Sega to charge for online play TOO!

http://www.gaming-age.com/cgi-bin/news/news.pl?y=2001&m=10&nid=23-167.db

The online arm of Japanese game publisher Sega Corp. said on Tuesday it would begin charging $9.95 a month as of Nov. 1 for unlimited access to its online network for multiplayer video games.
SegaNet allows people with Sega\'s Dreamcast video game console to play Internet-enabled games against each other across the network. It was also an Internet service provider, but that service was discontinued in July and customers transferred to EarthLink Inc.

Sega said its most popular Internet game, ``Phantasy Star Online,\'\' has 300,000 online players.

A Sega spokesman said all of the current users of SegaNet would have to begin paying as of Nov. 1 to continue accessing the service. Existing users were notified of the change on Tuesday.

The spokesman added that because Phantasy Star Online runs on a separate server system from SegaNet, its players will be \'\'the exception to the rule\'\' and will not have to pay a monthly fee.

The Dreamcast was also discontinued earlier this year, but Sega still supports and publishes games for the platform, and has also said SegaNet will support online games for Microsoft Corp.\'s Xbox and Nintendo (news - web sites) Co. Ltd.\'s GameCube, both of which are to launch in the United States in mid-November.

Sega said in a statement the ``new\'\' SegaNet will include features like instant messaging, game tournaments and member profile pages.

This getting rediculous in the sense that if gamers like us want to play Sega online games, Square online games, and some others (you know if there is any success with pay to play others will hurry to join) we are going to get nabbed with $10 here and there and before you know it your online gaming bill is going to be near $100 a month if you include your connections as well.

You\'re going to be forced to decide which online game to play from month to month. You are not going to have the luxury of bouncing back and forth between different games if they are on different networks

I don\'t mind paying some but its all adding up really quick and definetly out of reach of most of the 17 and under crowd

While I sympathize with young\'uns, I must say, I also sympathize greatly with game companies.  My diablo II days, where online Battle.net play are included in the cost of the game, to be honest must be doomed.  Games like Diablo II, Diablo, Starcraft, Phantasy Star III, Ultima Online, and Final Fantasy XI are going to have devoted following of people who will play them, probably for years.  Even considering the huge amount of money they make selling the game, if you think about the cost of maintiaining an EQUALLY large gaming area for those buyers month after month, year after year, we end up with a choice:

1) Free (like battle.net), no fees, lots of players, probably some lag problems, tech teams and programming teams are smaller, and will respond to issues more slowly.

2) Small monthly fee, allows for lots of players, some lag problems (but fixed quicker), tech and programming teams larger, probably with a team of online players who can respond to issues quicker (Everquest).

Personally, I won\'t mind paying for Final Fantasy XI, and any other game that merits it.  What I want to make sure of though, is that all these games come with a 2-6 month "included" free period.  That way, the people paying to play are the ones that truly use the game in the longterm, and occasional/short-term players won\'t get the shaft (and get all upset).

If these companies are all going to start charging us to play their games online then they sure as hell better make it worth our time. I\'m not dishing out $59 for FFXI and then start paying Square $19 a month to play it.

But in the end I think it\'s going to be unavoidable that we get raped of our money to play on-line games. Every developer wants in on the Online gaming thing, and they all want to set up their own online gaming service. I just hope some games remain free of charge, but it seems unlikely. As online games become more and more complicated they are bound to need servers to run smoothly enough to be enjoyable. And the fact is servers cost plenty o\' money.

At least simple one on one games are likely to remain free, as one console can simply host the game for another console (ala THPS3), but you never know.

it is a shame that its going this way.... I loved playing Quake 3 online on the dreamcast... used to cost about 45pence an hour off peak, but fook that if theres a monthly charge aswell

I agree with ddaryl and FatalXception, I don\'t mind paying a little fee for playing online, the problem I see is that developers will star thinking about online servers not as a bonus for their clients but as they main business. That fee you pay, i think, has to be consider just to maintain the servers online but not as a extra business where developers can make extra $$$$. If developers try to make a new business out of this, online gaming will not success. I won\'t buy a game for $50 and then pay $120 for playing it a year. Also FatalXception has a point. In the game price should be included 2 months, at least, of online gaming.

Sega said in a statement the ``new\'\' SegaNet will include features like instant messaging, game tournaments and member profile pages.

[size=8]MY ASS[/size]

This is going right into the ground just like everything else Sega\'s done.  The only way this will survive is if M$ or Sony or Nintendo picks it up.  Another example of pisspoor decision-making and more proof that Sega hates its customers.

I think it should be like this. Every console has an monthly price but thats flat out. You have 5 games u pay 1 price. Sony should handle the whole online gaming thing for the PS2 and we should just pay them for unlimited use of PS2 games online...You know what im saying.

Originally posted by Tetrad
I think it should be like this. Every console has an monthly price but thats flat out. You have 5 games u pay 1 price. Sony should handle the whole online gaming thing for the PS2 and we should just pay them for unlimited use of PS2 games online...You know what im saying.

This is not the way ot will be

It will be if you want to play Sega games on the PS2 online then you\'ll have to pay the Sega fee, If you want to play the Square games online you\'ll have to pay the Square fee, and so on and so on


I have no intention of paying mulitple fee\'s to play online games, I have a billion other more important things to do with my hard earned cash then to spend money of gaming systems, then on games, followed by periphials and then the monthly charges to play the many games I want to play online

Originally posted by EmperorRob
[size=8]MY ASS[/size]

This is going right into the ground just like everything else Sega\'s done.  The only way this will survive is if M$ or Sony or Nintendo picks it up.  Another example of pisspoor decision-making and more proof that Sega hates its customers.

You r right. I really don\'t think a lot of people will agree on paying a company for letting them play online (The internet is free!!:D). A lot of people was searching for free isp when the first DC online  games appear. That same people will search for a free way to play online in any other console and if there is not a way they will not play. Like I said before: Online gaming should be a plus from developers to gamers and I think that will happen. Sega will release NFL2K3 with online capabilities paying a monthly fee but none one will buy it cause EA will release Madden 2003 (or any other developer) with the same capabilities FREE!

This is not the way ot will be

It will be if you want to play Sega games on the PS2 online then you\'ll have to pay the Sega fee, If you want to play the Square games online you\'ll have to pay the Square fee, and so on and so on


I have no intention of paying mulitple fee\'s to play online games, I have a billion other more important things to do with my hard earned cash then to spend money of gaming systems, then on games, followed by periphials and then the monthly charges to play the many games I want to play online

I know it wont be like that, thats just the way i want it to be, thus minimizing the charges.

Originally posted by PSXXX

I really don\'t think a lot of people will agree on paying a company for letting them play online (The internet is free!!:D).   A lot of people was searching for free isp when the first DC online  games appear. That same people will search for a free way to play online in any other console and if there is not a way they will not play.

I don\'t know where you heard the internet is free....  Our ISPs pay a helluvalot of money for our bandwidth.  Every second we\'re surfing outside their small private part of the internet, they\'re paying money.  Online games are no different, but you either pay both ISP, to get to the net, and a small amount for server maintenance/tech payroll, or a larger amount for both combined services.

I\'m hoping that all these networks will go the route that I can just hook up my PS2 to my current cable connection, and pay small user fees for games/networks (hopefully, like a 5-10 dollar a month fee for the Square network).  It all comes down to not giving the "normal" little-time user the shaft.  If they don\'t give at least a couple months trial with these new games, they\'re going to find a huge decrease in sales.  

Fact is, servers and bandwith cost too much these days, to be maintaining a fast, secure, reliable, massive, changing online world for an indefinite period for nothing.  I understand the costs involved.  Doesn\'t mean I have to like it.  

[Evi]

That\'s ridiculous to charge that much.  I don\'t mind paying a little, but if the price for online gaming gets jacked up to as much as your monthly car payment, that wouldn\'t be fun at all.

This is absolute nonsense.  I guess we\'ll have to wait and see how it all works out. :shy:

that sucks, no more online play for Eric.

Eric Jacob

i think its quite simple.... just be charged as you use it at a reasonable rate.... its like that for the internet so surely it should be the same for online gaming..... that way its quite simple, if you dont use it you dont get charged!:yawn:

just like to add..... fcuk monthly subscription payments