Tag Archive

Rumour : New Phantasy Star Online Game In The Works

Posted on February 2, 2024 by Rae Michelle Richards

Phantasy Star Online: New Genesis Version 2 just received a major update that included a level cap increase, concluding the Episode 6 storyline but that hasn’t stopped rumours that the next entry in the two decades old “Online” sub-franchise is in development.

This rumor comes by the way of X user MbKKsBHz3 (who despite having a handle that looks like a random password) is a well known leaker of all things SEGA and Atlus.

”There is a new PSO2 related title in development.” They wrote on X several days ago, which was picked up by the GamingLeaksandRumors SubReddit along with a collection of other tweets related to Atlus and SEGA related IP.

It is surprising to me that they specifically mention a “new PSO2 related game” as the base version of PSO2 is over a decade old and New Genesis’ open field concept hasn’t exactly set the fan base ablaze with hype. On a good day NGS can barely muster 2,000 players on Steam.

It will be interesting to see how SEGA handles a new entry in the PSO franchise given how fast they burned through 10 years of PSO2 base ver content in just 16 months only to launch NGS to mostly mixed reaction and server issues.

PSO2 did receive one spin-off game in the form of Phantasy Star Nova, a monster hunter type game using some assets from PSO2 for the PlayStation Vita. That game is long out of print but if you happen to have a copy, like I do, there is an unofficial English translation available.

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Final Fantasy XIV / Phantasy Star Online 2 Crossover Announced

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

FFXIV X PSO2

Two super popular MMORPG games will be coming together for a collaborative event later this summer. A small bit of the world of Eorezea from Square Enix’s popular Final Fantasy XIV will come to SEGA’s galactic sci-fi MMORPG Phantasy Star Online in the form of new equipable items based upon the FFXIV Miqote race and an Odin boss fight encounter.

FFXIV producer Naoki Yoshida (known within the FFXIV community as Yoshi-P) made a special guest appearance at today’s Phantasy Star Online 2 fan event in Tokyo alongside the surprise announcement. The crowd in attendance reportedly began chanting “Yoshi OH OH OH OH OH” as he took the stage at the end of the PSO2 celebration announcements held on the main stage.

Alongside the announcement Square Enix / SEGA released a collaborative trailer that showcases the Odin boss fight. In it we can see an entire raid party take on the iconic black armor clad Final Fantasy boss, doing their best to use PSO2’s energy based weapon against their imposing, horse riding opponent. Ultimately the entire party falls victim to Odin’s iconic zantetsuken attack, which wipes out the entire party in one swift hit.

FFXIV_Odin

No word if FFXIV will be getting PSO2 cross over items, however, that game’s fanfest isn’t until later this year. As of right now, PSO2 isn’t even available in the West. The PSO2 X FFXIV crossover items / encounter are expected to be released sometime in Summer 2016.

[youtube id=”QPD7k2GvFYs”]

Source: YouTube / PSO 2 Live Stream

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Japanese Phantasy Star Online 2 PS4 Beta Detailed

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Phantasy Star Online 2

During a live-stream held today for the Playstation 4 version of sci-fi MMORPG Phantasy Star Online 2 publisher/developer SEGA announced that the Japanese closed beta for PSO2 on PS4 will begin in just a few short weeks. For console users this will be their first chance to join their fellow Guardians on PC in exploring the galaxy in this latest take on the long running Phantasy Star series.

Registration for the JPN PSO2 console beta will open on January 25th and will run until Feb 25th. All potential players have to do to be selected for the beta is download a special “ticket” from the JPN PlayStation Store between those dates. 50,000 eligible accounts will be selected by SEGA and entered into the closed beta phase which will run from Feb 25th thru March 6th. According to the live-stream the closed beta won’t be live that entire time, but rather select windows of time. The floodgates for all Japanese PlayStation users open on April 20th, and best of all PSO2 won’t require PlayStation Plus to play online!

As of press time the Japanese PC version of PSO2 does not filter via geolocated IP address, meaning that North American players can play together on Japanese servers. SEGA has been oddly silent on the potential western release of PSO2, with their official social media account going dark since PAX 2012. Reportedly a contract between SEGA and their Chinese distribution partners is one of the reasons for the continued silence and lack of a western release. At this point with over 4 years between releases it seems doubtful SEGA would ever bring the game here.

Check out some screen grabs from the live-stream after the jump.Read More

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Rumor: Distribution Agreement The Reason PSO2 Has Yet To Reach Western Shores

Posted on January 2, 2016 by Rae Michelle Richards

Phantasy Star Online 2

Could a single contract be responsible for Phantasy Star Online 2 not seeing a western release despite the huge success of Free-to-Play MMORPGs?  According to a source speaking anonymously to SEGA fan site TSSZ Beyond Blue, this is indeed the case. This particular agreement is speculated to be between SEGA of Japan and Gamania Digital Entertainment, it is said that SEGA is barred from publishing PSO2 on any distribution platform and not just Valve’s Steam – which has been their mainstay for PC ports.

For western fans of the long dormant series there may yet be hope – the agreement between the two companies is said to have a finite length, meaning that the clauses dealing with distribution will eventually expire although an exact timeframe is not known. Gamania was involved with the Chinese rollout of Phantasy Star Online 2 in both mainland China, Hong Kong and Tawian.

Official communication with western fans ceased on the official PSO English North Ameriecan Facebook pag went dark over three years ago after the game was playable at PAX Prime 2012. Fans have since had to download the Japanese version and use unofficial translation patches to get the game into a playable state or use VPNs to play the official English version launched in South East Asia launched in 2014

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Phantasy Star Online 2 Anime Due Out In 2016

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Rae Michelle Richards

SEGA of Japan has announced an animated adaptation of its popular Japanese free-to-play MMORPG Phantasy Star Online. The anew anime titled Phantasy Star Online 2: The Animation will debut sometime in 2016 to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the original PSO on the Dreamcast and will take place on a near future presumably before the events of the game.

The Windows PC version of Phantasy Star Online 2 was released in Japan in 2012 with a PlayStation Vita version following in 2013 and an Android version for Smart Phones and tablets last year. A localized English version of PSO2 went live in southern Asia last March and there has been little word on a North American or European release outside of vague omissions by Sega America that the game has been delayed.

You can check out the website for Phantasy Star Online 2: The Animation here.

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Phantasy Star Online 2 Vita Beta Begins In Japan

Posted on December 5, 2012 by Rae Michelle Richards

Phantasy Star Online 2 isn’t even out in North America yet but that hasn’t stopped an entire community of avid players from either figuring out how to sign up the Japanese version or posting on forums about the game. PSO2 will see a release on Sony’s Ps Vita sometime early next year in Japan and right now beta sign ups are available for the portable version.

I’m sure by the time this article is published thousands of English speaking gamers will be flooding the servers with their vitas. In order to sign up for the Japanese Beta you will need a PS Vita with an active Japanese PSN account as well as a SEGA Network ID. There are a limited number of spots (50,000) so HURRY!

Only the PC version has been confirmed for North America and is scheduled to arrive sometime next spring. PSO2 is also heading to mobile android phones in Japan but just like the Vita version it may never see the light of day on our shores. When the Vita version releases next Feb it will be available free of charge, supported by micro transactions, or as part of a retail bundle that includes a ton of extras.

Source

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SEGA Bans Foreign PSO 2 Players With Latest Patch

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Rae Michelle Richards

Sad news for anyone trying to connect to Phantasy Star Online 2, SEGA Japan has decided to limit access to the nation of Japan. That means that the 1000s of North American and European players, members of our staff included, are no longer able to access the game from this point forward. It looks like those of us outside of the land of the rising sun will have to wait until 2013 to get a taste of that sweet free to play Phantasy Star Online action.

SEGA’s updated terms of service forbids users from connecting to the game using either an internet connection located outside of Japan or a proxy within the country. No exact reason was stated in the terms of service but it could be because foreign players are believed to be behind a string of hacks, including the removal of Non Player Characters.Read More

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Phantasy Star Online 2 Launches In North America Next Year

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Rae Michelle Richards

SEGA’s Phantasy Star Online 2 launched in Japan over the July 4th holiday and the amount of buzz in the western gaming press has been more than impressive. SEGA of America confirmed this morning through press release that PSO 2 will be published in North America on Windows PC sometime in 2013.

PSO2  features 3 different classes for players to choose from – magic users, to ranged combat and hand to hand melees. The maps in Phantasy Star Online 2 will also be randomly generated, which is quite different from the original as that game only featured 4 maps with two variations each.

SEGA launched a small teaser site for the game. On the site you can check out brief bios for each of three clases & races as well as a pretty good primer if you missed the original game 12 years ago. The site is set to offer wallpapers and videos, but none where available at the time of writing.Read More

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Phantasy Star Online 2 Now Live, Here’s How You Can Sign Up

Posted on July 6, 2012 by Rae Michelle Richards

Phantasy Star Online 2, Sega’s decade long water torture  sequel to one of the most addicting console action RPGs has finally launched in its native Japan. Over independence day Sega flipped the switch on the final build of PSO2 and even if you don’t speak Japanese or can’t read Kanji you too can join in on the fun with a little bit of technical wizardry and patience.Read More

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SEGA Shutting Down Xbox 360 Phantasy Star Servers

Posted on June 10, 2012 by Rae Michelle Richards

The lights will finally go out for SEGA’s Phantasy Star Universe on September 7th, just three short months from now. The Xbox 360 version of the game is actually the last of three released (the game also came out for PS2 and PC) to support online play but that is about to come to an end.

The shutdown of the PSU servers is certainly a blow for the small but dedicated community who have kept the game going all of these years. SEGA did issue a brief statement about the shutdown on their official forums:Read More

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Sega’s Phantasy Star Online 2 Will Be Free 2 Play, On Smartphones

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Rae Michelle Richards

Sega has announced some brand new details for their upcoming MMORPG Phantasy Star Online 2. The game was previously confirmed for the PS Vita as well as Windows PC and has now been confirmed for Japanese Smartphones.

The publisher also confirmed that the PC version will be free-to-play supported by in-game micro transactions. Micro transactions will also be supported on the PS Vita and Mobile versions, whoever it is unknown if players will have to play for the client software. Unlike other “free 2 play” MMOs the in-game store will not restrict free players to a certain level cap or offer experience boosts. Items purchased with “AresCash” (in game currency) will be used for cosmetic changes to player’s characters.

Read More

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