Are they dragging Phantasy Star through the mud?

[Joffrey X]

Just a question.

I know a lot of you are happy with PSO2, and some aren't. My question is (answer honestly) do you think the way they're handling Phantasy Star will ultimately be good for the brand name?

I mean, ideally... you would hope that from Phantasy Star Online, a heavy hitter PSO series would have spawned.

What if they did things differently? What if Phantasy Star was handled with some class, with a heavy emphasis on combat and story? I think it could have become mainstream.

Now, here we are, a few games later, and PSO couldn't be any FURTHER from mainstream.

Let's be honest; PSO2 is kind of a laughing stock, with transparent towel, ecchi outfits, etc. "hentai waifu simulators" are simply not well liked by western gamers. There's even official dakimakura merchandise, so we know what audience is buying into all this.

I think Phantasy Star is slowly becoming one of those creepy, bizarre "Japanese onry" series that won't even see the light of day in the west anymore. I don't think people will ever take the name Phantasy Star seriously after this.

[BIG OLAF]

Aren't you that guy that's done nothing but start fights since registering?

Also, sure, PSO2 would be better if done differently, but wouldn't everything? Also, 'mainstream' is subjective. It's pretty 'mainstream' in Japan, which is the only focus for SoJ at this point. So, they're probably quite content.

[Narrillnezzurh]

Is more of this really needed? SoJ is catering to SoJ's audience, and they're making damn good money doing so.

[Zyrusticae]

Phantasy Star Universe was dragging the Phantasy Star name through the mud.

PSO2? PSO2 is making bucketloads of cash and laughing all the way to the bank. I somehow doubt you can say they're 'dragging the name through the mud' when hundreds of thousands of players are more than happy to throw money at them. Unless all you care about is the Western opinion, that is, and in that case I have to say, who the fuck cares?

It's a Japanese game being made to cater to Japanese tastes and anyone who doesn't like that can just go fuck off. It's not going to change anytime soon.

[jooozek]

pso2 is that exclusive turd that acts a sponge for soaking up all the fanservice/hidden otaku desires and delivering it perfectly with the gacha as the gambling instrument

[Joffrey X]

Yeah, the game is currently making a lot of money in Japan, but do you think their methods are ultimately good for the BRAND NAME? (How is what they're doing now to make money going to affect people's interest & faith in future PS titles?)

Think about Final Fantasy and how it's kind of lost some of its relevance and weight with people, due to all the bad spinoffs and mobile ports, etc. It's still successful, but you don't see a Final Fantasy title and think "I don't even need to check reviews, it's gonna be awesome".

They've dragged it through the mud somewhat; and SEGA has done that with Phantasy Star WAY, way worse, and WAY more severely.

I'm saying, we're talking about a game which could really be played and enjoyed by a pretty wide audience, and they're slowly slimming it down to...

the dakimakura crowd.

[Sizustar]

It's already main stream, and 2.5 million ID registered surpassed with the Vita released, which also sold through 90~95% of it's game, and having people downloading it to play it on their Vita.

[Zipzo]

Just a question.

I know a lot of you are happy with PSO2, and some aren't. My question is (answer honestly) do you think the way they're handling Phantasy Star will ultimately be good for the brand name?

I mean, ideally... you would hope that from Phantasy Star Online, a heavy hitter PSO series would have spawned.

What if they did things differently? What if Phantasy Star was handled with some class, with a heavy emphasis on combat and story? I think it could have become mainstream.

Now, here we are, a few games later, and PSO couldn't be any FURTHER from mainstream.

Let's be honest; PSO2 is kind of a laughing stock, with transparent towel, ecchi outfits, etc. "hentai waifu simulators" are simply not well liked by western gamers. There's even official dakimakura merchandise, so we know what audience is buying into all this.

I think Phantasy Star is slowly becoming one of those creepy, bizarre "Japanese onry" series that won't even see the light of day in the west anymore. I don't think people will ever take the name Phantasy Star seriously after this.

You really need to be a bit less broad here because there's a very important distinction between PSO in Japan, and PSO in USA.

PSO is not a laughing stock in Japan...you could call it the pride and joy creation. It was ranked #1 on the Rookie of the year Webmoney awards (popular japanese ranking awards for Japanese hosted games, which includes all kinds of games that are also not created in Japan but they must have a japanese hosted server). Here's the 2012 results...

http://www.webmoney.jp/award2012/

Only takes a bit of research to see what it was up against in 2012, it's quite the achievement for it. This and the statistics on vita downloads, registered user IDs that have paid for AC in any way, shape or form, and usage statistics...PSO2 is an extremely popular game in Japan where many games have failed to be so. Japan does not have a really heavy MMO market, there's a lot less saturation here than in Korea or the USA, but PSO2 came and people are loving it. It's a true hit.

I'd say that the proverbial equivalent of it being "dragged through the mud" is probably it being translated at all. I'm not saying I'm against the USA getting PSO2, I'm just saying that everything that is made in Japan (in a FUBU way) is never going to automatically going to be popular everywhere else. That's how culture works.

Phantasy Star is a major franchise, and just because SoA chooses to treat it poorly does not mean PS is becoming a poor franchise in and of itself. The blame goes to your Sega. That's really all there is to it.

[Sayara]

There isn't a need for more of this.