No more PSO

[Eibra]

http://www.gamesarefun.com/cgi-bin/newspro/fullnews.cgi?newsid1052926399,83586,

(You'll probably have to manually add that last coma to the link yourself)

Apparently in a recent issue of Famitsu, Sonic Team talked about the upcoming episode 3, and during the course of the interview they apparently said that it would be the last PSO. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_frown.gif

[Morfos]

that really sucks,

[gallaugher]

Disappointing? Yes.
Surprising? No.
It seems like the pso fan base has shrunk since its initial popularity. This can be attributed to ST not giving the fans what they want. Look at all the other MMORPG's out there. While none of them particularly intrigue me they have great features that I would love to see in pso. I love the game play of pso but ST never tried to innovate (unless you consider card battle an innovation).

[Dhylec]

if that's true then it's too bad..no more pso
but i'm not disappointed.. sega will do sumthin' about it
& life goes on...

[Malkavian]

On 2003-05-14 09:10, gallaugher wrote:
I love the game play of pso but ST never tried to innovate (unless you consider card battle an innovation).



I think is nearly opposite. They did innovate and offered a fresh and new online experience but the many bugs, cheats, lack of updates and then the going to GC a platform that is not headed into online gaming... made people don't go for PSO. many flaws to invest in a new system, the modems, keayboards, etc...

[polishedweasel]

Yeah, the lack of hardware kinda took away from the game...also it was on Gamecube at first..Not a good investment for ST. The made up for it on Xbox, but that game was hacked before it was even released. So, due to poor planning and cheaters PSO will die soon. Another one bites the dust... http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_frown.gif

[gallaugher]

On 2003-05-14 10:13, Malkavian wrote:


On 2003-05-14 09:10, gallaugher wrote:
I love the game play of pso but ST never tried to innovate (unless you consider card battle an innovation).



I think is nearly opposite. They did innovate and offered a fresh and new online experience but the many bugs, cheats, lack of updates and then the going to GC a platform that is not headed into online gaming... made people don't go for PSO. many flaws to invest in a new system, the modems, keayboards, etc...



For the most part I agree with you. The initial PSO was a great innovation. Episode I&II was a decent innovation for a Second (not third) version in the series. If there were nothing to compare it to you'd be 100% correct. However, if you look where other MMORPG's have gone (or are going) pso has been left in the dust despite being a fun game.

[Vandule]

get one thing straight PSO is not an mmorpg. It is online rpg, four people is not massive,



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Vandule on 2003-05-14 16:36 ]</font>

[Flame]

Oh well. . .we should have a funeral after PSO ep III released. One thing we all agree on (not everyone will agree that its fun etc etc) is that many hours of our life were spent on this spectacular game(s). Rest in peace PSO, maybe someday someone will breath new life into you. (please sonic team!!)

[critter]

poo and we'll never find out what happens to the peeps on pioneer2.

[Soukosa]

I won't believe that PSO is done until I hear it straight from Sonic Team or Sega themselves and not through some website.

[Tulathis]

Some game companies have been known to change their minds about things like this. If the last PSO is successful it could make ST reconsider more sequels. The reason PSO has been steadily declining is because it has never really evolved. Even in Episode 3 the character and enemy models are the same as in the first PSO. PSO could have easily become as popular as the Final Fantasy line of games if ST had just put a little more effort into making each sequel different and unique. It's sad to see PSO go, but if it were never going to change it's not that much of a loss.

[Shadow82]

Critter: Its Pioneer 1 not Pioneer 2

[Webapprentice]

Sonic Team probably realized how hard it is to make a client-driven network game. The trouble just wasn't worth the investment of time and money.

The onyl thing that even reminds of anything like PSO's gameplay is Ragnarok Online.

[Captain_Dude]

Well, we'll still be able to play PSO, and when it dies, we all can move onto something else. It's not the end of the world, we'll still be playing PSO for a while...

[rena-ko]

i read speculations elsewhere.

to be precice - they just said, they wont make another episode.

now think about it as you want, for me this sounds like 'after ep3/v4 there wont be a ep4/v5 but chances are they will eventually release a brand new PSO 2'
maybe a mmorpg...
maybe also never a PS online again... who knows... think about it - as hyped online gaming is in the moment, its far away from being lucrative...


and... about consoles: the cube was the one with the slightest chance to get hacked on (all you see now is duping - with a slight upcome because of usb-card - editor hacking).
i'd say pso v3 would have been best on a dreamcast successor but what am i dreaming about...

well, i planned to make this version my last anyway... depending on if i still find enough time besides my daily duties... its not the case actually (skipping lectures at uni for leveling up mags recently)... i'll give ep3 a try but well... time will tell...
and i personally won't buy a game for a console where i have my character on a server and have to play online to play at all... (so far for serverside saving)

my 2 eurocents

[MisoSoup]

Oh well. If they can't re-release a game after 2 years and fix a single thing in it (horrible auto targetting system, fsod, hacks, duping) then we're probably better off without the grief of all the problems that would be in another PSO.

[Moleman]

Did they say whther they would consider making new Phantasy Star games?

Or did they decide that after PS4?



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Moleman on 2003-05-15 12:25 ]</font>

[MarkXIII]

I would have to agree with rena, it sounds more like it is the end of PSO as we know it rather than the end to PSO entirely. Of course we wont know till a new game is announced or hinted at. Personaly, i think ST made a ton of money off the various versions, sales & subscribers and put jack back into it, they would be stupid to let this property rot. If done properly, PSO could be a huge success, as in mainstream success. Unless any future installments are not graphicly optimized for the system it shows up on, the game engine itself is updated, better balancing...giving enemies higher atp and hp's does not make a new game fun and might as well make it "massive" Otherwise i will be found on Lineage II when it is released, looks kool, unlike FFXI, massive, unlike PSO and there is no cartoony big noses's like TFLO. kekeke

[googles]

maybe they mean they are gonna stop making upgrades to pso, and start a true sequal.

[steve_murton]

it cant end, dint you know that back in the older days there 5 episoedes!

[Cookie]

WHY!!! *sobs uncontrollably*

[Hrith]

On 2003-05-14 18:41, Critter wrote:
poo and we'll never find out what happens to the peeps on pioneer 1.

We do in Seat of the Heart with Sue & Kireek http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wink.gif

[Vitamin_D]

If it really is the last PSO, all it means is we'll have to play the HELL out of PSO GC and X. Now, if Rena's right, and a true PSO sequel is what they meant, then GREAT! That would be really cool. But only time will tell.

[Logical2u]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOO(Breath)OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!! Not PSO!

[blaketx11]

Any chances another publisher would pick this up? I mean Sonic Team did a great job with PSO (about 3 years ago)but until recently they've showed absolutely no interest in us or the version we love. Perhaps this is a sign that PSO needs a new developer/publisher? Imagine if PSO 2 were made by a new company with big ideas, dedicated programmers, and they all spoke English!!
(not to downplay Sonic Team for being Japanese) but we kinda get the shaft when it comes to customer support/feedback/responses whereas Japan has had all sorts of Sonic Team interaction (hell we just now got the actual Sonic Team PSO website!)
Maybe if some company could look at this fanbase and see how lucrative it *could* be with a new PSO made in this century!!

[Cex]

They said it's the end of PS(Phantasy Star) games. There wont be any more PSO games or offline PS games, that's it, it's done...

[hollowtip]

Like someone said previously in the thread. Developers can change their minds rather easily if the franchise seems to be getting back on track if sales of their game is pretty significant. PSO will not be a completely abandoned series. It may take awhile, and a lot of time and money, but a publisher could pick up the license rather easily and make a good ammount of money off of it. Just look at how many users are registered for just these forums. The only reason why so many fans are leaving the online community is because the pay to play structure offers virtually nothing worth slapping down money for. Ver. 2 on dreamcast offered a decent ammount of replayability/depth and you only had to pay 15 every three months. Now at 10 bucks a month (add 50 to Xbox version if you already don't have a Live account) half assed online improvements and additions are implemented in the GCN and Xbox versions. You can pay that same ammount or just a tad bit more for PC MMOG that have persistent worlds and server based saving with better anti-cheating techniques.

[Atax]

Ahh well... All things must come to an end, sooner or later.

As for what to play next after PSO.....




*Mouth starts watering, over True Fantasy Live Online*

[Vantamiath]

This could mean a lot of things, I wouldnt worry so much.

Hell, maybe they're just seeing if anyone is still paying attention. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_eek.gif