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Sony Announces FFXI-Bundled PS2 Hard Drive

Posted by simoniker on from the finally-fantastic-squeenix-sony-hookup dept.

Thanks to Yahoo! for hosting Sony's press release announcing the PlayStation 2 hard drive add-on's March 2004 US release. According to the release, the 40gb drive requires the PS2 Network Adaptor to work, will "...come pre-installed with Square Enix's highly anticipated massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), Final Fantasy XI", and will cost $99. Also promised are features such as "...saving CDs to create a personal jukebox, and the ability to download... levels, missions, characters, and much more", and forthcoming Sony-published titles SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs and Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain (the latter now due in February 2004) are confirmed as having downloadable content. A GameSpot report from the Sony Editor's Day confirms the subscription pricing for FFXI: "...the first 30 days will be free and a $12.95 per month fee [from then on]."

19 of 64 comments (clear)

  1. i wonder... by justforaday · · Score: 2, Insightful

    it'll be interesting to see what other possibilities there will be with this kit...a linux install that doesn't require the official kit maybe? qcast that can transfer files to and then read from the local drive?

    --
    I'll turn into a supernova and burn up everything. Well I'll turn into a black little hole and you'll turn into string.
    1. Re:I wonder... by rekkanoryo · · Score: 4, Interesting
      Probably something that will take all of 50 seconds to defeat once the trick is learned. Something as stupid as digital media protection will have a bunch of people wanting to take it out, and when you have a bunch of people with a common goal it won't take long to accomplish it.

      I don't think Sony would try something like iTunes, though. One of their business units is part of the RIAA after all, and we know how opposed RIAA is to anything that makes sense.

    2. Re:I wonder... by PainKilleR-CE · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Sony Music actually had a contest not too long back where the prizes were Xbox systems and copies of Brute Force.

      That's because Sony's music branch isn't too bright. They're losing money hand over fist on income that's extremely high.

      Don't believe for a minute, though, that Sony corporate doesn't get involved in the development of the game platforms, otherwise we probably never would have seen CD and DVD playback in the 2 PlayStation consoles.

      --
      -PainKilleR-[CE]
  2. I wonder... by Etone · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "...saving CDs to create a personal jukebox..."

    I wonder what kind of digital media protection we'll see on this thing.

    I also wonder if Sony might be considering opening up their own iTunes-like pay-per-download service? They seem to have all the requisite hardware in place...

    -etone-

  3. I'd reccommend buying the hard drive separately... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    FFXI is the biggest mis-step Square ever released, and I've played The Bouncer.

  4. Beta Withdrawals? by snarlydwarf · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The only bad thing about this is what it means for Beta Testers.

    March.. -sucks-.

    Those of us in Beta have no idea when Beta will end, but there is a feeling that it will end in another month or so when the Windows release comes out. At which point, they may very well kick all the PS2 users off the server as well.

    That would mean six months without FFXI, which, well, sucks. :(

    I hope that Square-Enix considers that the Beta testers are already hopelessly addicted, and like a good pusher, lets us move to Retail as soon as possible, perhaps letting us be 'prerelease' customers, or even just upgrading us to retail as soon as we provide billing information (ie, don't even bother sending back the HD.. they'll flip a switch and upgrade us).

    I guess it is possible, since from the wording of the announcement, the HD is no longer going to be sold seperately 'soon', but FFXI is being used to push the HD. So at least some of Sony and Square-Enix's marketing has changed since the Japan release. Maybe they already know how addictive FFXI is, and how bad it would be for the beta testers to go through withdrawals.

    (Oh, did I mention Dragoon in FFXI is amazingly cool? The 2-hour skill summons a pet wyvern, which you get to name... the wyvern lasts until it dies.. if you rest properly it can last forever.)

  5. I have never paid a monthly fee... by stylerm · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...and I wont start with ffx1. A cost of $99 to pay $13 a month for a game that never ends? I believe Blizzard games are so popular because battle.net does not have monthly subscription fees. The games themselves are not that great, in my opinion....But I have gone 2 or 3 months w/o playing diablo2 or wc3, and its nice to just install, patch, and play again.

    1. Re:I have never paid a monthly fee... by szemeredy · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You can deactivate your "Content ID" if you don't feel like playing/paying for a period of time, then reactivate it when you feel like playing again and still have all of your character data.

      Square Enix saves all character data regardless if the account is paid for or not - but only active Content ID data is stored on the main database server. All of your old stuff (unless you deleted your character instead of deactivating your ID) is kept around elsewhere so that if you want to play again, you can pick up right where you left off.

  6. I am looking forward to this by brkello · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Not that I am a big fan of MMORPG, but I think I will give them one more shot. Everquest was fine, but really didn't hook me like other people. Star Wars Galaxies was such a huge disappointment to me. I just didn't like the job system and how you increased your skills. I have yet to be disappointed by a Final Fantasy (but there is always a first time). The only real question is: PC or console? I will have to see what the menus are like. They will have to design it very well to work on a console. MMORPG generally are a lot more complex to navigate menus than a single player game, so it makes me nervous to spend all that money to get hardware I probably wouldn't use except for that game and then end up with something that doesn't allow me to experience the world as easy as it would be with my mouse and keyboard. In any case, it will be interesting to see how they do. Even if it ends up to be a mess, I give props to square for trying something new when all the fanboys tell them this is the "worst mistake ever".

    --
    Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
    1. Re:I am looking forward to this by snarlydwarf · · Score: 2, Informative

      The menus are pretty simple (and they're the same on Windows from what I've heard, which confuses Windows users).

      On PS2, you press the square button, and a menu comes up on the right hand side of the screen with generic things like 'Status', 'Abilities', 'Quests', 'Missions', etc. Those can each bring up submenus.

      For actual combat, a menu appears on the left side, with 'Switch Target', 'Magic', 'Abilities', 'Disengage', etc. The melee is handled automatically (ie, you don't press buttons to swing your sword around), but you can choose 'Magic', scroll to 'Cure III', then use the arrows to choose who to cast it on.

      You can also macro things: underneath all the gui is a command line suitable for Macros. You can, for example have a macro for Cure3, that is: /magic "Cure III" <st>

      You bring up the macros using the L2 and R2 buttons, then choose the macro. The <st> will give you a chance to 'select target' for who you'll cast the spell on. You can, of course, make more complex ones, and most people do. The macros are also bound to function keys on the keyboard.

      The user interface should be a breeze for anyone with console experience to pick up. It's unusual for the typical Windows game, but it gets pretty simple and fast to navigate with (no moving from keyboard to controller to keyboard needed).

    2. Re:I am looking forward to this by August_zero · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I am/was in the PC beta (I quit playing it a few weeks ago so I am not sure if it is over or not)

      To sum it up quickly:
      The game is pretty easy to get into, most of the commands are on pull out menus, or can be actvated with simple ctrl-letter hot keys. The interface takes a bit of getting used to, but in all honesty the game playes pretty well and isn't going to pose a problem for anyone used to playing games.

      The gameworld is huge, pretty, the music and effects are top-notch, and the game play itself is fast paced (short times to heal, travel distances not all that bad) but leveling is slow to say the least, they may correct this for the actual release but i doubt it.

      Personally I liked PSO a lot more, but they are two completly different games so it isn't really a fair comparison anyway.

      If you don't like multiplayer games and interacting with people, you are not going to like this game. If you have a specific question just ask, I or someone else will do our best to answer it.

      --
      On Wall Street they say "buy low, sell high" On the pad we say, "buy high, sell high" Isn't that somehow better?
    3. Re:I am looking forward to this by August_zero · · Score: 4, Informative

      Quests? yes
      Your character belongs to one of 3 kingdoms, and each kingdom has a chain of story quests that you can accomplish. They include cinematics, boss encounters, special items and so on. I beleive that there are about 8 or so in the story arc. There are also quests to unlock secret character classes (only 6 are selectable from start but there are another 6 that can be unlocked, more if they include the expansion with the US version) and a few other quests for items and the ability to dual-class. This is a fair number, but in comparison to the amount of time you will play the game, there are not that many. The story quests though are very cool.

      Groups are from 2 to 6 characters, and then upto 3 groups can form a company, so in essence you can party up with upto 17 other people. xp sharing for groups is a bit.... how do I say it? Harsh. If your not fighting very strong enemies, the xp is bad. Loot sharing is good though, the party leader can either elect a quartermaster to hand out treasure to party members, or a lottery system can be used in which players that want a given item can cast lots for it, or skip it if they don't want it. You can certainly survive alone if you want to, but the game is a lot more fun in a group even if the level advancement rate is usally lower than you could acheive carefully soloing

      The job system is very well done in my opinion. Your character can freely change jobs at his house, and each job is leveled up indivdualy. All stat bonuses are job dependent so Spending 10 levels as a fighter, will not mean that switching to a mage will give you a gimp mage. You can how ever only "equip" one class at a time. Once you reach 18th level it is possible to complete a quest, and thereafter you can equip 2 classes at once, effectively combining any two classes you have access to (though the secondary class can never count for more than half of the primary, so if you were a level 20 warrior, you could be a level 10 redmage at the same time). Characters also have craft, magic and weapon skills that are independent of their jobs, and can only rise through use. Casting "cure" enough times will allow your character to cast better versions of cure later. What you can equip as far as spells and gear are concerned is determined by your class and level. As your rank rises with a given weapon, you will learn special attacks akin to the limit breaks of the later FF games. These charge up as you hit and get hit by foes, and decline with the passage of time. When activated most of these attacks are wonderfully rendered, though their potency is significantly less than the single player FF equivalents.

      --
      On Wall Street they say "buy low, sell high" On the pad we say, "buy high, sell high" Isn't that somehow better?
  7. A Little Late... by bottlerocket · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Wow, sounds like what the Xbox has been offering for almost two years now...

    --
    where the comment ends and sig begins
  8. Not really $99 by Zed2K · · Score: 4, Informative

    If it requires the network adapator also we are talking $99+$34. So $133 just to get the ability to play FF online. Thats quite an expensive game to only get 1 month of free play time. Isn't that almost what the PS2 is costing now just for the hardware?

    I refuse to pay to play a game online that I've already paid to buy.

  9. Re:Mod parent down. by Stubtify · · Score: 2, Funny

    That's great but who are the chefs?

  10. What about existing HD's? by Oinos · · Score: 3, Insightful

    What I want to know is can we use the drive we got with our Linux kits? I spent all of about 5 hours with Sony's version of RedHat 6.2 before getting bored with it and putting the drive in the closet. It'd be great to be able to use it for something other than a dodgy version of Linux.

  11. Budget buyers.... by MMaestro · · Score: 2, Flamebait
    Will just get the PC version without noting the price difference. Why? Simple.

    The graphics will be (presumably) better

    No need to own a PS2 (contrary to popular belief, not everyone owns a PS2)

    Consoles have not proven themselves (very) capable of running online games, let alone MMORPGs (SOCOM is loaded with cheaters, XBox Live is lacking in the game department, and Everquest Online Adventures sucks quite frankly)

    Until I see a seriously ground breaking online game hit a console, which everyone seems to be hoping is Halo 2, my paper money is loyal to my consoles but my credit card is loyal to my PC.

    1. Re:Budget buyers.... by Acidic_Diarrhea · · Score: 2, Informative
      Why does a console game have to break new ground in the online arena in order for you to consider that consoles have proven themselves capable? Wouldn't console games that provide reasonable online play supply this conclusion that consoles are capable?

      And Madden 2004 has a great online experience that I enjoy quite frequently. My friends and I play tournaments and generally have a very enjoyable time.

      --
      I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
  12. Re:Stay away. by FluxCapacitator · · Score: 2, Informative

    You have to remember it has been out for a year in Japan, so the bugs you might encounter might be missed translations etc. which the US beta testers are hopefully looking for. I have been playing the the JP version for a couple of months now and haven't spotted major problems. There was an issue with a big event that they had where a few hundred people were fighting a special monster at the same time but that's not a usual part of the gameplay. I do get some lag now and again, it's quite rare unless there are a lot of people in the immediate vicinity, but that could the PS2 graphics chip chugging away.