News

SEGA to bring Phantasy Star Online 2 to US and EU in 2013 [UPDATE]
Posted: 09.07.2012 11:19 by Simon Priest Comments: 14
Free-to-play action RPG Phantasy Star Online 2 will be available in the US and Europe next year, SEGA will announce. They want this sequel "every bit as ambitious" as the original.

Phantasy Star Online 2 features a "deep sci-fi fantasy universe" with real-time combat and third-person action. We're also promised a "deep character creation system" and three races.

Western fans of the Phantasy Star series get in on the action next year. A western launch trailer for PSO2 is expected to be live later today apparently on YouTube.

"Phantasy Star Online was a revolutionary game when it was released, and we want to make sure that its successor in the series is every bit as ambitious,” said Chris Olson, SEGA of America. “We look forward to introducing Phantasy Star Online 2’s unique, easy-to-access multiplayer action to the rest of the world next year!”

“The number one thing we want to provide players in Phantasy Star Online 2 is an adventure that changes every time they log in. Just as great table-top RPG experiences revolve around imaginative and unexpected encounters, we want players to consistently be surprised as they explore dungeons and undertake quests,” said Satoshi Sakai, SEGA of Japan.

PSO2 is set in the Year 238 during the New Era of Light, and players will join a new band of Arcs fighting against the mysterious D-Arkers. Phantasy Star Online 2's highlight features:

- Deep sci-fi fantasy universe filled with lush landscapes, extraordinary creatures, and epic adventures
- Revolutionary real-time combat and third-person action with devastating combos and counters to master
- Flexible, class-based leveling system that lets players define their own play-style with distinctive melee, ranged, and magic weapon types
- Randomized dungeon maps and unexpected mid-quest encounters that ensure each quest is different for each player
- Deep character creation system with a nearly limitless number of potential appearances
- Three degrees of humanity to experience across three unique races: the versatile Humans, spiritually-powered Newmen, and artificial CAST

For more information visit the official Phantasy Star Online 2 website.

[UPDATE: The Western trailer has gone live.]

Source: NeoGAF

Comments

By Chosen_One (SI Elite) on Jul 09, 2012
Chosen_One
Oh :( 2013...damn, first one was so cool for me..
By JonahFalcon (SI Elite) on Jul 09, 2012
JonahFalcon
Told you. Trailer now live, too.

But hey, it's free-to-play.
By Chosen_One (SI Elite) on Jul 09, 2012
Chosen_One
I would prefer subscription...hate f2p
By danfreeman (SI Core) on Jul 10, 2012
danfreeman
Why hate f2p chosen? Is it because of microtransactions?Those would be ingame regardless of business model.Because of the noobs? Outlevel them.What reason do you have for hating it?
By Chosen_One (SI Elite) on Jul 10, 2012
Chosen_One
Super sword for 5-15$ while U spend 10+ hours to get something like that, and some mommy's boy just bought it. Its destroying balance in the game, f2p becomes pay to win, I do not mind of only cosmetics stuff, cuz I am not buying it, but when it comes to stuff that crashing the balance...this is shit, its my point of view and no one can change it.
By danfreeman (SI Core) on Jul 10, 2012
danfreeman
True a pay to win situation is always bad,everyone agrees on that,but as long as the items you get by paying money aren`t better than the ones you get by farming for it yourself,it`s not that big a deal.
By JonahFalcon (SI Elite) on Jul 10, 2012
JonahFalcon
Play to win is basically in Eastern MMOs, not Western MMOs.
By danfreeman (SI Core) on Jul 10, 2012
danfreeman
Jonah you mean pay or play to win?
By nocutius (SI Elite) on Jul 11, 2012
nocutius
Pay most likely.

I used to dislike f2p games as well cause they used to suck more or less, now that the f2p has become a standard model in the West as well I have nothing against it anymore. There are plenty of games that do things right without screwing up the free part too much.
By Chosen_One (SI Elite) on Jul 11, 2012
Chosen_One
For example?
By nocutius (SI Elite) on Jul 11, 2012
nocutius
World of Tanks, LoL, Lotro and there are more and more games announced with this model that really sound great.

F2p does not have a strictly negative connotation to it anymore, it used to but things changed in the last 2-3 years.
By Chosen_One (SI Elite) on Jul 11, 2012
Chosen_One
WoT, u can buy for money OP shells which deals greater damage than usual, and U can buy a tanks with real money, balance is in the deep *%$ there. LoL the ability to buy the special currency which can be used on XP gain or runes, the runes which was bought with money can be a devastating feature, if of course U know what U are doing. Bout Lotro cant tell, didn't played it. it is weird that U actually enjoy this stuff, cuz the balance is broken. I am glad that EVE online will never go to that system..cuz if it will, I abandon it as well.
By nocutius (SI Elite) on Jul 11, 2012
nocutius
Well I stopped playing WoT recently but not because of gold ammo, nobody uses that in public games anyway, but because of other issues(matchmaking, randomness, stealth technology).
The game has the same broken balance for everyone, it's totally broken but fair. Gold tanks are not superior to regular ones so that's not an issue anymore either (type used to be but it got nerfed a ton).

With LoL I never noticed anything weird about paying but I stopped playing ages ago because of matchmaking so i would not really know but people seem to be satisfied with it in general.

Lotro you can play for free the entire game but I stopped playing it because was just an MMO and had a lot of grind at the time, it's supposed to be improved since then a lot according to a buddy that's trying to make me join him :).

It's not that i'm a huge fan of f2p or something, I just don't mind it anymore. I've purchased a founders package in Mechwarrior Online even if it's a f2p game because I believe it's gonna be good (WoT without all the broken game mechanics).

As long as f2p is not p2w I don't have a problem with it and I see no reason not to at least try the game or read the forums before deciding to not play.

F2p CAN be bad but is not bad by definition, that's the main thing I'm trying to say.
By Chosen_One (SI Elite) on Jul 11, 2012
Chosen_One
DOTA 2 f2p is good, only good game I know with f2p model.