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By Tomeeboy at 01/18/2013 - 10:39am
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 SEGA has revealed more details on their upcoming concert, "Sympathy 2013", commemorating the Phantasy Star Series' 25th anniversary. The concert will be performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Masamichi Amano, and will feature at least 10 different pieces taken from a variety of past and present Phantasy Star games, including the opening theme for Phantasy Star Online 2.
In addition to the great music, attendees of the concert will receive special PSO2 item codes for items such as a Guitar Case rifle, Sonichi mag evolution device, nine different room items (including Grand Piano, Drum Set, Jukebox, etc.), four different music discs, and a Phantasy Star Series 25th Anniversary logo sticker. See image below for most of the items:
Sympathy 2013 will take place March 30th, 2013 at the Hibiya Public Hall in Hibiya Park, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. Tickets can be purchased for ¥7,300 or ¥7,800 (about $81 & $87 USD).
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By Tomeeboy at 12/18/2012 - 10:58pm
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To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first release in the Phantasy Star series, which took place on December 20th, 1987, Sega is having a special art event. They are calling this event the "Illustration Festival" and are asking fans to submit original, unpublished artwork covering any game in the Phantasy Star series.
The guidelines for submission are as follows:
Submission period: 12/19/12 to 1/16/13
Art relating to any game in the Phantasy Star series
Works must be original, unpublished, and created by the submitter
Accepted format is JPEG, up to 1MB in size
Image dimensions must be 1280x720
Multiple submissions from the same person will be accepted
There is extra emphasis on the fact that submissions should not have appeared anywhere else (including other web sites, blogs, social networks, etc.). The selected entries from this event will be published by SEGA in February 2013. There is no mention of any prizes or awards at this time, but we'll keep you updated on any further information that comes in!
For those looking to submit an original work, SEGA has provided a submission form on the official PSO2 JP players site. A SEGA ID is not required to participate, though the form does require an email address, artist name (or pseudonym), title, and comments.
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By Tomeeboy at 12/02/2012 - 1:00pm
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Starting today (Sunday), there's a huge sale going on for SEGA download bundles over at Amazon, with savings of AT LEAST 80% off in most cases! These download packs include a large number of games from SEGA's catalog, going back all the way to the Genesis days (the Genesis pack is only $4.99 and is made up of 50 classics, including Phantasy Star II, III, and IV). Here's a rundown of what is currently available (almost all of these can be activated on Steam, by the way):
Sega Genesis Classic Game Pack - $4.99 (50 Games, Classics Series 1-5)
Golden Axe, Altered Beast, Comix Zone, Ecco the Dolphin, Gain Ground, Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, VectorMan, Crack Down, Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi and Space Harrier II
Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle, Bonanza Bros., Columns, Ecco Jr., Eternal Champions, Fatal Labyrinth, Galaxy Force II, Kid Chameleon, Ristar and Super Thunder Blade
Alien Storm, Bio-Hazard Battle, Columns III, Sword of Vermilion, Virtua Fighter 2, Ecco: The Tides of Time, Decap Attack, Flicky, ESWAT: City Under Siege and Golden Axe II
Alien Soldier, Gunstar Heroes, Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole, Light Crusader, Shining Force, Shining Force II, Shining in the Darkness, Streets of Rage, Streets of Rage 2, and Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair
Phantasy Star 2, Golden Axe 3, Streets of Rage 3, The Revenge of Shinobi, Wonder Boy in Monster World, Vectorman 2, Phantasy Star IV: The End of the Millennium, Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom, Dynamite Headdy, and Beyond Oasis / The Story of Thor
Dreamcast Pack - $4.99
Crazy Taxi
Jet Set Radio
SEGA Bass Fishing
Sonic Adventure DX
Space Channel 5 Part 2
Sonic Action Pack - $24.99
Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Sonic 3D Blast
Sonic Adventure DX
Sonic CD
Sonic Generations Casino Night DLC
Sonic Generations
Sonic Spinball
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic the Hedgehog 4 Episode 1
Sonic The Hedgehog 4 Episode 2
Sega Arcade Collection - $14.99
Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg
Jet Set Radio
Renegade Ops Coldstrike Campaign
Renegade Ops
Virtua Tennis 4
Sega Action Only Pack - $19.99
Aliens vs. Predator
Binary Domain
Condemned: Criminal Origins
Hell Yeah
Viking Battle for Asgard
Total War Bundle + Viking + TW Battles - $23.75
Empire: Total War
Medieval II: Total War - Gold Edition
Napoleon: Total War Imperial Edition
Rome: Total War - Alexander (Expansion)
Rome: Total War - Gold Edition
Total War Battles: Shogun
Total War: SHOGUN 2 DLC - Rise of The Samurai Campaign
Total War: Shogun 2 - Fall of the Samurai
Total War: Shogun 2
Viking Battle for Asgard
The SEGA Genesis Collection for 5 bucks seems like a major no-brainer and includes some great classics, including three Phantasy Star games. In addition, Amazon is also offering a $5 promotional credit with the purchase of any of these bundles, good toward any "Editor's Choice" game download during January 2013, so it might just end up being free in the long run.
The sale will run through this week and will be ending on Saturday, December 8th, 2012. Drop by the comments and let us know what you pick up!
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By Tomeeboy at 11/10/2012 - 11:02am
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Update 11/12/12: The registration page is now working again for players outside of Japan. A big thanks to juliox for letting us know!
A flood of reports came in during the early morning hours today that SEGA had initiated a block on new SEGA ID registrations from outside of Japan. The block has since been confirmed, though the reasons behind it and its duration are still unknown. Players attempting to access the SEGA ID registration page for Phantasy Star Online 2 are receiving a plain white page with a single error message on it:
お客様の環境からはご利用できません。
(Essentially says, "Not available from your area.")
While initial reports speculated that the PSO2 client downloads were also being blocked, this does not seem to be the case at this time. In addition, existing SEGA ID accounts created from outside of Japan can still be logged in to and managed.
Also worth noting, is that these changes are not specific to Phantasy Star Online 2. SEGA ID registrations for SEGA's other online games, such as Rusty Hearts, are also giving the same error page when attempting to create an ID outside of Japan.
We'll keep an eye out for some kind of official statement from SEGA on this change, so stay tuned to the front page and forums for more info as it becomes available. There could be a number of reasons behind the block and it may just be a temporary measure.
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By Tomeeboy at 11/02/2012 - 10:42am
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Sega Sammy Holdings Inc. posted its 2nd quarter earnings summary Friday, covering everything from its Pachislot and Pachinko business to its consumer software division. Among the highlights (again), is Phantasy Star Online 2, which has continued to perform well in Japan and exceed the company's expectations.
 In a consolidated report covering the first half of the current fiscal year, SEGA's consumer business division, which includes packaged software and digital sales, showed noticeable improvements compared to the same period last year. The company continues to undergo restructuring in an attempt to become more profitable and focus on digital mediums.
Strong software sales and performance of digital titles, such as Phantasy Star Online 2, helped produce ¥35.7 billion ($44 million) in net sales, a 5.6% increase over last year. While the company did still show an operating loss of ¥780 million ($9.7 million) for this division, it is a huge improvement over the ¥6 billion ($74.5 million) loss during the same period in the previous fiscal year.
Looking on toward the future, SEGA still plans to bring numerous titles to the market and notes its continued intention to develop and release the smartphone and PS Vita versions of PSO2.
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By Ryna at 11/22/2011 - 4:46pm
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Phantasy Star Eternal Planets was officially released this week in Japan on Yahoo! Japan's Mobage platform. Eternal Planets is a browser-based role-playing game with microtransactions that is set contemporaneously with Phantasy Star Portable 2: Infinity. In the game, you are asked to explore unknown planets and harvest resources. Battles are handled using a turn-based system. New items, such as weapons and clothing, can be acquired by visiting the Meseta Shop. No plans have been announced to release Eternal Planets outside of Japan. A Yahoo! Japan account is required to play the game.
Fighting a Gaozoran
Status Screen
Credit goes to Tycho for bringing us this story and andriasang.com for providing the screenshots. You can discuss this game in this forum thread.
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By S-T-H at 11/17/2011 - 11:24pm
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In other Sega online gaming news, the company has acquired Three Rings Design, Inc. This formerly independent developer based in San Francisco created the well-known titles Puzzle Pirates and Spiral Knights. Both of these are Java-based MMOs. The developer is currently working on Doctor Who: Worlds in Time. This collaboration with the BBC will be a Flash-based F2P MMORPG. There are very few details on this title, but it is said to be launching in the near future.
More on this announcement can be found over on the Three Rings website or on the SEGA Blog.
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By S-T-H at 10/20/2011 - 11:24am
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Until November 1, there will be a sale on several of Sega's titles on PSN. Here are a few highlights:
- Phantasy Star Portable 2 is $19.99 (50% off)
- Valkyria Chronicles II and its DLC is $22.49 (50% off)
- PlayStation Plus members can get VCII and its DLC for $13.79 (almost 40% off)
For the whole list, see Sega's blog entry.
Update: Now that the sale is over, a few remnants have been left behind. It seems that the Valkyria pack actually had a price drop (aside from the additional Plus discount). It remains at $22.49. PSP2 dropped even further to $14.99.
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By S-T-H at 08/25/2011 - 3:28pm
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Sega has been announcing plenty of details for their presence at PAX Prime 2011. To begin, here's a list of various games they'll be showing off:
During PAX, Sega will also be holding a community event! Similar to last year's, here are those details:
- Who: Open to the public, all ages allowed!
- Where: GameWorks, 1511 7th Avenue, Seattle, WA
- When: Saturday, August 27th from 6:00 PM until 12:00 AM
- Food & Drink: We will have food and non-alcoholic drinks available for everyone. If you are 21 or older and would like to drink alcohol, you will be carded and given a wristband at the door. Alcohol will be served in the bar area only.
- Game Play: You will receive a card good for 2 hours of free game play from the time you first start playing. You can re-load the card if you wish to keep playing after 2 hours. The card works in all arcade machines in GameWorks. We will not have any demos of games from the show floor at GameWorks.
- Prizes: We will be raffling off 20 pieces (one per winner) of rare custom-made merchandise. But we’re not going to tell you what it is yet! Trust us though, you want it. (Ed. note: Check them out here.)
In addition, you might just have a chance at meeting up with an awesome lead news writer/official forum moderator. Actually I'm lying...it's just me. If you're going to PAX or are just in the area, I hope to see you there! A badge is not required for the community event, however you may want to line up early. There was quite a large group outside last year.
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By S-T-H at 07/17/2011 - 12:29pm
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Recent community team photo
With the departure of RubyEclipse (depicted right), Sega is looking to take on a new Assistant Community Manager. Barring the current Community Manger kellie (depicted bottom), much of the team has been made up of Phantasy Star Game Masters both past and present. Clumsyorchid (depicted left) and Edward@Sega (depicted center) comprise the other two current members.
To summarize, the community team is Sega's connection to its fanbase. It handles not only the official forums and blogs, but also communications on various social media sites. They bring information to the fans as well as collect feedback from them. Fans often partake in contests and events held by the group. They're also frequently seen showing off upcoming titles at conventions such as SDCC and PAX.
It should not have to be said, but any future member of this team should be incredibly passionate. Hopefully Sega will be able to find a truly willing and qualified candidate for the position.
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