FFXI & The HDD: The 1st PS2 Killer-App for 2004

[AOE Enforcer]

Sony has gone on a massive marketing campaign for the new Final Fantasy XI & HDD bundle. Electronics Boutique and GameStop both have huge displays front & center in their stores. I'm talking 36 X 48 cardboard standees.

Empty HDD boxes-exactly like what the bundle is going to come in are stacked in pyramids in both stores and there are stacks of really awesome, 12-page books with the Final Fantasy XI logo and the HDD logo on the cover.

A looping DVD demo runs constantly showing off what the HDD can do as well as in-game footage and descriptions of Final Fantasy XI. Very nice stuff. There are also retailer info packages that tell you everything that the HDD will do-including being bundled with a "refresh disk" that allows you to reformat the drive and utilize other utilities. Among them a way to defragment the HDD, something that Microsoft royally screwed up on and left out.

The clerk at GameStop told me and Apocalypse that they can't even take any more preorders because they already have so many.

So what's the point of this thread you ask? Simple-every Xbot on this board has been saying how poorly peripherals do and that they never have heavy market penetration. Well, the Network Adapter has sold around 3 million units now-not including the ones bundled in with PS2 systems. Likewise, the HDD bundle will sell millions as well.

But the real shame in all this? The Xbox is a wanna-be PC, yet only real PC gamers and PS2 gamers will be able to play this game. And guess what? They can play together whether they are gaming on a PS2 or a PC. Very cool. :cool:

[Robert-The-Rambler]

Sony has gone on a massive marketing campaign for the new Final Fantasy XI & HDD bundle. Electronics Boutique and GameStop both have huge displays front & center in their stores. I'm talking 36 X 48 cardboard standees.

Empty HDD boxes-exactly like what the bundle is going to come in are stacked in pyramids in both stores and there are stacks of really awesome, 12-page books with the Final Fantasy XI logo and the HDD logo on the cover.

A looping DVD demo runs constantly showing off what the HDD can do as well as in-game footage and descriptions of Final Fantasy XI. Very nice stuff. There are also retailer info packages that tell you everything that the HDD will do-including being bundled with a "refresh disk" that allows you to reformat the drive and utilize other utilities. Among them a way to defragment the HDD, something that Microsoft royally screwed up on and left out.

The clerk at GameStop told me and Apocalypse that they can't even take any more preorders because they already have so many.

So what's the point of this thread you ask? Simple-every Xbot on this board has been saying how poorly peripherals do and that they never have heavy market penetration. Well, the Network Adapter has sold around 3 million units now-not including the ones bundled in with PS2 systems. Likewise, the HDD bundle will sell millions as well.

But the real shame in all this? The Xbox is a wanna-be PC, yet only real PC gamers and PS2 gamers will be able to play this game. And guess what? They can play together whether they are gaming on a PS2 or a PC. Very cool. :cool:

I couldn't care less.

[Glockstar]

I couldn't care less.

One thing AOEE failed to mention was that you have to buy the HDD and FF-XI together! Sony and Square-Enix made it official yesterday... there is no other way to buy either!

So... it'll be interesting to see just how much other people still care for Final Fantasy, when this thing launches come late March, eh? $99.99 is how much they'll have to care - at the very least, I know that for sure. :p

One last thing about this package dealio... I think it's a pretty weird thing that the game is coming pre-installed on the hard-drive, and that there won't be any game disc. So while they say the HDD is 40GB big, I wonder how much of that is taken up by FF-XI - if any?!?

(After AOEE's (supposed) misfortunes with his XBox, I'm surprised to hear that he's that "excited" about an upcoming game that will be forever locked-onto a harddrive. Especially considering that it's one made by that incompetent Sony company!)

So is 2004 the year of the MMORPG, or what?!?
Every console is getting at least one! The PS2 has already seen one such game come out - the very recently released EOA: Champions of Norrath (which is, curiously, a Sony 1st-party title - and costs nothing to play on-line) - and now in just about a month they'll be getting another. Btw, has anybody heard if there's going to be any fees involved for FF-XI? The GameCube is getting it's second on-line game (in as many years) here in a couple of weeks with Phantasty Star Online Episode III C.A.R.D. Revolution, while the XBox is set to get theirs much later in the year (True Fantasy Live Online, tentatively scheduled for September). Whew.

[AOE The Apocalypse]

I couldn't care less.
I can't say I am the biggest FF fan in the world but after seeing the demo for the new game it got me hooked. I plan on buying the HD for the PS2 no matter what and getting a quality game like FF with it just feels like an added extra. Hell I am happy that the FF game will work with dial-up and broad-band both it will allow more gamers to enjoy the gaming experience. I like the idea that Enforcer and I will be able to play as a group to fight together in the game. It is an experience that will give friends a chance to work together to take gaming to a whole new level.

[T.Tashi]

Champions of Norrath isn't a MMORPG. Aside from both being rpgs, they're very different games.

The popualrity of FFXI speaks for itself. Square has made its money from 200,000+ gamers in Japan and PC users in N.A. PS2 in the U.S. is just the last stop for an already popular game. It'll sell.

I don't like the $13 a month tho... so I'm not sure I'm getting it yet. Although since the AoE guys are gettin it, maybe we could form a AoE clan. Gwahaha! Although one thing I do like... as expensive as it will be to play FFXI you're liable to get more serious gamers and not the ahole, "I have no online etiquette and no teamwork skills - I'm gonna sing in the mic - pre-teens yelling "look at her boobies!" crap kinda players I've encountered on Norrath. Free is not always a good thing. Yeah I was a noob once, but I wasn't a jerk tho... jeesh where do these people come from? RE outbreak has a fixed and limited communication system. I thought this sucked when I read about it, but I can see the beauty of having communication that's strictly related to gameplay.

[AOE Enforcer]

One thing AOEE failed to mention was that you have to buy the HDD and FF-XI together! Sony and Square-Enix made it official yesterday... there is no other way to buy either!

So... it'll be interesting to see just how much other people still care for Final Fantasy, when this thing launches come late March, eh? $99.99 is how much they'll have to care - at the very least, I know that for sure. :p

One last thing about this package dealio... I think it's a pretty weird thing that the game is coming pre-installed on the hard-drive, and that there won't be any game disc. So while they say the HDD is 40GB big, I wonder how much of that is taken up by FF-XI - if any?!?

(After AOEE's (supposed) misfortunes with his XBox, I'm surprised to hear that he's that "excited" about an upcoming game that will be forever locked-onto a harddrive. Especially considering that it's one made by that incompetent Sony company!)

So is 2004 the year of the MMORPG, or what?!?
Every console is getting at least one! The PS2 has already seen one such game come out - the very recently released EOA: Champions of Norrath (which is, curiously, a Sony 1st-party title - and costs nothing to play on-line) - and now in just about a month they'll be getting another. Btw, has anybody heard if there's going to be any fees involved for FF-XI? The GameCube is getting it's second on-line game (in as many years) here in a couple of weeks with Phantasty Star Online Episode III C.A.R.D. Revolution, while the XBox is set to get theirs much later in the year (True Fantasy Live Online, tentatively scheduled for September). Whew.

Uhmmm...where are you getting your info? The package includes:

PS2 40 Gig HDD
Final Fantasy XI (yes, a game disc in a case w/a manual and also pre-installed)
Refresh Disc (to format and clean up the HDD)
Utilities Disc (with a jukebox, deoms and more)
One month free play on "PlayOnline"

While the game comes pre-installed, there are certain things you have to copy over from the game disc before you can play. This also ensures that you can't take the HDD out and put it into a friends PS2 and play the game. It's tied to your PS2. If there is ever a problem, the full version of FFXI is on the game disc.

The monthly fee to play FFXI after the trial period is $12.95 a month, just like Phantasy Star Online. If...and I mean IF the game is as good as I hear it is and really pulls me in, I would consider playing it past the trial period.

[AOE Enforcer]

Champions of Norrath isn't a MMORPG. Aside from both being rpgs, they're very different games.

The popualrity of FFXI speaks for itself. Square has made its money from 200,000+ gamers in Japan and PC users in N.A. PS2 in the U.S. is just the last stop for an already popular game. It'll sell.

I don't like the $13 a month tho... so I'm not sure I'm getting it yet. Although since the AoE guys are gettin it, maybe we could form a AoE clan. Gwahaha! Although one thing I do like... as expensive as it will be to play FFXI you're liable to get more serious gamers and not the ahole, "I have no online etiquette and no teamwork skills - I'm gonna sing in the mic - pre-teens yelling "look at her boobies!" crap kinda players I've encountered on Norrath. Free is not always a good thing. Yeah I was a noob once, but I wasn't a jerk tho... jeesh where do these people come from? RE outbreak has a fixed and limited communication system. I thought this sucked when I read about it, but I can see the beauty of having communication that's strictly related to gameplay.

That's actually not a bad idea Tashi. It would be cool to form an "AOE" clan. I'm not sure how clans work on the game, but we could at least identify ourselves with AOE in our name or something of that nature. I'll have the package on the 24th (the day it comes out) of March and Apocalypse should have it shortly afterward. I'll let you know how it is.

[T.Tashi]

That's actually not a bad idea Tashi. It would be cool to form an "AOE" clan. I'm not sure how clans work on the game, but we could at least identify ourselves with AOE in our name or something of that nature. I'll have the package on the 24th (the day it comes out) of March and Apocalypse should have it shortly afterward. I'll let you know how it is.
Ok cool. I look forward to it. Actually now that I think about it I thought there was some server issue that made it hard for friends to hook up? Like you can't choose your server like in PSO.

[Glockstar]

Champions of Norrath isn't a MMORPG. Aside from both being rpgs, they're very different games.

The popualrity of FFXI speaks for itself. Square has made its money from 200,000+ gamers in Japan and PC users in N.A. PS2 in the U.S. is just the last stop for an already popular game. It'll sell.

I don't like the $13 a month tho... so I'm not sure I'm getting it yet. Although since the AoE guys are gettin it, maybe we could form a AoE clan. Gwahaha! Although one thing I do like... as expensive as it will be to play FFXI you're liable to get more serious gamers and not the ahole, "I have no online etiquette and no teamwork skills - I'm gonna sing in the mic - pre-teens yelling "look at her boobies!" crap kinda players I've encountered on Norrath. Free is not always a good thing. Yeah I was a noob once, but I wasn't a jerk tho... jeesh where do these people come from? RE outbreak has a fixed and limited communication system. I thought this sucked when I read about it, but I can see the beauty of having communication that's strictly related to gameplay.

I'll bet you wish had a "Friends" list now, hah?!?
GWAHAHAHAHA!

The numbers you gave really do not speak all that well of FF-XI's popularity. I'm not up on Japanese news, so you'll have to clarify for me when the PS2 game went on sale over there, and how many copies it sold.

I have seen reports of 500,000+ registered users for FF-XI though. But that's worldwide, and that includes PC gamers. (The only neat thing about this game, to me, is that PS2 gamers and PC gamers get to play against/with each other.) But because PC systems already comes with a harddrive (duh), you know that the vast majority of these users are PC'ers. And that's the way I expect it to continue, even after the release of this... controversial... P2 harddrive. Btw the PC game was released here in NA almost 4 months ago.

I think it's quite telling when this game doesn't crack the Top 10 Most Popular lists of other web-sites - on neither the "available now" nor the "coming soon" charts, of neither the PS2 nor the PC.

So tell me... why don't you consider CoN to be an MMORPG?
It's an RPG. It's On-line. And it's Multi-player. I guess, because it isn't Massive enough?

[Renzatic Gear]

Actually, Need for Speed Underground lets PC players go up against PS2 players online. FFXI isn't the first game that's done that before.

Wish MS would let Xboxers go up against the PC guys one day..but they probably won't ever do that.

[Thrower, WCG-Fanboy Flame]

If Everquest the most played MMORPG in NA will flop on the PS2 so will this. This game is too big an investment for console gamers. I don't think console gamers are willing to pay monthly fee's for a game (again look at EQ) I think that the only people who are really going to want to play this game and make the investment are people who already play these type game and if they are playing them already why play it on the PS2 instead of a PC? Where it will be cheaper.

I know FFXI is supposed to be a lot better game but since when did quality translate to sales?

AOE = <b>A</b>sses <b>O</b>f <b>E</b>ntry ? Holy Michael Jackson Batman what exactly is the role of the enforcer in this group? Be careful Tashi!

[folken001]

Champions of Norrath isn't a MMORPG. Aside from both being rpgs, they're very different games.

The popualrity of FFXI speaks for itself. Square has made its money from 200,000+ gamers in Japan and PC users in N.A. PS2 in the U.S. is just the last stop for an already popular game. It'll sell.

I don't like the $13 a month tho... so I'm not sure I'm getting it yet. Although since the AoE guys are gettin it, maybe we could form a AoE clan. Gwahaha! Although one thing I do like... as expensive as it will be to play FFXI you're liable to get more serious gamers and not the ahole, "I have no online etiquette and no teamwork skills - I'm gonna sing in the mic - pre-teens yelling "look at her boobies!" crap kinda players I've encountered on Norrath. Free is not always a good thing. Yeah I was a noob once, but I wasn't a jerk tho... jeesh where do these people come from? RE outbreak has a fixed and limited communication system. I thought this sucked when I read about it, but I can see the beauty of having communication that's strictly related to gameplay.
Yea, 13 dollars is a killer. But, according to a lot of people, FFXI is worth it. Now, as far as HDD goes, I hope it comes out a standalone version. Otherwise, I'll just install my own HDD to it.

[AOE The Apocalypse]

That's actually not a bad idea Tashi. It would be cool to form an "AOE" clan. I'm not sure how clans work on the game, but we could at least identify ourselves with AOE in our name or something of that nature. I'll have the package on the 24th (the day it comes out) of March and Apocalypse should have it shortly afterward. I'll let you know how it is.
The AOE group would be cool but I have the feeling that we would become the center of attack from other players. I do imagine that the entirety of the AOE could kick some ass online. We could use our intellect and rapier wit to rule the masses HAHAHAHA!!!!!! Or as some other person would say, WE could put the smack down on some candy asses!! When I do buy a HD and can play the FF game I think i am going to love it.HELL 12.95 a month is not that bad I would be willing to pay it if I have a good time. In the booklet for the FF game it say's you can hook up with your friends,or meet and greet new adventurers. I take this to mean that they figure friends will want to form thier own groups and have already figured out a way to allow us to play together.

["The Game"Evolution]

The AOE group would be cool but I have the feeling that we would become the center of attack from other players. I do imagine that the entirety of the AOE could kick some ass online. We could use our intellect and rapier wit to rule the masses HAHAHAHA!!!!!! Or as some other person would say, WE could put the smack down on some candy asses!! When I do buy a HD and can play the FF game I think i am going to love it.HELL 12.95 a month is not that bad I would be willing to pay it if I have a good time. In the booklet for the FF game it say's you can hook up with your friends,or meet and greet new adventurers. I take this to mean that they figure friends will want to form thier own groups and have already figured out a way to allow us to play together.
Less headache buying it for the PC.And a lot cheaper too.Dont you think? Dont get me wrong a FF game with over 100 hours of gameplay is all good but is it all worth it for $100 bucks?(Not even counting the fees & how much per character) I'm pretty sure its less crap to worry about on the PC version.

[MoNkEy MaN X]

I would like to say as somebody that has played FFXI that the game is garbage. I bought it because a friend was raving about it, but it turned out to be no more than a Everquest that is dolled up. Same boring combat, same taking 2 hours to get prepped to quest, same taking forever to earn up levels just for nothing. These games just leave me with no sense of accomplishment. Now, something like Planetside could have been cool, too bad for the bugs and lag problems.

Also for you peoples that want to log into the same world(server) as your buds, get ready to create and erase characters over and over. You don't have the ability to choose the world you play on unless your friend buys an expensive world pass in the game, and for people starting out, you can not afford it. I knew I should have just threw the game out after having to create and delete my character over and over just to start on the same world as my friend.

Aside from that, the game is generally boring. The quests are plain and the combat is dull. The music gets ultra repetitive, especially battle music because there is only 1 battle and outside world music for that game, well at least for the first 10 hours that I played.

They should really offer the HDD at 50 bux insted of making you buy the "package deal". I'm really sick of "package deals" at this point. Dealing with your video game purchases shouldn't be like getting phone service or cable service.

[Glockstar]

I would like to say as somebody that has played FFXI that the game is garbage. I bought it because a friend was raving about it, but it turned out to be no more than a Everquest that is dolled up. Same boring combat, same taking 2 hours to get prepped to quest, same taking forever to earn up levels just for nothing. These games just leave me with no sense of accomplishment. Now, something like Planetside could have been cool, too bad for the bugs and lag problems.

Also for you peoples that want to log into the same world(server) as your buds, get ready to create and erase characters over and over. You don't have the ability to choose the world you play on unless your friend buys an expensive world pass in the game, and for people starting out, you can not afford it. I knew I should have just threw the game out after having to create and delete my character over and over just to start on the same world as my friend.

Aside from that, the game is generally boring. The quests are plain and the combat is dull. The music gets ultra repetitive, especially battle music because there is only 1 battle and outside world music for that game, well at least for the first 10 hours that I played.

They should really offer the HDD at 50 bux insted of making you buy the "package deal". I'm really sick of "package deals" at this point. Dealing with your video game purchases shouldn't be like getting phone service or cable service.

That's what's so not killer about this "dealio"... the two (the game and the harddrive) are forever intertwined. Meaning: for those people that just wanted the harddrive and thought that they could buy the bundle and then trade in the game... you can't; or for those people that just wanted the game, but didn't really want the harddrive, so were thinking of just buying into this "deal" and then trading the harddrive in... you can't. This "deal" is going to cost you $100 whether you want both or not. And you're stuck with both, whether you like it or not.

["The Game"Evolution]

I would like to say as somebody that has played FFXI that the game is garbage. I bought it because a friend was raving about it, but it turned out to be no more than a Everquest that is dolled up. Same boring combat, same taking 2 hours to get prepped to quest, same taking forever to earn up levels just for nothing. These games just leave me with no sense of accomplishment. Now, something like Planetside could have been cool, too bad for the bugs and lag problems.

Also for you peoples that want to log into the same world(server) as your buds, get ready to create and erase characters over and over. You don't have the ability to choose the world you play on unless your friend buys an expensive world pass in the game, and for people starting out, you can not afford it. I knew I should have just threw the game out after having to create and delete my character over and over just to start on the same world as my friend.

Aside from that, the game is generally boring. The quests are plain and the combat is dull. The music gets ultra repetitive, especially battle music because there is only 1 battle and outside world music for that game, well at least for the first 10 hours that I played.

They should really offer the HDD at 50 bux insted of making you buy the "package deal". I'm really sick of "package deals" at this point. Dealing with your video game purchases shouldn't be like getting phone service or cable service.

I know we havent seen eye to eye in the past.But let me be the first to extend my hand to you and say lets start off this year with no hard feelings from the past Monkey Man X.Anything else that I've done to ya I apologize.

Other than that dont you think buying the PC version of FF XI would be better than buying into this $100 dollar bundle with the Sony HDD? I do.

[T.Tashi]

I'll bet you wish had a "Friends" list now, hah?!?
GWAHAHAHAHA!

The numbers you gave really do not speak all that well of FF-XI's popularity. I'm not up on Japanese news, so you'll have to clarify for me when the PS2 game went on sale over there, and how many copies it sold.

I have seen reports of 500,000+ registered users for FF-XI though. But that's worldwide, and that includes PC gamers. (The only neat thing about this game, to me, is that PS2 gamers and PC gamers get to play against/with each other.) But because PC systems already comes with a harddrive (duh), you know that the vast majority of these users are PC'ers. And that's the way I expect it to continue, even after the release of this... controversial... P2 harddrive. Btw the PC game was released here in NA almost 4 months ago.

I think it's quite telling when this game doesn't crack the Top 10 Most Popular lists of other web-sites - on neither the "available now" nor the "coming soon" charts, of neither the PS2 nor the PC.

So tell me... why don't you consider CoN to be an MMORPG?
It's an RPG. It's On-line. And it's Multi-player. I guess, because it isn't Massive enough?
Yeah not having a friend's list sucks. When you do come across the occasional good/great player, you have no way to keep track of him/her. And really it's not even how good and bad someone is gameplay wise. It's that there's a lot of a$$holes online.

Multi-player in this case is limited to 4 people, so yeah it's multi-player by definition, but unlike real mmorpgs where you potentially can interact with any number of people, in-game on the same sever. I can run around EQ and interact with anyone else I see. And in FFXI, you can have team of 6. You can team up with 2 other teams for an alliance of 18. Massive? Noway. It's a huge game by a console definition, and the levels do regenerate, but like Phantasy Star the world is static and nonpersistent. Some may argue but anyone's who's played a real mmorpg would agree with me I think.

I think Sony and Square wanted a sizable user base before they launched the thing on PS2 here in the states. they were very conservative releasing it in Japan very early first (they were the guinea pigs and it had a lot of problems) and then trying the waters out here with a PC release. The people that sign on won't make or break them at this point. But with a userbase of 30 mil, I'm sure they'll get another 100,000 easily, assuming there's no shortage of HDDs.

[MoNkEy MaN X]

I know we havent seen eye to eye in the past.But let me be the first to extend my hand to you and say lets start off this year with no hard feelings from the past Monkey Man X.Anything else that I've done to ya I apologize.

Other than that dont you think buying the PC version of FF XI would be better than buying into this $100 dollar bundle with the Sony HDD? I do.

Well, I think it is better to buy neither version but if you feel like being bored and going through the hassel of FFXI then the PC is the way to go. I guess the PS2 version would be alright if people don't have up to the times PCs and feel like being bored.

My reccomendation, don't purchase the HDD till it gets released seperately. Figure they will eventually.

[AOE The Apocalypse]

Less headache buying it for the PC.And a lot cheaper too.Dont you think? Dont get me wrong a FF game with over 100 hours of gameplay is all good but is it all worth it for $100 bucks?(Not even counting the fees & how much per character) I'm pretty sure its less crap to worry about on the PC version.
I plan on buying the HD any-way so i figure I should get something extra for my money. I have not played everquest or phantasy star because it is nothing that peaks my interest. I do like the FF series though and can get behind it. I would buy it for the PC but I figure why waste the money for something I can get for free. I intend on trying out the FF game and if I don't like it or get bored with it oh well I still have the HD and I am not really out any money. Acording to gamespot FF takes up 5 gigs of HD space which I can cope with.At EB there is a deal where I can get the HD for 50 bucks for trading in 4 crappy games I am bored with so I cansave some money.

[Daman_He_Hate_Me]

PS2 users are such blind sheep, its incredible. We've been telling them how great it is to play online and they always discounted it. Now that the PS2 is finally starting to marginally use their horrid network, PS2 fans are starting to make some noise, but not much. Now all of a sudden they are making a lot of noise, and what led the sheep? FinalFantasy, an old tired franchise, but the sheep have been led by the nose. The same ones who thought it was a rip to pay MS $50 a year to play on LIVE, now think its okay to pay $13, oh wait $12.95 is that a month? To play one stupid game? Talk about hypocrisy, this takes the cake. Then on top of that, the same guys who complain you gotta buy a remote to play DVDs, are ready to fork out $100 bucks, oh i'm sorry $99 for a hardrive or a game, or both, whether you want both or not. I guess now all those chuckles about Steel Battalion, don't seem so funny, hunh AOE? Let me see, a $40 network adapter, $100 game and HD, and $12.95 a month. $163 bucks and counting with incremental fee charges...

Actually, it will be interesting to see how well this thing does though. Because maybe how well it does or doesnt do will be watched closely by MS and factor into their decision about putting a HD into XBOX2 or offering it as a bundle.

Anyway, like I said before, welcome to the next generation, finally PS2 users.

Sony exec#1 - "I've discovered away to suck away extra money from PS2 users."
Sony exec#2 - "You've have?"
Sony exec#1 - "I've invented a hardrive, but we won't include in the machine, we'll make them pay $100 extra for it!"
Sony exec#2 - "Make them pay a hundred dollars extra?"
Both Sony execs- "BRILLIANT!"
Enjoy Sony Products Responsibly.....

[Daman_He_Hate_Me]

I plan on buying the HD any-way so i figure I should get something extra for my money. I have not played everquest or phantasy star because it is nothing that peaks my interest. I do like the FF series though and can get behind it. I would buy it for the PC but I figure why waste the money for something I can get for free. I intend on trying out the FF game and if I don't like it or get bored with it oh well I still have the HD and I am not really out any money. Acording to gamespot FF takes up 5 gigs of HD space which I can cope with.At EB there is a deal where I can get the HD for 50 bucks for trading in 4 crappy games I am bored with so I cansave some money.


So let me get this right, you can buy the game on the PC for what $40 bucks, but you are gonna buy it on the PS2 for $100, plus a hardrive that no other games will use, but you want the hardrive any? Then you can trade in four games, wow only four, why not 5 or 6, guess you got lucky with four(probably restricted at that), to get $50 off.

WOW......"BRILLIANT"

[PapaSmurf]

PS2 users are such blind sheep, its incredible. We've been telling them how great it is to play online and they always discounted it. Now that the PS2 is finally starting to marginally use their horrid network, PS2 fans are starting to make some noise, but not much. Now all of a sudden they are making a lot of noise, and what led the sheep? FinalFantasy, an old tired franchise, but the sheep have been led by the nose. The same ones who thought it was a rip to pay MS $50 a year to play on LIVE, now think its okay to pay $13, oh wait $12.95 is that a month? To play one stupid game? Talk about hypocrisy, this takes the cake. Then on top of that, the same guys who complain you gotta buy a remote to play DVDs, are ready to fork out $100 bucks, oh i'm sorry $99 for a hardrive or a game, or both, whether you want both or not. I guess now all those chuckles about Steel Battalion, don't seem so funny, hunh AOE? Let me see, a $40 network adapter, $100 game and HD, and $12.95 a month. $163 bucks and counting with incremental fee charges...

Actually, it will be interesting to see how well this thing does though. Because maybe how well it does or doesnt do will be watched closely by MS and factor into their decision about putting a HD into XBOX2 or offering it as a bundle.

Anyway, like I said before, welcome to the next generation, finally PS2 users.

Sony exec#1 - "I've discovered away to suck away extra money from PS2 users."
Sony exec#2 - "You've have?"
Sony exec#1 - "I've invented a hardrive, but we won't include in the machine, we'll make them pay $100 extra for it!"
Sony exec#2 - "Make them pay a hundred dollars extra?"
Both Sony execs- "BRILLIANT!"
Enjoy Sony Products Responsibly.....
Well than I guess all I got out of your post is we aren't the "cheap" gamers anymore as you've pointed out so many times before...

["The Game"Evolution]

So let me get this right, you can buy the game on the PC for what $40 bucks, but you are gonna buy it on the PS2 for $100, plus a hardrive that no other games will use, but you want the hardrive any? Then you can trade in four games, wow only four, why not 5 or 6, guess you got lucky with four(probably restricted at that), to get $50 off.

WOW......"BRILLIANT"

Notice how alot of them chooses to ignore the BS that they've been shoveling? Notice how when we mentioned that wouldnt be easier and cheaper to buy Final Fantasy XI on the PC instead of the PS2 console they completely ignored the issue? But when it comes to games that'll be on the Xbox the first thing that comes out their mouths is"Why buy it for the Xbox when you can buy a superior version on the PC?" You got to love those Sony loving Hypocrites.

Talk about a bunch of grade A BS!!! Can I get a witness Daman? TESTIFY!!!

[AOE Enforcer]

PS2 users are such blind sheep, its incredible. We've been telling them how great it is to play online and they always discounted it. Now that the PS2 is finally starting to marginally use their horrid network, PS2 fans are starting to make some noise, but not much. Now all of a sudden they are making a lot of noise, and what led the sheep? FinalFantasy, an old tired franchise, but the sheep have been led by the nose. The same ones who thought it was a rip to pay MS $50 a year to play on LIVE, now think its okay to pay $13, oh wait $12.95 is that a month? To play one stupid game? Talk about hypocrisy, this takes the cake. Then on top of that, the same guys who complain you gotta buy a remote to play DVDs, are ready to fork out $100 bucks, oh i'm sorry $99 for a hardrive or a game, or both, whether you want both or not. I guess now all those chuckles about Steel Battalion, don't seem so funny, hunh AOE? Let me see, a $40 network adapter, $100 game and HD, and $12.95 a month. $163 bucks and counting with incremental fee charges...

Actually, it will be interesting to see how well this thing does though. Because maybe how well it does or doesnt do will be watched closely by MS and factor into their decision about putting a HD into XBOX2 or offering it as a bundle.

Anyway, like I said before, welcome to the next generation, finally PS2 users.

Sony exec#1 - "I've discovered away to suck away extra money from PS2 users."
Sony exec#2 - "You've have?"
Sony exec#1 - "I've invented a hardrive, but we won't include in the machine, we'll make them pay $100 extra for it!"
Sony exec#2 - "Make them pay a hundred dollars extra?"
Both Sony execs- "BRILLIANT!"
Enjoy Sony Products Responsibly.....


I and Apocalypse are not buying the bundle for Final Fantasy XI per-se. We want the HDD for the helluvit. Get it? Just because we want to see what Sony does with it?

Final Fantasy XI will be a change for me. I became tired of the tried-and-true formula that the FF games followed. That's why I sold all of mine, and I had all of them. I bought Crystal Chronicles for the Gamecube because it offered a non-sequentially numbered title that didn't fit into the typical Final Fantasy mold. It's more action-oriented. I like that. Final Fantasy XI is also a radical departure from the norm of the series. No big CG cutscenes and online, multiplayer gaming. It also works pretty decently on dial-up which is the only online gaming solution I have at this moment.

For $100, I get the game, the 40-gig HDD, a refresh disk and all kinds of other bonuses like demos and a Jukebox that will (supposedly) work with Gran Turismo 4 for custom soundtracks. Actually, it's only $50 since I traded in 4 Xbox games to get $50 off. I traded in Quantum Redshift, Rallisport Challenge, Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance and Serious Sam. Yeah, I missed out on some great gaming there. :rolleyes:

When I bought my PS2, I didn't get it with the expectation of having a built-in HDD. I didn't get it with the expectation of having a built-in Ethernet port. Sony came up with the idea and Microsoft tried to pull a coupe by throwing these parts into the Xbox at a huge loss that they continue to incur to this day. A loss that has them backpedaling-now cutting backwards compatibility out of the Xbox 2 and the HDD gets the axe as well. So when you buy your next Xbox, don't you feel like you are getting less for your money?

I bought the PS2 for the games on it. Games that-to this day-Microsoft has not matched. The games this year alone have me more excited than the entire library of Xbox titles. Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater, Gran Turismo 4, Final Fantasy XI, Resident Evil Outbreak, Life-Line, Nanobreaker, Jak III, Ratchet & Clank 3, Sly Cooper 2, more EyeToy games, Onimusha 3, Neo-Contra....there are so many great, exclusive games that I don't know how I am going to afford them all.

And you act like just getting an Xbox Live subscription is all it costs to game online with Xbox. HAH! Gee....I guess that's why they charge around $10 a month to play Phantasy Star Online over Xbox Live, right? Or how 'bouts those $12.95 per month fees that Xbox owners will pay to play True Fantasy Live Online? Oh....nothing to say about that now?

FinalFantasy, an old tired franchise

Tired? Hardly...they sell millions upon millions of copies of each game released in this revered series. LIke I said, they are not necessarily for me. But Final Fantasy XI looks interesting enough to gamble four crappy Xbox games and $50. Oh wait....I traded in a couple more Xbox games and got $50 plus $25 bonus for trading in 5 games. So basically all it has cost me is some crappy Xbox games that I hope to never hear the names of ever again.

[Deathstroke]

LOL, I can't wait to see Daman accuse me of everything in this thread the next time we argue.

["The Game"Evolution]

LOL, I can't wait to see Daman accuse me of everything in this thread the next time we argue.

The more I read on it the more I'm actually starting to lean towards buying it.After reading more about in the latest PSM I'm really considering buy it afterall.

[Daman_He_Hate_Me]

Well, AOE Enforcer(you take yourself wayyyyy to seriously)

You make absolutely no sense at all? You say you want to get the HD to see what Sony may do with it? Why don't you just use that $100 for lottery tickets or buy some stock, instead of speculating what Sony may do with a $100 HD on an old console that is about to be replaced. I'll bet you that before PS3, you won't 7 games that take advantage of that HD. But seeing as how you just throw money away. Let's see, you bought Quantum Redshift, Mortal Kombat, and Serious Sam, now you call them crap. How bad was the games available on PS2, that would make you think Quantum Redshift, MK, and Serious Sam were good games? Nobody on XBOX bought those games, however you buy an XBOX and don't have any sense and waste your money on those games. Now, you are about to waste more money on an unsupported HD. You seem to be lost. You didn't like FF, now you want to play it, blah blah blah. You just seem to be lost and don't have any kind of perspective as to what you even enjoy. I'll tell you how this happens, your fanboy loyalty, you are making yourself believe you are enjoying PS2, seems like to me.

By the way, Rallisport was a good game, you probably didn't like it though right?

["The Game"Evolution]

Well, AOE Enforcer(you take yourself wayyyyy to seriously)

You make absolutely no sense at all? You say you want to get the HD to see what Sony may do with it? Why don't you just use that $100 for lottery tickets or buy some stock, instead of speculating what Sony may do with a $100 HD on an old console that is about to be replaced. I'll bet you that before PS3, you won't 7 games that take advantage of that HD. But seeing as how you just throw money away. Let's see, you bought Quantum Redshift, Mortal Kombat, and Serious Sam, now you call them crap. How bad was the games available on PS2, that would make you think Quantum Redshift, MK, and Serious Sam were good games? Nobody on XBOX bought those games, however you buy an XBOX and don't have any sense and waste your money on those games. Now, you are about to waste more money on an unsupported HD. You seem to be lost. You didn't like FF, now you want to play it, blah blah blah. You just seem to be lost and don't have any kind of perspective as to what you even enjoy. I'll tell you how this happens, your fanboy loyalty, you are making yourself believe you are enjoying PS2, seems like to me.

By the way, Rallisport was a good game, you probably didn't like it though right?

Sometimes I dont think Enforcer knows what side hes on.

[Renzatic Gear]

But Daman, the PS2 Harddrive isn't $100..it comes with FFXI so you can assume that the thing is either $40 or $50 depending on the price of the game. If more games use it, it'd be well worth the price..considering that the PS2 still has another 2 years to go at least it'd be a good way to introduce everyone to the PS3 at the very least.

[Tappy_Tibbons]

What a bunch of SUCKERS.

BUY THIS BUY THAT ! WORSHIP SLOWNEY@!

[PapaSmurf]

What a bunch of SUCKERS.

BUY THIS BUY THAT ! WORSHIP SLOWNEY@!and the same would go for you except we'd change the "slowney" to MS

[Glockstar]

But Daman, the PS2 Harddrive isn't $100..it comes with FFXI so you can assume that the thing is either $40 or $50 depending on the price of the game. If more games use it, it'd be well worth the price..considering that the PS2 still has another 2 years to go at least it'd be a good way to introduce everyone to the PS3 at the very least.

Same could be said about XBox Live, Beer. But we've had to listen to faulty math calculations and excuses for over a year now!

Did you know that there are well over 50 XBL enabled games available now? 38 of which, at least, feature on-line multi-player modes!?! (Would you like me to make a list?)Spread that over $50, why don'tcha!?! Oh wait, I'm sorry... $49.99!

The $50... I mean, $49.99... is further diffused by Downloadable Content and Leader Boards. The extra content you can download is certainly worth something, I'm sure you'd agree. What's more, so are the leaderboards. I'd pay good money just for an on-line worldwide leaderboard, seriously. Like what I've got now for Klax (and the rest of the Midway Arcade Treasures' games) - finally! :D

Plus not too mention, the "Friends" list! I can't tell you what a valuable feature this is. It's practically worth the $50 [$49.99 Glock! **bonk** $49.99! **bonk** C'mon! Get it right!] all by itself! It's a veritable service. To tell you the truth, I don't see how on-line gaming can succeed without it.

Now how's this PS2 harddrive divided up again?
By what, three games by years end? Maybe? And what else? Downloadable content, and some other things? Maybe?!? And you wanna call that worth the price?!? You wanna call that a value?!? Come onnnn...

Not too mention, the things only going to be good for two years! Pfffft. If the coppertops really buy into this thing, then they're bigger suckers than I ever would have thought! This thing is just another Sony moolah-sucking GIMMICK - and that's all!

And I'll tell you something else... if I know Sony - and I know Sony - these harddrives are probably going to cause a lot of people a lot of... aggravation. You watch... you'll be believing ole Glockstar in about two months... when news starts pouring in of these things going on the fritz left and right! Sony p's.o.s's.! You watch. You'll see.

[AOE The Apocalypse]

So let me get this right, you can buy the game on the PC for what $40 bucks, but you are gonna buy it on the PS2 for $100, plus a hardrive that no other games will use, but you want the hardrive any? Then you can trade in four games, wow only four, why not 5 or 6, guess you got lucky with four(probably restricted at that), to get $50 off.

WOW......"BRILLIANT"
HD that no other game will use for now but who knows what will be out in the forseeable future. I probably will just pay the 100 dollars for the HD just so I won't have to waste space on my PC. I would like to download music on to the HD. I have not ever played an online game(except diablo) and playing FF for free for the first month will give me an oppurtunitty to do so. If it is cool and I enjoy it I might re think playing other games. And as far as trading games in I am sure I am not the only person who has games they don't care for any more and are willing to get rid of to save 50 bucks.By the way I don't play games on my PC because i prefer to get comfortable and play on a consule system. I also don't feel like updating My PC every 6 months to keep up with all the other computer geeks trying to cheat towin just to make themselves feel better. Ps2 gaming will start everyone on equal footing and it will be easier for newbies to keep up.

["The Game"Evolution]

HD that no other game will use for now but who knows what will be out in the forseeable future. I probably will just pay the 100 dollars for the HD just so I won't have to waste space on my PC. I would like to download music on to the HD. I have not ever played an online game(except diablo) and playing FF for free for the first month will give me an oppurtunitty to do so. If it is cool and I enjoy it I might re think playing other games. And as far as trading games in I am sure I am not the only person who has games they don't care for any more and are willing to get rid of to save 50 bucks.By the way I don't play games on my PC because i prefer to get comfortable and play on a consule system. I also don't feel like updating My PC every 6 months to keep up with all the other computer geeks trying to cheat towin just to make themselves feel better. Ps2 gaming will start everyone on equal footing and it will be easier for newbies to keep up.

Thats the impression I'm getting from you here.

[Daman_He_Hate_Me]

But Daman, the PS2 Harddrive isn't $100..it comes with FFXI so you can assume that the thing is either $40 or $50 depending on the price of the game. If more games use it, it'd be well worth the price..considering that the PS2 still has another 2 years to go at least it'd be a good way to introduce everyone to the PS3 at the very least.

The problem is obvious, what if you don't want to buy the game, then you should be able to buy the HD alone, for $50. If MS did this, you know everyone would be all over them. Sony does it, "brilliant!" I just don't understand you people. But, the other thing is, there are no other games yet to even use it? This thing has already been out for some time in Japan. What games are gonna use it? GT4, maybe just for music, but with the problems they are having getting this game to run properly, why didn't they utilize the HD as a cache? I'm sure there are plenty of other PS2 games in development that are coming out this year, that could've used it, but it seems as though Sony themselves aren't even supporting it. It just looks like a money grab to me? Buy a $100 HD and wait for the games.

I hope this fails miserably on a personal note, because if it does, maybe MS will look at it and decide to put in the HD. But knowing the PS2 crowd, this thing will probably sell like spring water in hell.

["The Game"Evolution]

The problem is obvious, what if you don't want to buy the game, then you should be able to buy the HD alone, for $50. If MS did this, you know everyone would be all over them. Sony does it, "brilliant!" I just don't understand you people. But, the other thing is, there are no other games yet to even use it? This thing has already been out for some time in Japan. What games are gonna use it? GT4, maybe just for music, but with the problems they are having getting this game to run properly, why didn't they utilize the HD as a cache? I'm sure there are plenty of other PS2 games in development that are coming out this year, that could've used it, but it seems as though Sony themselves aren't even supporting it. It just looks like a money grab to me? Buy a $100 HD and wait for the games.

I hope this fails miserably on a personal note, because if it does, maybe MS will look at it and decide to put in the HD. But knowing the PS2 crowd, this thing will probably sell like spring water in hell.

I agree that when Sony does the things that MS has been hammered over time and time again its considered"brilliant."But anyone else does it its a criminal act.I can wait to see just how the Sony HDD does work with other games.I'm like you,I dont think this thing is going to be worth it in the long run for PS2 owners.Not at all.Makes me appriciate my built in HDD for my Xbox even more.

[AOE The Apocalypse]

Thats the impression I'm getting from you here.
I do not care for PC gaming because it ends up costing to much money in the long run.Not to mention it is a whole hell of a lot more comfortable to sit in the lazy-boy grab a controller sit back and game. Sitting at a keyboard and gaming for hours hurts the ass. Ther are some games that are best on PC like FPS but I see know reason to play A FF game on it it just does'nt feel right. I am sure you feel the same way. FF is a classic consule game and it seems best suited for consule. I plan on Updating my computer soon but I only really use it to get on the internet,use ebay,download music, and get out of watching all the chick flicks and shows that my wife likes LOL!!!

[Deathstroke]

Metal Gear Solid 3 will have downloadable content. Hideo Kojima mentioned something about it in one of the interviews. That'll sell a fair bit of harddrives. For the record, I still won't be getting it.

[thug]

Why would you get FFXI on the PS2 instead of the PC? I know there is the 'I'd rather sit on the couch and play than sit at a desk" argument, but:
1) You're going to be paying significantly more for the PS2 version because you have to buy the HDD with it.
2) There's a good possibility your PC is a smoother, faster running machine than your PS2.

Just wondering what's tempting about the PS2 version of FFXI?

[AOE The Apocalypse]

Why would you get FFXI on the PS2 instead of the PC? I know there is the 'I'd rather sit on the couch and play than sit at a desk" argument, but:
1) You're going to be paying significantly more for the PS2 version because you have to buy the HDD with it.
2) There's a good possibility your PC is a smoother, faster running machine than your PS2.

Just wondering what's tempting about the PS2 version of FFXI?
My home computer is decent but I don't have the best system in the world. I am not really worried about the money I gave up buying an Xbox for now so I can buy the HD. Hell I will take the 40 gigs of memory and be happy compared to 8 on the XB. I will end up downloading alot of music on the PS2 and if games like Grand Turismo 4 have custum sound tracks available I will really be happy. There really have not been that many games out in the last few months that have made me want to go out and buy them but after seeing the demo video it really has peaked my interest. I am not giving up on buying it for the PC I do agree it is cheaper to play on the PC but I plan on buying the HD anyway so at least I will get to try the game out for free for a month. If its decent and I enjoy it I will probably buy the Pc version to save money. If you get a chance check out the demo disk at your local game store and tell me if you like it.FF is going to have to be something really good to make me want to continue to play it. If it's not oh well I still have the HD and I know that I am going to use it. I try and baby my computer it costs a hell of a lot more money than a HD for the PS2 thats one of my big reasons for not loading it up with stuff I will never play, I like having a smooth running PC and taking all the memory for games is not something I like to do. I am Anal like that. :D

[AOE Enforcer]

Well, AOE Enforcer(you take yourself wayyyyy to seriously)

You make absolutely no sense at all? You say you want to get the HD to see what Sony may do with it? Why don't you just use that $100 for lottery tickets or buy some stock, instead of speculating what Sony may do with a $100 HD on an old console that is about to be replaced. I'll bet you that before PS3, you won't 7 games that take advantage of that HD. But seeing as how you just throw money away. Let's see, you bought Quantum Redshift, Mortal Kombat, and Serious Sam, now you call them crap. How bad was the games available on PS2, that would make you think Quantum Redshift, MK, and Serious Sam were good games? Nobody on XBOX bought those games, however you buy an XBOX and don't have any sense and waste your money on those games. Now, you are about to waste more money on an unsupported HD. You seem to be lost. You didn't like FF, now you want to play it, blah blah blah. You just seem to be lost and don't have any kind of perspective as to what you even enjoy. I'll tell you how this happens, your fanboy loyalty, you are making yourself believe you are enjoying PS2, seems like to me.

By the way, Rallisport was a good game, you probably didn't like it though right?

Are you posing a question about me not making sense? I'm confused about this. :confused:

Anyway, since you apparently share your friend's lack of reading comprehension skills, allow me to clarify for your low-IQ self.

I said I do not like the current Final Fantasy games. Too much CG and too linear for me. If you actually read my post, I said that I like Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and XI because these games ARE NOT CG fests. Crystal Chronicles is more of an action/RPG and XI is an online game that focuses on multiplayer. Got it now blockhead?

The PS2 is about to be replaced. Yeah...in 2006. That gives me 2 years + depending on what timeframe in 2006 that the PS3 is released. And what do you care about my money? Do I owe you something so I shouldn't spend my money on myself? Don't worry Daman...your welfare check and food stamps will be rolling in in about 4 days so you can buy you some more soups and tops and a new game for your precious Xbox.

You know nothing about the HDD so how can you say it is unsupported? Final Fantasy XI is the first game to use it. SOCOM II has downloadable content already on the way for it. Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater is already being programmed to utilize it. Gran Turismo 3 is having HDD features programmed in. Boy, there's four right off of the top of my head. Oh yeah, Syphon Filter Omega Strain.....you get the idea. Quit lying about something you know absolutely nothing about.

The rest of your post is typical nonsense, rambling and run-on sentences full of grammatical errors, poor spelling and word usage. And since you are so curious, those games you mention were quickly placed into the BARGAIN (see, that's how you spell it "Game") bin so I tossed a few bucks out for them.

[Daman_He_Hate_Me]

Are you posing a question about me not making sense? I'm confused about this. :confused:

Anyway, since you apparently share your friend's lack of reading comprehension skills, allow me to clarify for your low-IQ self.

I said I do not like the current Final Fantasy games. Too much CG and too linear for me. If you actually read my post, I said that I like Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and XI because these games ARE NOT CG fests. Crystal Chronicles is more of an action/RPG and XI is an online game that focuses on multiplayer. Got it now blockhead?

The PS2 is about to be replaced. Yeah...in 2006. That gives me 2 years + depending on what timeframe in 2006 that the PS3 is released. And what do you care about my money? Do I owe you something so I shouldn't spend my money on myself? Don't worry Daman...your welfare check and food stamps will be rolling in in about 4 days so you can buy you some more soups and tops and a new game for your precious Xbox.

You know nothing about the HDD so how can you say it is unsupported? Final Fantasy XI is the first game to use it. SOCOM II has downloadable content already on the way for it. Metal Gear Solid 3 Snake Eater is already being programmed to utilize it. Gran Turismo 3 is having HDD features programmed in. Boy, there's four right off of the top of my head. Oh yeah, Syphon Filter Omega Strain.....you get the idea. Quit lying about something you know absolutely nothing about.

The rest of your post is typical nonsense, rambling and run-on sentences full of grammatical errors, poor spelling and word usage. And since you are so curious, those games you mention were quickly placed into the BARGAIN (see, that's how you spell it "Game") bin so I tossed a few bucks out for them.

Hey man buy the HD, I hope you love it. I didn't mean to strike a nerve, it just seemed as though you lost your gaming rudder. If you can't see how it doesn't make sense, maybe you are too close to fire to see the flame. You are disappointed with the FF series, but you are willing to shell out $100 to see if this one suits you, but only $50 after you trade in a bunch of XBOX games, which oh by the way I hate XBOX and yet I have 4, 5, or 6 of the worst XBOX games freely here to trade in. Oh, but then I just want the HD anyway, cause some games are going to support, but we don't know how yet. Meanwhile, I hate XBOX cause they make you buy a remote to watch movies, but I love Sony cause they make me buy a $100 HD to play GAMES. Wheeeew!

Anyway, I love how you guys assume things about people, the other day someone was calling Darwin uneducated and dumb because he is not the best PC guy, idiots have no idea the man has more education and a better career than probably anyone esle on this board. And now you are calling me poor, imagine that.

[AOE Enforcer]

Hey man buy the HD, I hope you love it. I didn't mean to strike a nerve, it just seemed as though you lost your gaming rudder. If you can't see how it doesn't make sense, maybe you are too close to fire to see the flame. You are disappointed with the FF series, but you are willing to shell out $100 to see if this one suits you, but only $50 after you trade in a bunch of XBOX games, which oh by the way I hate XBOX and yet I have 4, 5, or 6 of the worst XBOX games freely here to trade in. Oh, but then I just want the HD anyway, cause some games are going to support, but we don't know how yet. Meanwhile, I hate XBOX cause they make you buy a remote to watch movies, but I love Sony cause they make me buy a $100 HD to play GAMES. Wheeeew!

Anyway, I love how you guys assume things about people, the other day someone was calling Darwin uneducated and dumb because he is not the best PC guy, idiots have no idea the man has more education and a better career than probably anyone esle on this board. And now you are calling me poor, imagine that.

You are missing my point Daman: This Final Fantasy (XI) suits me because it doesn't have the linear gameplay and CG cutscense-galore that the series normally has. It's difference and hence I will play it.

The HDD/FFXI bundle didn't cost me $50. I traded in 5 games, got the $50 off plus another $25 bonus trade-in credit for trading in five games. The last $25 I got off by trading in the GTA bundle. Big whoop.

["The Game"Evolution]

You are missing my point Daman: This Final Fantasy (XI) suits me because it doesn't have the linear gameplay and CG cutscense-galore that the series normally has. It's difference and hence I will play it.

The HDD/FFXI bundle didn't cost me $50. I traded in 5 games, got the $50 off plus another $25 bonus trade-in credit for trading in five games. The last $25 I got off by trading in the GTA bundle. Big whoop.

I thought I read that somewhere that you can use the Sony HDD without it? Am I right on this or am I wrong on this? Does anyone know?

[AOE The Apocalypse]

I thought I read that somewhere that you can use the Sony HDD without it? Am I right on this or am I wrong on this? Does anyone know?
According to the FF hard drive booklet I have it say's : First attach the network adaptor to the Hdd. Then insert the Hdd into the expansion bay. So the answer is you will have to use the NWA to play the game. It is what it says in the booklet if it is wrong I myself would like to know.

["The Game"Evolution]

According to the FF hard drive booklet I have it say's : First attach the network adaptor to the Hdd. Then insert the Hdd into the expansion bay. So the answer is you will have to use the NWA to play the game. It is what it says in the booklet if it is wrong I myself would like to know.

Thats what I was really wondering about.I figured you need it in order to play online games.But that got me thinking if the Network adaptor was need in order to use the HDD period? Remember the Xbox had everything already under the hood from the word go.Thats why this was never an issue to bring up for the Xbox.Now that the PS2 is getting these things I cant help but wonder?

[Renzatic Gear]

Does the network adapter go in the expansion bay? If so then it makes sense that Sony would make it so that you could fit it on the harddrive, which now takes up its normal place in the PS2. Since FFXI sortakinda requires the NWA to play the game (it being online and all that) then yeah..you'll need em both. But I don't think you need to buy the NWA to use the harddrive..that'd just be dumb.

[Deathstroke]

Why would you need a NWA to make the HD work?
Why would anyone even wonder about that?

That's like a tech question even my eight year old brother could have answered.

[Thrower, WCG-Fanboy Flame]

Why would you need a NWA to make the HD work?
Why would anyone even wonder about that?

That's like a tech question even my eight year old brother could have answered.

The HDD will be useless without the NWA because.... how many 3rd parties are going to support a $100 periphial when there game isn't already online(I know it's comes with FFXI but the fact is you can only get a HDD by paying a $100) especially when games on the PS2 have been selling without the use of a HDD and the extra features it allows for years.

Second DL content, Custom sound tracks (which you will have to download from your PC) and to use the hdd with any online game you have to buy the NWA to get onlin.

So while from a tech standpoint you may not need to use the NWA for the HDD to work you wont get any realy use out of it without one

[Deathstroke]

So really, you only need the NWA and HDD together if you want DL'able content. Online gaming can be done just with the NWA as most games on PS2 have been doing that for a year or so. The only exception is FFXI and I think they made it like that solely to boost the sales of the HDD.

[AOE Enforcer]

So really, you only need the NWA and HDD together if you want DL'able content. Online gaming can be done just with the NWA as most games on PS2 have been doing that for a year or so. The only exception is FFXI and I think they made it like that solely to boost the sales of the HDD.

The HDD is very similar to a standard IDE hard drive. That is, it has the data connector where the ribbon cable would normally connect to it in a PC and a power connector. The only place for the HDD to draw both power and to send/receive data is through the connectors on the Network Adapter.

Without the HDD, these two connectors on the Network Adapter simply face into the expansion bay on the PS2 and there is a plug that connects the network adapter to the PS2 above the expansion slot. When you purchase the HDD, you connect it to the Network Adapter and then slide them both into & against the back of the PS2. You then screw the two screws down securely and the PS2, NWA and HDD work cohesively.

["The Game"Evolution]

[QUOTE=AOE Enforcer]The HDD is very similar to a standard IDE hard drive. That is, it has the data connector where the ribbon cable would normally connect to it in a PC and a power connector. The only place for the HDD to draw both power and to send/receive data is through the connectors on the Network Adapter.

Without the HDD, these two connectors on the Network Adapter simply face into the expansion bay on the PS2 and there is a plug that connects the network adapter to the PS2 above the expansion slot. When you purchase the HDD, you connect it to the Network Adapter and then slide them both into & against the back of the PS2. You then screw the two screws down securely and the PS2, NWA and HDD work cohesively.[/QUOTE

Thats what I was really wondering about.I figured you need it in order to play online games.But that got me thinking if the Network adaptor was need in order to use the HDD period? Remember the Xbox had everything already under the hood from the word go.Thats why this was never an issue to bring up for the Xbox.Now that the PS2 is getting these things I cant help but wonder.My words from a previous post.

So you might as well say the package is for $140 dollars then.Not all PS2 owners own a network adaptor you know.I knew there had to be a catch somewhere.

[Glockstar]

Why would you need a NWA to make the HD work?
Why would anyone even wonder about that?

That's like a tech question even my eight year old brother could have answered.

Yeah it is a dumb question... but still, it almost has to be asked - what with the way that Sony has it worded... from the FF-XI Online/Sony HDD brochure:

HOW DOES IT WORK?
First attach the Network Adapter (Ethernet/modem) (for the Playstation2) to the HDD. Then insert the HDD into the expansion bay, located at the rear sside of the Playstation2 system. It's that quick and simple.

I know that doesn't really answer the question, and it leaves things way open (to interpretation and whatnot) but the thing is, is that this is on the last page of the brochure (where they have finished talking about the game and) where they pretty much only talk about the HDD. (The only page, actually.)

Now you can get downloadable content and songs from demo disks and other read-only cd's (well... you can with the XBox anyways), so the NWA should not be necessary for those things. But... I really wouldn't doubt it if Sony made it so where you had to have the NWA - I really wouldn't.

I'm finding info on this thing to be incredibly scarce.
Does anybody else have any more info that they could link me/us too?

[Deathstroke]

The HDD is very similar to a standard IDE hard drive. That is, it has the data connector where the ribbon cable would normally connect to it in a PC and a power connector. The only place for the HDD to draw both power and to send/receive data is through the connectors on the Network Adapter.

Dang, that's a stupid move from Sony. So, there's practically no other way for the HDD to be used unless it's connected to the NWA? Hah, that's gonna piss people off for sure.

["The Game"Evolution]

Dang, that's a stupid move from Sony. So, there's practically no other way for the HDD to be used unless it's connected to the NWA? Hah, that's gonna piss people off for sure.

So basically the PS2 owners thats online already are the only ones that may be interested the most in buying the Sony HDD.Now that the word is out that the Sony HDD wont work without the NWA this may indeed piss alot of people off.I bet alot of guys behind the counter of Gamestop and EB wont even tell customers about this either.(Hell most of those guys probably dont even know about this themselves.)

[AOE Enforcer]

Dang, that's a stupid move from Sony. So, there's practically no other way for the HDD to be used unless it's connected to the NWA? Hah, that's gonna piss people off for sure.

Well, I think the main gist of getting the HDD into people's homes right now it so they can play Final Fantasy XI. Since that game is online only, I can see why they would make you use the Network Adapter.

It is possibe and could be done quite easily where Sony could make a connector to go directly from the back of the PS2 into the HDD to supply it with power and the ability to transfer data, but I doubt they will do that.

If you look at the back of the PS2 when you take the expansion cover off, you will see the drive-bay opening where the HDD fits in and above it, a connection port. The Network Adapter connects through that port and the connector for power & data for the HDD just faces inward into the PS2 bay.

[AOE Enforcer]

Yeah it is a dumb question... but still, it almost has to be asked - what with the way that Sony has it worded... from the FF-XI Online/Sony HDD brochure:

HOW DOES IT WORK?
First attach the Network Adapter (Ethernet/modem) (for the Playstation2) to the HDD. Then insert the HDD into the expansion bay, located at the rear sside of the Playstation2 system. It's that quick and simple.

I know that doesn't really answer the question, and it leaves things way open (to interpretation and whatnot) but the thing is, is that this is on the last page of the brochure (where they have finished talking about the game and) where they pretty much only talk about the HDD. (The only page, actually.)

Now you can get downloadable content and songs from demo disks and other read-only cd's (well... you can with the XBox anyways), so the NWA should not be necessary for those things. But... I really wouldn't doubt it if Sony made it so where you had to have the NWA - I really wouldn't.

I'm finding info on this thing to be incredibly scarce.
Does anybody else have any more info that they could link me/us too?

I can tell you straight Glock. Even if you never plan on going online with the PS2 but want to use the HDD, the Network Adapter has the only hookups for the HDD. It acts as a "middle-man" between the PS2 and the HDD. The PS2 can only connect to the Network Adapter and the HDD can only connect to the Network Adapter as well. So you DO NEED the Network Adapter.