One of the new items introduced in Ambition of the Illuminus has created a bit of a stir lately. The Photon Gacha, available as a prize in the new casino, is a room decoration vending machine that the owner can fill with any item in the game. They then set a price to any amount of meseta and allow visitors to randomly draw one item from the machine at that price.

Unfortunately, the price to activate this machine is not being displayed correctly, which is causing unsuspecting players to fall victim to some pretty substantial vending fees (such as ALL of the meseta they are carrying). In some cases, players are being mislead and ultimately scammed out of their money by dishonest players.

The GM team has issued a warning to all players about this issue and states that SEGA is fixing the problem. In the meantime, it is highly recommended that you do not activate these machines, and that you do not even place them in your room (even if yours is fairly priced). The GM team will be investigating reports of abuse (made by using the Contact Form on the official site), and will be banning players who have been exploiting this glitch. If you have been victimized by this exploit, please use the aformentioned contact form to report the incident to the GM Team for investigation.

This Friday, we'll be seeing our very first content update for Ambition of the Illuminus. Translated from the Japanese 360 site:

Episode 3 begins
Chapter 1, entitled "Despair and Hope," will be released to kick off PSU: Episode 3. The GUARDIANS have begun to crumble as an organization, and individual members are looking for work wherever they can. In the midst of all of this, one day Maya calls on you to discuss certain matters.
New fields

Pavilion of Air: Top

Pavilion of Air: Bottom
New missions

"Sacred Stream" sends Guardians into the Pavilion of Air to take down the COG's latest weapon, Shiowa Hidoki, which is running amok due to terrorist sabotage.

"White Beast" is a co-op mission which takes Guardians through the upper levels of the Pavilion, purifying escaped native creatures until finally confronting the deadly Alterzgohg!
New lobbies

Pavilion of Air: Upper District

Mt. Ohtoku: Shitenkaku
New items

Many new weapons and line shields will be added.

New clothes and new CV parts will be added.

New room decorations will be added to Variety Shop in Clyez City.

The Casino Voloyal prize counter gets its first update with new room decorations and music discs.

Shitenkaku's offertory box opens.
1Up Platinum Cup rewards

All rewards from the Platinum Cup will be issued beginning with this update. As mentioned before, they will last for three weeks due to the 360 server's rollback. It is unknown currently if the extra week will apply to the English PC/PS2 servers.

[B] Twin Fluor. Bulbs will be issued to everyone through their common box. Make sure you have an open spot so you don't miss out! Also, this prize must be claimed from your box by January 31, 2008. (In other words, just log in before then.)

Thanks to Phetty for pointing out the update. Please feel free to join in our discussion of this update at the forum!
Update: The official English site has updated with details on our upcoming maintenance. Interestingly enough, it seems that more clothes and parts will be made available than we thought.

If you liked the recent 1UP Platinum Cup, here is some great news for you. Details just emerged for the next big PSU event, Maximum Attack G. The event is tentatively scheduled for the Japanese version of the game, and we should hopefully be seeing it hit the US/EU servers after the standard delay of a few months (maybe a bit more). Here are some details about the event, courtesy of our resident translator EspioKaos:

From the latest issues of Famitsu and Dengeki PLayStation, we have some new information on the upcoming Japanese event Maximum Attack G, part of the 20th anniversary celebration of the Phantasy Star series. Max-Attack G will begin in December, but a specific date has not been determined just yet.

As the event's storyline tells, a battle simulator known as "VR: Maximum Attack" was discovered on Dark Ryucross. This simulator has been reconstructed for use by the GUARDIANS.

Missions:
Two missions have been confirmed, both of which take place in PSO-inspired locales: the forest and mines. Special adjustments will be made to the enemies in these missions, much like what was seen during the 1Up Platinum Cup. Their HP will be at 50%, EXP will be 250% of the normal amount and their drop rates will be increased to 250%. Furthermore, two lead characters from PSO might show up during battle: Ash and Rupika! (Note that these missions will be available only to Ambition of the Illuminus players.)

A trade mission will also be available where players can trade certain items for new weapons and clothing. The HUmar clothing as well as a certain madoog based on the design of Pushan are two confirmed trade items.

Event rewards:
At the end of the event, many special rewards can be earned for select players as well as the community as a whole. Some of these include the normal increased synthesis rates, half-price room decorations and free Lumilass makeovers, among other things. The Bouquet and Spread Needle are two prizes that may be awarded to certain individuals who do exceptionally well during the event.

If you haven't picked up your copy of Ambition of the Illuminus yet, you now have a very good reason to do so! Head to the PSU forums to discuss the news, here.

It is now November 20th, which means Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus is officially here! In case you've been living under a rock for the last year or so, Ambition of the Illuminus is the first major expansion to Phantasy Star Universe. In the expansion, you'll continue where the previous story left off, through a series of new online missions which feature YOU as the new main character. In addition, the expansion adds new enemies, weapons, levels and cities, as well as a number of other exciting features!

As a reminder, the PC and PS2 versions of the expansion comes in the form of a new game disc (which will include the original PSU, so the expansion is all you need) and is priced at $39.99.

The Xbox 360 version of the expansion is available via the Xbox Live Marketplace for a price of 1600 Microsoft Points (equal to US $20). The download is approximately 1.92 GB and will require a copy of the original Xbox 360 version of Phantasy Star Universe to play.

So what are you waiting for? Get out there and get your copy now, and be sure to hit the PSU Forum to participate in the inevitable launch buzz! Also, don't forget to keep collecting those Rappy Feathers during the remainder of our Ambition of the Illuminus Launch Party, there are some great expansion prizes up for grabs!

The official English PSU site has been updated with information regarding this Friday's update to the PC/PS2 servers and next Tuesday's update for the 360 servers. Check out the link above for full details! Also, feel free to join in our discussion on this update over at the forums.

Sega of America has announced the release date and prices for Ambition of Illuminus. Here is a breakdown:

Platform/Release Date	Price	Notes
XBox 360 All Regions: Nov 20	1600 Microsoft Points ($20)	1.75 GB Download. Requires Phantasy Star Universe Disc.
PC/Playstation 2 NA: Nov 20 EU: Jan 25, 2008	$40	Stand-alone install. Will include offline Episode 2 Story Mode.

Credit goes to Wallin for bringing us this news. You can discuss this update in our Phantasy Star Universe forum.

EspioKaos has posted a roadmap for the next several months of Japanese updates. These updates will include level cap increases, Partner Machinery releases, new Story missions, two cup events, new classes, and much more. If you are interested in previewing the future updates, be sure to check out his post.

Today marks the official release date for Ambition of Illuminus in Japan. This exciting expansion contains several new items, stages, and gameplay additions. Several importers are sharing their impressions and screenshots in our Phantasy Star Universe forum. If you would like to get a preview of things to come, be sure to join in the discussion.

Gametrailers.com has released a new trailer video for Ambition of Illuminus from the Tokyo Gameshow. The video summarizes the backstory for the game and gives a preview of the new offline Story Mode. Offline Story Mode will consist of the online Story Mode missions currently seen in Phantasy Star Universe. However, the new offline version will contain voice-overs and videos. Also, IGN has released several screenshots demonstrating new weapons, clothing, stages, and a candy-themed lobby. Credit goes to Handsock for reporting the video and Alura for finding the pictures. You can discuss this news in our Phantasy Star Universe forum.