• Sega President Hints at Western Release

    In a Gamasutra interview, Sega of America President Simon Jeffery hinted at a Western release for Phantasy Star Portable. Here is a quote from the interview:
    Gamasutra: I was amused to see the Phantasy Star Portable news, because it was like a lightbulb went off at Sega. "Maybe we should take our idea back from Monster Hunter!"
    Simon Jeffery: Right. (laughter) I think that's exactly what happened at Sega!

    Gamasutra: Capcom has had difficulty putting that model forward in the west, but Phantasy Star has done okay. Maybe not as well as it should, but okay.
    Simon Jeffery: It's done okay, and there's still quite a lot of people out there playing it every month.

    Gamasutra: So do you think you can take that market here with that title?
    Simon Jeffery: I think that it's not going to be a blockbuster success, but I think it will be a niche success. I'm certainly hopeful that it's more of a success in the west than Monster Hunter has been. There is a built-in audience for it already there.

    I think the crossover of the PSP ownership will work quite nicely, so we're fairly hopeful we can make something out of it. It's not going to be huge, but hopefully it'll be interesting.
    While a Western release has not been formally announced yet, these comments should be taken as strong indication that Phantasy Star Portable will be released outside Japan.

    Credit goes to Blueblur for spotting this interview. You can discuss this news in our Phantasy Star Portable forum.
    Comments 3 Comments
    1. ShadowedHogosha's Avatar
      ShadowedHogosha -
      If it does, I might actually invest in a PSP. Who knows?
    1. ZyphNeko's Avatar
      ZyphNeko -
      It would be ridiculous if this game didn't release outside of Japan. We got basicly every other Phantasy Star game here in the west, no?
      Hopefully I can grab my brother's PSP for this...
      I have good hopes for this game.
      Neko~
    1. shad0w380's Avatar
      shad0w380 -
      well im not sure but i think i heard that its coming the 20 of march witch is a friday but im not really sure hope this helps
    Untitled Document