Phantasy Star Message Board

#phantasystaronline2 The beta forPhantasy Star Online 2 has ended, and the official service will finally start on July 4. Although the game is free-to-play with no required fees, there are in-game premiums that players can choose to buy. The in-game premiums can be purchased by Arcs Cash, which can be charged through PSO's official website. Unfortunately, this service has yet to be incorporated for smartphones and the PlayStation Vita. More »

#phantasystar Though its singleplayer functionality will, of course, remain, the six-year run of Phantasy Star Universe will come to an end Sept. 7 when Sega shuts off online support for the game for the Xbox 360. Sega announced the shutdown yesterday. More »

#phantasystar On March 26th, SEGA has officially announced that the online role-playing game Phantasy Star Online 2 will be released not only on the PC, but on the PS Vita and smartphones as well. The game is planned to be released early summer of 2012, and will be free to play with certain purchasable in-game items. More »

#randomencounters Kickstarter is now officially a thing. More »

Like the Dreamcast itself, the heyday of Phantasy Star Online has faded into history. Oh sure, you can play one of those newfangled Phantasy Star games, but the magic of Dreamcast keyboard-infused, 56K-powered goodness is long gone. Still, you might be able to recapture some of the old fire with a new figure from Kotobukiya, based on the android Eleanor and featuring several accessories, including a saber and some guns.

According to Tomopop, the figure is being released as part of Phantasy Star Online's tenth anniversary. It's available for pre-order now at CD Japan for $42, with a planned release this May. Also, the figure won't require the same time investment as the actual game -- all the pieces snap together.

#toys We're not sure why toy maker Kotobukiya is releasing a figure based on Phantasy Star Online now, but we're not complaining. Who doesn't love PSO and would want a little robot maiden to remember all the good times? More »

Sega kind of has a thing for Phantasy Star. Ever since resurrecting the 8- and 16-bit RPG franchise back on Sega Dreamcast with Phantasy Star Online, the company has been rather steadily turning out new titles bearing the brand name. Most recently, it's been Phantasy Star Portable 2 for PSP, but, as discovered by Siliconera, Sega has at least two more Phantasies planned.

The Japanese Trademark Database lists both Phantasy Star Eternal Planets and Phantasy Star Eternal Hunters as recently registered. They're classified only as video games -- no platforms, natch -- and Siliconera speculates they could be two sides of the same coin ... er, game, a la Pokemon Black and White. Hopefully, Sega won't keep its phans waiting long for a reveal.

Sega has discounted four of its iOS games on the US iTunes Store. We contacted the publisher for the specific end date of the sale and all it could offer was that the discounted prices will be in effect for "a limited time" -- frugal shoppers don't have much time to gorge on savings, we assume. Here's what's available (all are $1.99, previously $5.99): Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Super Monkey Ball and Phantasy Star II.

Oh, and because you'll inevitably ask: no, sorry, we don't have a launch price for Sonic 4: Episode 1 yet.

"Who said we are lost again in this lonely world?" That's the first line of the somewhat hokey but infectious theme song to Phantasy Star Universe. When the song was written, that was a rhetorical question, but now it's been answered: Sega says you're lost in this lonely world. At least, that's the message the publisher is sending the remaining players of the PS2 and PC versions, whose servers will be shut down soon. Following the January 29 "Maximum Attack G+" event, Sega will convert everyone's account to a free account, and allow the players to enjoy what time they can before the servers shut off on March 31. This won't affect the Xbox 360 version in any way other than the flood of refugees from other platforms. It may not be much of a flood, however: GM Edward@Sega said that the shutdown is taking place because "[t]he population is simply too low for us to be able to continue to support this platform." [Via Massively]