Wow, it’s been a while since I worked on a fansub, but here it is. What we have here is not a fansub done for groups, but a fansub to show the interest and dedication of Phantasy Star fans not just in Japan, but across the entire globe. Posted here is the fansub of the Phantasy Star Online 2 Media Briefing that aired on Nico Nico Douga on July 26, 2011.

The video itself has also been posted at the Phantasy Star Fan Blog, and you are more than welcome to also visit that site and watch the stream there. For those who aren’t able to watch it as a stream, downloads are offered as follows:

MP4 (h264/aac, hardsubbed) (DDL, DDL2, Torrent)
219,959,482 bytes, MD5: b7347dec4108017cd77cfc98cc75dbb4

MKV (h264/aac, softsubbed) (DDL, Torrent)
219,493,275 bytes, MD5: 9e99e0794d12ab2f8615e384c8520e9d

Special thanks go to the following:
Jeremiah Bourque (translation, TL check)
Ian R. Justman (audio, editing)
Ricardo (owner of the Phantasy Star Fan Blog)

Please enjoy the fansub!

I heard about this news last night, and was sadly disappointed at the direction Capcom has taken over the past couple of years. Since Lost Planet 2, or even earlier, games from Capcom have started taking a downhill turn, but when Keiji Inafune was let go, I somehow had this feeling that everything was about to go straight into the gutter. Turns out I was right.

Now, I don’t own a 3DS, but announcing a game like Megaman Legends 3 and then canning it shows there’s a huge policy/principle issue with Capcom and how they treat gamers. It’s forced me to re-evaluate purchasing or importing games from Capcom, and I do hope that the 476+ comments posted at this time of writing give them a heads up on where they truly stand as a company.

Also, if Capcom has nothing more to do with the Megaman franchise, they are better off selling it to someone who can do something with it, like a certain Keiji Inafune.

Metal Gear Solid 3D
Generally speaking, the game looked interesting last year when it was merely a technical demo using features from Peace Walker and showing generally higher-polygon models. However, it became clear that this was not sustainable, and we’ve ended up with something akin to MGS3, except on the 3DS with stereoscopy, gyroscope, camera camouflage, and other features unique to the Nintendo 3DS. I don’t know what to say, but it comes off to me that the game has ended up being more of a port to the Nintendo 3DS instead of the ambitious high-polygon sneaking game it initially revealed itself to be, which is disappointing.

MGS Collection
Who didn’t see this coming? MGS2, MGS3, and Peace Walker in HD on the PS3. It was bound to happen sooner or later, the question was a matter of when. I’m eager to see what the Transfarring feature will be in-between my PSP and Peace Walker, however. MGS3 should also look graphically pleasing.

ZOE Collection
Oh my god, they’re actually doing this. Seeing Jehuty in (1080p?) HD is already going to be a day one purchase for me. Though Transfarring with the NGP… well, should be interesting, though I wonder what they’re going to do with the lack of pressure-sensitive buttons. I just wish they made ZOE3 as well.

Transfarring
Kojima has already alluded to this kind of concept, where one can share savedata between the PS3 and portables, being able to play on the go on your PSP or NGP, come back home, and play on your PS3. He did this since last year, which made Sony rather nervous, and then he again alluded to it during the showing of the NGP. Sony again tried something similar with PSP Remaster, but they have yet to announce a concept for sharing savedata between the PS3 and NGP. So Sony got the first dibs on PS3/PSP savedata sharing, but Kojima will likely have the last laugh on PS3/NGP savedata sharing. Ultimately, I suspect Transfarring will use something like a cloud data service where savegames are stored and can be picked up by both the PS3 and NGP. I worry though about whether this will require Playstation Plus, or if it will make the feature free altogether, or be something totally independent of Playstation Plus.

Fox Engine
This was a long time coming, and I thought it really did take Kojima a while before finally coming upon this idea. This is pretty much the same as Capcom’s MT Framework, except Kojima’s take on it. If you’ve read my blog entries before about MT Framework, you already know my take on the Fox Engine. I suspect it won’t be used for the PC, but you never know in this day and age.

Overall
Generally speaking, Kojima’s showing for this E3 was actually rather small in comparison to a lot of the other E3 appearances he’s made. His studio has only been able to announce ports of existing games (ZOE especially, though I am looking forward to that), as well as plans for a streamlined engine to make games on the PS3, NGP, and 360 easier to develop in one shot. This essentially highlights the stress brought about by the generation of high definition console gaming; studios, even Kojima Productions, feel the heat from not being able to produce a game per year like the western studios generally do, and yet at the same time they don’t want to be putting out mindless sequels nor do they want to take the risk with IPs without having to invest a lot. I suspect Fox Engine is the end result of Kojima’s analysis of the situation, but why it didn’t happen sooner is a mystery, since Capcom already fielded their MT Framework.

Overall, a little disappointed that new games weren’t announced by Kojima Productions, but I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. Though, I would really like a ZOE3, not an MGS5, for example. Go risky with the new IPs and go all out; but I suppose it’ll have to wait until they’ve finished the Fox Engine.

By the way, Transfarring is a very strange word, don’t you think?

Addendum
It appears a lot of the news sites have been reporting that MGS2-3, Peace Walker, and ZOE1-2 will be 1080p. So far though, MGS2-3 have been stated to be 720p, and Peace Walker is 1080p. That’s all according to the official website. As far as I know, there’s been no confirmation what ZOE1-2 will be.

Generally though, I find a lot of the details amusing, particularly ones covering why the security was so terrible. The tl;dr version is essentially, there is a pair of public/private keys and both have been made public instead of just the public one. The algorithm behind it was also terrible, so now everything is fair game on the PS3.

If it were up to me, I’d put out a new firmware with the following:

1. Change to a new encryption system, we’ll call this the “NEW” encryption. “OLD” encryption refers to the system used pre-3.60.
2. Create a game database saved locally by the new firmware. Only games that follow the “OLD” encryption and exist in the game database can load.
3. Any new games in 3.60 onward are required to use the “NEW” encryption.

I should probably note that #1-3 above is probably possible, but if the core firmware update system uses the “OLD” encryption system being read from a read-only ROM chip, then it is screwed for life. Reason I say this is because it means CFW can be loaded at any time regardless of the current OFW; judging from the hacking team that claims anything can load now regardless of firmware, it’s more than likely this scenario was already considered.

Furthermore, this doesn’t solve the fact that all games using the “OLD” encryption are compromised. Essentially they are screwed, and I can’t see any way out of it. Publishers are going to be super-mad that this sort of thing was allowed to happen. The factors involved are a sight to behold:

1. Pressure to remove OtherOS encouraged hackers to break the system
2. Encryption algorithm was rather ridiculous; what was supposed to be a random number generator used constant numbers instead
3. PSP master key (!!) was left on the PS3

The PSP has also been compromised in this endeavor, but at this point I probably would not do a thing about it anymore. It’s time to move into a new system, perhaps the PSP2? It’s already late into its lifecycle and should be written off soon. The same can’t be said for the PS3, which has been compromised halfway through the lifecycle it was supposed to have. Anyone who had a hand in the decisions leading to the #1-3 here are most certainly going to be getting the pink slip.

Graphics: nVidia Tegra2

This one is posted about a lot. If you Google around, you’ll find a lot of news entries indicating that Sony is planning on the nVidia Tegra2. Other rumors out there indicate that the PSP2 was supposed to show at E3, but because it was a little over-budget for power it had been delayed until CES 2011 for an announcement.

CPU: Cell?

Rumor mills are spreading this information as well. Seeing that Sony’s already invested quite a bit in this technology, it would be a waste not to use it in a portable system. It’d likely be weaker than the PS3′s.

Format: MiniDVD or MiniBD?

This one is a bit of a jump, but allow me to explain. It’s already pretty obvious that the UMD format has failed in general. The movie industry didn’t really take off with the UMD Video format, what with the proprietary nature of it all.

What I imagine is that the PSP2 will have a disc slot for MiniDVD or MiniBD formats instead of the original UMD format. The UMD format itself is also playable, but to do so you’d have to remove the white casing. Retail chains would likely be trained to help customers remove the white casing, and seeing that some are familiar with replacing the UMD case, this is probably not a hard thing to tackle.

UMD offers 900 MB for single-layer, 1.8 GB for dual-layer. MiniDVD offers 1.4 GB in its current form, but could offer 2.8GB in dual-layer. MiniBD is not a very ready technology yet, but builds on the existing BD discs out there. Capacity for it is around 7.5 GB for a single-layer disc, and learning that Kojima was not too happy with the disc format’s limitations, I’m sure he’d be more than happy to use a full 7.5 GB. Perhaps with dual-layer, it can be boosted to 16 GB.

My biggest concern though is random access times, not throughput. You can get throughput to be really high if you wish, but I feel it’s not worth it if you can’t access data randomly in short periods of time on average. MiniDVD format might allow for better random access times, but MiniBD might not right now due to BD still being an evolving technology.

Storage: More Flash

PSP Go already offers 16 GB, and we’ve seen 16 and 32 GB Memory Stick formats out there on the market. Sony’s been also working closely with SanDisk to offer better storage solutions as well.

I predict the PSP2 will support the Memory Stick, but not the same way it used to. Instead, it’ll be a multiple-flash solution, similar to the SD/MMC/MS slots that we’ve been seeing on laptops. They’ve been around for years now, often coming as standard on the machines. It would be a mistake not to have this support on the PSP2, as people would like to store large amounts of data but not have to spend a lot to get the storage capacity.

If data security is an issue, the PSP2 will likely not require MagicGate anymore, instead opting for RSA signature checks to make sure that data and whatnot is secure. Internal flash storage within the PSP2 is also a given, but Sony may opt not to put in too much to keep the price down.

PSN: 3G?

This one is an interesting development. It’s not just the Nintendo 3DS that’s looking to do this, but Sony has also taken some interest in the Kindle idea; make access to the PlayStation Store free via 3G, instead gathering revenue through digital downloads. With 3G access in the system though, it means that the system could be connected indefinitely to PSN much like the PS3. Will this mean proper online support for games, rather than just via ad-hoc?

Though I imagine that to play games on 3G, you still have to pay some kind of access fee. 802.11 Wi-Fi support is still a given, but I wonder if they’ll push it to 802.11n? Perhaps only 802.11g.

Accessories

Looking at the PSP Go, we’re likely looking at Bluetooth connectivity to allow usage with a PS3 gamepad. The same connector for component and audio is likely to stick around, but I wonder if they’ll try with mini-HDMI this time around. With a Cell CPU and nVidia GPU in the machine, I reckon Sony will try pushing the system more as a portable multimedia system with features not unlike the PS3.

Even if they do offer mini-HDMI, I do hope that Sony does something like disable HDCP for anyone who wishes to record game footage from the PSP2 via mini-HDMI. Maybe they should do the same for the PS3 too…

Region Locking

This should be a non-issue, but I’d like to see Japan/US PSN stuff not being region locked either, including movies, comics, etc. It’d also be nice if they made it possible to activate a US and Japan PSN account on a single PSP2 at the same time (even better if they retroactively did it for PSP1).

Piracy

With the development of the PSP-3000 and PSP Go, you basically have an environment where only signed code will work so as long as the firmware currently running is not exploitable. I don’t claim to be an expert on the topic, but it should be obvious by now that modchips or other more tricky methods are not plausible. I imagine it’s set up more like the newest line of Wii consoles, where there’s an initial boot that does an RSA signature check before checking the firmware, and so on. However, said initial boot is likely placed on ROM, making it impossible to rewrite to a different signature check (or removing the check altogether). And even if modchips were placed on other chips in the system, it’d be easily patched. The only real method I’d imagine, is to replace the boot ROM altogether but even that is a daunting task.

Also, proprietary formats don’t stop piracy. If people want to pirate on a PSP, they’ll go through other means, such as breaking the firmware, and so on. If you have to protect your software on the format, you have to go through other means, such as obfuscating the filesystem or going with a completely proprietary filesystem, RSA checks and whatnot. The PS3 appears to have done this successfully, so what is to stop Sony from doing the same thing on a PSP2?

Let’s start with the bad parts first. First off, split-screen does not allow for multiple profiles, which is a big bummer. It also doesn’t allow online players to join in, nor does it allow you to enter multiplayer matches. This was a big feature back in Halo 3, would have been nice to see this actually implemented in Lost Planet 2. Secondly, the game does not save between missions. It does save between chapters, and I think something is saved still even though you exit mid-chapter, but I haven’t had a chance to look over whether or not rewards or boxes are saved through this.

Third, you can’t restart from a mission. If you die on a mission, you have to restart the entire chapter. I would have preferred an option to restart the mission specifically, but it would cause a massive rank drop if I did. I’d rather take a rank drop than have to restart the entire chapter. Finally, as a nitpick on my own part, I would have liked options in co-op to do things like disable story cutscenes, so that I wouldn’t have to have everyone press Start to skip.

Now that we’ve pushed past the infrastructure/design issues, let’s move on to the good. The graphics are outstanding (if you play normally, not in split-screen), with attention to detail all around, including the environment, background, etc. Sound and ambience also matches quite well with the levels, which are not subpar in design like GameSpot and IGN would like to have you believe.

Controls are still the same as you’d expect from Lost Planet 1, but if you want the control scheme you liked from there, you’ll have to tinker with the control types available. They offer several, but it would also have been nice to configure your own. That said, the controls change when you get into a VS, so this might possibly complicate things.

Online play is also quite enjoyable. Campaign play online stresses the co-operative aspects by quite a margin, so communication is key. For example, if someone needs a VS to get rid of a boss as quickly as possible (which they can), then other players that opt to give up their VS will be rewarded when they slay the boss in said time. Or, players can lead others to hidden areas or ledges that will give them an advantage in battle later. AI partners that fill in the player slots are actually pretty well designed, doing specific things to help support you, such as shooting T-ENG at you, or bringing up ammo to a giant railway gun. However, they stop short of actually finishing mission objectives; that’s your job, after all.

Competitive multiplayer splits off into three categories; player, ranked, and faction. Player matches are the same as you’d expect; you create your rooms with settings you’d like, fill people up and start. Things you do in player matches will affect your career level, but credits for the LP2 Slot Machine are not offered. Ranked matches are the same as player matches, except they count in leaderboards. It also follows a system similar to Halo 3′s matches, where matches are randomized along with the players, and players can vote on what kind of rules or maps they’d like to see. Faction matches involve weekly arenas where players align with a faction and fight in these arenas for the week to try and let their faction win. Once you pick a faction, you can’t change until the next timeframe.

One thing to note is that there is now a DNF% counter, or “Did Not Finish %”. Basically, if you disconnect or leave a game early, this % will go up, and if it passes 30% then your career level cannot improve through any of the match types. Though it would be nice if the DNF% counter would weigh actual disconnects less compared to people leaving the game early via other means.

Customization runs across many aspects. You have character parts, which you can customize across five different characters, each representing a different faction. You level up each character to unlock more parts, and if your career level is high enough, you can mix and match parts (so I hear). Weapons are gained through the LP2 Slot Machine, where you spend credits to earn new weapons, emotes, abilities, or titles.

Emotes are used in-game for doing animations just for fun, and titles are simply displayed beside your name. Abilities actually change your character’s features. Remember what CAPCOM said about the T-ENG gauge not dropping anymore? It’s actually because of a default ability you have. You can change it up to do things like become totally silent, invisible on radar, higher attack power, and so on.

In summary, Lost Planet 2 is still an enjoyable game if you can get past the infrastructure/design issues with the game, which I hope CAPCOM fixes in the future. It’s not a game that I’d rate down to 5.5/10 or 6/10 though; in those cases, the reviewers were totally not in line with those who played the game in the videos before. On the other hand, reviews ranging above 70% do indicate there are infrastructure issues with the game, which do need tending to.

If CAPCOM is reading this, I’d also like to see the ability to save the music played in the Main Menu. That’d be awesome.

Seriously, this reviewer needs to start looking for a different career. Problems he has with the game:

• “Poor level design”, without justification as to why
• Complaining about the B button being context-sensitive; look at MGS4 and Peace Walker!
• 2:13, he stands there and shoots at a giant Akrid, just asking to get swiped
• Controls being “clunky”, but they’re the same as Lost Planet 1! (BTW, IGN gave that 8.0+)

If this is the level of reviews that are out there right now, then I’m not interested in reading them anymore. I’ll play my games, **** you guys.

1. Sign up for Capcom-Unity
2. Get your code at Lost Planet Community

Simple, right? Too bad site is slow, lol…

P.S. Codes are not valid until March 31.

The feature of “Install Other OS” was removed from the new “Slim” PS3 model to focus on delivering games and other entertainment content.

Please be assured that SCE is committed to continue the support for previously sold models that have the
“Install Other OS” feature and that this feature will not be disabled in future firmware releases.

Now, we have this:

The next system software update for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) system will be released on April 1, 2010 (JST), and will disable the “Install Other OS” feature that was available on the PS3 systems prior to the current slimmer models, launched in September 2009. This feature enabled users to install an operating system, but due to security concerns, Sony Computer Entertainment will remove the functionality through the 3.21 system software update.

This has got to be the stupidest move Sony has decided to pull. So we either lose Linux support, or we lose the ability to access to PSN. Sounds like bait and switch to me, doesn’t it? I notice that a bunch of the guys are looking into class action lawsuits, so all the best to you guys, and good luck.

Played MMORPGs

• Star Trek Online
  Star Trek Online is a good game overall, I don’t see why companies like GameSpot and the like rate it so bad (5.5). However, it does feel incomplete but that’s to be expected of most MMOs when they’re just starting up. Give it a year and your opinion may change. I don’t plan to be playing 24/7, but every once so often as things change and when I have some time to go where no man has gone before.
• EVE Online
  I tried playing it again in the summer last year, and found that it was still as boring as ever, or took up too much time to justify keeping the ISK intake in and buying PLEXes. If I can’t be bothered to make ISK and buy PLEXes, why should I continue to play the game? I’m not even paying for it (only paid the initial $5 re-entry cost), so oh well.
• Mabinogi
  I notice Nexon has reached some of the new content Mabinogi has in Korea, though whether I will come back to take a look at it is another story. It’s nice to see that there are a few changes in Nexon policy for the better, but whether that will translate to having a company that can properly support players and provide quality customer support is another thing altogether.

Recent Purchases

I’ve recently made some orders online, for ESPGaluda II and a Hori Fighting Stick EX 2. Now you may say, why the FSEX2? It’s because right now it’s $39.99 CAD from Amazon.ca and it’s not an offer I’m going to easily throw away. The thing is supposed to be some $60-70, so it’s definitely a bargain. Compared to the $150+ price range that tournament-level sticks have, with a bit of tinkering (I know the process already, and I have the tools and people with expertise for it), I may one day have something that can compete with those sticks.

Upcoming Releases

• Mobile Suit Gundam UC – March 12
  Yes, I already watched it, but I am getting the Blu-ray. If you’re not, I don’t know what you’re doing.
• Chaos;Head Love Chu Chu – March 25
  Not exactly a game I’m looking forward to. The fandisc, shall we call it, appears to have a lot of service for those who are fans of Chaos;Head, but I’m more in love with the Steins;Gate aspect of the world. If there’s anything interesting about the game that I will miss out on, such as Steins;Gate related stuff, then I might give it a shot. Otherwise, this is going on the backburner… until maybe it goes cheap?
• Ketsui: Kizuna jigoku tachi – April 22
  The legendary shmup of shmups, shall we say. This is a must-buy. Though it’ll be 360 only, that’s what the FSEX2 is for.
• Angel Beats – April 22
  This is an anime I will be keeping tabs on, it being written by Jun Maeda. I notice he’s taken a step away from visual novels, but that doesn’t mean he’s done with writing stories.
• Lost Planet 2 – May 18
  Already pre-ordered this one for the 360, really looking forward to it.
• Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker – May 25
  I haven’t pre-ordered this because I’m waiting for it to come out on PSN, so I can buy it. Screw the UMD format, because flash memory access times are where it’s at. MGS4 was a total disappointment, but Peace Walker is turning out to be the game that MGS4 should have been, and then some. In fact, MGS4 should never have happened.

Current Anime

As a final note, I noticed that the plethora of current anime is all just total garbage. It’s all full of moeblobs and focusing on girls but very little on good storytelling. There are a few exceptions out there, but sadly they are a minority in the sea of anime where everything is all about what’s under a girl’s clothing. Sadly, because of how stupid the otaku in Japan are, this will only continue to worsen until I don’t know what kind of bubble pops. I will pray that those who know how to continue writing good anime will continue in the industry doing what they love.

P.S. Mizushima may be high from all that love he has for the Middle East, but he did make Gundam 00. Great times.