PSOW's intrepid staff member, Rena-ko, spotted the following news at gamefront.de today:

"Sega announced in the latest issue of Famitsu that the online fees for Phantasy Star Universe will be 1260 yen (8.94 EU/ 10.53 USD) for your first 30 days online. After that, it will cost 1050 yen (7.45 EU/8.78 USD) to renew your account each month if you use the automatic renewal service."

Also, a new screenshot of the infamous Two-Headed Dragon was released. You can see it here:


You can discuss this news in our Phantasy Star Universe forum.

EDIT: The article on the page said nothing about a free trial period. At this point, we do not know whether PSU will have one or not.

kevlar_pso writes, "On the US PSO-X servers Halloween is over and Christmas is here. You may now find Saint Rappies, which if you've been nice this past year will give you a Christmas Present. Also, Pioneer Christmas has been uploaded. If you need some help with this quest, be sure to check out this thread in our forums."

PSOW's eagle-eyed Staff Member, Dhylec, spotted this news article earlier today. In it, details about the PSU preorder items were announced. As you may recall the preorder bonus items included a Visual Guide and CD. According to the news article, the Visual Guide will include concept drawings, character information, planet illustrations, and much more! The CD will include the Main and Opening themes for Phantasy Star Universe. Also, six new screenshots were revealed. Be sure to click on the thumbnails to see the full-sized versions!


Visual Guide and CD


Screenshots




You can discuss this news in our Phantasy Star Universe forum.

Several details of the Phantasy Star Universe launch in Japan were revealed today. First, the PS2 and PC versions of the game will be released on February 16, 2006. Based on this webpage, it appears that in addition to the retail version, Sega Direct will be offering its own special version. Both versions are slated to include a visual guide book and music CD if you preorder the game. However, it looks like the Sega Direct version will be offering an unspecific bonus. The Sega Direct version will cost 6800 yen (about 70 USD), while the retail will be 6120 yen (around 60 USD).

To be able to play online, you will need a Sega Link account. You will be able to obtain it from here. We know that it will be a fee-based service. However, it is unknown how much the fee will be. Additionally, it looks like you maybe able to share your account between the PS2 and PC versions of the game.

Also, the minimum requirements for the PC version of PSU were announced. You can see them here:
Operating System: Windows 2000/XP
Processor: 1.6 GHz Pentium 4
RAM: 256 MB
Hard Drive Space: 8 GB
Video Card: 3D card with 64 MB of VRAM
Direct X: 9.0
Network Connection: Broadband
Additional Comments: DVD Drive required.

Credit goes to PhotonCat for spotting this announcement. If you would like to discuss this annoucement, please visit our PSU forum.

EDIT: If you register your Sega Link account by the end of January (registration is free), you will receive an in-game item and have access to an exclusive screensaver. Also, you will be entered into a lottery to receive a Net Cash Card. You can read about the details here.

quo writes, "The Christmas decorations are now up, and Saint Rappies have replaced the Hallo rappies on the US BB servers.

Remember that Saint Rappies drop different mag cells than what the Hallo Rappies did. From the mag cells the Saint Rappies provide, you'll be able to make a Sega Console Mag, Panzer Tail, Angel Wings, Devil Wings, or Davil Tail."

The new Team Quest, Point of Disaster, has been uploaded for US/EU Blue Burst players. This is a timed quest that features a boss that cannot be accessed through any other quest. We have put together a guide to help out anyone that is having trouble with this quest. It can be found here. If you have any questions, please post in our forums.

Also, please remember that the Halloween decorations will be taken down on the 26th. If you haven't got your Jack-O'-Lantern yet, you'll have to hurry!

EDIT: The Christmas decorations are set to go up at the end of this month. St. Rappies will appear at this time and you will be able to obtain a new set of mag cells!

Nash has revealed that according to this week's issue of Famitsu, Phantasy Star Universe is set to be released on February 16, 2006 at a cost of 7140 yet (about 70 USD). There has not been any reliable confirmations of a US release date yet. Even though it may seem like a long wait, be sure to continue reading PSOW for all the latest Phantasy Star Universe News.

If you would like to discuss this announcement, please visit our Phantasy Star Universe forums.

It is time again for another Phantasy Star Universe website update! In this week's update, a new 'battle' video was uploaded which features Ethan using a variety of weapons and photon arts. Additionally, we get to see a number of new enemies and the PSU battle display system. If that isn't a good enough reason to watch the video, it also features an excellent soundtrack! Finally, there is a small summary of the Gaming Japan Festival where PSU was demonstrated.


PSU Battle Video:



As stated above, there are a large number of monsters shown in this video. This includes the previously-seen Dragon, a gargoyle, several machines, and even a double-headed Dragon. Since Ethan is seen knocking some of these monsters on their backs, so it maybe possible to gain a strategic advantage based on how you tackle the enemy. This is in sharp contrast to PSO where you can only briefly stun monsters with an attack. Also, we get a feeling for what the information display will be like during gameplay. In the upper-righthand corner will be a rader. Your character's avatar, level, and HP is displayed in the lower-lefthand corner. Above it is a summary of the current status of your party's health. In the the lower-righthand corner is the action palette. Immediately below it is your PP gauge and an icon representing what you currently have equipped.

You can view the official video stream here. If you are having trouble viewing the video using that link, you can download it here.

Gaming Japan Festival:

Included in this update was a summary of the Gaming Japan Festival that was held in Osaka, Japan on November 12th and 13th. Several dozen people lined up during the Festival to be able to play Phantasy Star Universe.

LoveJuice gets credit for letting us know about this update. You can discuss this exciting update in our Phantasy Star Universe forum.

LoveJuice wrote in to let us know that the latest issue of Famitsu Magazine contains a 2 page spread on Phantasy Star Universe. GamesAreFun.com posted the scans and we are rehosting them so you will get the chance to see them! Click on the thumbnail to display the full-sized scan.



Most of the images in these scans were seen in the last update. However, there is some new content involving in-game cut-scenes. In the first scene, Lumia is abducted by the Vol brothers! Fortunately, Leo is around to save the day. In the other scene, Ethan and Hyuga appear to be getting into a fight.