PlayOnline
PlayOnline service logo.
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| Subsidiary | |
| Industry |
Internet services Computer software Digital distribution |
| Founded | January 28, 2000 |
| Headquarters | Japan |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
| Owner | Square Enix Holdings |
| Parent | Square Enix |
| Website | www |
PlayOnline is an online gaming service created by Square Co. (now Square Enix) on January 28, 2000, and has been the launcher application and Internet service for many of the online PC, PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 games the company publishes. Games hosted included Front Mission Online, Fantasy Earth: The Ring of Dominion, Tetra Master, and the Japanese releases of EverQuest II, Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII and JongHoLo.
The service hosted hundreds of thousands of players at its peak, and was one of the first cross-platform gaming services. It was shutdown during the 2011 earthquake in Japan for twelve days. The platform was also subjected to denial of service attacks and players attempting to cheat who were subsequently banned.
Starting with Final Fantasy XIV, Square Enix began moving their online games off the service, and many of the social networking features the game was released with failed to catch on, with the service being described as "clunky". The termination date of service for Final Fantasy XI and PlayOnline for PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360 was March 2016, with only the PC version of Final Fantasy XI still supported.
PlayOnline was originally conceived as an all-in-one solution to house multiple types of game content. At the "Square Millennium" event in Japan on January 28, 2000, Square announced three Final Fantasy games, including Final Fantasy XI, to be released in the summer of 2001, and that Square had been working on an online portal called "PlayOnline" with Japanese telecom company NTT Communications, and would feature online games, chat, email, online comics, Internet browsing, online shopping, sports, and instant messaging. The service was first announced as costing ¥500 for monthly membership and a ¥1000 monthly user fee.Final Fantasy XI, then nicknamed "Final Fantasy Online", was the first game to use the online service. The WonderSwan Color portable gaming system was also planned to be able to connect to PlayOnline through an adapter connected to one of the PlayStation 2's USB ports. PlayOnline opened on June 6, 2000 to both Japanese and English speaking countries with news about upcoming software titles, interviews, and wallpapers. The site's merchandise included pieces from Parasite Eve, Vagrant Story, Chocobo Racing, Front Mission, Chrono Cross, and Final Fantasy.
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