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Phantasy Star Portable 2 headed to North America and Europe this fall
Here's the best news for PSP owners who love futuristic co-op dungeon crawling since, well, Phantasy Star Portable: Sega has announced that it's localizing Phantasy Star Portable 2, with a fall release planned in both North America and Europe. Taking place after the events of Phantasy Star Universe, Portable 2 features the people of Gurhal facing a new, less easily defeated threat: scarcity of resources. We'll have to play the game's story mode and some online quests (that's right, unlike the first Phantasy Star Portable, this one's playable online) before we discover how that issue is resolved, though we do know how Sega of Japan acquired the resources it used to produce the game: advertising tie-ins! We really hope the Pizza Hut box item makes it into the Western version. %Gallery-93480%
Valkyria Chronicles 2 DLC announced, some requires Phantasy Star Portable 2
Phantasy Star Portable 2 is already filled with questionable marketing partnerships. So it comes as no surprise that Sega's going to take it another step further, by making Valkyria Chronicles 2 content specially for Phantasy Star Portable 2 owners. Eight DLC packs have been announced for the Japanese release of VC2, and some will require save data from Sega's other PSP game. The listing, as translated by Andriasang: 1/21: Melfair's Crisis - Free 1/21: Request From the Guardians - Free* 1/21: Challenge from Little Wing - Free* 2/4: Strategy Battle Drills VS F Group - ¥100 2/11: Tough Battle Melfair City EX - ¥100 2/18: Kokugen no Tani - ¥100 2/18: Teisatsuhei Urakatei Shuryou Shiken - ¥100 2/25: Ultimate Challenge - ¥100 *requires Phantasy Star Portable 2 save data
Sega creating a Fanta-sy Star Portable promotion
When was the last time you picked up a can of Fanta? We can't remember either. Coca-Cola isn't giving up on the fruity beverage, though. They're partnering up with Sega to create virtual Fanta items in the upcoming Phantasy Star Portable 2. We can only assume the reasoning behind this campaign is to let bloggers take advantage of a ridiculously easy pun for use in a headline. Thanks, Coca-Cola for making our jobs a little bit easier.Fanta will be present at Tokyo Game Show next week, handing out various goodies for trying out the PSP2 demo at the show floor. It would be really smart for them to give away free drinks -- being trapped in a convention center filled with sweaty otaku is bound to make many dehydrated.
Phantasy Star Portable characters won't transfer into PSP2
Sega's upcoming Phantasy Star Portable 2 is one of the most exciting RPGs coming to PSP. Why? Infrastructure support! We're really intrigued to finally have a real online RPG experience on a handheld. Unfortunately, those of you expecting to import your level 60 characters from the first PSP game will be out of luck: to keep things fair, PSP2 will have you creating your characters from scratch.There are bonuses to be had for players of the original, though. While you won't be able to export your XP or gear, you will gain access to an exclusive item: "exzam weapon," according to Siliconera. Hopefully, news of this bonus will be enough to forgive us for screencapping this horrifying shot from a Japanese promo video for the game. What's with that guy's outfit?!
Sing along with the intro to Phantasy Star Portable 2
There's a lot of reason to be excited for the upcoming Phantasy Star Portable 2. Well, there's at least one reason that stands out quite a bit: online Infrastructure support. The Sega-developed RPG was always meant to be played with friends, but the first game was relegated to local Ad-Hoc support. With the addition of Infrastructure, we can play PSP the way it was meant to be played.The Japanese website for PSP2 has been updated with the intro movie to the game which features a theme song by Hideaki Kobayashi. Don't be surprised if you find yourself humming along to the catchy, English language chorus. Phantasy Star Universe ...[Via PSPHyper]
Phantasy Star Portable 2 revealed for the second time
Sega looks prepared to announce Phantasy Star Portable 2 not once, not twice -- but three times. The highly successful PSP RPG was first uncovered through a promotional UMD for the budget re-release of the original Phantasy Star Portable. Now, it's been discovered yet again through Japanese mag Famitsu, making it all the more official. Sega will then announce the game one more time through its still-in-progress countdown site.PSO-World has noticed a few details about the upcoming sequel. PSP2 will take place three years after the events of Phantasy Star Universe and the original Phantasy Star Portable.Two of the characters revealed so far are Amelia Percival (not related to PSNation's Glenn, we're afraid), and Yoot. We're sure to see much more when Sega announces the game again in a few days.Update: 1UP reports that the game will support online Infrastructure mode. Finally! [Thanks, Jonathan S.!]
Phantasy Star Portable 2 rumored to make debut in budget re-release
Sega's competitor to Monster Hunter found moderate success in Japan, when it sold upwards of 600,000 copies. Phantasy Star Portable is being re-released in Japan as part of Sony's "The Best" budget collection, and the new release will include a bonus UMD filled with extras.While the bonus UMD is confirmed, an image circulating Japanese blogs and message boards suggests the disc may contain an unexpected surprise: the opening movie for the currently unannounced Phantasy Star Portable 2, in addition to video summaries of the entire Phantasy Star Universe saga. Considering the success of the first game, it's more than likely Sega would be interested in creating a sequel. However, without any other concrete source, this rumor is far from confirmed.[Thanks, John C.! Via IGN]
Phantasy Star Portable gets new release date: March 3rd
PSP fans looking to join in on Sega's latest addition to the famed RPG series won't have to wait much longer. The US release is just one month away -- March 3rd.Phantasy Star Portable expands the world featured in Xbox 360's Phantasy Star Universe. The RPG is heavily rooted in ad-hoc multiplayer, with up to four players doing missions in tandem. The game will retail for $39.99.%Gallery-11817%
Sega releases new Phantasy Star Portable trailer
What would one expect from a game called Phantasy Star Portable? Well, dear reader, if you answered "a portable Phantasy Star game," you win. Sega's bringing the upcoming PSP-exclusive Phantasy Star Portable to America and Europe. This follow-up to Phantasy Star Universe features a brand new story and tons of missions. But, there's one problem. Where's the Infrastructure support?Phantasy Star Portable arrives in the US this March.%Gallery-11817%
Metal Gear Solid 4, Crisis Core receive Gold PlayStation Awards
Those would be "Gold" awards in Sony Computer Entertainment Japan's annual PlayStation Awards, not actual gold PlayStations. No, we think excellent sales are reward enough to render the composition of a congratulatory gong irrelevant -- the Gold award only goes to those games that sold over 500,000 copies in Japan over the last year. This year's PlayStation recipients: Senior citizen stealth sim Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots; pointy-haired sword swinger Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII; and Sega's Phantasy Star Portable, which we failed to include in the headline. Similarly snubbed but given a fancy "Platinum" award was Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, which sold over two million copies and completely messed up our Japanese hardware sales charts. Source -- PSP awards Source -- PS3 award (singular)
Phantasy Star Portable coming stateside in March
Sega announced that it will bring Phantasy Star Portable, the on-the-go flavor of its popular Phantasy Star Universe, to North America in March 2009, finally giving us a reason to cash in those meseta savings bonds grandma left behind before taking off for Palma to retire. Serving as a kind of prequel to its console cousin, the game will bring a new character to the series, alongside 150 new weapons and items and support for wireless co-op play. Phantasy Star Portable's release in Japan earlier this year was met with rabid sales, and it will be interesting to see if players over here will be just as eager to level up to Sega's latest role-playing offering.
TGS 08: Phantasy Star Portable coming to US fo' sho'
Sega of America quietly told reporters at TGS that their "secret PSP game" was in fact, a localized version of Phantasy Star Portable -- a fact made not-so-secret when Kotaku ran their story today. It's true: PSP is coming to the PSP. Phantasy Star features the same addictive Ad-Hoc multiplayer that made Monster Hunter such a hit amongst Japanese gamers -- and it looks pretty, to boot. Hopefully, this early announcement will appease the American masses that are currently experiencing a PSP games drought. You see? Games are coming. We swear. [Thanks, Ben!]
Phantasy Star Portable ships 500K in the first week
Having sold 217,000 copies on the very first day, the new Japanese chart-topper Phantasy Star Portable went on to ship 500,000 copies in the first week. Though it won't beat out reigning champion Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G's figures of 880,000, it did beat out another very popular PSP game with a larger fanbase: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. The Square Enix game managed to ship 480,000 copies in its debut week. We are unofficially in Bizarro World territory when a Sega game outperforms a Square Enix game. The bigger question is, when is the rest of the world going to get a taste of this? [Via PSPHyper] %Gallery-11817%
Phantasy Star Portable sells like a Monster in Japan
It's true that Phantasy Star of today is hardly recognizable to those who grew up playing with talking cats, but that probably doesn't keep Sega awake at night, especially given reports that its PSP RPG Phantasy Star Portable has been difficult to keep in stock since it was released in Japan last week. The pint-sized version of Phantasy Star Universe has shown Monster Hunter-like momentum, apparently flying off Japanese store shelves, with both Wired and AkibaBlog reporting that 90% of the original shipment went out the door on July 31, the first day it went on sale. There remains no word as to when or if Sega will bring Phantasy Star Portable to PSP owners outside of Japan, but we'll continue to save our meseta 'til it happens.
Phantasy Star Portable sells 200K on first day
It looks like Japan has another hit PSP game. Phantasy Star Portable went on sale yesterday in Japan with 400,000 units shipped and managed to get over 217,000 copies into the hands of anxious gamers. Interestingly enough, PSP sold more copies on day one than other huge titles like Soulcalibur IV which sold 147,000 91,000 (combined PS3/360 sales).We had no doubt that PSP would be successful, especially since it is the perfect game to market to the Monster Hunter crowd -- i.e. they're both games with strong emphasis on co-op gameplay. However, it is shocking to see a portable title outdoing a console game (with, arguably, a larger fanbase) like SC IV. Sega must be very pleased with itself.[Via PSPHyper]%Gallery-11817%
DLC fight!!! Monster Hunter and Phantasy Star expand
This week, Monster Hunter faces some competition. One of the big selling points of Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G was its free DLC, available weekly for eager fans. Just days after its launch in Japan, Sega is also making free Phantasy Star Portable DLC available. The first thing you're going to kill? A very Monster Hunter-dragon. Do you smell the competition in the air?While both of these PSP RPGs go head-to-head in Japan with tons of features for fans, we're left here on this side of the Pacific, scratching our heads. Why don't we get this cool stuff too?[Via PSPHyper]
Ad: PSP's next big game, Phantasy Star Portable
Will Sega's Phantasy Star Portable be able to take on Capcom's Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G? The two games are targeting very similar markets: social RPG games on the PSP. This new ad released in Japan highlights the community aspects of Phantasy Star Portable, but misses what we would've focused on: its acronym. Clearly, PSP is MEANT for the PSP. This is gaming destiny!We don't think an ad like that would've been too dramatic for Japanese tastes ...
Phantasy Star Portable downloadable demo
Yes! You must play this massive 300MB Japanese demo of Phantasy Star Portable. What are you waiting for?! Remember: the O button confirms in this demo. There will be quite a bit of Japanese text, so some knowledge of the language will help greatly. The demo contains character creation, CG cutscenes and is fully voiced. We can only hope that Sega announces an English language version of this game soon.1. Download the demo zip file.2. Extract the contents of the zip file.3. Connect your PSP to your computer using a USB cable.4. Go to the PSP/GAME folder.5. Copy ULJM91014 folder into the GAME directory. Make sure there are no sub-directories in this folder. Check out our demos site:demos.pspfanboy.com [Thanks, redbonefish! Via onehitgamer.com]
Phantasy Star Portable demo details, DLC announced
As reported earlier, the Phantasy Star Portable demo will allow access to the Story Mode and Multi Mode, and even an option to import your saved data from the demo into the final game. Now there is more details concerning what is turning out to be a rather extensive demo; it will be 301 MB in size and can be obtained via the PlayStation Store or distributed through selected game stores. You will also be able to play all of the first chapter and five missions from the Multi Mode. The game's official website also reveals more information this week, with new characters, a TV spot and an announcement that is DLC planned. The demo will arrive on July 14th and the game will arrive on the 31st.[Note: All dates are for Japan only. No US or European version has been announced at this time.]
Japanese Phantasy Star demo coming later this month
Phantasy Star Portable is a title that will be out in Japan at month's end. Gamers that want to try PSP out earlier than that can probably do so as it looks like a demo is on the way. Said to come two weeks earlier than the July 31 release date, a Japanese demo will allow players to tinker with the Story Mode and co-op ad hoc with Multi Mode. One last interesting bit involves the ability to transfer your character data from the demo to the full game, if you so choose to purchase the full game. There's still no word of a release outside Japan.[Via PSPHyper]
