Spy
Oct 22, 2002, 01:19 AM
In a game like Phantasy Star Online(PSO), the ability to communicate with ease while performing actions like dispatching mutant monstrosities, healing fellow adventurers, or hunters in PSO jargon, or even coordinating actions like hitting switches and unlocking doors is imperative and undeniably vital to successful gaming. In addition to means programmed into the game, like customizable "icons", preset, commonly used phrases, and a soft, or on-screen keyboard, a company called ASCII, who specializes in making third-party controllers/peripherals, set out to design a keyboard spliced with the GameCube controller. This controller has consequently been dubbed "The Hybrid."
At the time of this article's inception, October 21, 2002, The Hybrid is the only keyboard peripheral available for the Nintendo GameCube(GCN), and is currently being distributed exclusively in Japan, discounting import vendors, and PSO is the only game taking advantage of this controller. Granted, the U.S. and the rest of the world have yet to experience the wonder that is Phantasy Star Online Episodes I & II, with a shipping date of 10/29/02. However, the ASCII Hybrid has yet to be given a US release date, and Sega neglects to mention the Hybrid as a compatible peripheral that PSO can take advantage of on their PSO game page among other items like the modems and GameBoy Advance(GBA) link-cable.
Despite assurances by Sega that a keyboard will indeed be ready by launch, local and on-line retailers still have no information, and with the game set to ship in a mere eight days, the assurances by Sega seem like the assurances of a parent to a small child that everything will be all right, if not out and out lies. The savvy PSO fanatic, myself included, has started to import the Hybrid seeing as how, this close to launch, no other viable keyboard solution has been presented. Many online importers are listing the Hybrid as "out of stock", and some wonder if they will ever get any more hybrids in again.
Since it's inception, the U.S has met the Hybrid with harsh criticisms by the standard PSO player. The small size of the keyboard itself mashed in between an elongated, but still small GCN controller, was not designed for those with large hands. And it not only shows, but feels as well. The keyboard itself gives off a cramped sensation as one holds it in their lap. And yes, you must hold the controller over your lap due to it's larger size in comparison to standard controllers and increased weight. Couple this with the fact that the Hybrid requires two controller ports to be fully utilized and carries a minimum $60 price tag, it's easy to see why the Hybrid gets a bad wrap from the consensual PSO community.
Despite the Hybrids shortcomings, or the shortcomings of the player too big to use the Hybrid correctly(you choose which answer best suits you), its still a solid controller with the standard CGN controller's smooth, clandestine feeling and precise control. Granted, the price tag is steep, but to some the costs are more than justified by the one thing that the Hybrid does deliver that no other GCN peripheral can provide: ease of communication. Nothing, not the presets, the icons, or the soft keyboard can even begin to compete with the hard keyboard that is the Hybrid.
Speaking only for myself, The Legendary Spy of PSOW, I can say that the $81 I spent to acquire the Hybrid was well worth the proverbial beating my wallet took. The one thing that always got me hook and sinker about PSO was the total lack of a story, that in other games, tied and bound my previous characters. However, PSO is free flowing, and the story goes wherever I and the rest of my team-members want to take it. Without being able to communicate with a keyboard, this would be impossible, and PSO would lose the sparkle I see in it that makes it a gem amongst games. The small keys, size & weight of the Hybrid; those things are negated when I am allowed to play PSO at it's best while running my mouth.
What surprises me most about this whole fiasco is the fact that a standard keyboard has yet to be released for the GCN in either Japan or the U.S. I cannot fathom that Nintendo would not have been more prepared for the release of, in my honest and humble opinion, the only on-line game that the GCN has got going for it. However, Nintendo did state prior to the GCN release that on-line network gaming was not a priority, so I guess that I shouldn't really be surprised in the least. If Nintendo does not, in the future, give on-line gaming the treatment that it's competition is, I can strongly see Nintendo going the way of Sega.
Like many other PSO addicts, I find myself glued to the video-game news headlines. As the launch of PSO in the U.S. comes ever closer, the only certainty is that it will be an interesting launch to follow. I am certain, however, that if the lack of keyboards is not addressed very soon, PSO will burn out very quickly in the general gaming market, and only smolder on in the hearts of the game's most devout followers. One thing that does seem to be quickly becoming fact is that only myself and a handful of other U.S. players will be the only ones to truly experience PSO as it was on the Dreamcast version in the next couple of weeks, if not the foreseeable future. And this would be the worst blow to a great game second only to rampant and unchecked hacking.
Send any comments to [email protected]
Keep it legit baby,
- Spy
*Makes peace sign and kisses air*
At the time of this article's inception, October 21, 2002, The Hybrid is the only keyboard peripheral available for the Nintendo GameCube(GCN), and is currently being distributed exclusively in Japan, discounting import vendors, and PSO is the only game taking advantage of this controller. Granted, the U.S. and the rest of the world have yet to experience the wonder that is Phantasy Star Online Episodes I & II, with a shipping date of 10/29/02. However, the ASCII Hybrid has yet to be given a US release date, and Sega neglects to mention the Hybrid as a compatible peripheral that PSO can take advantage of on their PSO game page among other items like the modems and GameBoy Advance(GBA) link-cable.
Despite assurances by Sega that a keyboard will indeed be ready by launch, local and on-line retailers still have no information, and with the game set to ship in a mere eight days, the assurances by Sega seem like the assurances of a parent to a small child that everything will be all right, if not out and out lies. The savvy PSO fanatic, myself included, has started to import the Hybrid seeing as how, this close to launch, no other viable keyboard solution has been presented. Many online importers are listing the Hybrid as "out of stock", and some wonder if they will ever get any more hybrids in again.
Since it's inception, the U.S has met the Hybrid with harsh criticisms by the standard PSO player. The small size of the keyboard itself mashed in between an elongated, but still small GCN controller, was not designed for those with large hands. And it not only shows, but feels as well. The keyboard itself gives off a cramped sensation as one holds it in their lap. And yes, you must hold the controller over your lap due to it's larger size in comparison to standard controllers and increased weight. Couple this with the fact that the Hybrid requires two controller ports to be fully utilized and carries a minimum $60 price tag, it's easy to see why the Hybrid gets a bad wrap from the consensual PSO community.
Despite the Hybrids shortcomings, or the shortcomings of the player too big to use the Hybrid correctly(you choose which answer best suits you), its still a solid controller with the standard CGN controller's smooth, clandestine feeling and precise control. Granted, the price tag is steep, but to some the costs are more than justified by the one thing that the Hybrid does deliver that no other GCN peripheral can provide: ease of communication. Nothing, not the presets, the icons, or the soft keyboard can even begin to compete with the hard keyboard that is the Hybrid.
Speaking only for myself, The Legendary Spy of PSOW, I can say that the $81 I spent to acquire the Hybrid was well worth the proverbial beating my wallet took. The one thing that always got me hook and sinker about PSO was the total lack of a story, that in other games, tied and bound my previous characters. However, PSO is free flowing, and the story goes wherever I and the rest of my team-members want to take it. Without being able to communicate with a keyboard, this would be impossible, and PSO would lose the sparkle I see in it that makes it a gem amongst games. The small keys, size & weight of the Hybrid; those things are negated when I am allowed to play PSO at it's best while running my mouth.
What surprises me most about this whole fiasco is the fact that a standard keyboard has yet to be released for the GCN in either Japan or the U.S. I cannot fathom that Nintendo would not have been more prepared for the release of, in my honest and humble opinion, the only on-line game that the GCN has got going for it. However, Nintendo did state prior to the GCN release that on-line network gaming was not a priority, so I guess that I shouldn't really be surprised in the least. If Nintendo does not, in the future, give on-line gaming the treatment that it's competition is, I can strongly see Nintendo going the way of Sega.
Like many other PSO addicts, I find myself glued to the video-game news headlines. As the launch of PSO in the U.S. comes ever closer, the only certainty is that it will be an interesting launch to follow. I am certain, however, that if the lack of keyboards is not addressed very soon, PSO will burn out very quickly in the general gaming market, and only smolder on in the hearts of the game's most devout followers. One thing that does seem to be quickly becoming fact is that only myself and a handful of other U.S. players will be the only ones to truly experience PSO as it was on the Dreamcast version in the next couple of weeks, if not the foreseeable future. And this would be the worst blow to a great game second only to rampant and unchecked hacking.
Send any comments to [email protected]
Keep it legit baby,
- Spy
*Makes peace sign and kisses air*