More PSO2 Alpha Test News

Sega of Japan has opened a site to allow players to sign up for the second Phantasy Star Online 2 alpha test. Potential test participants can now register at the site, and registrations will be accepted until Tuesday, January 17. Sega is apparently looking for 50,000 test participants.

Anyone that signed up for the PSO2 mailing list rolled out last month are already eligible to participate in the alpha test. However, as expected, you must be a resident of Japan. (It was worth a try, I guess...)

Also announced today were a few changes made to the PSO2 client. Unfortunately, player status UI has been moved to the bottom-left corner of the screen, a change that brings the UI more in line with that of Phantasy Star Universe. I don't quite understand why this change was made — the status UI was at the top-left in Phantasy Star Online and nobody complained. Learning to watch the status information at the bottom-left corner of the screen after years of playing PSO was somewhat difficult (though I suppose it's made a little easier when you play a Force). Of course, by 2012 you'd think we would be able to click and drag that kind of thing around the window, but I'm not holding my breath for that feature.

Sega also announced that the My Room feature from Phantasy Star Universe would be coming back in PSO2 with some enhancements. This feature will be available in the next alpha test.

That seems to be all there is for now. It looks like the alpha test won't be starting until late January or early February 2012 at the earliest. Hopefully we'll get some more information before then.

Some PSU Event Starts Soon

Yeah. That's right. According to the Japanese Xbox 360 PSU Web page, the servers will be seeing an event beginning this Friday. It runs until maintenance on Friday, January 27, 2012. That's six weeks for those of you keeping track at home.

It looks like some seasonal lobbies will also be going up, and Sega will also do whatever it is they usually do during maintenance periods (casino rotations, etc.)

Honestly I don't care anymore. It's been three months since we've posted anything PSU-related on this blog. Just waiting for some significant PSO2 news...

The PSO2 Mailing List and Second Alpha Test

Sega of Japan has launched a mailing list for Phantasy Star Online 2, as announced on the official blog this week.

This wouldn't be interesting news by itself, but Sega later announced on Twitter that anyone who signs up for the mailing list will be automatically entered in a drawing to participate in the second PSO2 alpha test beginning in 2012.

You need a Sega ID to sign up for the mailing list. Unfortunately, you can't easily get one without going through a series of screens that are entirely in Japanese. If you want to try anyway, the Sega ID sign-up page is here.

If you get a 500 error when visiting the sign-up page and you're using Firefox, make sure your preferred language options are set up properly by going to the Content tab of the Options window. (Click on the images to view them full-size.)



Click the Choose... button in the Languages frame, and from there, check your language settings:



If you don't see the Japanese [ja] language in the list, pick it from the drop-down menu and click Add. Click OK to close out all of the options windows and you should be good to go.

Even after doing all of this, I would be really surprised if anyone outside of Japan got picked for the second alpha test. I guess you never know until you try, though...

I guess that sale wasn't really a sale after all

So Sega had the digital version of Phantasy Star Portable 2 on sale on PSN from Oct. 18th until today. The game was $20 where normally it's $40, but today Sony updated their PSN store and now the price has changed permanently to $15.

Playstation Blog on 10/18:
Phantasy Star Portable 2 – Sale (PSP) (now $19.99, original price $39.99)

Playstation Blog on 11/1:
Phantasy Star Portable 2 – Digital (Price Change) (PS3) (now $14.99, original price $19.99)

I have no idea what Sega was thinking when they did this but I feel terrible for anyone who bought the game when it was on "sale."

Sega Launches New Phantasy Star Blog

Sega of Japan launched a new official blog today, of which the primary focus seems to be Phantasy Star Online 2.

The inaugural post mentions that one of the most common questions posed to the developers during the alpha test was about mags. It had been mentioned previously that mags would make it to PSO2 in some form, but no details had been given.

Today, everyone's fears of a mag-less PSO2 were hopefully put to rest, because a sketch of a basic PSO2 mag was posted on the official blog. The post notes that the color of the mag can change depending on who equips it.

No details were provided beyond that, but it's a start. Hopefully we'll be able to see mags in action by the time the next alpha test rolls around. Here's hoping the new blog will provide the community with more information about the game, too.

PSO2 Delayed; Second Alpha Test Announced

The official Japanese Phantasy Star Online 2 Web site announced today that the game will be delayed until 2012 in order to make improvements.

In addition, a second alpha test was announced. The test is scheduled to take place in early 2012, and translations of the announcement indicate that there will be "no restrictions" on who can apply for that test. I assume that this means "no restrictions within the Japanese community" but you never know.

Of course, this means that Sega's timeline leading up to a late 2011 release is out the window. The beta tests that had been planned will likely not take place while the developers fix bugs and make improvements.

A list of suggestions made by the Japanese PSO2 community have been posted on the official Web site, along with responses from the developers. It seems like there were a lot of legitimate concerns shared by the Japanese players and international community in general, so it's good to see that Sega is willing to push back the game's release to deal with them.

Unfortunately, "get rid of GameGuard" and "international servers plz" were not on the list of suggestions. Of course, it's probably not an exhaustive list, so who knows what else Sega has in store (though I have a feeling removing GameGuard is not a change Sega is willing to make).

The newly announced delay could make the last few months of 2011 a little quiet on the PSO2 news front, but Sega says that an official blog is coming. A little more insight into the game's development would be nice so that potential players wouldn't have to resort to other methods of getting information.

PSO2 Devs Comment On Data Mining Effort

Several weeks ago during the Phantasy Star Online 2 alpha test, the client software was leaked to the general public. It didn't take long for the community to begin extracting information about the game from that software.

Apparently the developers have caught wind of the datamining effort and have commented on it on Twitter. The general thought seems to be that the developers are surprised that the client software is already being taken apart "overseas".

I can't read Japanese, so I'd rather not try to infer the tone of the post based on translations posted on the Internet. However, I still can't believe that the PSO2 developers actually had the audacity to post something like this.

First of all, don't forget that the client was leaked, most likely by a Japanese participant of the Japan-only alpha test. Maybe Sega of Japan should look around in its own country for whoever leaked the client in the first place before complaining about the users of the leaked client "overseas". Besides, we can't play the game, so what else would we do with it?

Second — Sega of Japan is pretty naïve if they think the Japanese participants of the alpha test aren't doing something similar with the client as we speak. They can't play the game right now, either, so what else would they do with it? Maybe the Japanese do a better job of hiding their "evil" doings. Still, it's unfair to single out the US/EU community for doing it.

Lastly — curiosity is a part of human nature. People are datamining PSO2 because they're interested in seeing what the game might be like. Writing software is my full-time job, and like most professional software engineers, I'm well aware that there are people out there who like to decompile or reverse engineer computer programs to find out more about them. Unfortunately, some people do it to try and discover exploits in the code — thankfully, nobody seems to be doing that with PSO2. The bottom line is that Sega put free software out on the Internet for people to download; they should have known that it was only a matter of time before somebody started mining it. I'm not sure why they're so surprised.

Obviously Sega of Japan has the right to express their displeasure over the datamining of their game. However, it's unfair and a little disappointing to see them single out the US/EU community like this.

Another Post on PSO2 International Servers

It's nice that the developers of Phantasy Star Online 2 are looking for feedback from the community. They even went so far as to create a Facebook page to gauge the community's interest in the upcoming game.

Of course, by doing this they've left themselves wide open to comments and other input from the international community at large, and now said community has officially taken the topic of international servers to Sega of Japan.

A sort of community petition has gone up on the official PSO2 Facebook page to try and get more information out of Sega regarding their thoughts on international servers and the vague "global support" phrase that was thrown around when the game was first announced. The posts can be viewed here. Not surprisingly, there are already a lot of comments (in English) regarding this topic.

We've brought up the topic of international servers several times on this blog, too:
Revisiting PSO2 Global Support Yet Again
Debating PSO2 "Global Support"
PSO2 Console Versions Possible? Let's Hope Not

The general idea is that the international community wants to enjoy all of the content the Japanese players do without being treated like second-class citizens. The general sentiment throughout the community seems to be that if we don't get international servers, one of two things will happen:

1. PSO2 will fail in the US/EU regions because nobody will play it there, or
   
2. The US/EU players will play on the Japanese servers instead, possibly resulting in (1)

We've already leaped one huge hurdle now that the game is confirmed to be PC-only. Hopefully the developers and/or Sega of Japan will read what the international community is saying, because it could save them from the possibility of seeing the game inexplicably fail in the West.

Source: Phantasy Star Online 2 on Facebook

Xbox Live on Windows 8

Microsoft announced today that the next iteration of Windows, currently dubbed "Windows 8", will feature Xbox Live support on the PC:

Xbox LIVE brings your games, music, movies, and TV shows to your favorite Microsoft and Windows devices. Bringing Xbox LIVE to Windows 8 is part of our vision to bring you all the entertainment you want, shared with the people you care about, made easy.

Of course, there isn't a whole lot of information about this feature right now, so nobody knows what Microsoft is really planning for Windows 8. This could just be a re-branding of the failed Games for Windows Live service, but at this point it's hard to tell.

So why do I bring this up here? Last year, Phantasy Star Universe was made available for purchase digitally on Microsoft's Games on Demand service for Xbox Live. You could buy that, download the Ambition of the Illuminus expansion and the "Guardians Advanced Content" expansion, and then play the game.

If Microsoft is intending to bring the entire Xbox Live experience to Windows 8 including Games on Demand, it wouldn't be a stretch to say that PC players would have an opportunity to get back into PSU on Xbox Live. You'd have to start over from scratch (assuming you don't already play the Xbox 360 version), but the option would be there. The Xbox 360 version of PSU should be playable on a PC thanks to DirectX (that's where the X in Xbox came from, after all).

On the other hand, it remains to be seen whether or not Phantasy Star Universe will survive until Windows 8 is officially released, probably no less than one year from now. Nevertheless, it's an interesting scenario to consider. How would the Xbox 360 PSU community (and the Xbox Live community in general) change if PC gamers were added into the mix?

Oh hey it's that PSU/PSPo2 crossover event

...that doesn't include PSPo2 anymore. While I'm not surprised seeing how Sega has given up on the game. And even if PSPo2 did have events like the Japanese version I'm sure this event would have been separate from the Xbox version due to Xbox Live.

Still thought I should complain about it even though there is no point to it. I'm pretty sure that Sega should have focused on events to promote the game over the plan to slowly release in-game passwords. Even if that didn't work at least it would have been more entertaining than waiting for passwords to be released.

As Clumsyorchid said back then:

Having these unlockables allowed us a unique opportunity to take the Phantasy Star Series and open it up to a potentially larger audience of Sega fans through our blogs, facebook updates, twitter releases, and fansite promotions.

I disagree. Having an event where you kill stuff and get items seems way more appealing. But that may be just me. If anything the passwords were just a neat bonus.

Anyway too late for that. So lets see how this Maximum Attack X thing turns out. Will the rewards or other aspects of the event change due the the Xbox360 server being a different version of the game? Who knows. But at least I can say that no one will be surprised after seeing what happened with the last event.

Next PSU Event Begins Friday

The constant stream of Phantasy Star Online 2 news that's been provided this summer has been a nice diversion from the lack of substantive content updates in Phantasy Star Universe.

It's been very quiet on the PSU news front, actually -- before now, there hasn't been a posting about PSU updates since the beginning of June. With a new event coming, I think it's time to break that streak, if only temporarily.

PSU GM Edward announced on the official PSU forums that the new event, Maximum Attack X, will begin on the regional servers after Friday morning's maintenance. The event is scheduled to run for six weeks, ending with maintenance on the morning of Friday, October 21.

Edward also mentioned that a new lobby will also be added to the game with this maintenance. No additional details were provided, so it's anyone's guess as to whether this is a new permanent lobby or just a seasonal addition.

So that's it. I guess for the hardcore players this is a good reason to jump back into the game for two months, anyway.

Team Drama to Return in PSO2

The ongoing effort to datamine the PSO2 alpha client has turned up some interesting information. In fact, it's bound to lead to all sorts of drama when the game goes live.

According to this thread on PSO-World, guilds will be a built-in part of Phantasy Star Online 2. Sega is apparently bringing them back after offering no guild option in Phantasy Star Universe (it was first seen in PSO: Blue Burst). The client datamining effort turned up some interesting software symbols that describe some of the guild options. The existence of a guild feature had not been publicly discussed before this discovery, so we don't know for sure what the developers will choose to call it.

Of course, this means that the team drama we all loved in PSO:BB will probably return for PSO2. I liked the guild system of PSO:BB for other reasons, but that doesn't mean it wasn't fun to watch the drama unfold (it's always better when you're not in the center of it)!

The PSO2 Client, PhysX, and Lua

A copy of the PSO2 Alpha Test client recently became available for public download (if you know where to look). Out of curiosity, I went ahead and installed the client and started to dig around.

The PhysX support that had been reported before was made immediately obvious by the presence of a DLL in the top-level binaries folder:



However, there are some more interesting files a few levels deeper in the client folder...



Each of these files contains a script written in Lua that defines graphics and other client settings. PSO2 does makes use of the scripting language in some way; a copy of the Lua license is included elsewhere in the installation.

Of course, those two files might be the extent of the user-configurable scripting allowed in PSO2. Some online games that use Lua allow user-defined macros and even provide APIs (see: World of Warcraft) that allow players to develop add-ons and other content that changes the user experience. I highly doubt that Sega will provide this amount of customization to players. I don't really want to see user-developed add-ons in PSO2 anyway (it would only be a matter of time before you were considered a "noob" if you didn't have the awesome "Add-On A", and I'm not interested in cluttering up my game with useless add-ons.)

When the first PSO2 trailer was released, it contained vague concepts such as "community supported content" and "a new approach to the game client". I guess we'll find out soon enough whether or not the client's scripting capabilities fit into those concepts.

PSO2 Content Roundup: Day 6

While the community waits for the next round of alpha testing on Tuesday, there have been some more interesting developments on the PSO2 news front.

First of all, a few players have provided links to Sega's PSO2 Alpha Test client download tool. This was only supposed to be available to test participants, but it's been leaked, so anyone that finds it can download and install the game. The client installer is 912 MB and takes 30 minutes or less to download on a decent broadband connection. Of course, if you weren't selected to participate in the alpha test, you still can't play the game, but that doesn't mean there isn't value in downloading and playing around with the software...

...Speaking of which, a few English-speaking fansites have downloaded the client and are apparently in the process of datamining it for more information about the game. According to a few posters over at PSO-World, the game takes advantage of nVidia's PhysX physics engine, though it doesn't seem to be known exactly how. In any case, it should be a definite step up from Phantasy Star Universe for those folks that have the right hardware.

Unfortunately, while I do have a copy of the client download tool, I will not be providing a link to it. Use Google and you should be able to find it without much difficulty, though.

First PSO2 Complaint: It Uses GameGuard

Yes, it was only a matter of time. After all of the cool screenshots and gameplay videos we've seen you just knew something would come up.

The PSO2 Alpha Test client download site is now up and running (you need an account authorized for the alpha test to log in and download the client, though.) Participants that have downloaded and installed the client are apparently reporting that the game does, in fact, use nProtect GameGuard. Though this is truly a sad discovery, it's not cause for concern yet. GameGuard could be an extra layer of security on top of vastly improved server code. We probably won't be able to make that determination until the game goes live to the general public.

Of course, this could just be temporary. Other online games have ditched GameGuard in their retail releases after using it in beta tests. Maybe Sega will come around.

PSO2 Alpha Test: Here We Go

Sega has finally announced the dates of the Phantasy Star Online 2 alpha test.

According to a message posted at the PSO2 Facebook page, test participants will get approximately 50 hours over five days in which to play the game.

The alpha test is broken up into three segments. Dates and times are listed below.

First test period:
Thursday, August 18 — 4 PM to 11 PM JST (3 AM to 10 AM EDT)
Friday, August 19 — 6 PM to 11 PM JST (5 AM to 10 AM EDT)

Second test period:
Tuesday, August 23 — 4 PM to 11 PM JST (3 AM to 10 AM EDT)

Third test period:
Begins at 4 PM JST (3 AM EDT) on Friday, August 26 and ends at 11 PM JST (10 AM EDT) on Saturday, August 27

The posting notes that the announced dates and times are subject to change.

So that's that. Hopefully in the next week and beyond we'll know a whole lot more about the game. Who knows -- maybe if the alpha test goes well we could see the game released this year! (Isn't that wishful thinking...)

Phantasy Star Defender's Pack - PSP Dual Pack

Back in June Sony announced they were launching PSP Dual Packs for popular PSP games and it seems that Phantasy Star Portable 1 and 2 are getting a release as a dual pack. Its now showing up on a few websites like Walmart's.

I never expected to see the games get released under the "Dual Pack" line especially after Sony described the packs as "two PSP games from our most popular franchises." Although I'm not complaining (seriously I'm not), its nice to see the games get some recognition. So anyone that hasn't played either game now is the perfect time to pick them up!

Also that reminds me: Sega can we have Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity in English now?

PSO2 Alpha Test to be Announced "Soon"

Despite the increasing amount of information being released about Phantasy Star Online 2, Sega has declined to announce an alpha test date for the game.

However, a posting on the official Japanese Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity blog has hinted that the alpha test may not be far away. The dates of the alpha test will apparently be distributed only to participants, though I'm sure it won't be a secret for long.

The end of the blog posting also implied that the developers are aware of the Western community's interest in the game based on visits to the official PSO2 Facebook page. Whether or not that bodes well for us in the future remains to be seen.

That's it for now. Stay tuned for more!

PSO2 Web Site Gets Massive Update

The official Japanese Phantasy Star Online 2 Web site has received a massive makeover following today's press event. Lots of new information has been released about the game, though a date for the alpha test was curiously not given.

Among the things we now know for sure about PSO2:

Officially a PC-exclusive game. This was probably a foregone conclusion at this point. In case you weren't sure, a trailer shown at the media briefing stated "for Windows PC" explicitly. Also, I'm not entirely sure how you would be able to use PSO2's character creator on a console.

In-depth character creator. We finally got a glimpse of PSO2's character creator, which seems to allow players to edit a character's appearance in just about every way. Most features can be changed using a clever "wire-box" slider which allows players to simply click and drag to create the desired look. Each slider provides a zoomed-in look of what the feature looks like. Female characters get a boob slider, too!

Large party areas. Phantasy Star Online 2 isn't going the open world route, though it does allow multiple parties to team up in designated areas. PSO2 one-ups Phantasy Star Universe by allowing up to 12 people to play together at once.

Back to basics (sort of). The Beast race, introduced in Phantasy Star Universe, appears to be absent from PSO2. The class system appears to be limited to Hunter, Ranger, and Force.

Videos of the media event, as well as additional screenshots, have been posted in a topic over at PSO-World. Lots of new screenshots have been posted on the official PSO2 Web site, too. So far, so good... looks like this game is on the right track!

Revisiting PSO2 Global Support Yet Again

With the official PSU forums out of commission for awhile, PSU GMs have taken to various fansite forums to connect with the Xbox 360 PSU community. It seems that the purpose of this exercise is to reassure fans that official support for the game hasn't gone away.

However, PSU GM Edward posted a slightly disturbing comment on PSO-World's forums, one that we blogged about and that could cause many members of the community to think twice about how they choose to play PSO2. You can click on the link above to get the full text; I'll post just a small snippet here:

Officially, the XB360 version [of PSU] is a different version of the game. It is not meant as a duplicate of the JP version. You can disagree with that but that is the official stance, and so whatever communication you're going to hear from me or us, that's the ultimate message.

This comment should raise some eyebrows among potential US/EU players of PSO2. If the game doesn't get international servers, what stops Sega from taking this stance again? Does that mean that the Western version of PSO2 will get delayed or different content, and/or different levels of support?

Applied in the context of PSO2, Edward's comment shows exactly why the game absolutely must have international servers. If it doesn't, players will be taking an enormous risk in choosing to play on the US/EU servers. I personally took that risk once already with PSU. I will not make the same mistake again.

The release date for PSO2 hasn't even been announced yet, but if you want to enjoy the game for a long time after it's released, you really have only two options: Play on the international servers or play on the Japanese servers. Hopefully Sega provides the right option.

PSO2 Web Site Prepares for Media Briefing

The official Japanese Phantasy Star Online 2 Web site has been updated with a link to what will be a live stream of the PSO2 media briefing scheduled to take place tomorrow (July 26).

Details of the briefing haven't been announced but it has been speculated that a date for the alpha test may be revealed.

More to come tomorrow...

PSU version disparities

So I saw this interesting post over at PSO-World from Edward@Sega in response to complaints over the new PSPo2 weapons having generic models and the new melee weapons dropping only neutral.

This is the best part here:

2) Officially, the XB360 version is a different version of the game. It is not meant as a duplicate of the JP version. You can disagree with that but that is the official stance, and so whatever communication you're going to hear from me or us, that's the ultimate message. That means that saying "it was like X there but it's like Y here and therefore it is broken" isn't something we can respond to, officially. They are different versions for a reason, and supplying new artwork to the XB360 is not the same as providing new artwork to the PC version. I know there's a fuzzy line there, some things, yes, it's worth raising the issue for sure. I said this on our forums before they went down and if you are unsure of what is "okay" to bring up ... you can always ask!

Err.. what? Wasn't the game supposed to receive the same updates as the Japanese version but with only a few months difference based on the release of the games? To me it sounds like an Xbox360 problem with having to go through getting content/patches certified. Probably doesn't help that they chose a poor method to distribute the "Guardian's Advanced Content" update either. I wonder how things would have been explained if the PC version was never shut down?

I'll be fair: OK we knew that there would be differences in the game from the Japanese version especially after things like the second MAG, the long update drought that followed the second MAG, and the absence of Guardian's Cash. But still that doesn't excuse cutting small details from the game. At least save excuse for something big like explaining why an event or other highly anticipated content won't make it over. It would sound a lot better then, trust me! Although I still wouldn't buy it.

I certainly hope PSO2 can avoid content problem like these. Well at least I do feel a little better knowing that Sega has full control over content since they don't need to go through a third party like Xbox Live.

PSO2 Will Have Forces

The addition of Forces in Phantasy Star Online 2 was probably a foregone conclusion to most people, even though the official PSO2 trailer failed to show any footage of Force characters doing Force things.

Potential Force players that were scared the class might not make it into PSO2 can breathe a sigh of relief. Today's PSO2 news (hinted at yesterday on the Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity blog) basically served to confirm the existence of Forces in the game.

PSO-World has some screenshots of Forces in action, along with a bizarre screenshot of some rappies. Of course, we all knew they would make it into the game, too...

The PSU and PSO2 News Roundup

After a busy start to the summer, things have cooled off a bit on the Phantasy Star news front. That could be about to change, though.

In Phantasy Star Universe, The Great Arms Race is about to come to an end. The Japanese Xbox 360 PSU Web site is reporting that the first round of rewards from that event will be added in this week's maintenance period. In addition, a new mission will be added. This mission will make up part of a GBR that includes missions The Black Nest, The Dark God, and True Darkness, which will be seeing S3 upgrades this week.

In Phantasy Star Online 2 news, the Japanese Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity blog has hinted that more PSO2 information may be released tomorrow. We haven't heard a whole lot about the game lately, so any news would definitely be welcome.

Finally, the Sega Pass outage from June continues, with the official forums still down at the time of this posting. The US/EU official Phantasy Star Universe Web site is also down with the same "essential maintenance" message that appeared at the forums for a few days in late June. There hasn't been any word on how much longer the outage will continue.

That's all for now. Keep your fingers crossed for some awesome PSO2 news tomorrow!

PSO2 Alpha Winners Notified, But No Date Set

According to this thread at PSO-World, winners of the Phantasy Star Online 2 alpha test raffle are now receiving their confirmation e-mails.

Despite this, no dates for the alpha test were announced. The e-mail apparently states only that the test dates are "in a state of flux" and that everyone will have to "wait just a little bit longer".

So that's it for now. I think a lot of people were hoping for an alpha test announcement today. Hopefully we won't have to wait too much longer to get it!

1.3 Million Accounts Affected in Sega Pass Attack

Sega of Japan has announced that Thursday's attack on the Sega Pass system has resulted in the theft of personal information from approximately 1.3 million user accounts, according to Reuters.

While that personal information included names, birth dates, and encrypted passwords of Sega Pass users, it did not include any credit card information, as announced in a statement released Thursday by Sega to the media and Sega Pass account holders.

The Sega Pass system is still down at the time of this posting. Sites that use Sega Pass (such as the official forums) are also down for "essential maintenance". Sega did not say when service would return.

While any server breach is certainly a cause for concern, this theft of information is a far cry from the scope of recent incidents such as the Sony breach last month which resulted in the theft of 77 million user accounts. Don't forget to change your passwords when the Sega Pass system returns!

Sources:
Sega says 1.3 million users affected by cyber attack (Reuters)

PSO2 Alpha Test Winners To Be Announced Next Week

According to this post over at PSO-World, players that submitted their PSO2 alpha test lottery codes to Sega of Japan have received e-mails stating that the winners of the contest will be announced on June 24.

The e-mail apparently states that even if players don't get into the alpha test immediately, Sega will be adding more users as the test continues. Sega of Japan also plans on updating the official Phantasy Star Online 2 Web site with more images.

Hopefully this means that more news about the game is coming shortly. It wasn't immediately clear from the translated e-mail whether winners will be required to sign a non-disclosure agreement, though I'm fairly certain that will be the case (there was an NDA for players of the Phantasy Star Universe beta in Japan if I remember correctly). Even if an NDA is put in place, we all know that images and videos will leak out anyway.

That's the latest PSO2 news. Hopefully we'll know more about the test period next week!

Sega's Websites Apparently "Hacked"

According to this e-mail sent to Sega Pass account holders (I know because I got one), the Sega Pass Web site was apparently broken into yesterday (June 16):

As you may be aware, the SEGA Pass system has been offline since yesterday, Thursday 16 June.

Over the last 24 hours we have identified that unauthorised entry was gained to our SEGA Pass database.

We immediately took the appropriate action to protect our consumers’ data and isolate the location of the breach. We have launched an investigation into the extent of the breach of our public systems.

We have identified that a subset of SEGA Pass members emails addresses, dates of birth and encrypted passwords were obtained. To stress, none of the passwords obtained were stored in plain text.

Please note that no personal payment information was stored by SEGA as we use external payment providers, meaning your payment details were not at risk from this intrusion.

If you use the same login information for other websites and/or services as you do for SEGA Pass, you should change that information immediately.

We have also reset your password and all access to SEGA Pass has been temporarily suspended.

Additionally we recommend you please take extra caution if you should receive suspicious emails that ask for personal or sensitive information.

Therefore please do not attempt to login to SEGA Pass at present, we will communicate when the service becomes available.

We sincerely apologise for this incident and regret any inconvenience caused.

We are contacting all our members with these recommendations.

If you have any further questions please contact SEGA customer support on csescalations@sega.com

The e-mail only addresses the Sega Pass outage but as of this posting some other sites such as the Sega forums are down for "essential maintenance". There is no word as to whether the outages are related.




Of course, I use the term "hack" loosely in this case as I have in the past. There are plenty of morons in the world that are unfortunately still smart enough to click a button on a window. Sadly, with the way most public Web servers are designed and configured these days, anyone with two brain cells to rub together can be a script kiddie on the Internet.

In a perfect world, the FBI or NSA would at some point track these kids down and throw them in juvenile hall. Until then, take preventative action and change your Sega account passwords.

Today's Lesson: Be Careful What You Wish For

Guardians Cash was a point of contention among many members of the community when the supplemental update was implemented on the Xbox 360 servers. Sega of America announced at the time that the Guardians Cash system would not be coming to the regional servers, and many players worried that the content would never be seen outside of Japan. However, they were reassured by Sega that the content would make its way into the game in some form.

Recently, PSU GM Edward made the announcement that Guardians Cash content would be worked into an upcoming event, though he didn't provide further details. The upcoming event turned out to be The Great Arms Race, which started today. Players apparently forgot about the Guardians Cash comment when the event announcement was made earlier this week.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a shock when the event Web site showed that the manufacturer weapons being distributed were actually completely different than those handed out during the Japanese event. Oddly enough, the three reward weapons for the US/EU version aren't even produced by the participating manufacturers -- they're Kubara weapons!

How could Sega have overlooked this fact? How could they have replaced the weapons everyone was looking forward to with three Kubara weapons?

Oh, right -- the substituted weapons are Guardians Cash weapons in Japan. This is just an example of Sega doing what everyone wanted... right?

No. In fact, this is exactly what the community didn't want. The community wanted the event to be exactly the same as the Japanese one. It expected a certain type of content (namely, the three reward weapons), and it didn't get it. Sega is doing the right thing by trying to get the Guardians Cash content to the Western servers, but this was clearly not the time or place to do it. As a result, three functional reward weapons were replaced with what are essentially novelty items. Perhaps Sega should have asked the community if this was something it wanted. If they had, they might have been able to avoid the shitstorm that is now brewing on the official PSU forums.

On the flip side, the US/EU PSU community has learned a valuable lesson: be careful what you wish for, because Sega might give it to you when you want it the least.

The Great Arms Race is Under Way

PSU's latest event, The Great Arms Race, is live as of this morning's maintenance.

An event Web site has been posted here. It lists all of the overall rewards as well as the manufacturer weapons received for participating. It should be noted that the advertised manufacturer weapons are apparently different than those distributed in the Japanese event, so head over and check out what's what before you choose sides!

As mentioned in the previous post, Sega has announced that the event will run until maintenance on Friday, July 15.

The Great Arms Race Begins Friday

The last two months have been rather devoid of PSU news. In fact, the last piece of PSU-related news on this blog was posted exactly two months ago, and it wasn't even a major update!

So what's been going on? The 3rd Anniversary Thanks Festa event ended just over three weeks ago, and since then, the regional servers have seen a new mission and a Parum GBR. The next event, The Great Arms Race, will hit the servers this Friday, June 10th. This appears to be one of the rare moments where the Western community got the news before Japan (it hasn't been posted on the official Japanese Xbox 360 PSU Web site as of this writing), so it's not known how long the event will last. (Update 6/8: The Japanese Web site has listed July 15th as the end date, meaning the event will run for a standard five weeks.)

Based on GM Edward's post on the official forums, it appears that this event will play out similarly to prior events, with enemy kills unlocking reward panels and so forth. In addition, the event will have a pseudo-PvP element to it in which players register with one of the major weapons manufacturers—GRM, Yohmei, or Tenora—and earn points for that manufacturer. Players will receive a weapon from their manufacturer for participating in the event, but the "team" that wins the event will have their weapon's stats boosted to their maximum values.

A Web site for the event will be posted at some point before it starts. This looks like it will be an interesting event; the competitive aspect certainly hasn't been tried so far in PSU, and I would assume that it alone would boost player enthusiasm. It seems like a lot of players have been clamoring for this event in recent months, anyway.

That's all from the PSU front for now. Stay tuned for more!

The Official PSO2 Trailer Is Posted

Sega of Japan has posted the first official Phantasy Star Online 2 trailer on the official Web site, as they promised several days ago.

Surprisingly, the folks at Sega of Japan were nice enough to translate the text in the video to English, hopefully as a nod to the Western community that this game will see a U.S. and European release.

Of course, there's still a long way to go before the game is even released in Japan. Let the speculation begin!

At Last, Some PSO2 Gameplay Screenshots (Updated)

In the time since Phantasy Star Online 2 was announced over six months ago, information about the game has been extremely hard to come by. When the game's Japanese alpha test was announced in February, it was done without showing any gameplay videos or screenshots.

Sega told players that more information about the game would be revealed in the coming months. And earlier today, we finally got our first glimpses of what Phantasy Star Online 2 will look like!








Larger versions of these screenshots, as well as more PSO2 images, can be found on Sega's official Phantasy Star Online 2 Web site. In addition, some brief glimpses of gameplay can be found in a video posted at PSO World (you might have to fast-forward to see them). A high-quality version of the trailer will be posted on the official Web site on Thursday.

Based on these screenshots, it looks like PSO2 will retain at least some of the visual style of Phantasy Star Universe, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The forest level pictured here certainly seems brighter than any level I ever played through in Phantasy Star Online, though I guess that could change if you were to throw in enough creepy-looking monsters. Atmosphere is key; it's difficult to tell from these screenshots and the video whether or not the environments in PSO2 will have the dark, post-apocalyptic feel that areas in PSO had.

In any case, this is a nice start. It's a good thing to finally see what this game actually looks like!

First "Update 3rd" Content Appears Next Week

The Japanese PC PSU servers will be receiving their first set of "Update 3rd" content next week to coincide with the start of a new event.

Sega's Japanese PSU Web site announced the update on Wednesday. Three new field areas will be added to the game, the first such content update since Ambition of the Illuminus was released nearly four years ago.

The release of this content coincides with the start of Maximum Attack Infinity, a special crossover event with Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity. The event runs until Thursday, May 26.

Of course, it goes without saying that players on the US/EU servers are probably going to be grumbling about this for awhile. Now that the Japanese game has begun to get legitimately new content, it will be even more difficult to swallow the schedule of mostly rehashed updates on the Xbox 360 servers.

There has been speculation in the US/EU community that "Update 3rd" could steal many of the hardcore Xbox 360 PSU players away from the regional servers. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen. However, if it does happen, Sega should make a note of it when deciding on region-separated servers for PSO2.

Slightly Off Topic: See, This Is What I Mean

Today I spent a little time at nVidia's geforce.com Web site getting driver updates for my graphics card. While there, I stumbled upon an interesting interview with Battlefield 3 executive producer Patrick Bach.

In the article, Bach argues that the consoles are holding PC gaming back. Because the majority of developers continue to view the consoles as "the superior platform" for gaming, they start development of new games there instead of on the PC. Bach says that by doing this, the vastly superior processing power of the PC is never harnessed.

Most games are actually still based on the same core idea that the consoles are your focus, the superior platform or something. I don’t know why. That was the truth 5 years ago, but the world has moved on. PCs are way more powerful than the consoles today and there are actually almost zero games out there that actually use the benefits of this.

He then discusses his solution to the problem, one that I wish more developers would use. Sonic Team, are you listening?

So for our target of what we want to hit, we are now using the more powerful platform to try and prove what we see gaming being in the future rather than using the lowest common denominator, instead of developing it for the consoles and then just adding higher resolution textures and anti-aliasing for the PC version. We're do it the other way around, we start with the highest-end technology that we can come up with and then scale it back to the consoles.

I agree with Bach on this subject -- I've even touched briefly on the topic right here on this blog. It would be nice if developers would do a better job of targeting the PC community when creating games. When they port console games to the PC, they usually don't bother adding any additional features or effects that can be handled more easily by a PC graphics card.

Case in point: think back to version 3 of Phantasy Star Online for the GameCube and Xbox. There were parts of Episode 2 in the GameCube version that featured great water effects. (Yes, at 256x192 the effects are a little difficult to see -- to better see what's going on, try browsing YouTube for some videos, or play the game!)


However, when PSO: Blue Burst was released, those effects were surprisingly absent. PCs at the time were more than capable of displaying them, so what happened?


It turns out that the Blue Burst PC code was ported from the Xbox version of the game, which lacked the water effects. Similar effects in the Seabed level were either missing or badly ported. (Also see: telepipes).

Of course, Phantasy Star Universe and its expansions suffer from a similar problem. Since that game was originally developed on (and ported from) the PS2, it lacks the ability to take advantage of features on modern-day graphics cards.

Thanks to these two examples, I generally try to steer clear of games that have been ported to the PC from a console, whether it be the PS3 or Xbox 360. There are some instances where the developer writes the game for consoles and later releases a texture patch to make the game look prettier on PCs; such was the case for the PC version of Dragon Age II, which got a DirectX 11 patch shortly after release. However, most developers don't do this and such games are few and far between.

This, among other things, is why I fear a console version of Phantasy Star Online 2. I've been fairly optimistic so far because neither Sega nor Sonic Team have indicated that a console version of the game is coming. Hopefully that doesn't change.

Sources:
DICE to Focus on the PC with Battlefield 3 (GeForce.com)
Hi-Res Texture Pack for Dragon Age 2 Available (TomsHardware.com)

JP PSU "Update 3rd" Content Rollout Begins This Month

Back in January, news broke of yet another set of expansion content coming to the Japanese version of Phantasy Star Universe. A few glimpses of new content were shown at the time, but no specific details were provided about the update.

However, a Web page has now appeared on the Japanese PSU Web site offering actual screenshots of the new content, dubbed "Update 3rd" and slated to hit the Japanese PC servers beginning this month.

Of particular interest are the new environments being added. I, for one, was happy to see that an actual beach level is finally being added to the game. It will be interesting to see what kinds of enemies will inhabit these areas. Hopefully we'll get to see some actual new enemies with new moves and abilities, instead of boring reskins. In any case, I must say that this is actually making me want to play on the Japanese servers!

Of course, these updates are made possible because the Japanese version of PSU has finally been freed from the shackles of console support. With the shutdown of PS2 support imminent, Sega / Sonic Team can now theoretically release as much genuinely new content as they want for PC players to enjoy. In fact, Sega has indicated that the content pictured on the Web page is only the tip of the iceberg.

If this had been done earlier, could the US/EU PC servers have been saved? Nobody will ever know. However, if this is the kind of support we could get for PSO2, then I sincerely hope that a console version of that game never sees the light of day.

The Catch-All News Post of the Week

PSU GM Edward has announced that there will be server maintenance this week to fix a previously reported bug involving the Ares Espada SUV. The Spring Event is still going on, and it continues until maintenance on Friday, May 13, as previously reported.

In other news, players are reporting intermittent service outages and disconnections on the Xbox 360 servers. There's been no word on whether or not this is an ISP issue or just bad connections to the servers. These kinds of problems always seem to surface during events -- hopefully things will be sorted out before too long!

It's PC/PS2 Shutdown Day Again

One year ago today, Sega pulled the plug on the PC/PS2 PSU servers in the United States and Europe. Affected players were reflecting on their time in the game, moving to the Xbox 360 servers, or just moving on.

At the time of the shutdown, PSU GMs had argued that the closure of the servers would clear the way for faster content updates and the potential to catch up with the Japanese version of the game. Since the PC/PS2 servers were shut down, the Xbox 360 servers have received the supplemental update, a handful of missions, and the Absolute Zero event. Last week, the "Spring Event", aka the Third Anniversary Thanks Festa, appeared on the regional servers.

That might seem like a fair amount of new content. However, in the same time frame, the Japanese game has received even more events, and a third expansion for the game has been announced. Therefore I would argue that the pace of updates has not really changed at all; in fact, I think we might be further behind now than we were at this time last year.

Perhaps the PC/PS2 servers were not profitable; I suppose that would be sufficient justification to pull the plug for any major company. However, I don't think that the server shutdown has provided any long-term benefit to the Xbox 360 servers, aside from a population increase due to the migration of PC/PS2 players. So while those servers may stay around for at least the next year or so, players shouldn't get their hopes up when it comes to playing catch-up with the Japanese.

Well, That Was Unexpected

Given the current state of affairs in Japan, you'd think that Sega might have decided to put updates for Phantasy Star Universe on hold for a little while. For a week, that was the case, but now it looks like Sega of Japan is ready to move on.

Information about this week's content update has been posted on Sega's Japanese Xbox 360 PSU Web site. The regional servers will see the arrival of the missions that made up the 3rd Anniversary Thanks Festa on the Japanese PC/PS2 servers. The event will run until Friday, May 13, for a total of seven weeks. A lobby change is also slated for this week's maintenance.

I'm sure this is a welcome surprise to many players (especially those who have been clamoring for this event for awhile). Meanwhile, the update cycle resumes on the Japanese PC/PS2 servers this week as well; Sega of Japan has also announced that it will be reducing the number of universes on those servers during this maintenance to help with the power situation there. Players on those servers were also reminded that service failures may still be possible due to rolling blackouts.

Personally, I didn't think updates would start up again so quickly. I guess it's a business decision more than anything else and the desire to get things back to normal, which is commendable. In any case, it looks like the update suspension is over.

Content Updates Postponed Indefinitely

PSU GM Edward has announced that there will be no server maintenance this week, and that scheduled content updates will resume "as soon as we are able".

The reason for this announcement should be obvious to everyone. Sega of Japan plans the updates, and due to the recent earthquake, tsunami, and escalating nuclear disaster there, there are obviously more important things to worry about. Updates on the Japanese PC/PS2 servers have been also been suspended as a result of this tragedy, and Sega of Japan has advised players to be wary of potential service failures due to rolling blackouts or other issues.

Anyone who thinks they have the right to complain about this is out of their mind. The only thing that matters right now is for the Japanese people to get back on their feet, clean up, and rebuild from these disasters. Your precious content update can wait.

PSU Demo Shutting Down

Sega today announced that the Phantasy Star Universe demo servers for Xbox 360 would be shutting down on Monday. In this post on the official PSU forums, GM Edward stated that maintaining the demo servers is no longer feasible, a statement that I'm sure most of us agree with.

Somewhere, in a remote corner of the Internet, the porn-spammers and phishers are complaining about this, but I don't think anybody else will mind. For many months now the demo servers have been a waste of processing power, occasionally bringing players to the full version of PSU but not doing much else.

This is probably a good reason why the full Xbox 360 PSU servers should never be free, although I do often wonder if the Japanese PC/PS2 "free course" draws a crowd similar to the demo server here...

Initial PSO2 System Requirements Revealed

The official Phantasy Star Online 2 Web site has been updated with the system requirements needed to play the game when the alpha test starts later this year. This is quite possibly the most interesting piece of PSO2 news to hit so far this year (other than the alpha test announcement, I guess!)

For those of you who don't feel like clicking through, here are the system specs you'll need to play:

Operating System
Windows XP SP3 x86 (32-bit)
Windows Vista SP2 x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit)
Windows 7 SP1 x86 (32-bit) or x64 (64-bit)

CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 or better (see this page for processor specs)

Memory (RAM)
At least 1.5 GB (2 GB for Windows Vista / 7 systems)

Hard Drive
At least 8GB free space required

Monitor Resolution
1280 x 720 (minimum)

Graphics Card
nVidia GeForce 7800GT (or equivalent) or better

Sound Card
DirectSound compatible (requires at least DirectX 9.0c)

DirectX Version
9.0c or higher

This news bodes well for those of us hoping for a PC-only release. PSO2's system requirements are already significantly higher than PSU's in several important categories. Here are some of the key system requirements for Phantasy Star Universe, taken straight from the back of the box:

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 1.6 GHz (2.6 GHz recommended)
Graphics Card: nVidia GeForce 4 series / ATI Radeon 8500 series (64MB video RAM required)

Maybe this is an indication that consoles could have a hard time running the game at a decent frame rate. Of course, it could just be that Sega / Sonic Team are arbitrarily increasing the system requirements right now so that players with pieces of shit for computers don't register them to play the alpha test. Without any screenshots it's hard to tell what this information really means!

Rewards as Content, Part II

Three weeks ago, I dashed off a post about the arrival of the first set of rewards from Absolute Zero.

At the time, some Xbox 360 players were apparently a little irritated that they weren't getting all of the event rewards in that update. I had said then that I thought it was a good idea to split the rewards up, if only so that players wouldn't feel rushed trying to take advantage of all the bonuses at once. I also hoped that the next content update would be more than just the second half of the rewards.

Here we are, three weeks later. The update for this week has been announced. Lo and behold, the remaining rewards are pretty much the only things the regional servers get this week, which is exactly what GM Edward said would not happen.

To be fair, obviously Edward does not get to decide what goes into the next content update; he only reports what Sega of Japan has told him. Things can (and probably often do) change, and as PSU GM and community liaison, Edward unfortunately has to take the brunt of the players' criticism when that happens. However, Sega of Japan shouldn't be putting Edward in the position to be the bearer of bad news. What it has done here is insulting to players and merely underscores why things continue to go downhill on the US/EU servers.

In addition to receiving the second set of reward updates, players will also be getting the White Day lobbies and an update to the missions Unsafe Passage, Fight for Food, and Moonlight Beast that makes them Ambition of the Illuminus compliant (which I presume is only a drop chart change and maybe a difficulty increase). I don't see any significant updates here at all. For Sega of Japan to say they have "something planned" besides the reward update and then throw out a lobby change and minor mission update is ridiculous.

In any case, it will be interesting to see how the community responds to this announcement. Players didn't take the announcement of the first set of rewards too well, so the next day or so should be fun!

Debating PSO2 "Global Support"

Back in September of last year, Phantasy Star Online 2 officially became a reality. When news of the game broke, the community quickly picked up on the phrase "global support", a vague term shown in the game's initial trailer.

Shortly after the announcement, I blogged a little about my desire to see international servers for the game. Some time later I wrote about the potential implications console releases of PSO2 would have for that "dream".

Now, those posts have somehow fueled the debate thanks to this thread over at PSO World (hi, everyone! Thanks for reading!) Apparently I insinuated that Sega's failure to provide international servers for PSO2 would be the game's death knell in the West. This is not quite what I said, but it's not too far off. (I do stand by my comment that the game should be PC-only, though.)

If Sega eventually does decide to separate US/EU players from the Japanese, that doesn't mean that the Western version of the game will be dead on arrival. However, I do think that segregated servers would only serve to cement PSO2's status as a niche online game, at least in the West.

Why? If past history is any indication, there's no reason to believe that Sega will run PSO2 any differently than it did Phantasy Star Universe. For US/EU players, that means trickle-down content updates that the Japanese game received 18 months ago. That means second-class support from Sega of Japan. That means pissed off US/EU players berating the Sega of America GMs, who unfortunately are at the beck and call of their Japanese masters. It all equates to players leaving the game in droves, just as they did with PSU several months after that game's release.

Of course, there's no guarantee that anything like that will happen. I can only speculate based on past experience. Maybe Sega's business model for PSO2 will be vastly different, but if that's not the case, players will let their wallets do the talking and leave. And those that have been through the process before with PSU will leave even more quickly because the outcome is predictable.

I've already seen plenty of comments on PSU forums where players have said they would play on the Japanese server if region-separated servers become a reality. If that doesn't tell Sega what should be done, I don't know what will.

Finally, I should mention that I only make these comments because I want PSO2 to succeed. I sincerely hope that Sega makes all the right decisions and gives us a visually engaging, addictive, fun-to-play online game that every player worldwide can enjoy together on the same servers. Yes, I've been highly critical of Phantasy Star Universe on this blog, but only because I am disappointed that the game did not live up to its potential due to circumstances that were preventable to begin with. While most of that was Sega's poor management of the game, I don't hate the company, nor do I hate PSU. I just don't want PSO2 to suffer the same fate. One of the best things Sega / Sonic Team can do for the community in this regard is provide international servers.

PSO2 Alpha Test Eligibility Details Announced for PSU Players

The eligibility requirements have been announced for Phantasy Star Universe players wishing to get in on the Phantasy Star Online 2 alpha test later this year.

Drawing chances will be distributed in three waves. To receive a chance to "win", players must have an account on the Japanese PC/PS2 servers (obviously) and meet the following criteria during the eligibility period:

• The player must be subscribed to the Premium Course option, or
• The player must have purchased at least ¥3,000 (roughly $36.45 USD) in Guardians Cash
  

The first wave of chances will be distributed on Thursday, February 24, and will be given out to all players who meet the eligibility criteria between January 1 and Sunday, February 20.

The second wave of chances will be distributed in April, and will be given out to all players who meet the eligibility criteria between February 21 and March 31.

The final shot at a drawing entry will occur in May, and is open to all players who meet the eligibility criteria between April 1 and May 30. This eligibility period will be open to PC PSU players only (though it wasn't really mentioned whether PS2 players would be eligible at all).

Former Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst players are also eligible. Players who purchased a Hunters License at any point during 2010 will receive a chance to "win" at some point in the future. Obviously this is also for players of the Japanese game only.

The official Phantasy Star Online 2 Web site has been updated with all of the necessary information. It's nice to see the slow trickle of information increasing ever so slightly! Now, if only we could get some screenshots...

PSO2 Alpha Test to Begin This Summer

An event related to the upcoming Japanese release of Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity provided some interesting information about the near future for Phantasy Star Online 2.

During today's event, PSO2 producer Satoshi Sakai announced that an alpha test for the game would take place in the summer. A contest will be held to determine who gets to participate in the test. Players that purchase a first-run copy of Phantasy Star Portable 2 Infinity (in Japan, obviously) will receive a code to be used in the PSO2 alpha test drawing. Japanese Phantasy Star Universe and Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst players will also be eligible for the drawing, though no additional information has been provided on how this will work.

This is very promising news. Perhaps the release of PSO2 isn't as far off as we all think! Now if there was only a way for US/EU players to get into that alpha test...

Source: Phantasy Star Online 2 Alpha Test Kicks off This Summer

Rewards as Content

I don't typically post about content updates anymore. Maybe that's because I don't play the game anymore (if you think I play on the Xbox 360 you obviously don't read this blog enough). Maybe it's because I just don't care anymore. However, I spotted the update news for this week on the official forums and I felt obligated to write something about it.

The update itself is pretty minimal. In addition to a GAS update and Valentine's Day lobbies, GM Edward announced that the rewards from Absolute Zero would be arriving this week.

...That is, some of the rewards would be arriving this week. Specifically, the item rewards, PA experience boost, shop discounts, and casino bonus are slated to be added. The other rewards -- 3* Luck, synthesis boost, and grind boost -- will be coming at an as yet unannounced date.

Apparently the reward distribution news did not sit well with players, because within 20 posts Edward was right back in the forums trying to justify the decision. I can understand how Sega could spin this as a decision to "benefit the players" -- split up the rewards and the players have more time to enjoy them. That makes sense, and I don't think it's such a bad thing to do. If all the rewards were given together I bet you'd see somebody complain on the forums about having too many rewards to take advantage of in only a 2- or 3- week period.

However, if the next maintenance period comes and the remaining rewards are listed as the only content update, you can bet that the community will not be happy. Edward claims that this won't happen; whether it does anyway remains to be seen. I just don't think anybody (myself included) would put it past Sega to do such a thing to extend the life of the game another month.

In any event, the players in the forum thread raged for awhile before settling down and talking about the upcoming content. Hopefully Sega won't release the rest of the Absolute Zero rewards as a standalone update, because if that happens the player reaction will be quite different next time.

JP PSU Gets a Third Expansion; PS2 Support to be Removed

Sega of Japan announced on Thursday that Phantasy Star Universe would be receiving a third expansion update that includes new environments and missions for the game. Images of some new areas were posted with the announcement on the JP PSU Web site.

In related news, Sega also announced that PS2 support for PSU will be dropped after March 31, 2011, one year to the day after the US/EU PC/PS2 servers shut down. PS2 players are being encouraged to upgrade to the PC version of the game, which is a free download.

These announcements are great news for PC players of PSU in Japan, and in my opinion, even better news for potential future players of Phantasy Star Online 2. With this news, Sega seems to be indicating the direction they are interested in taking for the next iteration of the series, and this is a great start.

Once PS2 support for Japanese PSU has been removed, players will only be able to play the game online on a PC. It's no coincidence that Sega then decided to give players some real new content for the PC version. Clearly the game developers have realized that the consoles are holding back the development and expansion of the PSU world. This causes the game to become dull and boring, and as a result, players leave.

If this is in fact the case, a console release of PSO2 looks very much in doubt, which would be fantastic. For several months, I've been arguing the potential consequences of putting PSO2 on the consoles. The only way to create a truly immersive, expandable game world is to release the game only on the PC.

Recently, it was also discovered that Phantasy Star Online 2 is further along in development than many people may think. Hopefully, this means that a release in 2011 is not out of the question (at least not for Japan, anyway). And as we all know, the game is still only slated to be released on the PC, so perhaps that's more validation that Sega is interested in keeping the game alive with new content for a long time like it is now apparently doing with PSU.

As a side note, the odds of seeing the new PC content arrive on Xbox 360 someday are very, very slim. Yes, the Xbox 360 has a hard drive, but it sounds like this content is being developed for the PC specifically and I would be very surprised if Sega of Japan ever made the decision to port it to the Xbox 360. Of course, you never know...