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INTEREST: Japanese Phantasy Star Online 2 Servers Prohibit Overseas Users




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Bastille



Joined: 01 Jun 2011
Posts: 70
PostPosted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 12:05 am Reply with quote
It's likely something they added so they can ban Westerners whenever the situation calls for it but they're too lazy to build a proper case so they'll just attribute the ban to this. I can't imagine Sega would willingly turn away potential customers, since I know a fair number of Westerners who do use the cash shop. That and banning Westerners, forcing them to wait until next year to play the game on what will likely be an immensely inferior version of the Japanese servers, would pretty much be the final nail in the coffin for the Phantasy Star series over here.
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TitanXL



Joined: 08 Jun 2010
Posts: 4036
PostPosted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 12:40 am Reply with quote
If they're anything like the Phantasy Star Universe players I saw (i,e /b/tards and ex-WoW idiots) ... can't blame them.
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potatochobit



Joined: 26 Aug 2009
Posts: 1373
Location: TEXAS
PostPosted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 2:06 am Reply with quote
this is a very bad idea - they are going to make alot of people unhappy.

I would guess there are a few reasons for doing this
first - being sega - they messed up the server launch and people were not able to create new characters due to overload.

servers were also very laggy due to the large load of players

believe it or not - most japanese gamers are against foreigners playing on the same servers with them. I wouldn't say they are racist, but they have this annoying elitist mentality where they treat RPG gaming like a job. of course, the american community has a higher number of immature kids who play online games, so I dont blame them.

In the end, they are trying to appeal to casual gamers so it may not matter. They are probably just trying to protect themselves. But if they stat blocking IP addresses, that will be a very ugly day.

since I have played this game I will tell you, everyone wants to try it and is making a new account which is flooding the servers. But I also get the impression that after playing a few days, people do not come back. The graphics and game mechanics are severely dated - I would guess its because they need it to match the PSP/vita portability option or whatever. The game has an amazing blur and zoom effect though.

this game runs off a cash-shop so keeping people interested in the next area content is very important. I think alot of people who would actually pay for that stuff and are dedicated fans are Americans so they should give it a little more thought before alienating a large portion of their customers.
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ConanSan



Joined: 13 Jun 2007
Posts: 1818
PostPosted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 3:31 am Reply with quote
"People want to play our game, Quick! Make it so that the game is legally impossible to play outside of one tiny island in the arse end of asia!"

And people wonder why Sega's downsizing...
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Emerje



Joined: 10 Aug 2002
Posts: 7336
Location: Maine
PostPosted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 5:08 am Reply with quote
I wonder if this is some sort of attempt to prevent RMT? Maybe all other versions will have similar rules against connecting from outside of the intended region?

Emerje
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mgosdin



Joined: 17 Jul 2011
Posts: 1302
Location: Kissimmee, Florida, USA
PostPosted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 6:19 am Reply with quote
My Son, the die-hard Phantasy Star fan, has been playing this on the Japanese servers almost since day one.

He's good enough to have had quite a bit of success in spite of the linguistic handicaps. So now Sega doesn't want him and his money?

Seems that bad ideas don't recognize East / West national boundaries either, but then we knew that already.

Mark Gosdin
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nhat



Joined: 21 Jan 2008
Posts: 922
PostPosted: Wed Aug 08, 2012 8:12 am Reply with quote
Bastille wrote:
It's likely something they added so they can ban Westerners whenever the situation calls for it but they're too lazy to build a proper case so they'll just attribute the ban to this. I can't imagine Sega would willingly turn away potential customers, since I know a fair number of Westerners who do use the cash shop. That and banning Westerners, forcing them to wait until next year to play the game on what will likely be an immensely inferior version of the Japanese servers, would pretty much be the final nail in the coffin for the Phantasy Star series over here.


Well the payment system doesn't take foreign CC or paypal so most can't pay in the first place even if they want to. I think the TOS is more of a legal issue than anything. If someone is causing trouble by hacking or something, they can simply ban him with no issues.

Otherwise I don't think Sega will do anything as long as they keep out of trouble.
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Spotlesseden



Joined: 09 Sep 2004
Posts: 3514
Location: earth
PostPosted: Thu Aug 09, 2012 10:06 am Reply with quote
it's easy to check your location based on your ip. I don't think they will have any problem enforce the rule
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