Sega and Sony Connect Online !

Sounds like good news for future online games !!!

From ign:

Sega Japan announces joint partnership with Sony for future cross-platform online games.

                  June 5, 2001

                  Sega Japan announced today that it\'s working
                  with game maker Sony Computer
                  Entertainment to promote a cross-platform
                  online strategy that enables gamers of both the
                  PlayStation 2 and Dreamcast to play games
                  online together.

                  While Sega announced similar news a few
                  months ago, a Sega Japan spokesman
                  explained today in Japan to Reuters News
                  Service that Sega and Sony are working together to expand the online game
                  market, a deed that has never been done prior to this. The partnership
                  includes connecting the two systems, as well as collaboration on game
                  applications and services. Sega America expressed excitement about this
                  statement, and said that it follows up on Sega\'s former statements, but
                  strangely, could "neither confirm nor deny" the information that came from
                  Sega Japan.

                  Sega Japan plans to finish development with all of the online games currently
                  in the works for Dreamcast, then bring connectivity to PlayStation 2 users
                  with the same series of games. Sega America would not specify which
                  games these would be, and the company has said that its first two US PS2
                  titles, NFL 2K2 and NBA 2K2, will not be online compatible. Next year\'s
                  sports series, however, have a much stronger probability of going online.
                  Sega\'s online games have attracted about 800,000 online members to
                  http://www.sega.net to date, which is about 30% of the total Dreamcast users in
                  Japan.

                  In slightly similar news today, Sega unveiled several PlayStation 2 titles for
                  Japan that include Roommania #203, Guru-guru Onsen 2, Saka-tsuku 2002
                  (working title), Yakyu-tsuku 2002 (working title), and the already announced
                  K-Project (working title). Guru-guru Onsen 2 enables players to vie in
                  multiplayer games online via PlayStation 2, the Dreamcast, and PC
                  platforms.

                  Hopefully these and other Sega online games will come to the US. Sony\'s
                  officially announced online games for PS2 include Tony Hawk\'s Pro Skater
                  3, SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals, Twisted Metal Online, Frequency, and Tribes
                  (the PC port of Tribes 2). Three more SCEA online games are expected to
                  be announced in the near future.

cool news, sniff sniff is that PSO2 that I am smelling!

That would be great.  If they could keep extending the deal to different consoles it could finally make online console gaming viable for everyone.

BTW, PSO isn\'t the only online game Sega is working on.  They mentioned at E3 that they might port a Japanese, online horse racing game to other markets.  I wouldn\'t hold my breath, though...

-Eik

Horse racing....very cool!!!!!!!! (irony)

What would really be cool, is if someone is playing NFL 2K2 on XBOX, and another on GC, and another on PS2 and another on DC, can all connect and play against each other!!!

-Ramon