While Phantasy Star Online 2 only came to the west last year, it's been out in Japan for almost a decade - that's a long time! Well overdue some newness, if you ask me. Today, Sega will release New Genesis, a new standalone expansion for the old sci-fi MMO that spruces up the visuals and lets players explore an entirely new open world area.
]]>It might've taken eight years for Phantasy Star Online 2 to make it to the West, but fortunately, the jump from the Windows Store to Steam only took the Japanese MMO a mere couple of months. Sonic Team's free-to-play anime romp has finally found a place on Valve's shelves, making it easier than ever to hop in and bash a load of goblins in a Gundam.
]]>Phantasy Star Online 2 is pretty bloody weird, right? A sci-fi romp that has your anime heroes fighting everything from goblins to WW2 battleships by way of Evangelion's screaming hell-prism. Now, with a Steam launch due next month, you'll soon be able to traipse through PSO2 as some kind of Valve chimaera - piloting a far-future mech in Gordon Freeman's hazard suit as a tiny Stephen Merchant hovers menacingly by your side. Just another day on the job, eh?
]]>When Sega announced Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis at Thursday's NotE3 Xbox show, there was a bit of a kerfuffle over what it was. An update? An expansion? A brand new game? To help clear up any misconceptions, the publishers have put together a new "follow-up" trailer explaining exactly what New Genesis actually is - a new, spruced-up standalone release that will let you jump in with an existing PSO2 character.
]]>Phantasy Star Online 2's getting on a bit, isn't it? Sega's big ol' sci-fi MMO might've only officially come to the West this Spring, but it's been big in Japan for the better part of a decade - and boy, does it show. Announced during today's Xbox Games Showcase, New Genesis is preparing to change all that with a massive overhaul to the MMOs visuals.
]]>Sega recently gave free-to-play action-RPG Phantasy Star Online 2 a long-overdue western release with two gutting caveats: it's on the Windows 10 Store; and it's only for North America. Microsoft's Store is enough of a mess that some would-be players still can't play PSO2. While sadly they still don't have anything to say about a European launch, there is good news for stores. Alongside announcing the first big update for America, where players will fight a vintage battleship, Sega confirmed PSO2 is coming "to more PC platforms soon."
]]>Lasting just shy of a decade in the MMORPG space is no small feat. Launching afresh after you've been running steady for so many years? That ain't no walk in the park, either. After making it big in Japan following its 2012 launch, Sega's sci-fi action-RPG Phantasy Star Online 2 finally makes its western PC debut in May. For North Americans. Sort of.
]]>Bordering on a miracle, Sega have confirmed an English version of Phantasy Star Online 2 after seven years of their teaser site saying it was coming soon. Sonic Team's free-to-play action RPG has been a Japanese online gaming staple for yonks, but the publisher have been deathly silent about an English release for years. Announced to much surprise during the Microsoft E3 presser, it's headed to Windows 10 on PC next spring, in America. Just not Europe, until further notice, Sega say. Below, a new trailer, and some thoughts as an active player currently using an unofficial translation.
]]>Trying to keep up with E3 2019 is a fool's errand, and the foaming river of content streaming down the internet's face doesn't always make it easier. So here's a round-up of every news story from the show we think matters to you, with links to our full stories (and bantful liveblogs) where relevant. We'll be updating this hourly, so keep coming back.
]]>I have no idea what to expect from Phantasy Star Online 2. The original sort-of-Diablo-ish monster mash delighted a bright-eyed, bushy tailed (I've since had that surgically removed) version of me during the Dreamcast days, but times have changed - especially in MMOtopia. Even so, for better or worse, many of PSO's longtime staples still seem to be in place here, so we're looking at randomized dungeons, combo-based combat, and heaps of sci-fi-themed loot. I will, however, soon have the chance to render a verdict without revealing to Japan that their infants can out-speak a college-educated American. Yep: Sega's finally seen fit to peg Phantasy Star Online 2 with an "early 2013" release in the US and Europe. There's a mystifyingly parkour-packed trailer after the break.
]]>More news hot outta Tokyo Game Show! Careful you don't burn yourself. Sega's announced Phantasy Star Online 2 is hitting the PC in 2011.
No footage as yet, and not even any details, which is definitely cutting it a bit fine for a game that's only a year away but nevermind. If you don't know about Phantasy Star Online, it made its debut on the Dreamcast and pioneered online RPG shenanigans on consoles. The original game has since gone on to spawn a strange collection of half-sequels and has developed a fanbase that I will now politely describe as "friendly and rigid".
Course, this TGS I was hoping for an entirely different Japanese online-focused console game to be announced for the PC. Click through to find out which one.
]]>