So they said over a month ago that PSO2 would come to other platforms/ Regions. But we kinda didnt get any news for the past weeks and i would really like to play the game. Aside the fact that some of my friends only want to play when it is out on EU, as well as the fact that i strongly dislike Microsoft Store, even if i were to play on NA, i cant even buy AC or anything as NA wont accept any non NA payment. Its a huge drag considering i wanted a good MMO to play for a long time and i played some of the NA version and its really REALLY fun.

So far there haven't been any news about this since the Ep4 announcement, I'm hoping we get news about this soon...

i hope so i thought maybe some of the GMs have some info etc. they could share so i thought a thread here might give me some insight.

As a slight update, they are apparently a step closer as PSO2 now has an official PEGI and ACB rating.

And there's been evidence of work on a Steam client being in the works.

This is all honestly up to Sega of Japan as to when they may announce... GMs may have info but be held back by an NDA or may not have been told specifics other than "We are working on these things" from Sega of Japan.

@Frisk More info will probably come out in August.

one question to those who actually know about this kinda stuff...is it possible to release PSO2NG on a single server for the global audience? as in having 1 data server with different ships on it for everyone? or would that be impossible to do and completly out of reach?

@JuggernautGTX said in PSO2 in EU/ steam/ other platforms/regions ?:

one question to those who actually know about this kinda stuff...is it possible to release PSO2NG on a single server for the global audience? as in having 1 data server with different ships on it for everyone? or would that be impossible to do and completly out of reach?

The lag, THE LAG!

Also the howls of despair heard round the world every time there's a hiccup.

And the language barrier.

And the differing standards of censorship.

@JuggernautGTX it is possible but you don't want that to happen ever, language barrier and the overload of connections to 2 points will make the server pretty much umplayable, there's also that JP and NA don't have the same database in the servers so is better to just keep the servers separated and divided in more than 1

@JuggernautGTX If anything... having a completely separate client and version with its own updates and such is the more unlikely option as it increases the cost. Simply making the NA version a 'global version' is the cheaper option and looks like it may b what we are getting given that the MS Store displays regional ratings based on your store region (though as of n, its not the updated ratings... PSO2's PEGI rating is still shown as PEGI12 as opposed to PEGI16). Its also been how Phantasy Star releases are normally handled wherein normally the Japanese version is the only version to be separate while a 'global version' that everyone plays on co-exists (in fact... PSU and PSOBB didn't even have European servers, everyone played on the US hosted servers)

If we are lucky, Ships 4-6 may become the optional European Ships for those worried about latency.

UPDATE since I didn't realize that you were referring also to having Japanese players all on the same server. Basically no due to the following differences:

• Differences in infrastructure: JP's servers run on physical server farms whereas NA's servers are hosted using MS Azure.
• Differences in authentication methods: The way that data would most likely carry over between the two is via the use of the same authentication form. In the Japanese version, you use a Japanese exclusive service known as SEGA ID to login. In the NA version this has been replaced with Xbox Live functionalities as SEGA has no use of the SEGA ID system in the West (other than PSO2, its mainly used in arcades and a whole bunch of mobile games not available in the West).
• Difference in Platforms: NGS is releasing on the platforms PSO2 is on in their particular regions.
• Differences in Content: This is going into datamine territory... although a large amount of collabs are within NA's files, a large amount had also been removed. A few of these are pretty obvious... licensing issues (did we really expect that collabs based on real life brands and stores would make it here? Plus what about the Sony collabs when the West's version is MS centric?). If SEGA's really planning to bring all the costumes over to NGS.... well they are in a bind cause if they choose to make it all be on a single server.... they'd have to either remove the collabs that wouldn't be able to make it internationally and potentially piss off their Japanese fanbase, their number one priority.

@Anarchy-Marine , I wouldn't count on August. The only thing confirmed for August is that Episode 4's coming out, but they never gave a specific period as to when the Steam and Global release are happening other than that its happening within this year. For all we know, we may not see it till December...

@JuggernautGTX said in PSO2 in EU/ steam/ other platforms/regions ?:

one question to those who actually know about this kinda stuff...is it possible to release PSO2NG on a single server for the global audience? as in having 1 data server with different ships on it for everyone? or would that be impossible to do and completly out of reach?

Yes and no. It is possible, though technically it would not be one single server, but multiple servers constantly syncing with one another. I believe FFXIV is looking to do something similar to allow for cross data server gameplay. However, it is a very ambitious thing.

I'll use FFXIV's current set up as the example as PSO2NA uses cloud servers which I don't have as thorough of an understanding as a traditional server setup. Also note, this isn't my area of expertise. I am simply referring to an explanation a friend of mine who does these sort of things as their career.

In FFXIV there are currently data centers in North America, Europe, and Japan. These data centers are separate and currently do not, under general circumstances, transfer data or otherwise communicate with one another. For cross data center to be a thing, there would need to essentially be a cross region communication data center in each region that communicates with the nearest regional data center while syncing up with the other cross region communication data centers.

So say this was set up and someone in North America wanted to play with a friend in Japan. The regional data center in North America would be transferring data to and from the cross region communication data center which is constantly syncing data between it and the other cross region communication data center, like the cross region communication data center in Japan that is communicating with the Japanese regional data center. It's an incredibly modern networking method and a very expensive one to implement. However, it is possible to have low latency long distance communication between two distant legions.

So it would technically be possible for PSO2 to do this. I am not sure if it is a good idea for PSO2 to do it, due to the differences between the NA and JP servers. It may be possible with NGS due to how it is a new system and it can standardize the items that are brought in from PSO2. There would still be a language barrier, but that can be dealt with. I believe it was possible in PSO1, when it was on the Dreamcast, for NA and JP players to play together. There was a world select system that allowed for preset phrases to be translated across different languages. However, it would still be an astronomical amount of work and also cost an astronomical amount.

I wouldn't mind this being possible, especially if it opens the possibility of being able to server transfer to Japan... mostly for personal reasons. Before covid-19 caused everything to go into lockdown, I was actually in the process of being interviewed for a potential internship in Japan that could had lead to a full time job after my graduation. While current circumstances have basically put that on indefinite hold, I'm hoping that it may happen sometime in the future and it would be really nice to be able to be able to keep using my character in PSO2. I doubt this would ever happen, but I can dream.

@Archetype-Luna Just a small note but... in my original response I didn't realize they were referring to having JP on the same server...

@Leonkh99 said in PSO2 in EU/ steam/ other platforms/regions ?:

@Archetype-Luna Just a small note but... in my original response I didn't realize they were referring to having JP on the same server...

It's probably not going to be a thing. Despite it being possible, it is also very expensive and would require so much work that is likely not not possible unless they had planned on doing this way way back.

You know, if Isao Okawa was still around and was still the chairman of Sega, I could actually see him trying to do something like this. That man was a legend. He personally paid for free internet access for one year to be bundled with each Dreamcast in Japan so PSO1 could have online play.

@Archetype-Luna Yeah, though rn unless a future installment is a full on fresh start... there are just too many things that would get in the way of it all such as how collab items that weren't licensed for the West would be handled or how the authentication form is different between regions.

The only way we could see a 'global PSO3' in the future (2031 perhaps? heh) is if the following things were to happen:

• SEGA developed their SEGA ID system further into a global service usable by other games.
• Used the same server-hosting solutions for the same game.
• Had a localization team working closely with the devs (something that appears to be the case with NGS given there's hints they had begun localizing the game already while its still in development + how the announcement thus far have been seemingly identical to their Japanese counterpart)

If a EU release came I would jump in.. it's annoying not knowing how the accounts will work which is why im not really invested in the NA account, if I knew my account cosmetics etc carried over to the EU release, i'd spend money.

With PSO2 G coming, they can't leave it too late. They would have to cram in so much content that NA have had already it would be chaotic. Unless they just brought it up to the same stage as what NA is at and both have content released at the same time etc.. but then again that would suck for people who have missed already released MTX.

And if it did come, would it have a separate team than the NA one or would it likely be managed by them?

So many questions.. SEGA pls

@Nevzat Microsoft accounts are not region locked unlike PSN or Nintendo Accounts. What 'region' you are in is based on your platform's setting (Windows 10 region or Xbox One region).

The fact that the current NA version displays the different regional ratings already depending on what store region you are in indicates that they aren't going to make a separate EU client with its own server, updates and team behind it but rather just making the current NA version become a 'global version'. In this scenario, starting to play right now before its 'officially' out in Europe just means that when its officially out you'll be able to buy AC without needing to change regions and your friends can get the game in their library without needing to change their region... but one time that the game's in your library, it stays there regardless what region your account's set to.

On another note... I keep on seeing people ask about an EU 'version' (as opposed to just releasing the current NA release in Europe)... is this really something many people think will happen? ya know... despite it being unheard of for the franchise and only really being a thing for MMOs with different publishers in Europe?