News

08/31/2006: Expansion Disk announced

• Pogle on PSUPedia posted in this thread about a PSU expansion disc. Sega has updated it's website with a new page entitled "secret". The expansion disk will be entitled "Phantasy Star Universe: Illumines no Yabou" (Ganoop Ganayat claims on this IGN article this could translate to Ambition of Illumines, assuming Illumines is a character). Although Illumines may be a character, it's odd because Laya and Ethan are on the website picture. Accompanying the picture is text that reads, "The legend has just started." The expansion could be an online Story Mission (or an arc), although you'll probably need to pay for it. No release date has been announced. Asim 15:55, 31 August 2006 (PDT)

08/30/2006: JP PSU Servers now open! Famitsu review PSU

• As of now it is 31/08/2006 7am Tokyo Time, so the PSU servers should now be up. If you are lucky enough to have a copy of the game already, good luck in the world of PSU and have fun! Many of us will be joining you shortly!
• Famitsu, the famous Japanese magazine, has rated PSU as being 35/40, in other words a pretty good score in a magazine that is notoriously tough at times. Mewn 15:00, 30 August 2006 (PDT)

08/28/2006: Premiere Disk ends today and small blog update

• The release of JP PSU is three days away, and with the game coming so close Sega has decided to end the activity of the Premier Disk.
• On the JP PSU Developer's blog network characters are discussed along with accessories they have as well as features such as cut-in-chat. Nothing new here; the developer basicaly boasts about how this game will be better than PSO! Asim 17:19, 28 August 2006 (PDT)

08/25/2006: New character revealed, information on Network Mode 'Story Missions' and the required Internet Connection on PC Edit: New merchandise announced

On the JP PSU Developer's blog several things have been revealed...

• The first is a new character, called Laya Martinez. Martinez is a 24 year old Female Beast affiliated with the Guardians. Despite apparently being famous throughout the Guardians' Colony she doesn't appear in Story Mode, and can only be found in Network Mode.
• The second is the idea of Story Missions, that take place in Network Mode. New Story Missions will be released periodically, and will add to the story of the Network Mode, which takes place after the events of the Story Mode. Apparently, these missions will only be playable solo, but you will be partnered with NPC teammates, including Laya Martinez.
• The third is about the constant internet connection required to play PSU on the PC. You will need to have an Internet Connection to play Story Mode on the PC, due to reasons of security, according to the blog. However you will not need a Guardians' License in order to play Story Mode (and Extra Mode, presumably). In addition, you can choose to use client-side or server-side saving for Story Mode save data, and if you use server-side saving you can continue your Story Mode game on another computer. This only applies to the PC. Mewn 12:56, 25 August 2006 (PDT)

The official PSU site has announced they are releasing four new merchandise items

• A pocket watch; although this item barely represents any relation to PSU, it technically is a PSU item
• A movie collection; the CD is believed to contain advertisements and other images of PSU. The name of the item might be misleading, however, the item just might contain many images.
• An alarm clock; this clock is has all the functions of a simple alarm clock and has a design of Karen Erra
• A card; the official site simply states it is a 'QUO card', although it probably a trading card.

We believe the items are only available at the Akiba / Akihabara store. For more information go to the latest update on the official website. SAsim 17:36, 25 August 2006 (PDT)

08/23/2006: IGN preview PSU, a little info on Expert Classes

• IGN have posted a preview of the first three chapters of PSU's Story Mode, similar to the Gamespot preview. On the whole the article seems more optimistic about the game, and the writer seems more knowledgable about PSU, than in the Gamespot preview. They still make the 'Lamia' error though when referring to Lumia Waber. The biggest complaint of the previewer is the graphics on the Xbox360. Inspektahdek of the PSOW forums posted about this preview in this thread.
• On the JP PSU Developer Blog, a little information has been released about Expert Classes (aka Expert Types). Apparently they are individual classes, and in addition to classes that are a hybrid of the three basic Classes, you can also pick an Expert Class which expands upon the abilities of a basic Class. See the Expert Classes article for the information we currently have. Mewn 13:02, 23 August 2006 (PDT)

08/22/2006: NCSX to sell NetCash

The import site NCSX is to sell 3000Yen NetCash cards (good for 3 months of PSU) beginning August 31st (the release date of JP PSU). This decision was taken so that importers of JP PSU could pay to play online, as SIGN/SegaLink doesn't accept foreign CCs. If you order a NetCash card with the game itself, you will actually recieve the card, otherwise NCSX will send you a digital scan of the card via email, with the image compressed in an encrypted and passworded archive file (.rar or .zip) for security. The full news can be read here . Mewn 12:52, 22 August 2006 (PDT)

08/21/2006: 5 new PSU gameplay videos and detailed preview

BaZ2 on PSOW has posted in this thread that there are 5 new relatively short offline XBox 360 PSU videos on the GameSpot website. The following videos (in Japanese text and English voicing) include:

• 1: An introduction to the story of PSU.
• 2: In a cut-in scene, Pete wakes up a bothersome Ethan Waber inofrming him about a Guardians' orientation.
• 3: Ethan speaking to his siter, Lumia Waber.
• 4: Ethan speaks to a counter-lady much similar to the counter lady in PSO lobbies.
• 5: Ethan roaming Clyez City and speaking to Lou.

It has also been rumored that PSU will be an included feature on the next Gamespot's On The Spot feature, because it was delayed on 08/17/2006

• Gamespot also wrote an extensive two-page preview of the first three chapters in PSU stating the first three chapters are used mostly for setting the game up for players to learn about the story, characters, and mechanics. SAsim 19:39, 21 August 2006 (PDT)
• I should point out that Gamespot's preview is rather poorly written, and has numerous mistakes ('[Ethan's] sister Lamia', 'Karen Nerra', and 'Rangers can use technics' spring to mind). Mewn 02:36, 22 August 2006 (PDT)

08/19/2006: PS2 memory card requirements update

• This picture reveals the the Premiere Disc uses 2,680KB as opposed to 2,300KB that was speculated to be the memory usage. There might be a change for the official game, however, it is safe to presume that the PS2 version of Phantasy Star Universe will use 2,680KB of Memory Card space for a save file. SAsim 13:47, 19 August 2006 (PDT)

08/18/2006: Pre-order gifts and telephone cards Edit: Net Cafe meseta giveaway

• EspioKaos on PSOW has posted in this thread that numerous retailers in Japan will give you a Visual Book and a Promotional Soundtrack when you pre-order PSU. Another nine track soundtrack can be found on the official site. It also appears that Sega released seven custom character designed telephone cards. These cards are free a long with a purchase of PSU at Laox, SofMap, Messe Sanoh, Imagine, and other stores. Each card design is exclusive to one store.
• Net Cafe has also announced a 30,000 meseta giveaway to anyone who participates in a Net Cafe event, but very little is known about the event. SAsim 6:43, August 18, 2006 (PDT)

08/17/2006: Visual Book release date, blog update, and Games Convention

• Gamefront.de has reported on August 14th that the PSU Visual Book will be released in Japan as of August 31, 2006.
• There has also been a large update on the Developer's Blog on the official site discussing simple information about Network Mode and Story Mode. The update also sports a mini developer interview.
• A PSU booth demonstration booth in Leipzig, Germany will also be running through the 24rd - 27th this month, in one of the Games Convention halls. SAsim 3:45, August 17, 2006 (PDT)

08/15/2006: Four commercials now up on the official JP PSU site

EspioKaos on PSOW has posted in this thread that there are now 4 videos of commercials currently airing on Japanese TV on the official site. These videos can be found here. Of note is the third commercial, which has not been seen by the community yet, and appears to show a SEED Vance in Raffon Meadow, whereas in the Closed Beta they only appeared in the Linear Line. Mewn 10:49, 15 August 2006 (PDT)

08/14/2006: PS2 Premiere leaked Edit: Several rare weapons revealed

On another forum, Sodaboy has recently posted videos, music and an ISO of the PSU PS2 Premiere Disc. Tycho 07:06, 14 August 2006 (PDT)

• I'll take this opportunity to state that links to the ISO or to forum posts with links to the ISO are not allowed here. Mewn 12:07, 14 August 2006 (PDT)
• Nisshoku has uncovered a picture of what may possibly be rares. Tycho and Mewn will be on the case to analyze the text and pictures. SAsim 3:07, 14 August 2006 (PDT)
• A lot of the names were quite hard to make out, but anyway, here is the result. Tycho 15:20, 14 August 2006 (PDT)

08/11/2006: JP PSU Developer's Blog now up Edit: SIGN apparently does not accept foreign CCs

• Ryna on PSOW has posted in this thread that a new Developer Blog is now up on the official site. There appears to be little of interest at the moment, mostly talking about the Premiere Disc and the previous release date postponements from what I can see, but it is of course possible that important or otherwise noteworthy information may be revealed here! Mewn 06:19, 11 August 2006 (PDT)
• Edit: beatrixkiddo informs us that the new payment system for Sega online games - SIGN - does NOT accept foreign CCs. Segalink stated this to kiddo's source, when asked about the possibility of the system accepting foreign CCs. Apparently SIGN uses the same overall template as SegaLink. This means you will have to rely on NetCash or a JP credit card. Mewn 15:00, August 11, 2006 (PDT)

08/10/2006: For Brighter Day track listing revealed, Premiere Disc mini-site and servers up

EspioKaos (again, heh) has posted more information in this thread on PSOW, this time posting links about the track listing of the For Brighter Day OST, the second of PSU's two soundtracks. He also reveals that the PS2 Premiere Disc mini-site is now up. It will have FAQs, server announcements and the like. The Premiere Disc servers are now up, too. Mewn 09:43, August 10, 2006 (PDT)

08/09/2006: Lottery winners receive PS2 Premiere Disc, PC PSU Net Cafe trial, SIGN website up Edit: PSU OP movie added

• First off is that those Japanese residents lucky enough to have been selected in the various magazine lotteries for the PSU PS2 Premiere Disc have received their disks and are now exploring the beginning of PSU's Story Mode. The JP PSU Image Dump may sate your curiousity somewhat (check out the Cast with clothes!). Still, if you live in Japan (or have a willing friend there) and a PS2 capable of playing JP region games you can still try to pick up a limited copy at selected stores in a few days time.
• Secondly, EspioKaos of PSOW reports in this thread that Sega will be running a two-day trial of the PC version of PSU at a Net Cafe. It is interesting to note that the servers for this trial and the PS2 Premiere Disc will be linked.
• Thirdly, the SIGN website is now up, according to Lyrise of PSOW. While no payment systems have been introduced for any game on this system yet it is hoped that foreign Credit/Debit Cards will be accepted. If you have an account on SegaLink it will have been automatically carried over to the new website. Mewn 10:36, August 9, 2006 (PDT)
• Edit: A movie showing PSU's opening, taken from the PS2 Premiere Disc, has been uploaded to YouTube by Umisenshi. The movie shows most of the major characters of PSU, including Mirei Mikuna in what can be assumed to be her Maiden of the Phantasmal Vision outfit. The musical accompaniment is, of course, the theme of PSU, Save This World. Mewn 13:18, 9 August 2006 (PDT)

08/07/2006: PS2 memory card requirements revealed

The German games site Gamefront.de has revealed that the PS2 version of Phantasy Star Universe will use 2,300KB of Memory Card space for a save file. Note that this doesn't include space for patches, so keep a spare memory card handy. This news was spotted by rena-ko of PSOW (see this thread). Mewn 13:26, August 7, 2006 (PDT)

08/06/2006: Two new JP PSU commercials

The French PSU site PSU ODYSSEY has videos of two new commercials for PSU currently airing on Japanese TV - check out the giant rappy dancing in the lobby in the second video! Speculation suggests that this is a special costume for players. - Mewn 13:56, August 6, 2006 (PDT)