PSOBB: Sega PSOBB servers closing

[NeoMusashi]

found this lol on the upside...it'll be free for a bit...


We regret to announce that you will no longer be able to purchase Hunters’ Licenses for Phantasy Star Blue Burst from the January 9th 2008.

All subscription-based services will be terminating on Jan 9th, 2008.

If you have an active subscription terminating between January 9th 2008 and February 9th 2008, your Hunters’ License will be valid until February 9th, at which point the game servers will be made available free of charge to all previous Hunters’ License holders.

Phantasy Star Blue Burst game servers will be closed down on March 31st, 2008.

[Jaspaller]

Oh well. TO THE -



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ketchup345 on 2007-11-20 12:13 ]</font>

[Getintothegame]

Eh? Where is your source?

I've looked on the official site, along with in game.

Oh wow, it's true. Check notifications in your Playsega account. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_eek.gif

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Getintothegame on 2007-11-19 11:41 ]</font>

[DC_PLAYER]

if the official servers become free then why the hell will they move to private servers?
sega did well, making the game free makes ppl who have accounts still want to play on the official, with no bugs

[AlexCraig]

I think he meant about the part of it closing down, not it becoming free, when he said that.

[kizu]

dang, that stinks, i wanted to play BB. Oh well, like Jaspaller said...


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ketchup345 on 2007-11-20 12:14 ]</font>

[Zantra]

Oh well... I guess... except for Xbox's endless winter. PSO (at least the legit way) is completely offline.

[Freeze]

This is very sad news indeed, and I just started too. Oh well, at least I won't loose anything important.

[Xyton]

So with BB going down, what options are there left for US players – are there any [official] servers left? I know DC v1 servers are down, I believe v2 is down, it looks like PSO Xbox is on its way out (http://boards2.sega.com/psobb_board/viewtopic.php?p=935015#935015), and GCN went down a bit ago, right? Is there anything I missed?

[kizu]

question, since this is saved server side, you'll lose all your data right? therefore, is it possible to move data from the PSOBB servers to other places...

[wheatsolo]

I am a long time player of PSO. I have been playing the game ever since DC version 1. I recently started playing PSO BB and just heard that you guys are going to shutting down the server soon. I understand that if you aren't making money you have to cut your losses. What I was wondering is if you had considered something less extreme then completely shutting down the server. Maybe there is an in-between where us few PSO BB die-hards can play the game and Sega can still make money. Like cutting off all of the ships except for one and all the blocks except for a few. I don't how much that would help but I would really hate to see this game go.

Keith

I sent this to Sega. . . Seeing if it might do anyting.

[trypticon]

On 2007-11-19 18:31, kizu wrote:
question, since this is saved server side, you'll lose all your data right? therefore, is it possible to move data from the PSOBB servers to other places...



Yeah there is, but you won't find any information on how to do so here.

[foamcup]

I'm sure the 30 people who still play BB on the official server will miss it.

[Chuck_Norris]

On 2007-11-19 18:31, kizu wrote:
question, since this is saved server side, you'll lose all your data right? therefore, is it possible to move data from the PSOBB servers to other places...



Check some of the -. At least one of them does that...But they charge you 10 bucks for the transfer. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: chuck_norris on 2007-11-19 23:31 ]</font>


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ketchup345 on 2007-11-20 12:16 ]</font>

[Splash]

So with BB going down, what options are there left for US players – are there any [official] servers left? I know DC v1 servers are down, I believe v2 is down, it looks like PSO Xbox is on its way out, and GCN went down a bit ago, right? Is there anything I missed?
DC, PC, and GC servers shutted down on the same date. But Xbox didn't for some odd reason. Even though the Admin "thinks" Xbox server is going to shut down soon, it still lacks proof that shows that Sega will even have an intention to close the server. From the current circumstances, it would look like that Sega has completely forgotten about Xbox, so pulling the plug on it right now makes no sense because there had to be something that attracted Sega to look back at the Xbox server.



I am a long time player of PSO. I have been playing the game ever since DC version 1. I recently started playing PSO BB and just heard that you guys are going to shutting down the server soon. I understand that if you aren't making money you have to cut your losses. What I was wondering is if you had considered something less extreme then completely shutting down the server. Maybe there is an in-between where us few PSO BB die-hards can play the game and Sega can still make money. Like cutting off all of the ships except for one and all the blocks except for a few. I don't how much that would help but I would really hate to see this game go.

Keith

I sent this to Sega. . . Seeing if it might do anyting.
Hate to break to you...but you would probably not get a serious response. More of an advertising response. My assumption would be that they would apologize, that they are glad you support BB, and that you should move on to PSU for more fun.

[Getintothegame]

I think that Clumsy's personal response is just as interesting - he basically said that the US servers were so badly glitched, there was no way to fix them. :/

http://boards2.sega.com/psobb_board/viewtopic.php?t=77148


On a personal level, I am very saddened by this news and wish we could have come to a different resolution. PSOBB is truly a great game and it will be missed by me and everyone working along side it.

To give players some insight into the goings on of PSOBB, I've drafted up a brief explanation that covers the why concerns for the game closure. The reason for closing ultimately falls on two core reasons:

1. PSOBB is not making any money, in fact Phantasy Star Universe is the only reason it has been going as long as it has. Even with the lack of updates (no development, localization, or management costs), the server and bandwidth costs exceed the amount of money generated by paying subscribers.

2. Persistent billing issues and server timeouts (error 906, etc) cannot be resolved by our billing server team. We've been working on them for months and they simply cannot be resolved, I would go into more detail, but the end result will always be the same.

As a company offering a subscription-based service, we cannot charge people for a broken service, and we can't offer a free service without offsetting the cost. The sad result is a closure of the game.

I worked hands on with this process from beginning to end, and was very vocal about getting a resolution in that would benefit players as a whole. Unfortunately, I could not sway people past the numbers and, in fairness, they had a very tough decision to make.

[QuidProQuo]

On 2007-11-19 23:28, chuck_norris wrote:

On 2007-11-19 18:31, kizu wrote:
question, since this is saved server side, you'll lose all your data right? therefore, is it possible to move data from the PSOBB servers to other places...



Check some of the -. At least one of them does that...But they charge you 10 bucks for the transfer. http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_lol.gif



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: chuck_norris on 2007-11-19 23:31 ]</font>


No, its not $10 for the transfer its $10 because they need money badly to keep the server running and transferring is a good excuse to get money for that. If they liked the community more or if the community donated more transfers would be free, easily.

In fact with the official servers closing they are going to need more money with the influx of new people.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ketchup345 on 2007-11-20 12:18 ]</font>

[kizu]

well, the ability to transfer is good news, at least people who have spent lots of money building up their characters on the offical BB server can save them.

[Jaspaller]

Not too happy about the PSOX comment, but I hope it remains for the time being. So close to beating Ep2 C-mode.

[Kanashimi]

At least Clumsy's responding this time. He always had this habit of just pretending we weren't saying anything, and pretending we didn't exist. >> He'd ban people in a sneaky way, for example. Ah well, back to pestering people. If I can't make one of my friends in Japan play nice, this is it for me. I'm not much on doing stuff that's rather illegal, after all.

[RemiusTA]

Im personally glad.

More money towards PSU.


This should have happened ages ago. If you guys want to pay someone, pay a - plz



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ketchup345 on 2007-11-20 17:12 ]</font>

[AlexCraig]

Umm... what?

[Novenia]

On 2007-11-20 15:06, Kanashimi wrote:
At least Clumsy's responding this time. He always had this habit of just pretending we weren't saying anything, and pretending we didn't exist. >> He'd ban people in a sneaky way, for example. Ah well, back to pestering people. If I can't make one of my friends in Japan play nice, this is it for me. I'm not much on doing stuff that's rather illegal, after all.


For some reason my brain said, "Just like the name says 'Kanashimi'." But regardless...I can't say much cos I wasted about 4 credit cards on PSOBB just pestering the crap out of people and spamming symbol chats in the lobby. ;D

[Taris]

On 2007-11-20 03:37, Getintothegame wrote:
I think that Clumsy's personal response is just as interesting - he basically said that the US servers were so badly glitched, there was no way to fix them. :/


And so forth, everything else in the post up there regarding the response from the Powers that Be.

It feels...wierd, knowing PSO isn't going to be..."there" anymore, at least not in the official sense.

Makes me wonder aloud that if Sega "won't make people pay for a broken service, and can't offset the cost for free play", if there would ever be a shot in hell of Sega making a deal with/giving blessing to, for lack of a better word, "benifactors" in the PSO/PSU communities to start up a set of PSO BB servers that are funded by handouts/donations, and conform to the standards of Sega's official servers.

...OK, "We live in hope", and in this case, that senario's more like a "delusion", but hey...

[KayaHime]

I quit playing BB on the official servers quite recently, and to be honest, it surprised me how long they lasted. From the time I started playing right when BB first came out, there never seemed to be that many people on (at least not on the ships I played on). When 2007 came around and it was still up, I was shocked.

I'm sad to see the official servers for the last holdouts of PSO go, but no one really seems to play it, and Sega should honestly focus more on making PSU better instead of keeping BB alive when it died a long time ago.

[wheatsolo]

It was even worse then I thought. I didn't even get a reply. I got "Return to Sender. No such number. Address unknown. No such zone!" Yeah. They don't even have the support anymore for PSO on the main Sega site. If they already took that apart I am sure they care for not one word I could say. Although I am sure there is a way they could make money off the small amount of people who still play. I actually think they do make money now (hosting a server ins't that expensive) ecspecially when as few people play as they do on PSO BB.

But whatever. I think I am going to find a new online game to devote my time to -. I noticed earlier someone asked how to switch and if they could switch their current account/characters over and didn't get much information. I was wondering if anyone knew where I could possibly find information, -. -

*Edit*

I just realized, as there is a moderator note on the top of the topic, that encouraging the use of private servers is against the rules. I am not trying to do anything of the sort. I just feel that if the official server is closing down then that is all the encouragement we as PSO players need. -. Although I am sure I will get a notice shortly if a moderator feels differently.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: wheatsolo on 2007-11-22 01:46 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Ketchup345 on 2007-11-22 10:51 ]</font>

[Splash]

On 2007-11-22 01:38, wheatsolo wrote:
It was even worse then I thought. I didn't even get a reply. I got "Return to Sender. No such number. Address unknown. No such zone!" Yeah. They don't even have the support anymore for PSO on the main Sega site. If they already took that apart I am sure they care for not one word I could say. Although I am sure there is a way they could make money off the small amount of people who still play. I actually think they do make money now (hosting a server ins't that expensive) ecspecially when as few people play as they do on PSO BB.

Sega is not earning profit from maintaining a near dead server. Hosting a server would be expensive if they can hold a higher maximum capacity of people on it. And the fact is that 30 people is clearly not enough, nor does it help them in any way.

The only way if they are going to make money is if they double the fee amount so they make it $16 per month. Do people really want to pay that much per month to play the game? Most likely not. This would mean that fewer players would get on, and this would still have Sega lose money, maybe even faster than the current situation.

So in this ideal situation, they actually have no choice left. Whichever way they choose, they will still lose money. So the end result is that if they won't to lose money, they will have to close the server.

[Jaspaller]

They should merge the US Xbox servers with the EU and JP ones... but I'm sure Sega would somehow screw up everything and call it quits with a server left in shambles.

[Ketchup345]

On 2007-11-22 01:38, wheatsolo wrote:
But whatever. I think I am going to find a new online game to devote my time to -. I noticed earlier someone asked how to switch and if they could switch their current account/characters over and didn't get much information. I was wondering if anyone knew where I could possibly find information, -. -Not much information was given because of the rules we must have regarding such things (see the linked to sticky in the revised announcement).


On 2007-11-22 10:21, Jaspaller wrote:
They should merge the US Xbox servers with the EU and JP ones... but I'm sure Sega would somehow screw up everything and call it quits with a server left in shambles.I believe I remember reading that Microsoft is the one that controls the servers, especially when it comes down to who can play with who (I believe no game on the original XBox live has multiple regions playing together; if I'm wrong, then Sega should have talked to Microsoft about it.

[Tree_Dude]

Yeah. I remember reading that MS controlled the servers for all XBL games. My guess is Sega decided to stop maintaining the server, but MS simply hasn't shut it down yet (since it's their call). Hence the X-mas all year. It will probably go down when MS changes something major in their network of servers. Like an ISP or location change.

[HedKandi]

I think MS will just turn the server off, im still paying for a subscription though. I better get this cancelled today but i keep forgetting to do it.

I think it's a real shame it's shutting down, i can understand in some ways but it's just a shame PSO came out at a time when online gaming was still in it's infancy so the impact wasn't that great. It would appear that PSU is huge success with the amount of people playing it, but in reality it's just the timing that's getting it's userbase because as a game it pales in comparison to PSO, it's awful and any true PSO player would say the same thing.

[AlexCraig]

I do not see why some people keep saying "PSO is dead, move on", when people can still play. There are private servers (this is not encouragement, just common knowledge) and you can still play GC and Xbox offline. As long as you have the game, a system to play it on, and the want to play the game, it won't die. Hell, I still play on my NES (when I can get it to work) and my SNES. The games on those aren't dead, so why is PSO considered such?

[Rob19]

On 2007-11-26 19:40, HedKandi wrote:
it's awful and any true PSO player would say the same thing.







MAJOR F***ING QFT

[AlexCraig]

On 2007-11-26 19:40, HedKandi wrote:
It would appear that PSU is huge success with the amount of people playing it, but in reality it's just the timing that's getting it's userbase because as a game it pales in comparison to PSO, it's awful and any true PSO player would say the same thing.

I concur!

[Rubius-sama]

On 2007-11-22 11:00, Ketchup345 wrote:I believe I remember reading that Microsoft is the one that controls the servers, especially when it comes down to who can play with who (I believe no game on the original XBox live has multiple regions playing together; if I'm wrong, then Sega should have talked to Microsoft about it.


You may be wrong because all Xbox180 games are international except for PSO. I've played Halo 2 with a bunch of people speaking Japanese on my team a few times.

[Splash]

On 2007-11-26 19:40, HedKandi wrote:
I think it's a real shame it's shutting down, i can understand in some ways but it's just a shame PSO came out at a time when online gaming was still in it's infancy so the impact wasn't that great. It would appear that PSU is huge success with the amount of people playing it, but in reality it's just the timing that's getting it's userbase because as a game it pales in comparison to PSO, it's awful and any true PSO player would say the same thing.

But that's the thing; there are very few "true" PSO players. Those who still stick to PSO play elsewhere. Those who have quit after the official servers shutdown for GC/DC/PC move on. Even before the shutdown, it can easily be seen that the game itself was getting unpopular as it passed over time. And I do admit that PSO was a huge revolutionary game for GC where it was the only online game for the system. But it really wasn't enough, as compared to others like WoW or some other overrated games.


On 2007-11-26 20:12, AlexCraig wrote:
I do not see why some people keep saying "PSO is dead, move on", when people can still play. There are private servers (this is not encouragement, just common knowledge) and you can still play GC and Xbox offline. As long as you have the game, a system to play it on, and the want to play the game, it won't die. Hell, I still play on my NES (when I can get it to work) and my SNES. The games on those aren't dead, so why is PSO considered such?

Because in reality, it's dead. There is no way you can play online officially on a console system. And really, if the private servers didn't exist, PSO would have been dead far longer. Even with them, PSO is actually still dying.

And about playing offline, what made PSO fun was the fact you can actually get online and play with other people. Really, if you don't have any one close by to play PSO with, the game itself is a just an old repetitive game where it won't offer so much challenge. Seriously, who wouldn't get tired of playing 300 Forests in a row offline when considering there are only a few variation maps available? It gets stale really quickly.

[AlexCraig]

On 2007-11-26 21:36, Splash wrote:
Seriously, who wouldn't get tired of playing 300 Forests in a row offline when considering there are only a few variation maps available?

I would, but that's me, a PSO fan who plays offline with friends and family and online illegitly.

[Splash]

On 2007-11-26 21:40, AlexCraig wrote:
I would, but that's me, a PSO fan who plays offline with friends and family and online illegitly.


Probably should have made an emphasis also: Who wouldn't get tired of playing 300 Forests in a row in single-player mode? And really, multiplayer is just a slight beneficial alternative to online mode but it still lacks a whole lot.

And since you are a PSO fan, it's not a surprise you attribute such qualities. Among many others, you would rather play the game further on private servers.

[Rob19]

On 2007-11-26 23:20, Splash wrote:
Among many others, you would rather play the game further on private servers.

i'm with him http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wink.gif

[HedKandi]

Splash, i agree and you're right when you said PSO players move on. I would say 95% of ppl that i've played with during my suffering (oh i mean time) on PSU were with people who have never played PSO before. Very interesting i thought because to them, they don't know any better. The sad thing is that if people who have seen PSU first then saw PSO, they wouldn't like PSO.

Don't get me wrong, PSU is a decent game in it's own right, but i don't like it, it's not the game i wanted it to be and i have tried so hard to enjoy it, but i can't.

There is still a lot of life left in PSO, but as you say it's best played in multiplayer although i do still occasionally play offline doing a quick run of Mines or Ruins.

[HedKandi]

i didn't even know private servers existed unil now !! but i know the discussion is banned so i won't mention it any further, just surprised me a bit really...

[Jaspaller]

On 2007-11-26 21:36, Splash wrote:
But that's the thing; there are very few "true" PSO players. Those who still stick to PSO play elsewhere. Those who have quit after the official servers shutdown for GC/DC/PC move on. Even before the shutdown, it can easily be seen that the game itself was getting unpopular as it passed over time. And I do admit that PSO was a huge revolutionary game for GC where it was the only online game for the system. But it really wasn't enough, as compared to others like WoW or some other overrated games.


Completely agree with this. The true PSO players still play it while the others moved on.


On 2007-11-26 21:36, Splash wrote:
And about playing offline, what made PSO fun was the fact you can actually get online and play with other people. Really, if you don't have any one close by to play PSO with, the game itself is a just an old repetitive game where it won't offer so much challenge. Seriously, who wouldn't get tired of playing 300 Forests in a row offline when considering there are only a few variation maps available? It gets stale really quickly.


Agree with this too. There was a point where I could keep doing that... that was before I tasted online. Offline is no fun after playing online.

I'm considering quitting PSO soon... solo games just don't cut it for me anymore and I have no intention to move to a server where the code does not even function properly just so I can start over.

[AlexCraig]

On 2007-11-26 23:20, Splash wrote:
Probably should have made an emphasis also: Who wouldn't get tired of playing 300 Forests in a row in single-player mode?

Again, me, yo. I mostly play single mode on offline GC PSO. I only play BB once in a while.



And since you are a PSO fan, it's not a surprise you attribute such qualities. Among many others, you would rather play the game further on private servers.

Well, this is mostly because I absolutely abhorr PSU and I never had a chance to play BB.



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: AlexCraig on 2007-11-27 17:41 ]</font>

[Splash]

On 2007-11-27 17:40, AlexCraig wrote:

Again, me, yo. I mostly play single mode on offline GC PSO. I only play BB once in a while.

Well, this is mostly because I absolutely abhorr PSU and I never had a chance to play BB.



Right, you have your reasons yet regardless, it still leads back you to playing PSO. That leads back to what I said earlier, those who are true fans stick to the game even though offline mode may get repetitively boring, those who aren't "true" move on to PSU or some other games.

[Dynheart]

I wonder if they will make PSO off-line in its entirety. I personally haven't played EP:4...just 1-3, and I would have liked to play it eventually...through legit means.

I doubt they will, but it would be cool if they offer the game, or even sell it for 5 bucks or what-ever for PSO ep1,2 and 4...

[Krisan]

On 2007-11-26 19:40, HedKandi wrote:
It would appear that PSU is huge success with the amount of people playing it, but in reality it's just the timing that's getting it's userbase because as a game it pales in comparison to PSO, it's awful and any true PSO player would say the same thing.

PSU is mechanically superior to PSO in almost every way possible.. The only thing PSO had going for it over PSU was its atmosphere and community.. PSO had a dark and quiet atmosphere which was really quite special, I have to say.. But PSU's atmosphere is a lot brighter and busier, which kind of kills the vibe by comparison. (And I have to admit, without that vibe the game loses out on something very important..)

Really though, if PSU had PSO's old community going.. it'd succeed PSO almost perfectly, in spite of its atmospheric faults. And I played PSO for years as well (From v1 all the way to BB) so you can stuff that whole "true PSO player" thing in the closet and look toward reality, since while Sega didn't necessarily make a more memorable game with PSU - they did make the gameplay a lot more interesting, and I think that counts for something.. Besides, with the release of AoI, I'm seeing a touch of that old PSO spirit return.. And I'm not talking about the revisiting of the clothing or enemies, I mean a few of the new maps - Rozenom City for example - are giving off PSO vibes to me.. it is a darker quieter setting, with a lulling ambient music.. if they can start churning more of these types of areas out of PSU, then I will have few reasons left to think PSO was better in any way to PSU.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Krisan on 2007-11-28 09:42 ]</font>

[Mystil]

All I'm going to say is PSU needs some(more) PSO vets... these non PSO vets we have, need to be taught the fundamentals of teamwork :/.

[AlexCraig]

What I don't get is why a bunch of people saying "PSU is better than PSO! PSO only had this going for it" start jumping on threads like this? I mean, yeah, some people will be going to PSU, but it grinds my gears how people start downtrodding a game in its own forum.

I do agree with Mystil, though. Teamwork and friendly people is what PSU needs.

[Tree_Dude]

I have played PSO on and off for quite a while. I had the original on the DC. Then V2 on the Xbox. I also played a bit of BB when it was in beta (it was free and quite buggy). Now I'm playing BB again. I never did pick up PSU. I had been looking forward to it for a while. But at it's release I just didn't have the time to put into it to justify the cost. I still don't.

I love PSO because I can pick it up and put it down when ever I want. Plus I have so many memories of it now, I could just play it for the nostalgia and be happy.