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Phantasy Star Online Claims MMO Subscriber Lead

Posted by simoniker on from the not-very-massively dept.

Thanks to 1UP for their news that, following yesterday's vaunted Final Fantasy XI subscriber numbers of over 400,000, Sega has released figures claiming over 600,000 subscribers for the Phantasy Star Online series, albeit "worldwide across all territories, episodes, and platforms", and including the newly Japanese-released Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution. The article suggests: "A direct comparison between the two isn't fair for several reasons (PSO is on multiple platforms, popular in multiple territories, has a different pricing structure, and of course features a completely different style of gameplay), but nevertheless, it seems safe to say that Sega's experiment in online console gaming has proven a success in the long run."

31 comments

  1. Sure, but what about... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    subscribers per platform? I'm sure it would come out to be much less then FFXI

  2. Re:my take on this... by resignator · · Score: 1

    Lol, sounds like you have a real nice life there as well bud. Do everyone you know a favor...go out and get laid or smoke a joint. Mabey then you wont be so bitter.

    --
    "At first, we thought it was just another snake cult."
  3. Is that totaled right by RancidLM · · Score: 1

    i wounder if Sega is counting the Dreamcast Version as well.. cuz if i remeber correctly.. they stopped the service for that not to long ago...

  4. PSO was Massive? by Blackwulf · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I could only play in a game with 3 other people...That's not "massive" to me... ...I don't consider a graphical chat lobby as something that denotes something as a Massively Multiplayer game...Oh look, I can go to Lobby 19 and 20 and play soccer with a lot of other people...

    By that logic, Diablo II is ALSO an MMOG...Right?

    1. Re:PSO was Massive? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well, with FFXI and WoW's "instanced" content, whats the difference between joining 5 people and finishing a dungeon, and what PSO does?

  5. Re:my take on this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So is slashdot... Wait a minute?! What are you doing here then?!

  6. Lineage by Slider451 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Lineage boasts players in the millions, mostly in S. Korea. I think that qualifies them as the largest MMOG.

    --
    Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
    1. Re:Lineage by jwilloug · · Score: 2, Informative

      Lineage is impossible to count though, since they don't really have a subscriber model, instead they sell play time to cybercafe resellers who deal with the customers. They still count you if you quit playing, because you could come back at any time, and if you switch to a different character they count you twice.

      Most of Lineage's millions will never generate revenue again.

    2. Re:Lineage by newsdee · · Score: 1

      Most MMORPG seem to look only at the US for their numbers. However, Lineage I and II are now not only in South Korea (a country with an Internet broadband penetration, as per last year, in 60% of the total households, compared with 30% in the US), but also in Japan and China. The server infrastructure that runs Lineage, owned by a company named NCSoft, is so huge that Sony partnered with them to distribute Everquest over there.

      Now although it is true that many of their subscribers are through Cybercafes, or "PC Rooms" as they call them there, the main selling point is the home subscription. Most people will want their own characters and for those they require providing your unique National ID number (kind of like the social security number in the US). So NCSoft can know how many "real" players are out there, regardless of how many accounts they have.

      The last count was 4 Million players, although half of it are players in South Korea. Still it's pretty impressive.

      --
      The ENIAC Demo Competition
  7. PSO ISN'T AN MMO FOR FUCK'S SAKE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    COME ON PEOPLE

  8. Direct comparisons by MMaestro · · Score: 1
    'A direct comparison between the two isn't fair...'

    Well in that case, comparing the number of subscribers Everquest has to FFXI isn't fair either. FFXI has a consumer market of both Japan and the USA, while Everquest is largely in the USA only. Not only that, FFXI has the PS2 Japanese consumer base as well. To top it all off, Everquest is/was not a big hit name that would get 10,000 subscribers instantly even if it was a text-only game.

    1. Re:Direct comparisons by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      EQ is not US only. Besides being worldwide friendly with billing, it also has local Europe and Asian versions (Asian versions are just coming out really, but they exist). There are extremely large groups of international players.

  9. Dreamcast-o by oberondarksoul · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Well, Sega certainly loves its subscribers to its games. Yup, loves 'em enough to turn of the Dreamcast servers to paying customers. Hmm. Stopping people who want to pay from paying... I love how business works.

    --
    And tomorrow the stock exchange will be the human race
    1. Re:Dreamcast-o by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What are you talking about? Dreamcast PSO didn't charge a monthly fee. It was a free service, one that was several years old, and there weren't enough players left to warrant supporting several online game worlds.

      I wish they hadn't have done that either, but it's understandable why.

    2. Re:Dreamcast-o by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sure, but version 2 *did* have a monthly fee. Unfortunately, it introduced new bugs, so many people went back to version 1 instead.

    3. Re:Dreamcast-o by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sure, but version 2 is *still* online. Unfortunately, idiots never check their facts.

    4. Re:Dreamcast-o by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Sure, but version 2 is *still* online. Unfortunately, idiots never check their facts.
      I guess somebody needs to let Sega know about this, then.
    5. Re:Dreamcast-o by Acidic_Diarrhea · · Score: 1
      The Dreamcast servers were seeing fewer players - obviously the case as a dead system was being abandoned by players - and, at some point, if you've only got X players on your servers, even if you're making a profit, the profit may not be great enough to warrant allocating resources to the maintenance when those resources could be applied elsewhere to get a much greater return.

      You don't understand how business works, tough guy.

      --
      I hate liberals. If you are a liberal, do not reply.
    6. Re:Dreamcast-o by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      flamebait huh? looks like i've got a friend who is modding down everything i post! don't worry you dumbass, metamoderation will remove you from the pool. i promise.

    7. Re:Dreamcast-o by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You don't understand how business works, tough guy.

      Do you need a more clear definition of flambait?

    8. Re:Dreamcast-o by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      ha ha! you undid your moderation you fucking retard! and again, calling someone a tough guy and telling them that they lack knowledge does not flamebait make.

      furthermore, and since you're a fucking retard, you should know that an example is not a "clear definition." so yes asshat, give me a more clear definition.

      moron.

    9. Re:Dreamcast-o by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      that is an excellent point my friend! please continue to post such wit in the future. thank you. the dreamcast servers were up for a long time, weren't they?

  10. Then why are they struggling? by whorfin · · Score: 1

    If they have the most popular subscriber based games, which seemingly everybody who posts about them here assures me are amazingly profitable, then why is Sega struggling so much, and why did they discontinue support for it?

    --
    Laugh while you can, monkey-boy!
    1. Re:Then why are they struggling? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      why is Sega struggling so much
      I imagine the fact that 99.9% of their games aren't subscriber based could be a factor.
      why did they discontinue support for it?
      They didn't. In fact they just released another sequel.
    2. Re:Then why are they struggling? by Black+Hitler · · Score: 1
      then why is Sega struggling so much
      I didn't know they were. They posted vastly increased first half profits (thanks mainly to their arcade division) and they expect their console division to finally move into the black next year.
  11. Re:my take on this... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Perhaps he already has done the latter...

  12. Newly released PSO Episode 3? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "and including the newly Japanese-released Phantasy Star Online Episode III: C.A.R.D. Revolution."

    Uh, Yeah.... Unfortunately, PSO Episode 3 does not come out in Japan till the 27th of this month. I should know, considering I pre-ordered it. :-)

    Unless they're considering the PSO Episode 3 Trial edition, but you didn't need to subscribe to play that. Not only that, I usually only saw 100 to 200 people online at one time in the trial.

  13. Re:my take on this... by resignator · · Score: 1

    it only works if you do both. Doesnt matter which order. Although I recommend the joint after the sex.

    --
    "At first, we thought it was just another snake cult."
  14. What about non-sega servers? by Destoo · · Score: 1
    I'd really like to see a PSO server up... Is there any team working on one?
    This happened for Ultima Online and last time I checked, the community was still going strong.

    So this is what I want for xmas, santa.

    • -PSO server software.

    • -Translation of ANY of the Atelier games to english. I still can't play that one.


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    Nouvelles de jeux et technologies en français. TC