Phantasy Star Online Xbox pricing announced... (1 Viewer)

[JayV]

1. We knew that some titles would charge extra at the start. I even remember some people pointed out that PSO would be a likely candidate.

2. For what are we paying $50? Online gaming, voice comm, unique gamertags, a "gated community" approach to online gaming and some demos. All this for $50 for an entire year. That's a single month's worth of cable or beer for a lot of people.

3. I don't remember MS outlining how they choose to implement this, whether with dedicated servers, peer-to-peer or some mix of the two.

4. With two free months and a lower price tag, the PSO pricing structure amounts to three months of online play.

For the record, I wish this stuff was free. I am also disappointed that downloadable content is yet to be seen. And I am very disappointed with the Ghost Recon problems.

I think it's reasonable to complain about these problems. But I don't think it's reasonable to fault the service for failing to deliver on promises never made.

EDIT:

Y'know, I really like my gated community analogy. I hereby claim that I invented it. Unless someone else did.

-j

 

[Jared_B]

PSO sounds like a game I'd like to play in multiplayer format, not online. Since broadband is not available in my area, I can't sign up for XBL, which means I can't even play this game. I'm totally fucked in this situation. Not a smart move by any party involved.

 

[Adam Tyner]

Y'know, I really like my gated community analogy. I hereby claim that I invented it. Unless someone else did.

Unfortunately... Those series of Usenet posts by a single guy are the only comparisons I could find. Nothing on the web, or at least, nothing indexed by Google.

I really need to do actual work at some point.

 

[Romier S]

On top of that, it looks like PSO will have $0.00 resale value

The game never did. Niether does any online MMORPG or game of the like. Once you sign up your account, its yours. Nothing too suprising here as this is prettty standard for this type of game (I know, I'm stuck with a copy of Asherons Call 2 that I don't quite need).

 

[JayV]

Unfortunately... Those series of Usenet posts by a single guy

:frowning:

Damn your eyes.

-j

 

[GlenHaag]

I was debating picking this one up... but if I decided to play it after my subscription to Xbox Live runs out, I'll be paying MS's monthly (or next yearly) Xbox Live fee, plus Sega's Monthly fee for the game.

Ugh.

Glen

 

[JoshF]

Well yeah, so do PC MMORPG's. The idea of paying to play something per month does not sit well with folks no matter what platform. Even moreso when we are talking about a console in which these kind of charges are not common place.

I have no problem paying for the game and then paying a monthly fee to play.

What I do have a problem with is paying a monthly fee to both MS and Sega to play.

So let's see... I'm paying my ISP monthly for cable modem internet access, then I'm paying Microsoft for XBL access, then I'm paying Sega for game access.

Too many middle men. One of them doesn't belong.

It'll get even uglier next year when the original XBL package subscriptions run out and people will owe MS $8-10 a month for XBL.

 

[Romier S]

I sure hope this strategy flops...it could lead to more and more charges down the road.

Could? You can almost bet the bank that True Fantasy Online will have a monthly fee as will any other MMORPG type games that are released on the Xbox. Live content downloads will eventually be charged for on some titles as has been outlined in the past. This isn't a new "strategy" Rob. Its been a given from the start.

EDIT: Gamespot has posted a story giving more details and confirming the fact that you MUST have an Xbox Live account to play the game in any mode including offline (A big BOOHOO from me on that one!):

PSO details

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I honestly don't see why everyone is complaining about the online fee that Sega is demanding. I remember pointing out a while ago that this game would most likely end up with a fee, so it should come as absolutely no surprise that it's there.

Besides, you get 2 months for free anyway.

 

[Romar Armas]

I really don't see anything wrong with this approach. Actually, I kinda like it.

What this does is get rid of tons of rubbish you see on Live right now. Childish behaviour, going backwards in motogp, etc. Only those willing to play PSO will do so. I think you need Live to play offline to get rid of cheating. This is great because it killed a lot of things on the DC.

I think 3 months is more than enough to get the most out of this game. So,

$39.99 + 2 months free + $8.95

Still less than the $49.99 price tag on the GCN.

 

[Eric C. Mylonas]

OMG.

You CAN'T play with people from other regions.

Well, that's that--see (some of) you guys on Cube PSO.

 

[BrianB]

You CAN'T play with people from other regions.

I know :-( Sucks, I can't meet up as planned with my mates in the UK.

 

[EdR]

This isn't a new "strategy" Rob. Its been a given from the start.

I think the concern is that this could become the norm rather than the exception.

 

[Oscar Saenz]

What this does is get rid of tons of rubbish you see on Live right now. Childish behaviour, going backwards in motogp, etc. Only those willing to play PSO will do so. I think you need Live to play offline to get rid of cheating. This is great because it killed a lot of things on the DC.

You took the thoughts right out of my mind! I'm wishing that the high barrier for entry will keep the Xbox version in a more pristine state. Of course, I'm wishing. In no way am I expecting this.:frowning:

 

[Joe Szott]

Well, if you are all upset just do what I do: don't buy the game.

 

[Dan B]

Like it or not, I think we're all going to have to get used to these fees if we want to play online. Hopefully, the fees will decrease as the number of subscribers increase, but these companies aren't exactly raking in the cash on these online games!

Look at EA, they seem to know what they're doing in this industry but their online games division has failed miserably. I don't know if you've seen the recap of their recent conference call, but not only has The Sims Online (a very popular franchise) sold relatively poorly, but 90% of the subscribers cancelled their subscription after the first month - which is free. That's just one recent example.

Having said that, I don't think I'd pay $10 per month to play any one game either...

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I think the concern is that this could become the norm rather than the exception

This could have been the norm a while ago if developers really wanted it to. I remember saying that oh so long ago and everyone thought I was just trying to rip on the X-Box, but now that everyone shares the same concerns...

Though aren't they making a PC version of PSO:Ep.I&II?

 

[Jeff Kleist]

I am QUITE pissed off that we won't be able to link up to non-R1 players

 

[Dave F]

No, they are NOT charging for offline play. They're just demanding you have a XBL account.

Since in order to play offline you have to have an account that costs $, to me that equates to charging for offline play. All in all, I think the reduced price + longer free time are good things. I almost can accept why the XBL code was left in, I still think it is not a good precedent to require an XBL account for offline play.

-Dave

 

[Morgan Jolley]

What's really funny is that the fact that you need XBL to play the game offline is just from MS being lazy.