thank god this is real and timelessly recorded. we got something special here in terms of aesthetic UI we may never see anything at this caliber ever again. which is kinda sad I hope this serves as an influence to developers
Ahhh... with the errors and everything. :') I was 10 years old sitting there installing this on my PC with 4 disks for hours.. it felt like 12 hours before I could crack the code to the matrix and finally get in to the land of Vana'diel. One of the greatest gaming memories ever. FFXI in it's prime was truly unmatched. The first -great- MMO to exist in my opinion.
Thanks for archiving this footage. With the game gone now this is the only way really to see this kinda stuff :P Still crazy that a game studio was still compiling and updating PS2 code all the way into 2016!!! Nuts!!!
I actually enjoyed this music. Play Online was something special. FFXI will always have a special place in my heart. Till this day I still talk about it with my brother and friends. Best MMORPG ever. Hopefully 1 day they can remaster this game for PC and the newer consoles.
This is so insane to me how they were able to pull this off on the PS2 AND still keep the game up until 2016. I wonder why they never released a PS3 port, especially when the PS3 quit supporting PS2 BC back in '09.
probably because they had plans for FF14 from the early days of the ps3 to be exclusive on it and they did int want to make FF11 compete with 14 or lower its chances on the console ... probably something like that
Back in 2004 when FFXI came out on PS2 I had to spend $160 USD just to play this game. $99 for FFXI with the HDD included $40 for the PS2 network adapter $20 for a Logitech USB keyboard which I now use for FFXIV on my PS5 Plus Tax plus a $12.95 monthly fee for the next two years and change. Once I got home it took me a solid 2 hours trying to figure out the whole connecting to the internet through wired LAN, installing the Playonline Viewer, FFXI, the multiple updates, the account set up (which was like pulling teeth it was so frustrating), until I could finally log in for the first time into Vanadiel. Good times. But I’ve never spent so much money on a single game ever again. I’ve bought some special editions but nothing above $100.
Just imagine, if Square had developed Play Online more with fine tuning and updates it could have been Steam before Steam and cemented itself as THE game platform.
I guess they could've but stuff like GameSpy was doing the same thing as Playonline just for a western market. Playonline wasn't particularly special in that regard. However, I do concede that it was probably the closest to steam in terms of UI at that point.
@@foxygramp_1973I beg to differ, this was at least besides steam one of the only platforms that bundled licensing, friends list, messaging, multiplayer services and updates in the same platform at the time, gamespy was just a multiplayer games framework, PlayOnline was more Steam/PSN like. The reason I think it didn’t really succeed was the fact that it was 99% first party, if they opened it up then it might have actually gotten traction
I doubt it. Japanese devs are TERRIBLE with developing and brainstorming really forward thinking online related software tech like what Steam is especially when it doesn't exist yet. Maybe if it were the Europe or USA branch of Square it could've worked. I never want to remember any of the terrible Japanese multi-game launchers I needed to use to play obscure Japanese online games ever again. The horror...
Wow! Never would have thought a PS2 game would be able to figure out how to connect to the internet through a PS3. Surprising they dropped PS2 compatibility in PS3's so quick when it was so capable.
I remember me and my brother getting home from school to play FF11 on ps2 only to be met by this cluster fcuk of a system. We spent 3 hours trying to get it to work and actually enjoyed the music of it, we finally got on to the game and played it for half an hour, I remember us enjoying it, but for whatever reason never played the game again. The next day we booted up the ps2 and continued playing 007 Everything or Nothing and never mentioned FFXI again like it never happened. Good times.
Still one of the best game experiences I had, from setting up the HDD, troubleshooting my own problems, and then being greeted with the happy UI and music. I always enjoyed going through the portal and checking mail from my friends before I logged in.
I don't suppose you still have this installed on your PS3 and not updated to the "Goodbye" version? The FFXI PS2 Restoration Project has yet to obtain a dump of this version of the Viewer.
@@Mitzi-chan224 wdym it isn't an aesthetic? I meant Y2K, as in Year 2000. That's synonymous with "early 2000s". "Y2K" refers to late 90s / early 2000s, ie the turn of the millennium. There's no point in policing what terms we use to refer to different times in recent history.
3:27 ...and that's the thing companies tend to not notice we never read. -I'm not saying the EULAs shouldn't be able to be viewed but...they tend to force them to appear and scroll to the bottom (I'm looking at you, PSN Store) -
Trust me, companies are well aware that EULAs are never read. The trouble is, they can't acknowledge that because if they did, the legal system would have a basis to say "Well, you knew nobody would read this, so this wasn't a legally binding contract." So they try to force you to read them in an effort to be able to say "But they had to read this before doing anything! There's no way they weren't aware of it." and then the onus is on the other person, because if they skipped it that's their fault.
I wish I new about this when growing up. I got a physical copy of the game a few years back from a family friend and that PlayOnline system felt amazing to use.
I hate minimalism. It destroyed fun, endearing, quirky software design like this. Everything's flat, bland, and soulless now. Computers would so much more fun to use if we brought shit like this back.
@Aureo Do you perhaps have this version of POL/FFXI installed on your PS3 still? I'm currently looking into ways to preserve and restore it for use with the PS2.
Good video, Man. Could be even better if you put the Installing Process on PLAYSTATION 3, instead of PlayStation 2. Many months I had the Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence and a PLAYSTATION 3 but never tried to install or configure the "PS2" Online on PS3.
I have this game and paid for a HDD and network adapter for PS2, and I couldn’t get past the Ethernet check. It kept giving me an error code, there are no videos that seem to have this issue. It is plugged into a working Ethernet cord. Does the Ethernet cord have to be a reverse one?
Final Fantasy XI for PS2 was discontinued back on March 31, 2016. To play it, you'll have to use the Windows Version, they have instructions for that here: www.playonline.com/ff11us/envi/win/winshift.html Sony actually ended the DNAS service that was needed to verify the disc, so that part will fail now. Even if you could fully install it, PlayOnline will update to the final version automatically, which just displays an image saying "Thank you for your many years of heartfelt support for FINAL FANTASY XI. PlayStation 2 Service for FINAL FANTASY XI terminated on March 31, 2016. Please visit the official FINAL FANTASY XI website for details."
Final Fantasy! XI to be specific. It's actually the online service for XI, I had the disc for a long time, and was just goofing off when I recorded this. Viewer doesn't do much if you don't have a FFXI subscription. But it's neat to point out the KH games let you install to the hard drive, in Japan.
thank god this is real and timelessly recorded. we got something special here in terms of aesthetic UI we may never see anything at this caliber ever again. which is kinda sad I hope this serves as an influence to developers
Ahhh... with the errors and everything. :')
I was 10 years old sitting there installing this on my PC with 4 disks for hours.. it felt like 12 hours before I could crack the code to the matrix and finally get in to the land of Vana'diel. One of the greatest gaming memories ever. FFXI in it's prime was truly unmatched. The first -great- MMO to exist in my opinion.
This overdirection on a mere setup screen shows how special online games were at the time.
Thanks for archiving this footage. With the game gone now this is the only way really to see this kinda stuff :P
Still crazy that a game studio was still compiling and updating PS2 code all the way into 2016!!! Nuts!!!
You can still play FFXI on PC with the same PlayOnline thing, account creation is terrible lmao
and they still are, FFXI continues to be updated with PS2 devkits
@@prestonakit's so outdated bro even trying to use their site for final fantasy 14 whatever it's called feels like something out of the early 2000s
I actually enjoyed this music. Play Online was something special. FFXI will always have a special place in my heart. Till this day I still talk about it with my brother and friends. Best MMORPG ever. Hopefully 1 day they can remaster this game for PC and the newer consoles.
Nostalgia overload! Love the aesthetic of PlayOnline and anxiously waiting 6 to 8 hours for the game to install, bring this back!
Was that through dial up or broadband?
@@trolljones4386 probs DSL
I miss these sound effects from the gaming industry back in early 00s.
@@trolljones4386DSL, most likely
This is so insane to me how they were able to pull this off on the PS2 AND still keep the game up until 2016. I wonder why they never released a PS3 port, especially when the PS3 quit supporting PS2 BC back in '09.
probably because they had plans for FF14 from the early days of the ps3 to be exclusive on it and they did int want to make FF11 compete with 14 or lower its chances on the console ... probably something like that
Back in 2004 when FFXI came out on PS2 I had to spend $160 USD just to play this game.
$99 for FFXI with the HDD included
$40 for the PS2 network adapter
$20 for a Logitech USB keyboard which I now use for FFXIV on my PS5
Plus Tax plus a $12.95 monthly fee for the next two years and change.
Once I got home it took me a solid 2 hours trying to figure out the whole connecting to the internet through wired LAN, installing the Playonline Viewer, FFXI, the multiple updates, the account set up (which was like pulling teeth it was so frustrating), until I could finally log in for the first time into Vanadiel. Good times. But I’ve never spent so much money on a single game ever again. I’ve bought some special editions but nothing above $100.
Just imagine, if Square had developed Play Online more with fine tuning and updates it could have been Steam before Steam and cemented itself as THE game platform.
Actually yes youre right
I guess they could've but stuff like GameSpy was doing the same thing as Playonline just for a western market. Playonline wasn't particularly special in that regard. However, I do concede that it was probably the closest to steam in terms of UI at that point.
Perhaps, but Steam was already in beta in 2002 and had much loftier goals and much more user friendly.
@@foxygramp_1973I beg to differ, this was at least besides steam one of the only platforms that bundled licensing, friends list, messaging, multiplayer services and updates in the same platform at the time, gamespy was just a multiplayer games framework, PlayOnline was more Steam/PSN like. The reason I think it didn’t really succeed was the fact that it was 99% first party, if they opened it up then it might have actually gotten traction
I doubt it. Japanese devs are TERRIBLE with developing and brainstorming really forward thinking online related software tech like what Steam is especially when it doesn't exist yet. Maybe if it were the Europe or USA branch of Square it could've worked. I never want to remember any of the terrible Japanese multi-game launchers I needed to use to play obscure Japanese online games ever again. The horror...
Wow! Never would have thought a PS2 game would be able to figure out how to connect to the internet through a PS3. Surprising they dropped PS2 compatibility in PS3's so quick when it was so capable.
Parker Morgan you can still play ps2 games online on the fat ps3 to this day
Man this makes me wish I was a kid again playing FF11 on my PS2... The friends I've lost contact with, my old linkshell...
This just flashed my memory back into the 2000s. Thank you very much.
The moment you got to the part where the music changes at 11:52 made you feel like an elite hacker. You’d actually done it.
Did I ever experience this? No, but I’m somehow weirdly nostalgic for it.
ngl it never occurred to me that FFXI/PlayOnline would be playable on PS3. It's easy to forget early PS3 models could even play PS2 games.
I was specifically looking for the song that plays here to show to my buddy, thanks for uploading this!
IwantShawn brings back memories doesn’t it?
What’s the song called?
@@LightningCayo filter branch
I remember me and my brother getting home from school to play FF11 on ps2 only to be met by this cluster fcuk of a system. We spent 3 hours trying to get it to work and actually enjoyed the music of it, we finally got on to the game and played it for half an hour, I remember us enjoying it, but for whatever reason never played the game again. The next day we booted up the ps2 and continued playing 007 Everything or Nothing and never mentioned FFXI again like it never happened. Good times.
NPC behavior
its funny because the PC version is still the same in 2022 as what is shown in this video of the now taken offline PS2 version.
This looks incredible. We need to bring this look back
Still one of the best game experiences I had, from setting up the HDD, troubleshooting my own problems, and then being greeted with the happy UI and music. I always enjoyed going through the portal and checking mail from my friends before I logged in.
Wow, this took me back. Waaay back. Thanks!
I don't suppose you still have this installed on your PS3 and not updated to the "Goodbye" version? The FFXI PS2 Restoration Project has yet to obtain a dump of this version of the Viewer.
Thank you for preserving this.
The nostalgia reminds me of far better days.
I have that little chocobo as my PC mouse cursor, he's adorable
I remember watching my old friend set up PlayOnline for Gran Turismo and GTA games he owned on his PS2 from when I was very young. Good times! 😄
This is a Y2K aesthetic if I've ever seen one
Y2K isn't an aesthetic 💀 did you mean early 2000s?
@@Mitzi-chan224 wdym it isn't an aesthetic? I meant Y2K, as in Year 2000. That's synonymous with "early 2000s". "Y2K" refers to late 90s / early 2000s, ie the turn of the millennium. There's no point in policing what terms we use to refer to different times in recent history.
yeah this looks pretty great, I really dig the whole visual design, it feels very comfy idk why, the ads look so captivating
3:27 ...and that's the thing companies tend to not notice we never read.
-I'm not saying the EULAs shouldn't be able to be viewed but...they tend to force them to appear and scroll to the bottom (I'm looking at you, PSN Store) -
Trust me, companies are well aware that EULAs are never read. The trouble is, they can't acknowledge that because if they did, the legal system would have a basis to say "Well, you knew nobody would read this, so this wasn't a legally binding contract." So they try to force you to read them in an effort to be able to say "But they had to read this before doing anything! There's no way they weren't aware of it." and then the onus is on the other person, because if they skipped it that's their fault.
I wish I new about this when growing up. I got a physical copy of the game a few years back from a family friend and that PlayOnline system felt amazing to use.
This looks so cool wish someone could bring it back
I hate minimalism. It destroyed fun, endearing, quirky software design like this. Everything's flat, bland, and soulless now. Computers would so much more fun to use if we brought shit like this back.
I have been saying that for years! Whenever I think of an alternative to minimalist design, PlayOnline always springs to mind.
The future looked way more futuristic in the past. TBH blame apple for making bland fashionable.
@@cattysplat True. Apple pretty much single handedly killed skeumorphism and made it passé
this ui is from 2002 but it feels its from the future
memories
fun fact, I actually still own an xbox 360 disc version of FFXI
fyi the games sound is though the ps2's sound chip on ps2 like X was as well
I remember just leaving the console on and let the game install while I went to sleep.
Memories man damn
The good old days
@Aureo Do you perhaps have this version of POL/FFXI installed on your PS3 still? I'm currently looking into ways to preserve and restore it for use with the PS2.
Used to watch this screen for hours on dial-up smh.
man ffxi was such bullshit to install. literally 15 hours
"Select 'exit' to power down your console" I saw the XMB menu at the beginning. Did the PS3 power off when you did that, or do something else?
Do you still need the disk after install??
11:52
Why did you choose the name Kapi? I know someone who knew a kapi on final fantasy. Was that you?
I remember this
Good video, Man. Could be even better if you put the Installing Process on PLAYSTATION 3, instead of PlayStation 2. Many months I had the Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence and a PLAYSTATION 3 but never tried to install or configure the "PS2" Online on PS3.
I have this game and paid for a HDD and network adapter for PS2, and I couldn’t get past the Ethernet check. It kept giving me an error code, there are no videos that seem to have this issue. It is plugged into a working Ethernet cord. Does the Ethernet cord have to be a reverse one?
Final Fantasy XI for PS2 was discontinued back on March 31, 2016. To play it, you'll have to use the Windows Version, they have instructions for that here: www.playonline.com/ff11us/envi/win/winshift.html
Sony actually ended the DNAS service that was needed to verify the disc, so that part will fail now. Even if you could fully install it, PlayOnline will update to the final version automatically, which just displays an image saying
"Thank you for your many years of heartfelt support for FINAL FANTASY XI. PlayStation 2 Service for FINAL FANTASY XI terminated on March 31, 2016. Please visit the official FINAL FANTASY XI website for details."
Chespin thanks for letting me know. I found it impossible finding answers anywhere else. I thought I was just doing something wrong. Thanks!
Gaming was so much fun back then. All them years ago. Now it's all the same. Boring old and stale.
Wait, Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts?
Final Fantasy! XI to be specific.
It's actually the online service for XI, I had the disc for a long time, and was just goofing off when I recorded this. Viewer doesn't do much if you don't have a FFXI subscription.
But it's neat to point out the KH games let you install to the hard drive, in Japan.
Final Fantasy
hey friend teaches you how to download this playonline viwer ai or this playstation 2 format disc app for the love of god... please.
Hi all. Breathe air. God made all. His son, Jesus, pardoned all of all wrongs.