What do you do when you're a flagging game company that has managed to create a successful sequel to a beloved MMO? You release it in as many markets as possible. Unless, of course, you're Sega—then you just announce it and go silent for two years. A group of fans are looking to change that by building their own… » 1/16/15 3:43pm 1/16/15 3:43pm

Phantasy Star Online 2 is currently unavailable to play in Japan due to an ongoing DDoS attack, according to an official statement released by Sega (translated by PSUBlog here). Sega plans to compensate players for the downtime, and promises to release a follow-up report on Monday. » 6/20/14 7:20am 6/20/14 7:20am

In July of 2012, Sega announced plans to bring the popular multiplayer RPG Phantasy Star Online 2 to the west in "early 2013." But that still hasn't happened, much to fans' consternation—and Sega won't explain a thing. » 3/31/14 3:00pm 3/31/14 3:00pm

The PS4 launch looks to have a wider variety of play options than previous generations. Now it looks like Japan will be getting an extra option. » 10/10/13 7:40am 10/10/13 7:40am

Earlier today, Sega launched a new Phantasy Star Online 2 update for the PC version. New areas! New bosses! New quests! Sounds great, huh? It also brought new headaches. » 9/04/13 6:00am 9/04/13 6:00am

Yesterday, we got an e-mail from a Kotaku reader named Jacob. He said he was bummed out. See, he really wants to play Phantasy Star Online 2, the free-to-play online RPG that was released in Japan last year, but he can't, because it's not out in the West, and publisher Sega hasn't told anyone what's going on. » 6/18/13 10:40am 6/18/13 10:40am

Back before the release of Phantasy Star Online 2 on the PC, one of its main selling points was that it would eventually be released on the PlayStation Vita as well. Now, nearly a year after the game's PC launch, this has finally come to pass. And while the Vita version of the game remains largely identical, it is the… » 3/08/13 8:00am 3/08/13 8:00am

Phantasy Star Online 2 hits the PS Vita on February 28, Sony announced today. » 2/18/13 3:11am 2/18/13 3:11am

2013 is only 1/12th over. With 11 months left and new console news on the horizon, Weekly Famitsu asked its readers what games they were looking forward to for this year. Here's a list of the top 30 anticipated upcoming games for 2013 (note: All publishers and release dates are for Japanese release versions): » 2/07/13 8:00am 2/07/13 8:00am

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Free to play. Free. To. Play. Sounds good, but watch the fine print. With most games these days, when something is free, you tend to get what you pay for. Generally, you'll end up getting a fraction of the actual game with the rest being either unattainable or incredibly hard to get to without pulling out your credit… » 12/06/12 7:30am 12/06/12 7:30am

An internet cafe in Tokyo's Takadanobaba is rolling out a Phantasy Star Online 2 "Arks Briefing Room", which available for hourly rent. According to 4Gamer, the space is decked out with four, pricey Emperor 1510 gaming chairs, ALIENWARE Aurora ALX computers, and slick displays. Stunning. » 10/23/12 5:00am 10/23/12 5:00am

Players outside of Japan have been enjoying online role-playing game Phantasy Star Online 2. Those days are over. Until its Western release, the game is now Japan only. » 8/08/12 12:15am 8/08/12 12:15am

Like most MMOs, Phantasy Star Online 2 » 7/31/12 6:00am 7/31/12 6:00am comes with a robust character creator. And with its sci-fi setting, it's perfect for making all sorts of futuristic characters. I, for one, made Kotaku's very own anthropomorphic avatar, Kotaku-tan, as my character.

Over the past few weeks, we here at Kotaku East » 7/27/12 8:00am 7/27/12 8:00am have taken a look at several of Japan's newest free-to-play titles. First was , a PS3 third-person shooter that was based around a six versus six game of capture the points. Second was the Vita title , which mixed co-op dungeon crawling with 4X strategy gameplay. The…

Back at the turn of the millennium, Sega released the first MMORPG for consoles, Phantasy Star Online » 7/27/12 6:00am 7/27/12 6:00am. Over the next decade it went from Dreamcast to GameCube to Xbox to PC. Now twelve years later, Sega has finally released the sequel, Phantasy Star Online 2, free on the Japanese PC.

The latest chapter in the epic online space fantasy action role-playing series is marching its Humans, Newmen and robotic CAST slowing across the ocean, as Sega announces a Western release for Phantasy Star Online 2 in 2013. » 7/09/12 8:30am 7/09/12 8:30am