Sega taking Phantasy Star Online offline in Japan
by Christopher Grant 
{ Dec 27th 2007 at 3:01AM }
We know what you're thinking, "Xbox version shutting down in Japan? Well, that dude's gotta be pissed." Yup, on January 31, 2008 Sega's risking a global backlash and terminating Xbox Live services for the onetime Dreamcast title in Japan. The good news for the rest of the world's Phantasy Star Online community is that no similar announcements have been made outside of Japan. We don't know about you guys, but we don't want to be around once the legions of MMO-addicted GameCubers catch wind of a cancellation on that platform.
[Via Massively]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
IcemaX @ Mar 22nd 2008 8:47AM
http://schtserv.com
Alexander @ Dec 27th 2007 3:10AM
"but we don't want to be around once the legions of MMO-addicted GameCubers catch wind of a cancellation on that platform."
Didn't the Gamecube servers go off in April?
Alexander @ Dec 27th 2007 3:15AM
*offline
Angelo @ Dec 27th 2007 4:20AM
I think Mr. Grant was being sarcastic.
Kenofthedead @ Dec 27th 2007 3:16AM
You can still cheat your way around to play it on the Dreamcast.
WiNG @ Dec 27th 2007 10:34AM
Dreamcast is still the best system ever made.
DemonGSides @ Dec 27th 2007 11:40AM
Biased.
LilCo187 @ Dec 27th 2007 3:30AM
It's crazy thinking back realizing the Cube's online capabilities were basically made for two PSO games only....
Angelo @ Dec 27th 2007 4:13AM
Such a waste, really. Still, though, plenty of people had fun with it on the platform.
Gareth @ Dec 27th 2007 5:42AM
Tina, people like you make me wish it was possible to shoot people in the face over the internet.
bm @ Dec 27th 2007 6:23AM
It's a bot.
hvnlysoldr @ Dec 27th 2007 9:11AM
Darn. I wanted it to feel the pain of death as it's shot.
ThornedVenom @ Dec 27th 2007 10:49AM
Private servers FTW!
.... wait, can you do that for PSO?
Christmas NiGHTS @ Dec 27th 2007 12:10PM
Yes, at least on the GC version
They are illegal, but they're out there, and they can actually get cross-platform multiplayer going (just not if the DC version is involved, but with the PC and Xbox versions)
I'm still trying to bum a GC Broadband adapter (i had dial up when i was on PSO) so i could get on one of those
roxxxo @ Dec 27th 2007 10:51AM
people still play this crap?
Korova @ Dec 27th 2007 11:18AM
The charm was lost on me.
Kendrick @ Dec 27th 2007 12:08PM
That the Xbox version is going offline isn't a surprise. But private servers for the Xbox version aren't an option since the connections are all made through the Xbox Live service. This isn't much of a loss, since Episode III and all of the Plus Pack missions happened only on the Gamecube versions, and Episode IV happened only on the Windows port. People who still want to play online have lots of options available to them and know what platforms to go for.
I still enjoy PSO occasionally, but Phantasy Star Universe has supplanted it in all the functional ways. The fact that many of the PSO dungeons and weapons will soon be available in PSU also makes the old game a little redundant.
Christmas NiGHTS @ Dec 27th 2007 12:11PM
I still wish they would bring PSU to Wii. The market is definitely there, as the GC PSO was the most popular 3rd party PSO
lets see it!
Ryura @ Dec 27th 2007 12:54PM
PSO still had a big fanbase when they took the GCN servers down. It was quite unfortunate...but it is a good game.
Mainman @ Dec 29th 2007 4:11PM
Anyone who has played Blue Burst (PC, Episodes 1, 2 and 4) and hasn't Ryuker'd back to the community in a while may want to know this:
- The servers are being shut down at the end of March.
- Anyone who had a playsega.com account and paid for a month's PSOBB time (ie. Not PSU) gets to play the game for free after January 9th.
http://www.psobb.com/index.php
http://boards2.sega.com/psobb_board/viewtopic.php?t=77148
The future of the Xbox servers is looking grim too. If they go, there'll be no more official English PSO servers (and once the JP Xbox server goes, their Blue Burst server will be the very last official version left). Blue Burst is actually still doing well in Japan (they even have their own online manga: http://psobb.jp/community/manga/ ), but their client doesn't work on standard Western computers IIRC, so there's no chance of migrating to a non-illegal server.
Restricting the 'free' period to previous subscribers is a right shame; I'd love to see the ship lobbies flooded with veterans and newbies once again (hell, I can't even remember the last time we filled a Block, the 'purist' veteran community is THAT dead). If anything changes on that front, I'll send a Guild Card Joystiq's way and get prepared to go down partying with the thousands of you who want to give the game a last, proper hurrah (and check out Episode 4 while they're at it).