengeki.

That aught to get their attention

Whats' jacked up? BLIZZARD responds within hours,... If only we could get our hands on a magic wand.
BLUE PLZ
BLUE PLZ
BLUE PLZ
BLUE PLZ
BLUE PLZ
WARE IS MY BLU MSG!?

With fans like that, who needs naysayers?

[Tetsaru]

I know people are saying don't blame Chillaura and RubyEclipse. The truth is, they are still reps of the company and the ones speaking to the community, and those 2 douchebags shouldn't be telling the community anything if they don't know what the hell it is they're talking about. Don't kid yourself, they don't give a crap about the game or the community. If PSU does shut down, they'll move on to be GM's for another game. They have nothing to worry about. They're jobs are safe.

They're basically lying to their customers and have been for months. I called them out on all this and they banned me from their forums. They know what they're doing, and have for the past few months. Don't be surprised if they PSO BB the US side of PSU.

As a loyal Sega customer for the past 25+ years, it's sad to see a company that I once loved and supported now represented by terrible customer service, and two completely worthless and incompetent spokespeople.

Well, I wouldn't go THAT far just yet. It seems to me that ChillAura and RubyEclipse are as much in the dark as we are until they receive their information to give us - they're messengers, after all. What I'd like to know is, if they RECEIVE information from the higher-ups, why can't they SEND information back to them? A true representative of a community would be able to do that; communication is essential.

ChillAura, RubyEclipse... if you're reading this, I challenge you to question your superiors. Tell them that the overall PSU community is outraged to see such a potentially wonderful game be managed so poorly. Tell them that, if the members of Sega of Japan are the xenophobic fools that everyone makes them out to be, then they need to get their heads out of their asses - it's no longer World War II, and there are weeaboos everywhere in the US and Europe who would love to spend their money on games like this. Tell them that this community loves PSU, and if they can't cater to the demands of their fans just as Nintendo, Square-Enix, Capcom, Konami, and many other gaming companies have done for years... then they need to hire people who can actually do their jobs properly, or face losing thousands of dollars perhaps not initally, but later on, when those former fans decided that Sega no longer deserves their once-found respect and fame, and decide to boycott anything that has the Sega logo plastered on it.

I challenge you to do this... for the sake of this community, the Phantasy Star series, for Sonic Team, and for Sega itself.

[Broodstar1337]

It's time for a PSU Private Server to emerge. Maybe that'll light a fire under Sonic Team's ass to do something about their shitty product.

[Tetsaru]

It's time for a PSU Private Server to emerge. Maybe that'll light a fire under Sonic Team's ass to do something about their shitty product.

Sadly, I whole-heartedly agree with this. I've never played on the private PSO servers before, but if someone could pull it off as well as the things I've heard about it, and without costs... by all means, do it! There's no need in giving money to poor service; it's no different than not giving a bad server at a restaurant a tip. =/

[goldbrease]

many people may not know but ruby is a pso fan. i knew ruby way before he was a gm. he, i knew ruby before the current sega board was around, i knew him when the old sega boards were around, with holiday and event trophies on your profile and sega didn't give a care in the world for what went on, in their forums. the old days... when the sega board was spam o ramma and i had to push back spammers to keep the boards straight because there were no board admins

ruby used to play pso alot. used to run threw forest-ruins with him. since he works for sega now thou his social life style has dwindled. i believe this is because by becoming gms they learn stuff they can't reveal and becoming to social they may leak this info. i think i might even have his card still lol, will have to check sometime in the future.

i'm not realy sure about chill however

[Tita]

i've pretty much stopped playing PSU, and haven't realized it. i'd like to dabble in it again, but i have little incentive. there are many factors for this, but one of the big factors is psu (ps2/pc servers especially) plagued with problem after problem, and the people i played with felt the same. we didn't hate the game, and we didn't consciously make an exit from it either. in my head, up until recently, i was still "playing" psu, but haven't physically logged in longer than 30 minutes in the past two months.

i was excited to come back and play when the proposed return of MAG was up and running, and now there's talks of it not happening at all? every time i plan to come back, i lose incentive to.


anyway, i gotta commend what you guys are starting to do here. reaching out to gaming news sites abroad is a great idea, and i'm impressed that people are actually doing it. i've lost a lot of concern for this game in the past 4 months, but seeing this activity has inspired me to take some action, and suggest some actions:

canceling our accounts while simultaneously sending letters to gaming news outlets and sega seem to be the best way to get the message across, and will only work if both actions are done mutually. i plan to send a few letters once i cancel my account.

getting media attention is one thing, but withdrawing from the cash cow and demanding a better product would really drive the message home.


(and honestly, i don't see psu surviving once Diablo III is out. Sega better baby and lavish their tiny audience with appreciation while they can... )

[Nanosystem]

Actually if everyone cancelled their accounts that would just make sega do the whole, "Ok obviously the Americans don't like this game, close down the servers." thing. Really Now we need people to just basically stand against sega of japan.

[Tita]

Actually if everyone cancelled their accounts that would just make sega do the whole, "Ok obviously the Americans don't like this game, close down the servers." thing. Really Now we need people to just basically stand against sega of japan.

that's exactly why canceling accounts alone wouldn't work. some kind of media attention needs to be generated at the same time. only letter writing is mutually exclusive, not account canceling.

i'd like to give psu stateside another month or so before coming to my decision to cancel. i understand that July is going to be a very busy month for SOA, and it seems that sega is actually taking steps to fix many of the reoccurring problems that lost a good chunk of their playership.

one of the most positive changes has been the addition of GMs running around for live support. this addition alone has improved the quality of gaming for many players, increased communication between players and sega, and hackers have been dealt with quickly and efficiently.

this was a step in the right direction. if we continue to express our concern for this game's success outside of the psu community bubble, i'm sure we'll get a much better game within the coming months. how often is it that the gaming community takes more action to ensure a game's success than the company who made it?

[Reipard]

You know, flooding an unrelated company's support and feedback email is not going to get Sega to do anything regarding PSU. All it will do is...flood the unrelated company's support and feedback email with trash that they now have to spend time automating the following response to:

"We sympathize, we really do, but we can't actually do anything about your problem O_o. Contact Sega for your Sega-related problem! *contact information*"

[android 007.5]

I also wrote an email to 1 up cup

[Ahkaskar]

You know, flooding an unrelated company's support and feedback email is not going to get Sega to do anything regarding PSU. All it will do is...flood the unrelated company's support and feedback email with trash that they now have to spend time automating the following response to:

"We sympathize, we really do, but we can't actually do anything about your problem O_o. Contact Sega for your Sega-related problem! *contact information*"

It's called, "Hey, gaming website which has been involved with this certain game--the company behind this game you were involved with isn't doing what they should. Maybe you could write an article about their dodgy business model so that they'll think about putting some effort into it for the sake of their customer base?"

[Colonel Mustard]

You know, flooding an unrelated company's support and feedback email is not going to get Sega to do anything regarding PSU. All it will do is...flood the unrelated company's support and feedback email with trash that they now have to spend time automating the following response to:

"We sympathize, we really do, but we can't actually do anything about your problem O_o. Contact Sega for your Sega-related problem! *contact information*"While it pains me (you might be right about contacting other sites), what we all know, without a doubt, is that your post, I am sorry to say, does even less.

[Ahkaskar]

For what it's worth, I finally got around to sending my email to 1Up.

[autumn]

Ty all. I haven't heard back from anywhere ::sigh:: but I'm talking with a friend of mine who does a broadcast on Split Infinity radio to see if we can work something out there. Not as much as I'd like but a start at least.

[NegaTsukasa]

Heh. I wouldn't be suprised if PSU'ers did a strike of some sort from the US and EU to where they started quite PSU and start playing PSO again on the private servers until something gets fixed up.
Even if PSO now extinct with yearly and new events, it still has its classic Guild missions and older activites
to run with. Making it still just as fun as befor it got shut down.
That would actually be a shocker to see people converting back to PSO. heh
It would definatly bring out a certian important message to the fans.

[Ezodagrom]

Heh. I wouldn't be suprised if PSU'ers did a strike of some sort from the US and EU to where they started quite PSU and start playing PSO again on the private servers until something gets fixed up.
Even if PSO now extinct with yearly and new events, it still has its classic Guild missions and older activites
to run with. Making it still just as fun as befor it got shut down.
That would actually be a shocker to see people converting back to PSO. heh
It would definatly bring out a certian important message to the fans.

>.>
<.<
I'm actually doing that (kinda, not just playing PSO, but other games also, but mostly PSO)...
Well, I'll come back to PSU when Neudaiz GBR is released (or MAG rewards) :<

[RemiusTA]

Its simple.





All we really need is to make a seriously offensive (yet formal) letter full of complaints. VALID, LOGICAL, PLUSABLE points (Not shit like "PSU NEEDS RED BOXES LIKE PSO HAD") that can get to a high place and make Sega of America step their shit up.

Harder part is finding someone who would make it known to the public. But if PSO-World, the deepest Phantasy Star Online/Universe fanbase alive right now, can as a GROUP file a huge complaint to a few high places in the gaming community, we can DEFINATELY hit Sega in a spot they can no longer ignore with cheep Copy/Pasta.

We cant rely on the Official Servers, since most of them are fucking idiots when it comes to anything past what the Mods spit to them.

[Shishi-O]

Its simple.





All we really need is to make a seriously offensive (yet formal) letter full of complaints. VALID, LOGICAL, PLUSABLE points (Not shit like "PSU NEEDS RED BOXES LIKE PSO HAD") that can get to a high place and make Sega of America step their shit up.

Harder part is finding someone who would make it known to the public. But if PSO-World, the deepest Phantasy Star Online/Universe fanbase alive right now, can as a GROUP file a huge complaint to a few high places in the gaming community, we can DEFINATELY hit Sega in a spot they can no longer ignore with cheep Copy/Pasta.

We cant rely on the Official Servers, since most of them are fucking idiots when it comes to anything past what the Mods spit to them.LOL u didn't read chillaura's letter.

Segac of America is absolutely powerless, it's
like bush and katrina victims

[Ken_Silver]

LOL u didn't read chillaura's letter.

Segac of America is absolutely powerless, it's
like bush and katrina victims

That is true. Sega of Japan is the culprit.

But that other line... that's a low blow. SEGAC hasn't gotten that bad. Yet.

[Tita]

While it pains me (you might be right about contacting other sites), what we all know, without a doubt, is that your post, I am sorry to say, does even less.
never hurts to put some effort into it though.
it's the "oh nobody is going to care anyway ho hum" attitude that's going to keep this game stagnating into fanboy-only territory.

i say we reach out to the big guns, like IGN, 1up, and print magazines like PSM, EGM, PLAY, etc etc.

who knows? maybe by pointing out everything sega is doing wrong and doing right with PSU will inspire other developers to create a game that improves upon what PSU didn't. either sega steps up their game or they let someone else take over their audience.

we gotta stick it to them, and sitting around shrugging our shoulders isn't going to do a damn thing.

[Dragon_Knight]

To be perfectly honest that would work with other online games like WoW, Conan, free MMOs, ect...but not with Sega. We've had this discussion over a number of years starting with PSO when people had issues with it. Sega HAS done some improvements based on player input...I'm not going to dispute that...however those have been limited to specific parts of the game itself. SoA's main crime always has been customer support of which is has NONE nor does it particularly care to improve upon it.

I remember a long time ago when PSO started charging for a hunters license someone got locked into a reoccurring subscription and it took months to stop being billed for it after he quit the game....and that itself was done only be him getting a new credit card entirely. He put in letters and whatnot...but short of calling a lawyer he always got the same automated response from SoA that amounted to saying "thank you for the information and we will look into it...later."

We've had other issues in the past a few people have been locked out of the game due to billing things or having their subscriptions canceled mid subscription and being charged anew when they resubmitted. Lets also NOT forget the dreaded double save glitch which wiped out PSO files like a freaking nuke from orbit or simply being unlucky enough to be booted from the server before you could get a time stamp, bye bye all unequipped items and stat boosters. All of these claims were contested and sega kept saying: "later" "maybe" "probably" or "so we've heard."

In other words we have a reason to feel apathy when dealing with Sega. We CAN stick it to them and all quit at the same time, but at this point all they will do is shrug their shoulders and shutdown the US/EU servers and move on to the next thing. Though that in and of itself might be for the best, especially if a few people can make up a fan server to keep it alive. BTW reaching out to protest this on gamesites and mags is a great idea, the only problem with that is the sites/mags do have reviews on PSU, none favorable mostly because sega didn't pay enough to get a higher score, and how we would protest through them even if they let us?

I love this game, I really do. It’s one of the few online sci-fi games out there that really feels sci-fi most of the time and it has the MOST in depth character maker out there that I have personally worked with, it beats any REAL MMO character generator with extreme prejudice and the fist of an angry god. But that being said the fault lies not with the game but with Sega and THEIR apathy towards the people who sign their paychecks.

All I can hope at this point is that the new MMO Warhammer 40k online have a decent enough sci-fi setting that it can draw me in. I don't hate fantasy settings (I do kinda sorta play WoW now and again) I just prefer technology to magic.

[neoconn]

I just have to start this off with a *Congratulations on this tread*

Its about time some of these complaints turned to action. I myself got tired of reading all the "I hate this/ I'm going to quit/ blah blah" posts that I have been reading lately. We should ban together, share our resources and put together a plan. There has been many great ideas shared in this thread such as emailing affiliate gaming organizations websites with concerns and issues (THEY are "gaming information websites" that report to the public, right ?), Airing commercials (be it one internet based streaming radio station or banners), Emailing the support center as well as the executive staff (both SOA and SOJ) our concerns and issues (With that, having some one translate a template into Japaneses so we Americans/ Europeans can fill out and send to SOJ), Emailing the console makers (THEY do have some hand in the manner of controls of games they choose to use for their systems), Forming our own private servers to use (I happen to have a lot of resources in this area so If anyone has technical aptitude in reverse engineering, game design and administration or any other attributed usefulness send me a email address), Or the dreaded last resort of canceling our accounts.

For the people who are steadily pushing the agenda of "Its not gonna help, Its no use, No one cares" please either unite with us or leave (You can continue to read the post, just don't reply to anything) That type of attitude does no justice to the cause and spirit of the people who, if banded together CAN make change.

I am willing to put some of my skills and hardware to use to help out this cause. We have to be organized, constructive, dedicated and sincere for this to work.

How I would start this......

1. Organizing our selves so we can communicate effectively and know our actual numbers in terms of people involved in the "Movement".
2. I recommend organizing all the email address together for easy distribution for send outs.
3. Creating templates to send to all the organizations found to have some relevancy to PSU.
4. If there is enough attraction and responses I could give more recommendations or use input from you fellow members who like to take part.

Shall I continue?

[email protected]

[Abashi76]

I just have to start this off with a *Congratulations on this tread*

Its about time some of these complaints turned to action. I myself got tired of reading all the "I hate this/ I'm going to quit/ blah blah" posts that I have been reading lately. We should ban together, share our resources and put together a plan. There has been many great ideas shared in this thread such as emailing affiliate gaming organizations websites with concerns and issues (THEY are "gaming information websites" that report to the public, right ?), Airing commercials (be it one internet based streaming radio station or banners), Emailing the support center as well as the executive staff (both SOA and SOJ) our concerns and issues (With that, having some one translate a template into Japaneses so we Americans/ Europeans can fill out and send to SOJ), Emailing the console makers (THEY do have some hand in the manner of controls of games they choose to use for their systems), Forming our own private servers to use (I happen to have a lot of resources in this area so If anyone has technical aptitude in reverse engineering, game design and administration or any other attributed usefulness send me a email address), Or the dreaded last resort of canceling our accounts.

For the people who are steadily pushing the agenda of "Its not gonna help, Its no use, No one cares" please either unite with us or leave (You can continue to read the post, just don't reply to anything) That type of attitude does no justice to the cause and spirit of the people who, if banded together CAN make change.

I am willing to put some of my skills and hardware to use to help out this cause. We have to be organized, constructive, dedicated and sincere for this to work.

How I would start this......

1. Organizing our selves so we can communicate effectively and know our actual numbers in terms of people involved in the "Movement".
2. I recommend organizing all the email address together for easy distribution for send outs.
3. Creating templates to send to all the organizations found to have some relevancy to PSU.
4. If there is enough attraction and responses I could give more recommendations or use input from you fellow members who like to take part.

Shall I continue?

[email protected]

Sounds like a great idea. Its time for a movement. Some of my ideas include:

-Give us the content Japan has faster

-Do not trash our tech animations

-Give us the new content from the PSP version

-Reduce PC/PS2 costs in order to help fix the population

-Try to merge servers if possible

[Brainwrecked]

-Try to merge servers if possible

I believe this sums up the current state of affairs, amirite?


+---------+
EU/PC <---> EU/PS2 <-- MS: NOT OURS, FU NO! --> | EU/360 |
| \ / | | |
| \ / | | WE'RE |
| \ / | | WORLD- |
| X | | WIDE, |
| / \ | | FANCY |
| / \ | | BITCHES |
| / \ | | |
NA/PC <---> NA/PS2 <-- MS: NOT OURS, FU NO! --> | NA/360 |
| \ / | | |
| NO REG- |
NA HAX OUR | IONALI- |
GAME, FU NO! | ZATION |
| 4 YOU! |
| / \ | | |
JP/PC <---> JP/PS2 <-- MS: NOT OURS, FU NO! --> | JP/360 |
+---------+

[Bear...]

"a single seagull is not heard over crashing waves" take action people or forever hold your injustice.

[neoconn]

I am at work now but I'm starting to compile all the email addresses that are somehow affiliated with ST and PSU. More information in a couple of hours....

[Abashi76]

I believe this sums up the current state of affairs, amirite?


+---------+
EU/PC <---> EU/PS2 <-- MS: NOT OURS, FU NO! --> | EU/360 |
| / | | |
| / | | WE'RE |
| / | | WORLD- |
| X | | WIDE, |
| / | | FANCY |
| / | | BITCHES |
| / | | |
NA/PC <---> NA/PS2 <-- MS: NOT OURS, FU NO! --> | NA/360 |
| / | | |
| NO REG- |
NA HAX OUR | IONALI- |
GAME, FU NO! | ZATION |
| 4 YOU! |
| / | | |
JP/PC <---> JP/PS2 <-- MS: NOT OURS, FU NO! --> | JP/360 |
+---------+

Its been horrible. Hopefully after Sega's move, they'll add in most of the updates including the master classes, and allow WTs/GTs all lvl 30 techs.

[Ezodagrom]

Well, from what a GM said last month or 2 months ago, master classes will only be released after dengeki event (late august/early-mid september) :<

[ashley50]

Sounds like a great idea. Its time for a movement. Some of my ideas include:

-Give us the content Japan has faster
That's near impossible...


-Do not trash our tech animations
JP got it....why can't US have it?


-Give us the new content from the PSP version
How? You'll prolly see some info on it anwyays once the JP version is released :)


-Try to merge servers if possible
Bad Idea


Well, from what a GM said last month or 2 months ago, master classes will only be released after dengeki event (late august/early-mid september) :<
We're in no hurry...right? (at least i'm not)

[Ezodagrom]

We're in no hurry...right? (at least i'm not)

Was just answering to this :<


Its been horrible. Hopefully after Sega's move, they'll add in most of the updates including the master classes, and allow WTs/GTs all lvl 30 techs.


But well, it would be nice having a 2 - 3 months delay when comparing to jp, instead of 4 - 5 months >.>

[Shishi-O]

mortal combat LOL ( que theme music )

[Dragon_Knight]

Well I'll say nothing more bad...just keep the thread updated. I'd like to see how far you go.

[neoconn]

Back again...

I am waiting for a email from a member with all of her email addresses of different companies we can send to. I'm going to merge it with a list I'm working on, then we can start on creating templates. I'll post more tomorrow. Hopefully we can have something credible sounding and constructively written by this weekend.

[RedCoKid]

Tetsaru -

I suggest reorganizing your original post chronologically. Don't let the reader think TL;DR. Make it as concise as possible so that any site or person could easily copy & paste a portion of it as a table in a news story.

(1) Start with 1-2 sentences as an intro. (2) List as bullet points the exact dates of hacks and rollbacks from PSU and AoI, followed by (a) a phrase summarizing the problem and (b) a sentence or two explaining its impact and Sega's (delayed or lack of) response. Use old complaint posts at the official PSU board and/or PSOW as documentation. Also, the official board will contain responses from GMs whereas PSOW will not. (3) Add a short conclusion describing in quantifiable terms how the community has deteriorated as a result of Sega's mismanagement: 10+ stars or 2000+ people at peak hours on opening day on PC/PS2, down to 2 stars or <400 people at peak and <200 off-peak. (4) List your links to the complaint threads as references.

When you're done, forget SEGA and send it to online media sites as ChillAura hinted. Try 1up, IGN, Gamespot, as well as popular message boards or blogs like neogaf (http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=125151), Kotaku, and Joystiq. 1up/EGM's Shane Bettenhausen (http://www.1up.com/do/my1Up?publicUserId=1002415) used to be a big Phantasy Star fan and would take a personal interest in this. He also carries a lot of clout in the industry and could potentially embarrass Sonic Team in his next interview, whenever that would be. Send a PM through 1up or post on his blog.

Good luck.

[S.T.K]

I honestly think SoA is gonna try harder after they move locations, i mean were gonna have alot of updates coming after that.. and Hopefully the MAG exstension.

and they have been doin better than usual lately.. so i guess we just gotta wait it out and see what happens

[RedCoKid]

Maximum visibility for this issue would be to bump that neogaf thread during E3 press conferences Monday and Tuesday next week. Meanwhile, PSU will be shut down during the move. Perfect time to complain.

[Abashi76]

I can wait four moths for the master classes; but lvl 30 techs for WT/GT I cannot!

[S.T.K]

I can wait four moths for the master classes; but lvl 30 techs for WT/GT I cannot!


for all i care Master classes can never come out, but i will be fcukin pissed off if i have to wait a lot longer for those lv 30 supports

[Abashi76]

for all i care Master classes can never come out, but i will be fcukin pissed off if i have to wait a lot longer for those lv 30 supports

Same here.

[Dragon_Knight]

neoconn- One thing I remembered not too long ago is that 1up.com does/use to have a deal with Sega, as I remember for a long time they would post information about the updates that would come to PSU. You may want to check up with them to see if they still have the deal going....if they do its likely they won't post anything negative about Sega at all. Since doing something like that would kill any deals they already have with them.

Of course if you already knew this feel free to ignore it.