Readers Respond: PSO Version 2 to incorporate online payment system

Sega announced last week that a monthly payment will be required to play the semisequel to Phantasy Star Online for the Dreamcast, PSO Version 2. The original PSO for the Dreamcast was playable online completely free of charge, but Sega has reconsidered this strategy for the next installment in the series. As with any service that switches from a free service to a pay structure, the change has been controversial, and fans of the original PSO have expressed apprehension at having to pay for something they have grown accustomed to receiving for free. Many of the respondents are confused as to why Sega would suddenly begin charging to play a slight update to a game that was previously free to play.

Baryn believes that Sega is making a huge mistake when he writes, "I hope SegaNet has prepared for no one to buy the game and has calculated that into its business strategy." Outraged Humar agrees that Sega should reevaluate its strategy with the sequel to PSO. "I can understand paying for a game [whose] world can be updated regularly, but not for this game. I hope the same doesn't happen for the GameCube release," he claimed. Inferno10 can see no positives coming from the decision when he exclaims, "With this sudden change in strategy, Sega will lose a lot of fans of the game. I hope that it decides to scrap this idea fast or else PSO Version 2 will be the biggest joke around." Cerberus believes that charging a fee to play PSO Version 2 is the result of Sega being cheap when he claims, "Blizzard (the developers behind Diablo II) has no problem with selling massive amounts of software and then forking over the [money to make the servers free]." Pavelbure concurs when he writes, "To make money you have to spend money. Lose a little on server maintenance and gain many loyal gamers who will buy your products."

Not everyone is bewildered with Sega's decision. In fact, several of our readers think they know exactly why Sega decided to charge for playing PSO Version 2. "Now that you've tried the drug, Sega wants you to pay for the full buzz. This is a bad move for Sega. None of its other online-compatible Dreamcast games require a fee to play," stated an anonymous reader. SegaFan claims that he knew it was coming all along when he writes, "I kind of knew this would happen. About two months ago I was talking to three other random players about the game, and I said, 'I'd keep PSO free to lure gamers into the series and then charge for later versions.'"

Some of our readers stated that they wouldn't mind paying to play PSO Version 2 if it meant that the servers would be maintained and the cheating that takes place online could be stopped. "Now that I [will be] paying my hard-earned money for online service I expect to be served. I want to see the tournaments that have taken place in Japan, better hacking control, and no server-client data loss," demanded Spy. A few readers agreed with Sega's decision and feel that it's just a sign of the times. Christopher Wade gives Sega a much-needed reprieve when he states, "This is the way the gaming economy works. Game companies want to give the public what they want, but they have limited resources."

On the whole, our readers have almost unanimously expressed their displeasure and discontent over a monthly fee to play PSO Version 2. Maji Redir echoes the sentiments of the majority of the Talkback posts attached to the story when he sends a personal message to Sega stating, "I cannot believe that you would milk your last, loyal customers for cash. I will not be purchasing Version 2 nor will I purchase PSO for [the] GameCube if the same pricing structure is in place. I don't feel like such a loyal Sega fan any longer. So long, old friend."