A very recent rumor has been confirmed by way of an announcement which Nintendo has made today in Japan.
They will be releasing a version of the Nintendo DS featuring by far the largest screens of any model currently available. *Instead of 3" (DS/DS Lite) or 3.25" (DSi), this new model will feature dual 4.2" screens. *Additional dimensions (including a picture of the larger, bundled stylus) can be found here. *The system is slated to go on sale in Japan starting on November 21st for*¥20,000 (about $220). *It will include three DSiWare titles and be available in three colors.
For reference, the competing PlayStation Portable has a 4.3" display. *The PSP Go features a 3.8" display.
Phantasy Star Zero will be available in English for the Nintendo DS in under two weeks. *What model will you be playing it on?*
Update:*Nintendo has announced the "Nintendo DSi XL" for North America and Europe. *It will be released first quarter next year.
The original Sega Master System version of Phantasy Star hit the Virtual Console today in North America. It was released in Japan on April 21st and Europe on August 14th. Pricing for the game is 500 Nintendo Points.
For those keeping track, this is the last of the original series to do so. Phantasy Star II, III, and IV have already been released at 800 Nintendo Points a piece.
Update: There is now a game page about Phantasy Star on Sega's own site as well as a blog entry about the release from PSU's current GM.
Microsoft formally announced today that beginning on August 28th, the price for the Xbox 360 Elite will decrease by $100 to $299.99. However, the Elite version will no longer ship with the HDMI or HD Component cables. In addition, the Pro version of the console is being phased out. The new price for the Pro bundle will be $249. It is expected that all remaining Pro versions will be sold by the end of the year.
The newest dashboard update (previously mentioned here) is currently going out to all 360 owners as a mandatory upgrade. *As a part of this update, Microsoft is implementing a simple user rating system. It is possible to rate just about any piece of content on the marketplace (as well as retail games) from one to five stars.
How did Phantasy Star Universe (the original retail disc) and Ambition of the Illuminus (the currently 800 point expansion) rate on your own profiles? Did you focus more on the gameplay, content, or time you've put into the game? *Is it more representative of your current feelings about the game or does it encompass the time that you've played overall? *Do you feel this will offer a more accurate view of the game in comparison to a summary of professional scores or not?
If you haven't gone ahead to try the user ratings yet, go and check it out. *A simple score may or may not be effective in determining the worth of a game like PSU in comparison to others, but it will still be of interest once enough players have put in their rating.
8/13 Update:*New functionality has been added to the PC-accessible version of the marketplace. *This includes the ability to see and rate content. *As of about 3 PM PDT, PSU is scoring 4.25/5 with 2245 votes and AOTI is scoring 4.5/5 with 141 votes. *The PSU marketplace page can be found here.
Would Classic Phantasy Star fans like to be known as Sega Heroes? If you have a suggestion or would like to offer feedback, be sure to post on the blog page."Today, we’d like to get your thoughts. SEGA is potentially going to be grouping together fans of our JRPG’s (like the games listed above), and we’d like to give said group a bit of identity. What’s in a name? Well - just about everything!
If you had to pick something fairly short and sweet to speak to what SEGA’s best RPG’s are all about, what would it be? Right now, we’d like to get feedback on this name SEGA Heroes.
Does the term “Heroes” fit the bill and speak to all of our best Japanese RPG’s? We’re looking for a name that is short and sweet, general enough that it can apply to all our RPG’s, and still sounds about as awesome as a plate of hotcakes in the morning."
A set of trading cards based on the voice actress Rie Tanaka will be released in September. Known for providing the Japanese voices for Karen in Phantasy Star Universe and Helga in Phantasy Star Portable, Rie Tanaka's name also appears in the English item descriptions for the Halp Serafi and Dagger of Serafi. There will be 147 cards in the set. Packs will cost 550 Yen (~$5.50) each, while an individual box will cost 6,300 Yen (~$66).
In three weeks, Microsoft will be releasing its next major dashboard update. Included are many recently announced features and general improvements. You can find an overview of what is and isn't in it here. Much of the downtime regarding this update should have already passed, but any further amount will be reported on as it is announced. For a chance at an early update, you can take a survey from Microsoft to be included in a pool of users that they are going to draw from for their preview program.
Another large update is expected to follow this one later in the year. *This should include the rest of the currently shown features.
RubyEclipse and the Sega of America PR Team are going to be at the San Diego Comic Con from July 23 to July 26. If you are able to attend this convention, you maybe able to obtain Phantasy Star swag such as Phantasy Star Universe wristbands, Blue Orb Texters, Phantasy Star Universe figures, and Phantasy Star Zero inflatable Rappy Armbands. To be eligible, you must satisfy one of the following conditions:
Additional details can be found in this forum thread.
Update: The schedule to meet with Sega representatives and show off your outfits and knowledge is located here.
NGS killed this franchise
Open world is a trap meme Sega fell for.