Some changes will be coming to the way you see individual universes when you log in to Phantasy Star Universe and view the universe transporter this Friday. Both PC/PS2 and Xbox 360 servers will receive not only a reduction in the total number of universes, but also a complete naming overhaul. Now, instead of seeing "01 Universe," "02 Universe," etc., players will have a list of named universes to choose from, based on various constellations.

The PC/PS2 servers will be reduced from 18 to 10 universes, while the Xbox 360 servers will go from 30 to 20 universes. The new universe names are as follows:

Replacing 01-10 Universe on both servers:

• 01: Leo (Guide)
• 02: Caelum
• 03: Delphinus
• 04: Gemini
• 05: Libra
• 06: Orion
• 07: Phoenix
• 08: Scorpius
• 09: Chamaeleon
• 10: Draco

Replacing 11-20 Universe on the Xbox 360 server:

• 11: Auriga
• 12: Centaurus
• 13: Eridanus
• 14: Hydra
• 15: Lyra
• 16: Perseus
• 17: Crux
• 18: Tucana
• 19: Pyxis
• 20: Aquila

The official announcement of this change can be found here. Feel free to join in the discussion of these changes at the forums!

Update: Maintenance is complete and the servers are back up. However, a few small changes were made to the universe renaming. First, identifying numbers were added back. So now instead just seeing "Caelum" or "Perseus," you'll see "02: Caelum" or "16: Perseus." Second, the guide server has been renamed "Leo (Guide)" to fix a text-limits issue. Third, the universe known originally as "Lupus" has been renamed "Lyra" based on user feedback. And finally, the server list currently is centered in-game. This is only temporary and is planned to be moved to left-alignment. For full details on these changes, see the official announcement here.

Update: Reports have been coming in that the intended box fix for Bladed Legacy may not have occurred as players still are receiving only recovery items and -ium metals from the mission's clear boxes. We're awaiting official word on this for confirmation, and will update this post once we hear something.

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.

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Special thanks to Sydz for the news tip!

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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.

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

More Phantasy Star-related news has surfaced from the Tokyo Game Show! In a recent SEGA press conference, director Satoshi Sakai revealed that there is more to come with Phantasy Star Universe, teasing his audience with the following image.

The image reads:

Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus

Additional update confirmed!

* Details to be announced at a later date.

Unfortunately, that is the only info that was given out. This new work seems that it likely will be another expansion to PSU, however we will wait for official confirmation before speculating too much. In the meantime, you're invited to join in our discussion of this exciting news!

Gurhal Channel 5 will be airing a special news broadcast on October 17, giving all Guardians a chance to speak out to their comrades! News submissions are being accepted through Sunday, October 12, and may include promotions for community-run events, advertisements for player shops and even shout-outs to friends. You can submit your news to the GC5 staff at [email protected]. Remember to put "Hal's Radio" in the subject line. Also, please keep your submissions brief (approximately 40 words or less) and make sure to specify which game server you want your message to be sent out to. Selected submissions will be aired three times throughout Friday, October 17, during broadcasts which will last 30 minutes or less. The schedule for broadcasts is as follows.

• Morning broadcast - 10:00a.m. Pacific
• Afternoon broadcast - 3:00p.m. Pacific
• Evening broadcast - 8:00p.m. Pacific

For further information on Hal's broadcast, please see the official announcement. Special thanks to forum member dogg1000 for the news tip!

The official Japanese 360 PSU site was updated this morning with details on the update scheduled for October 10. In this update, we can expect to see many new items added to the lineup of the exchange mission The Collector, including EX Device GH490, Transfer: Neudaiz and various jukebox discs.

We'll keep you updated as we await the official English site to post details on this update.

Update: The official English site has been updated with details on this Friday's new content.

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!

Major Nelson reported earlier today that on Monday, September 29, the Xbox Live service will be going down temporarily in preparation for updates coming later this fall. The planned downtime will begin at 12:01a.m. Pacific and is expected to last for up to 24 hours. During the downtime, the Xbox Live service and "My Xbox" section of Xbox.com will be unavailable.

Between 3:40a.m. and 7:30a.m. Pacific, the Phantasy Star Universe servers and SEGA's websites were unavailable due to a hardware failure with SEGA's internet service provider. Though service has been restored, the ISP may need to replace some hardware which would require the service to go offline again for approximately an hour. Stay tuned to this report and chillaura's post at the official message board for further details.

Update: Chillaura made another post in reference to the possibility of a short downtime, stating that they are waiting for a decision from SonicTeam before taking the servers down. If necessary, it could be done tonight or tomorrow, but there's also a chance that the procedure could be handled during Thursday night's scheduled maintenance. We'll be sure to keep you posted.

Update: With not further official mention of this, it seems safe to assume that any hardware replacement was taken care of during normal server maintenance downtime Thursday night/Friday morning.

An interview with Satoshi Sakai, producer of Phantasy Star Universe and now Phantasy Star Zero, was published in the September 20 issue of Nintendo Dream. Fan site Shougai PSO posted a synopsis of the article which you can find translated here. For quick reference, here is a list of new game details Mr. Sakai revealed.

• Phantasy Star Zero is a completely new title set in a brand new world.
• Zero's gameplay mechanics will be based heavily around PSO's. But despite this, the developers hope that the unique style will attract more fans to the series, even those who have never touched a previous Phantasy Star title.
• The Nintendo DS was selected as the platform for this title to help broaden the age range of players.
• Zero was selected as part of the title to invoke thoughts of a new beginning for the series.
• You will be able to play with people you've never met over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. No details were given on if or how Friend Codes will be used, however.
• PS0 will not support voice chat or vibration functions.
• PSO's word select system is a possibility, but has not been confirmed.
• PSO's symbol chat will not return for this game. It is being replaced by visual chat, allowing users to draw their own pictures using the stylus.
• Many common item and technique names will return from PSO.
• The developers hope that, despite this game taking place in a completely new world, it will still bring out feelings of nostalgia and other fond memories.

Stay tuned for more information on Phantasy Star Zero. We expect to see new details rolling in more quickly as we approach the Japanese release of this title in three short months!