Fan site Shogai PSO has posted more details on the recently revealed EXcube System and Photon Drop Exchange Shop. The information, found in gaming magazines that go on sale October 25th in Japan, includes a number of examples showing what players can purchase and for how much. Here's the scoop, with translations courtesy of Mike:

Photon Drop Exchange Shop: Finally a place to trade in all of those photon drops you've been hoarding. Here are some examples of what you can get:

1 Photon Sphere for 10 Photon Crystals

1 Photon Sphere for 99 Photon Drops

1 Photon Crystal for 10 Photon Drops

5 25% EXP Boosters for 1 Photon Sphere

1 75% EXP Booster for 1 Photon Sphere

3 Food Device / S-Attack Mini for 2 Photon Spheres

3 Food Device / R-Attack Mini for 2 Photon Spheres

3 Food Device / T-Attack Mini for 2 Photon Spheres

3 Food Device / Ability Mini for 2 Photon Spheres

EXcube System: EXcubes are given for earning experience while capped at level 50 (earning experience while capped at 30 or 40 does not give EXcubes). These are the items listed by Shogai as being available for trade through this system:

3 250% Rare Drop Rate Boosters for 2 EXcubes

1 +30% Grind Success Rate Booster for 1 EXcube

1 +30% Affix Success Rate Booster for 2 EXcubes

1 PB Device / Helix P for 10 EXcubes

1 PB Device / Helix I for 10 EXcubes

1 PB Device / Helix N for 10 EXcubes

1 PB Device / Aias P for 10 EXcubes

1 PB Device / Aias I for 10 EXcubes

1 PB Device / Aias N for 10 EXcubes

1 Rear / Tilwin Gamma unit for ?? EXcubes

1 Arm / Titastin Gamma unit for ?? EXcubes

1 Leg / Destren Gamma unit for ?? EXcubes

1 Rear / Brostol Gamma unit for ?? EXcubes

1 Arm / Pristea Gamma unit for ?? EXcubes

1 Leg / Breazen Gamma unit for ?? EXcubes

1 Rear / Rappy Feather unit for ?? EXcubes

1 new 10 star unit with Lucky Rise (the drop rate boosting ability) for ?? EXcubes

Both of these new item exchange systems, along with the new Ruins field, will launch on November 7th, giving players a couple more weeks to digest Call of Mortality Part 1 and newly released Part 2. November 7th also marks the end of SEGA's one-millionth user ID celebration.

If you feel like PSO2 might be getting an awful lot of massive content updates recently, well, you'd be right. Revealed last week, this latest update brings Call of Mortality: Part 2, as well as Halloween themed content, to Phantasy Star Online 2. Here's a recap of what was added (as seen on the official site):

Halloween Lobby (through 11/21)

"Trick or Treat" Emergency Quest, featuring the Cake Sisters (through 11/21).

Lantern Rappies with rare Pumpkin Rod drop (through 11/21).

New "Shii" NPC with limited-time client orders (through 11/21).

New Photon Arts for Partizan, Twin Daggers, Double Saber & Gunslash

New Ice & Light Technics

Very Hard Quests for Frozen Tundra, Mines & Flying Content

Many new rare enemy variations

New weapons

Interrupt ranking for specific enemy kills updated

Many new items added to FUN scratch, AC scratch, and AC Scratch Gold

The new costumes are in both AC Scratch (200AC) and AC Scratch Gold (500AC), though Gold is costumes ONLY. Here's a gallery of the new costumes and variations:

Don't forget, the one-millionth player ID events are still going on and Wednesday marks the start of the in-game rewards event. Just log in between now and November 7th for a free pack of boosters, as well as DAILY bonus FUN (as outlined, here).

For more information and discussion on this latest update, head on over to the PSO2 forums!

According to a news post on the official Phantasy Star Online 2 (JP) players site Monday, SEGA will be discontinuing their acceptance of American Express cards for AC purchase in the near future. Players who have purchased pre-paid AMEX cards for the purpose of buying AC should consider using them before this change takes effect.

In the future, only Visa, Mastercard, and JCB will be excepted for AC purchases. This change is likely related to steps SEGA has been taking to add further authentication measures to their online payment processing, though exact details are still unknown. A big thanks to Mike for posting the news in our forums!

Update 10/25: According to a new post on the official PSO2 JP players site, this change is now in effect and American Express will no longer be accepted.

The first ever Phantasy Star Online 2 offline meetup took place Saturday in Japan, hosted by PSO2 producer Satoshi Sakai and director Yuya Kimura. Fan site Shogai PSO was able to attend and get some new info on what's coming in the November content update (which we already know will be including the Ruins field, as well as new boss Zeshreida).

On their site is a transcript and audio recording of a chat with the two PSO2 devs. Here's some of the info they were able to find out, translated courtesy of Keii in our forums:

Photon Shop: This new shop which will accept Photon Drops as currency and will carry devices, weapons, armors, etc.

Excube System: A feature mentioned briefly by Sakai earlier this month. This system will allow players who have reached the maximum level and experience to trade in surplus experience in special shops. These shops will include new mag devices, 10 star units and other great things!

Also mentioned are new costumes (possibly the recently revealed PS Vita tie-in costumes) and new story content (which is likely tied to the Ruins field addition).

SEGA also unveiled its new "Arks Briefing Room" at the BigBox in Tokyo where the Arks Party was held, as covered by 4gamer. The room features a 4-player gaming rig that is designed to fully immerse players in the PSO2 experience. The room sports four EMPEROR 1510 gaming chairs, valued at about $10,500 each, and players can make reservations to rent them by the hour. Sakai and Kimura were present to cut the ribbons and a giant Rappy was on hand to keep the peace.

SEGA's official PSO2 blog site was updated today by producer Satoshi Sakai. While the update primarily covered information already revealed about the Call of Mortality: Part 2 content update coming on 10/24/2012, Sakai did throw in some new screenshots for upcoming costumes and accessories for Phanasy Star Online 2 (displayed below).

The first 8 costumes you may recognize from previous Phantasy Star titles, and that's because they appeared in PSU and PSP2. These costumes will be unlocked through some tie-in with the PS Vita version of PSO2, though Sakai could not reveal further details. The rest of the costumes and accessories will be added to AC & FUN Scratch in next week's update.

A big thanks to Mike for posting the news in the forums, where further discussion and information on this update can be found!

A special edition of Dengeki Playstation magazine, titled "Phantasy Star Online 2" is coming out on October 20th, 2012 and contains a code for an in-game item. The publication, mentioned today in a post on the JP players site and also on Dengeki's web site, is said to contain a plethora of information on items, classes, client orders, mags, drops and more. In addition, it includes interviews with PSO2 producer Satoshi Sakai and director Yuuya Kimura, as well as talk about the future of the game. All information is said to be up-to-date with the most recent content update.

Each issue will carry a price tag of 1,100 Yen and will also contain a code redeemable for a Phantasy Star Online 2 weapon named "Tradicion / Nacht" (?????/???), which looks like a giant scythe. It is currently available for purchase at Amazon.co.jp.

A new video has been released by SEGA showcasing "Part 2" of the Call of Mortality content update, which includes an upcoming Halloween Event, as well as some other additions to PSO2.

Prepare yourselves for Halloween lobbies, NPCs, costumes, themes, rappies, MAGS, missions, and more! In addition, it appears that additional Very Hard missions will be added for Frozen Tundra through Floating Continent, complete with new rare variations of De Malmoths, Snow Banshees, Signo Beats, and others to fight. Also included will be a new FUN rotation. Take a look:

The update is slated for an October 24th release (next week's update) and it looks like the Halloween event will be running through November 21st, 2012. A big thanks to PSOW member Z-0 for posting the news in our PSO2 forums! Further details and discussion can be found in this thread.

In a massive update to the Phantasy Star Online 2 Japanese players site, SEGA has officially kicked off the festivities surrounding the recently announced one-millionth player ID celebration. An official page for the celebration has been launched, detailing the four events that will take place between October 17th, 2012 and November 7, 2012. The events are listed below.

Event #1 - 100 Prize Giveaway (10/17/12 to 11/7/12) - Just log in during the event period for a chance to win one of the following prizes:

(2) Alienware M14x laptops with an original Phantasy Star Online 2 design

(10) Tickets to the 2013 25th Anniversary concert for the Phantasy Star Series

(30) Commemorative 1-millionth User ID t-shirts

(20) Phantasy Star Posters autographed by the development team

(3 Phantasy Star Series 25th Anniversary Collection soundtrack CDs.

Event #2 - In-game Item Rewards (10/24/12 to 11/7/12) - Just log in during the event period and receive the following in-game rewards:

(1) +50% EXP Booster

(1) +50% Rare Drop Booster

(1) +50% Meseta Drop Booster

+100 Bonus FUN (+200 for Premium) DAILY

Additional Bonus FUN for consecutive daily logins during event period (+50 / 100 daily on Day 3, +100 / 200 daily on Day 5).

Event #3 - Arkz Museum ATTACK Screenshot Contest (10/17/12 to 11/7/12) - Submit "attack" themed screenshots of your character performing any damaging attack. Screenshots will be selected to be published in a special report at a later date. Players who have their screenshot selected will received a gold Medal of Gratitude exclusive room decoration.

Screenshot submissions can be uploaded on the official site for the event.

Two screenshots must be submitted (one with your player ID showing, one without)

Screenshots may not be showing other enemies or players (photon blast creatures are okay).

No chat or UI should appear in the shots

Screenshots have a 1MB size limit

Do not crop images.

Submissions not sent via the official form will not be accepted.

Event #4 (3 Campaigns) - (10/17/12 to 11/7/12):

Matter Board Campaign: Players who obtain the 2nd and 4th matter boards by the end of the event period will receive in-game gifts:

(2) +50% Rare Drop Boosters (2 boards)

(2) +10% Grind Success Rate Boosters (4 boards)

Premium Set Campaign: Players who purchase a 30, 60, or 90 day premium set will receive an in-game gift:

(2) +10% Ability Add Booster

One-time Password Campaign: Players who set up a one-time password by the end of the campaign will receive a gift:

One day premium set

This is basically attaching an authenticator to your SEGA ID account. Upon login, you'll need to enter a second password which is only valid for a short amount of time. The code can be generated by software installed on your mobile device. For players comfortable enough to attempt this, additional information can be found on the player site here.

For more information and discussion on these events, be sure to head over to the PSO2 Forums!

Phantasy Star Online 2's regularly scheduled maintenance for October 17th, 2012 has completed and is available for download. As part of this update, players should see reduced costs for mates, grinding materials, medical center boosts, and other vendor-related items. The changes were first announced in last week's update from PSO2 producer Satoshi Saki regarding the game economy and player concern about the reduced vendor sell prices.

After the update, players should be running launcher version 01.03.04 (identified in lower left of launcher) and game version 1.0102.2 (displayed in lower right of the title screen).

Update: Haven't had a chance to log in yet? New item prices have been posted in the PSO2 Forum! Thanks BIG OLAF!