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PlayOnline

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PlayOnline is an online gaming service created by Square Co. (now Square Enix), and is used as a hub 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

Opening of the PlayOnline service and viewer

File:POLviewer.png
Screenshot of the main menu in the PlayOnline Viewer

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, online shopping, sports, and instant messaging.[2] The service was first announced as costing 500 yen for montly 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, and brought broadband software and a broadband adapter and hard disk to the PlayStation 2 for this reason.[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]

Service development and growth

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.[8] 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.[9] In September 2004, Square Enix stated they have 1.2 million characters, with most players having two to three characters.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12]

Security and 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.[13] 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".[14] 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.[15] 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.[15]

During the 2011 earthquake in Japan, the servers had to be temporarily shut down, taking down Final Fantasy XIV, Final Fantasy XI, and PlayOnline games and services from March 13 to March 25.[16][17] 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.[17]

Service declines in use

In June 2009, Square Enix announced they had decided not to use PlayOnline for Final Fantasy XIV due to the increasing lack of content on the service, and would use a new service that still allowed cross-platform gameplay, and 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 PlayOnline service into Square Enix accounts from July 2011 and culminate on August 31st, 2011.[18] Players were still required to use the service to play Final Fantasy XI.[18] Friend lists were also transferrable between Final Fantasy XI and Final Fantasy XIV.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b Jeremy Dunham (June 4th, 2009). "E3 2009: Final Fantasy XIV - What We Know". IGN. Retrieved March 1, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  2. ^ Yukiyoshi Ike Sato (January 28, 2000). "Breaking News: Square Millennium". GameSpot. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  3. ^ a b 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 21st, 2000). "Square's PlayOnline Overcome by Traffic". GameSpot. Retrieved March 3, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  6. ^ IGN Staff (August 18, 2000). "PlayOnline Displays Cool Square Stuff". IGN. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  7. ^ a b c Anoop Gantayat (May 28, 2002). "PS2 BroadBand and PlayOnline Tested". IGN. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  8. ^ Shahed Ahmed (December 3rd, 2001). "SquareSoft makes PlayOnline projections". Gamespot. Retrieved March 3, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  9. ^ Justin Calvert (January 7th, 2004). "500,000 milestone for PlayOnline". Gamespot. Retrieved March 1, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  10. ^ Rob Fahey (September 16th, 2004). "Going Online With Square Enix". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 1, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  11. ^ Anoop Gantayat (March 1st, 2005). "Front Mission Online Pricing and Date". IGN. Retrieved March 4, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  12. ^ Kris Graft (June 25th, 2005). "Square Enix Sued For $5 Million Over Final Fantasy XI". Gamasutra. Retrieved March 1, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  13. ^ Nich Maragos (February 16th, 2005). "Square Enix Bans Over 800 PlayOnline Accounts". Gamasutra. Retrieved March 1, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  14. ^ IGN Staff (March 31st, 2009). "Square Enix Announces New Security System". IGN. Retrieved March 1, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  15. ^ a b GameSpot Staff (April 18th, 2005). "'Final Fantasy XI' under attack". CNET. Retrieved March 1, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  16. ^ David Murphy (March 13th, 2011). "After Earthquake, Square-Enix Temporarily Shuts Down Final Fantasy MMOs". PC Magazine. Retrieved March 1, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  17. ^ a b Nathan Brown (March 22nd, 2011). "Final Fantasy XI, XIV Back Online March 25". Edge Online. Retrieved March 1, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  18. ^ a b Eliot Lefebvre (June 21st, 2011). "Final Fantasy XI to merge PlayOnline accounts with Square-Enix accounts". joystiq. Retrieved March 1, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)
  19. ^ Sophia Tong (June 3rd, 2009). "Square Enix 'considering' FFXIV Online for 'Microsoft hardware'". Gamespot. Retrieved March 1, 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |year= (help)

External links

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