"The internet was a very different place in 2000. That's true in countless ways, but one of the biggest is how much the feeling of connecting with other people online was one of hope, rather than tiresome and frustrating as it so often is now. Even if your view was less utopian, the internet was something so new that the possibilities felt endless, and that was as true in online games as it was anywhere else."
"The solution to that problem became one of Phantasy Star Online's most distinctive features, and a sign of just how much its designers were committed to the utopian vision of the internet as a way to bring people together. Phantasy Star Online actually used multiple chat systems, each offering a different way to communicate. One was Word Select, which allowed players to pick from"
Phantasy Star Online launched on the Sega Dreamcast on December 21, 2000, as one of the most ambitious console online games to date. The game embraced early internet optimism and delivered a sense of limitless possibility within online play. The project drew on titles like ChuChu Rocket and Sonic Adventure while providing a novel console multiplayer experience. Because many Dreamcast players lacked keyboards, Sonic Team implemented multiple chat systems to enable communication without typing. One system, Word Select, allowed players to choose preset words to communicate. Phantasy Star Online helped expand internet access and social play on consoles and foreshadowed modern MMOs.
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