Many people still hail the Dreamcast for being way ahead of its time -- the first console to come standard with online capabilities and taking advantage of such a feature. There were, like with all consoles, a handful of games so excellent it's a shame they fell into oblivion (games like Skies of Arcadia tried to get notice through ports, but chose an equally unsuccessful system: the GameCube). One of these games shaped the course of console history and it usually fails to get the credit it deserves. We're talking about Phantasy Star Online. Personally, I remember reading the first reviews of it in EGM when it came out. I've been a Phantasy Star "phan" for a very long time, so its move to an action-oriented MMO-style game confused and infuriated me. I was even more confused to see reviewers across the universe giving the game incredibly high scores. I decided to try it. I, too, became addicted, as the reviews warned. What does this have to do with today's gaming market? There is a push for MMO games on consoles nowadays, with internet access an absolute must. Dreamcast, and Phantasy Star Online, ushered in this age.

While Phantasy Star Online was a huge hit in Japan, it gained less popularity outside of its home territory. This isn't to say it was unsuccessful -- the servers were finally closed after the release of Phantasy Star Online Version 2, saying farewell in 2003 for the US market to much dismay. People were still able to get online even though SegaNet was no more, but this proved a very important point: console gamers wanted more of this addiction PC gamers have known for a long time -- the MMO. Answering this plea, several more versions of PSO were released on multiple systems like the GameCube and Xbox as well as establishing themselves on the PC. Were there online games before PSO? Absolutely. However, one cannot deny the extent this game reached into the hearts and minds of industry developers and consumers. MMO's were going to get a push.

Monster Hunter is an excellent example of a game that found success following Sega's example. Released on the PS2, this game took essentially the same formula and marketed itself into an unimaginably large user base. They kept an offline mode that offered a taste of what the game has to offer, but the online mode held the majority of content, items, and quests. It has turned into a direct rival of the online versions of Phantasy Star, not to mention several other console-based MMO titles.

 Hot on the heels of those success stories came the inevitable emergence of one of the biggest RPG names in the world: Final Fantasy. Their eyes clouded by a thunderstorm of money, Square Enix released Final Fantasy XI for the PS2, PC, and later the Xbox 360. It's just an MMORPG with Final Fantasy slapped on it. Familiar character classes and mascots were around, but the game was so far from the formula used in past canonical games, it's difficult to line it up with the other "numbered" games in the series. Interestingly enough, Final Fantasy XII kept almost the exact same formula as its online predecessor, except kept the game offline and offered you the ability to control your party members through the Gambit system. The point is the game played just like an MMORPG and the origins of crafting a game in this manner can possibly be traced right back to Phantasy Star Online.

Sega knew it had to try again, to re-establish itself as the lord of this MMO-craving console market. Several years passed as they continued development on a game that came to be known as Phantasy Star Universe. Development took so long, in fact, the public grew disinterested in it. When it released, the graphics were already subpar. The gameplay was lacking, both online and off. Sega had failed, right? Not quite. The game received support in Japan and raised enough interest in other territories to merit an expansion pack down the line that not only offered more items, quests, and areas to explore, but greatly revamped the gameplay. Phantasy Star Universe is a shining example of online gaming for consoles that the 360 and PS3 are emulating -- just because it already released does not mean it is finished. The game has grown and updated and is now a very fantastic experience. Just in time for Phantasy Star Portable, which sold over half a million units in Japan in its first week. Phantasy Star is sticking around and so are MMO's for our consoles.

The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 have both entered a push for online games, but reactions are mixed. Offline games with online elements are the norm, but games like Phantasy Star Online with minimal offline content and the majority of people playing online have met with poor sales or poor reviews. PC MMO titles have to contend with the monolithic World of Warcraft, which causes some games to fail even before a retail launch. Is the gameplay growing stagnant? Do console gamers demand more out of their games? These are questions that no one person can answer and I won't even try to argue for one opinion or another; it's all a matter of personal taste. Still, if you play MMO games on one of your consoles, be it the Xbox 360 or the Dreamcast, do not underestimate the importance Sega and Phantasy Star Online played in this revolution. It's what got me into the MMO genre.