|  Issue #28 - Why We'll Never get It As Good As Japan!
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The Japanese have always been crazier over Phantasy Star Online then we have, and lets just say Online games in general tend to do a lot better over in the east, then they do over here in the west! Phantasy Star Online is what we're looking at though, and in todays Hunters Gazette, let's look at why we'll never get it as good as the Japanese.
You know the score by now, released on 21st December, Phantasy Star Online made history on the SEGA Dreamcast by being the first ever online RPG game for consoles. I think it's safe to say the game made great marks over here in Europe and in America, but in Japan however, it wasn't just a success, it was possibly the greatest game ever made! It's easy to see why. It was a game that every SEGA Dreamcast owner wanted. It was a game that was far more technological then any other game previously released... and you know the Japanese, there's nothing they love more then technological looking stuff! If the game was going to succeed anywhere, it'd be there in Japan, because even though the internet was pretty new, no-one wanted to use it more then those Japanese! So what better use then to play games on it? Phantasy Star Online was set in a world full of flashy effects, very advanced looking races of people and scenary, and placed on a very advanced console! It's the answer to every Japanese gamers dream, while we'll look at it and say "WOAH! That looks pretty cool" before looking at the price tag only to walk away saying "It'll go down in price sooner or later". Prices don't seem to be an issue with the Japanese markets. Look at the sales figures and they'll tell you how the prices compare with the prices over here - silly! This is backed up by the fact that even though Phantasy Star Online needed a Hunters License to be sent online, Japanese gamers saw it only as an opportunity to play online for longer, while be guarded under the careful watch of the great SEGA! All online games are played in great lengths of time, the Chinese and Japanese cultures especially love their online games more then anyone, with there now actually being physciological treatments for people who "have an addiction to MMORPG's"! As much as we love games, and Europe has the biggest games market in the world incase you didn't know, we're not as mad about playing these particular types of fantasy RPG's online as eastern gamers are. We on the other hand are a much more 'First Person Shooter' orientated set of gamers. The UK and US have LOADS of top dollar competitions because so many people play FPS games like Half-Life and CounterStrike online, but it seems that's as far as it goes. The eastern cultures on the other hand send them to play fantasy games like Phantasy Star Online and World of Warcraft rather then FPS'.  
You can see here the instant differences between our tastes in games, and they play a distinct role in telling us which types of games we love to play online and which ones we don't. Western gamers love the thrill of the chase in the fast paced actions of FPS titles while the Eastern gamers can't get enough of the amazing fantasy RPG action orientated titles. That's just the way it works! This is why we lovers of what the Eastern gamers love the most, don't get half as much as the Western gamers get! When looking at Phantasy Star Online, SEGA get a much bigger response in Japan & China then they do in Europe and America. That's why they hold special competitions we could only dream about, such as interactive competitions between us and SEGA, such as the recent audio and visual competitions where you send in aspects of audio you've made that might go well in PSO and drawings you've done of PSO relation, and stand a chance of winning SERIOUS prizes, such as bikes, mp3 players, and other types of goodness! SEGA also hold more types of competitions that we'll never see, and also release their games alike this (Such as Phantasy Star Universe) in the East first, because it's going to get much more of a response then it could ever hope to recieve in the Western market. To this end, expect much more of it in the future. We don't stand a chance against the Japanese because they love it in amounts we drool over. Any figures of sales or competitions results will show you that the Japanese love their fantasy RPG's more then any other type of game in the world, while over here in the Western part of the world, we just aren't as fond of RPG's like this and will never give SEGA the feedback they get in Japan. We're just a tiny tiny cloud compared to the rising sun of Eastern gamers cultures.
The answer? Why not try learning another language (Such as Japanese/Chinese) and nipping into the local Chinese Take-Away and change your taste in food to more oriental likings. Then you'll be much more prepared to move over there and love the better side of gaming life. Otherwise you may aswell nip down to GAME or Gamestation now and go a buy a copy of Half-Life, Doom, or maybe CounterStrike, a silly PC headset/microphone, a few pizza's and packets of cheesey wotsits, and sit down and get your pratice up on the Steam servers, because that's as good as it gets over here! If you'd like to comment on this editions main article, then do it in our forums, in this particular Ragol.co.uk Forum Thread! Share your point of view with the world! Do you agree, dont you agree, DO post on our forums!  Chao, our chao, has been once again at it, wondering the online auction houses of eBay, looking for great SEGA and Phantasy Star merch. This week, there's a few random treasures to be found, especially noting the T-Shirts which are probabily VERY collectable! Also note Chao has brought back a SEGA iDog he found on eBay, which you may remember me posting up about not to long ago... for crying out loud chao, no you can't have it...  If you're interested, then click on the item! All prices were correct as of October 5th 2005 (Afternoon BST).
Chao, for now!  | | The Ragol.co.uk Hunters Gazette |
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Credits October 7th 2005 Hunters Gazette Edition by: Lee-yoshi
Images: Lee-yoshi
© Ragol .co.uk |
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