Right on the heels of Tuesday's MAG+ announcement comes some saddening news for the local PC/PS2 Phantasy Star Universe servers. GM Edward posted on the official forum that the English PC/PS2 servers will be closing Wednesday, March 31, 2010. Next week's update on January 29 will be the PC/PS2 version's final update.
 
As of January 29, 2010, no new PC/PS2 subscriptions will be available for purchase, however any players who are subscribed as of that time will be able to continue playing for free for the remaining two months until service is ended. Keep in mind that this applies only to the PC/PS2 version of Phantasy Star Universe. The Xbox 360 version will continue to be supported with future content updates.
 
PSOW user Artea has created a thread detailing this news. Feel free to join the discussion to share your memories of the game's past or vent your frustrations (responsibly, of course).
 
RIP English PC/PS2 PSU
October 24, 2006 - March 31, 2010

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We're all stuck playing the waiting game as we jump at any tiny bit of information or news on Phantasy Star Online 2. Well, a little bit of info came to light recently. Don't jump too high, though! We may have a few more months to go before real news starts to surface.

From the most recent issue of Dengeki Games and via the news site Shougai PSO, an interview with Producer Sakai, Senior Director Terada and Director Suganuma has shed a little more light on PSO2

• Development of PSO2 has been running alongside PSP2 Infinity, so the game is further along in development than some people likely think.
• Some kind of announcement may be made around the end of April, during the finals of the Infinity Grand Prix.
• PSO2 will not be set in either Ragol or Gurhal. Instead, look forward to an even larger setting with numerous planets as indicated by the game's logo.

And... that's all for now. It's not much to work with, but it's definitely a start. Join in the discussion of this news in this thread!

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A brand new title in the Phantasy Star series was just announced by SEGA.

 

Entitled Phantasy Star ZERO, this will be the series' first outing on the Nintendo DS. ZERO is said to be a completely new game, though it will borrow heavily from the Phantasy Star Online series. This new title will feature a single-player story mode as well as multi-player online through Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and local area networks (both up to four players). Multi modes will allow for communication through visual chat, which allows players to draw their own artwork or write their own text for their teammates to see.

 

Keeping in touch with its apparent predecessor, Phantasy Star ZERO will have the return of many race/job combos from Phantasy Star Online. This includes ones such as RAcast, FOmarl, HUmar and HUcaseal, but a few newcomers have also been revealed like the HUnewm and HUmarl. Furthermore, this new title will feature many new areas and lobbies to explore. Three such areas include the Glacea Ravine, Riou Snowfields and the Ozett Swamp. Information is a bit scarce on this new title, but we can expect to see more details in the coming months, as ZERO is slated for a Japanese release this winter.

 

Stay tuned! We'll be sure to bring you the latest info as it arrives! Special thanks goes out to Toadthroat over at the forum for bringing us this information! Feel free to join in the discussion!

 

Update: Famitsu scans

Update #2: The official Japanese PS0 website has been launched! A few important notes from what the site offers include the confirmation of character creation and that there will be a total of three races (human, newman, android) and 14 race/job combos in the game. Also, the main stage will be the Earth and its moon.

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The very first footage of Phantasy Star Zero has been released!

Aside from this, images from the latest issue of Famitsu surfaced, revealing new bits of information on the upcoming DS title. I took a moment to translate what I could make out, though some details are a bit sketchy due to the blurriness of the picture. I'll be sure to update this post as I am able to clarify any of this.

• Two story characters have been revealed: Salisa (newman) and Kai (human). Salisa is described as "a young girl from a forgotten race" while Kai is called "a veteran Hunter."
• Photon arts are confirmed for the game, explaining the presence of a PP gauge in previous screens as opposed to a TP gauge. When PP is used with a weapon, a "charge attack" is performed, otherwise known as a photon art. The style of attack varies depending on weapons.
• One new technique was revealed: Alresta. This heals all party members within a certain radius of the caster as opposed to Resta which heals only the caster. It turns out that Alresta is simply a "charged" version of Resta.
• Newmans were born on the moon, and are a good-natured race that had been long forgotten.
• As with Phantasy Star Online, the background music in Zero will change when enemies are encountered.
• The story mode focuses on a group known collectively as "The Hunters." They discovered weaponry based around photon energy from an ancient civilization and now are using those weapons to fight back against a presently unnamed enemy.

Thanks to Evila for posting the magazine article and trailer! Also, feel free to jump into our discussion of this new info at the newly-opened Phantasy Star Zero forum!

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A brand new set of screenshots from Phantasy Star Online 2 has been released in this week's official Japanese newsletter! (Check the link for a full translation.) Let's waste no more time and take a gander! Be sure to click on the screenshots to view larger versions.

A HUnewearl shows off a new weapon category.

The frighteningly huge Rockbear!

It's a group effort!

That's not all, however! The newsletter also revealed that a PSO2 media briefing is scheduled for Tuesday, July 26, complete with a live broadcast on the Japanese video-sharing site Niconico Douga! Look forward to new videos, screens and information!

Join in the discussion (and speculation) of these new screens in Angelo's thread at the forum. And stay tuned for more information to come from next week's media briefing!

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The official Japanese Xbox 360 site was update this morning with details on this Friday's content update to the local servers. Here's what all we can expect after the servers come back up from maintenance this Friday.

• Three new GUARDIANS types are being released: Fighmaster, Gunmaster and Masterforce.
• With the new types, certain photon arts will be able to reach LV50!
• Wartechers, Fortetechers and Acrotechers will each receive a ten level boost to their current support TECHNIC cap. Guntechers' attack TECHNIC cap will increase from LV20 to LV30.
• The sixth chapter of Episode 3 will make its debut.
• Christmas makes its return, bringing with it the rare Rappy Noel!
• NPC Hyuga Ryght will have some adjustments made to his AI.

Special thanks to Marshall Banana for the news tip. You can join in the discussion of this exciting update over at the forum!

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• November 29: Hunters License sales and usage of all special access codes halted.
• November 30 - December 27: Free access to the game servers.
• December 14 - December 27: Special bonuses applied (rare drops x10, rare enemies x5, EXP x2).
• December 27: Servers go offline at 4:00p.m. JST.

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According to gaming news site 1Up.com, SEGA have confirmed that Phantasy Star Portable is scheduled to be released in the United States in March of 2009! An exact date within the month has not been revealed, but stay tuned as we'll be sure to report any information on that as it surfaces.

 

Special thanks to Sydz for the news tip!

 

Update: In an interview with director Satoshi Sakai, conducted by 1Up.com, it was confirmed that the localized release of Phantasy Star Portable will not support the character upload feature that the Japanese version has. To clarify, this only means that you will not be able to transfer the likeness of your character (with some items, Meseta and a small jump on leveling) from AOTI to PSP.

 

Update: The official press release has been posted here. The initial batch of screens have been posted here.

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An announcement for the upcoming May 29 content update has been posted at the official English Phantasy Star Universe website! Aside from the end of Shred the Darkness, here's what else to expect next week.

• Real Hand Gun+ and Moatoob Collectible will be delivered via common box to all eligible participants of March's Phantasy Star Portable launch event. Make sure you have enough room available to receive these items!
• The Parum Unification Commemoration lobby will go up in Holtes City.
• Despite Shred the Darkness ending, the event's exchange mission "Dark Crystal Seeker" will be sticking around for anyone who may have any leftover Megispheres to trade.
• Casino Voloyal's exchange counter will be updated with the usual room decoration rotation.

Feel free to discuss this update in this thread at the forum.

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You may remember our news post from October detailing information on two recently-discovered Phantasy Star trademarks. Now through various Japanese game news sources, such as Gpara.com and 4Gamer.net, SonicTeam have unveiled one of the two titles.

Phantasy Star Eternal Hunters is a Japan-exclusive mobile game app being hosted through the Japanese service Mobage Town. Categorized as a "region-based" RPG, this game lets players undertake the investigation of an unknown planet where they must carry out a top secret mission gathering data and investigating a ship which had to make an emergency landing on the planet. The application utilizes your phone's GPS capabilities to determine what type of monsters you will encounter, so as you move from area to area across Japan, you will discover new monsters to battle. Furthermore, Eternal Hunters will be linked with the upcoming Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity, letting you obtain exclusive weapons for use in the PSP title.

Eternal Hunters is slated for release on Japanese mobile devices this winter. Pre-registration has begun, and a lucky 30,000 registrants will be selected for an early trial run of the game. Once service of the full game begins, it will be free to play, however you will have the option to purchase items for use in the game.

Thanks goes out to DarK-SuN for posting information on this title. Check out the thread to join in the discussion!

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