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PSO2: Current state of JP(and EN experience), and SEA server
11 years ago
Prepare for wall of text, but if you have a strong interest in playing PSO2, you may actually want to read through it. I do not support the use of TL;DR.
Currently, there's some hubbub over PSO2's recent Southeast Asia(SEA) server having a natively English client, and yet, there's no US version of PSO2. The aim of this posting is to clear up some things.
Firstly: The SEA server has sprung up to reduce the load on PSO2 JP's servers, as a decent amount of their playerbase (far more than US or EU players) come from Southeast Asia outside of Japan (which is technically a breach of EULA, the part where you need to be a resident of Japan.) As such, they've given the server contract to AsiaSoft. Part of the contract included IP banning all of PSO2 SEA's target consumer base from PSO2 JP, and anyone not in the target field for PSO2 SEA have been IP banned from it. (source links provided)
Second, there is no SEGA of America. SoA got merged into SEGA International to pool resources, so we no longer have SoA. Meaning the contract mentioned above was handled by SEGA Int'l, since it's outside of Japan. This could imply that should there ever be a PSO2 West, all the West players on PSO2 COULD be IP banned. Either way, most of the users would simply suffer a VPN to get back on rather than start from scratch, because of point three which I'm about to make.
Third, SEGA has a pretty bad track record of maintaining International Versions of the Phantasy Star series games. They've already mutilated the SEA version in language and lore("Forces" are called "Wizards" instead, and "Techniques" are referred to as "Photon Magic". Anyone who has been a really long time fan of Phantasy Star will see this and go "wat"). We saw what happened with PSU US; slow service, slow updates, terribly handled hacker incidents, and lots of exclusive events that US never got. After having played on PSO2 JP for over 2 years, I would not want to see this amazing game suffer the same fate ans PSU US.
Fourth; to address the multiple concerns surrounding players who have yet to try to step foot into PSO2 JP because they are worried about the language and service gap:
1) There is a third party application which I use all the time called the PSO2 Tweaker; It handles all of your translation needs, from story patching, to client orders, to the random things lobby NPCs say, right down to your partner characters! It has advanced so beautifully, EVEN ITEMS ARE TRANSLATABLE NOW. Essentially the entire game can be translated now.
2) As for buying Arks Cash (AC, the optional currency used to access the cash shop), PSO2es has been released for Android and iOS smartphones. YOU CAN obtain this internationally. You do NOT need to own a smartphone, you can actually use an emulator for it on the PC. Through this application, you can use Google Wallet to purchase AC with any credit card known to man, so long as Google Wallet accepts it.
3) Player interaction is another major concern I hear a lot. There was this whole ban scare about a year ago about players getting banned for speaking English...... it's fake. It was hackers and lobby spammers (symbol art) that got reported for being disruptive, and threw a big temper tantrum and spread some rather false allegations to make them look like the victims, and to scare everyone else. Very little actual communication is required mid-combat, most of the difficulty lies in avoiding damage and hitting weak points. I've played with random Japanese players on a rather large number of occasions, and I've never once had any issues. If you're interested in a Team environment, I am a Team master and I have room for a number of people on Ship 10; only stipulation is no causing drama. That being said, there are English teams on every ship, but 2 and 10 seem to be the most prevalent.
In conclusion, by waiting for a EN/US version at this time, with all the advancements the game itself has made, as well as the progress the English translation patch team has made, you're probably only hurting your own experience of PSO2. If you're inclined to wait still, that's your prerogative, and I respect it. The point of this post was to make people aware of how great it has gotten.
Currently, there's some hubbub over PSO2's recent Southeast Asia(SEA) server having a natively English client, and yet, there's no US version of PSO2. The aim of this posting is to clear up some things.
Firstly: The SEA server has sprung up to reduce the load on PSO2 JP's servers, as a decent amount of their playerbase (far more than US or EU players) come from Southeast Asia outside of Japan (which is technically a breach of EULA, the part where you need to be a resident of Japan.) As such, they've given the server contract to AsiaSoft. Part of the contract included IP banning all of PSO2 SEA's target consumer base from PSO2 JP, and anyone not in the target field for PSO2 SEA have been IP banned from it. (source links provided)
Second, there is no SEGA of America. SoA got merged into SEGA International to pool resources, so we no longer have SoA. Meaning the contract mentioned above was handled by SEGA Int'l, since it's outside of Japan. This could imply that should there ever be a PSO2 West, all the West players on PSO2 COULD be IP banned. Either way, most of the users would simply suffer a VPN to get back on rather than start from scratch, because of point three which I'm about to make.
Third, SEGA has a pretty bad track record of maintaining International Versions of the Phantasy Star series games. They've already mutilated the SEA version in language and lore("Forces" are called "Wizards" instead, and "Techniques" are referred to as "Photon Magic". Anyone who has been a really long time fan of Phantasy Star will see this and go "wat"). We saw what happened with PSU US; slow service, slow updates, terribly handled hacker incidents, and lots of exclusive events that US never got. After having played on PSO2 JP for over 2 years, I would not want to see this amazing game suffer the same fate ans PSU US.
Fourth; to address the multiple concerns surrounding players who have yet to try to step foot into PSO2 JP because they are worried about the language and service gap:
1) There is a third party application which I use all the time called the PSO2 Tweaker; It handles all of your translation needs, from story patching, to client orders, to the random things lobby NPCs say, right down to your partner characters! It has advanced so beautifully, EVEN ITEMS ARE TRANSLATABLE NOW. Essentially the entire game can be translated now.
2) As for buying Arks Cash (AC, the optional currency used to access the cash shop), PSO2es has been released for Android and iOS smartphones. YOU CAN obtain this internationally. You do NOT need to own a smartphone, you can actually use an emulator for it on the PC. Through this application, you can use Google Wallet to purchase AC with any credit card known to man, so long as Google Wallet accepts it.
3) Player interaction is another major concern I hear a lot. There was this whole ban scare about a year ago about players getting banned for speaking English...... it's fake. It was hackers and lobby spammers (symbol art) that got reported for being disruptive, and threw a big temper tantrum and spread some rather false allegations to make them look like the victims, and to scare everyone else. Very little actual communication is required mid-combat, most of the difficulty lies in avoiding damage and hitting weak points. I've played with random Japanese players on a rather large number of occasions, and I've never once had any issues. If you're interested in a Team environment, I am a Team master and I have room for a number of people on Ship 10; only stipulation is no causing drama. That being said, there are English teams on every ship, but 2 and 10 seem to be the most prevalent.
In conclusion, by waiting for a EN/US version at this time, with all the advancements the game itself has made, as well as the progress the English translation patch team has made, you're probably only hurting your own experience of PSO2. If you're inclined to wait still, that's your prerogative, and I respect it. The point of this post was to make people aware of how great it has gotten.
Oh my! Aida has posted on here? I'm flattered!
To be more clear; this post was aimed mostly at the players that haven't joined PSO2JP yet because they're waiting for an EN/US version. I don't really think a new player will hit MB16 very quickly given all there is to do, and most people play PS games to play with other people, as far as I know.
Though, it is nice to hear a status update (without even asking!) on MB16's translation status. We all appreciate what you do!