PlayOnline

Not to be confused with PlayOnLinux.

PlayOnline is an online gaming service created by Square Co. (now Square Enix), and has been the launcher application and Internet service for many of the online PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 games the company publishes. Currently, the only game supported by the service is Final Fantasy XI. Games previously supported were Front Mission Online, Fantasy Earth: The Ring of Dominion, Tetra Master, and the Japanese releases of EverQuest II, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII and JongHoLo.

PlayOnline service logo.

History

Launch

PlayOnline was originally conceived as an all-in-one solution to house multiple types of game content.[1] At the "Square Millennium" event in Japan on January 28, 2000, Square announced three Final Fantasy games, including Final Fantasy XI, to be released in the summer of 2001, and that Square had been working on an online portal called "PlayOnline" with Japanese telecom company NTT Communications, and would feature online games, chat, email, online comics, Internet browsing, online shopping, sports, and instant messaging.[2] The service was first announced as costing 500 yen for monthly membership and a 1000 yen monthly user fee.[3] Final Fantasy XI, then nicknamed "Final Fantasy Online", was the first game to use the online service.[3] PlayOnline opened on June 6, 2000 to both Japanese and English speaking players with news about upcoming software titles, interviews, and wallpapers.[4] Initial traffic to the site overwhelmed servers and players experienced slow or no connection.[5] The sites merchandise included pieces from Parasite Eve, Vagrant Story, Chocobo Racing, Front Mission, Chrono Cross, and Final Fantasy.[6] PlayOnline was seen as part of Sony's strategy to turn the PlayStation 2 into an Internet set-top box. Accordingly, Sony brought broadband equipment and a hard drive to the PlayStation 2.[7] The quality of the browser was noted in its "clean" graphics, excellent page layouts, and "high quality sound".[7] The browser was not a general purpose Internet tool, but only accessed Square content, such as news about Square products and a comic-strip walkthrough of Final Fantasy XI.[7]

Outages

In February 2005, 800 players were banned from the card game Tetra Master and from Final Fantasy XI for monopolizing areas where high level items and monsters would spawn, making it impossible for other players to become stronger.[8] In March 2009, Square Enix announced a new security system for players beginning April 6, 2009, involving a security token players could purchase for $9.99 and including an in-game bonus called a "Mog Satchel".[9] On April 9, 2005, a distributed denial of service attack against PlayOnline's servers shut down Final Fantasy XI access for players in North America and Europe for three hours: the attack continued for over a week, leading Square Enix to involve law enforcement.[10] At the time, Square Enix did not reveal if the Japanese server which hosted Front Mission Online, Fantasy Earth, and Japanese players of EverQuest II were affected.[10]

After Japan's 2011 earthquake, Square-Enix, Co. Ltd. voluntarily disabled servers to conserve energy due to the incapacitated state of the region's nuclear power plant. This led to a temporary halt of the Final Fantasy XIV, Final Fantasy XI, and PlayOnline games and services from March 13 to March 25.[11][12] During the power shortage, air conditioning and lighting was reduced, and the subscription fees for Final Fantasy XI were waived for the month of April.[12]

Decline

In June 2009, Square Enix announced they had decided not to use PlayOnline for Final Fantasy XIV due to the marked decrease of content on the service. Instead, they would migrate to a new service that still allowed cross-platform gameplay, including the use of a universal Square Enix ID that would allow players to play from wherever they left off.[1] In June 2011, Square Enix announced that they would merge the account management portion of the PlayOnline service into Square Enix accounts from July 2011 and culminate on August 31, 2011.[13] However, PlayOnline is still required in order to actually play Final Fantasy XI.[13] Square Enix replicated the idea of the friends list from Final Fantasy XI in Final Fantasy XIV.[14]

Reception

In December 2001, Square Enix projected it would have 250,000 users by the end of 2001, and 400,000 by year end 2002: the service charged $10 per person, and thus needed 200,000 participants to break even.[15] On January 7, 2004, Square Enix announced they had more than 500,000 registered users on the PlayOnline gaming service, and slightly under one million active players.[16] In September 2004, Square Enix stated they have 1.2 million characters, with most players having two to three characters.[17] In May 2005, Front Mission Online became the second game to utilize the service, retailing at 7,140 Yen and had a monthly subscription price of 1,344 Yen.[18] In June 2009, a San Francisco, California resident sued Square Enix for "deceptive advertising, unfair competition, and unjust enrichment" from Final Fantasy XI, and a sought 5 million dollar settlement.[19]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Jeremy Dunham (June 4, 2009). "E3 2009: Final Fantasy XIV - What We Know". IGN. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  2. ↑ Yukiyoshi Ike Sato (January 28, 2000). "Breaking News: Square Millennium". GameSpot. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Gabe Wollenburg. "Square Announces Pay-Online Play Online". RPGamer. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  4. ↑ IGN Staff (June 6, 2000). "Square Opens PlayOnline.com". IGN. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  5. ↑ GameSpot Staff (November 21, 2000). "Square's PlayOnline Overcome by Traffic". GameSpot. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  6. ↑ IGN Staff (August 18, 2000). "PlayOnline Displays Cool Square Stuff". IGN. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Anoop Gantayat (May 28, 2002). "PS2 BroadBand and PlayOnline Tested". IGN. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  8. ↑ Nich Maragos (February 16, 2005). "Square Enix Bans Over 800 PlayOnline Accounts". Gamasutra. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  9. ↑ IGN Staff (March 31, 2009). "Square Enix Announces New Security System". IGN. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 GameSpot Staff (April 18, 2005). "'Final Fantasy XI' under attack". CNET. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  11. ↑ David Murphy (March 13, 2011). "After Earthquake, Square-Enix Temporarily Shuts Down Final Fantasy MMOs". PC Magazine. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Nathan Brown (March 22, 2011). "Final Fantasy XI, XIV Back Online March 25". Edge Online. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Eliot Lefebvre (June 21, 2011). "Final Fantasy XI to merge PlayOnline accounts with Square-Enix accounts". joystiq. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  14. ↑ Sophia Tong (June 3, 2009). "Square Enix 'considering' FFXIV Online for 'Microsoft hardware'". Gamespot. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  15. ↑ Shahed Ahmed (December 3, 2001). "SquareSoft makes PlayOnline projections". Gamespot. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  16. ↑ Justin Calvert (January 7, 2004). "500,000 milestone for PlayOnline". Gamespot. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  17. ↑ Rob Fahey (September 16, 2004). "Going Online With Square Enix". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  18. ↑ Anoop Gantayat (March 1, 2005). "Front Mission Online Pricing and Date". IGN. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  19. ↑ Kris Graft (June 25, 2005). "Square Enix Sued For $5 Million Over Final Fantasy XI". Gamasutra. Retrieved March 1, 2013.

External links