http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/07/09/phantasy-star-online-2-coming-to-na-and-eu-early-next-year/

Looking forward to getting your grubby mitts on some hot Phantasy Star Online 2 action? Those in the west may have to be patient, but there's now a finish line in sight: Sega announced that PSO2 will hit North America and Europe in early 2013.

According to the PR, producer Satoshi Sakai says that the wait will be worth it: "The number one thing we want to provide players in Phantasy Star Online 2 is an adventure that changes every time they log in. Just as great table-top RPG experiences revolve around imaginative and unexpected encounters, we want players to consistently be surprised as they explore dungeons and undertake quests."

The official English website:

http://www.pso2.com/us/

I see this as a nice treat for early 2013, in the event that FFXIV 2.0 breaks my heart like the first did.

But looking at the videos on PSO2 im really pleased :)

HELL YEAH!

Kinda looking forward to it, but I'll probably be busy playing GW2 still...

http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/07/27/phantasy-star-online-2-tops-700-000-users-91-000-concurrent/

Phantasy Star Online 2 tops 700,000 users: 91,000 concurrent

"MMO companies are usually pretty secretive about their user numbers. Sega bucked that trend recently when it announced that 730,000 players had registered for Phantasy Star Online 2. The registration metric is pretty fluffy when it comes to actual player numbers, though, and fortunately the company also announced that PSO2 achieved a peak concurrent user number of 91,513 on July 7th.

These numbers are solely the result of the recent Japanese launch. The game is slated to debut in Europe and North America sometime in 2013."

Originally posted by AmbrosiaAmor

http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/07/27/phantasy-star-online-2-tops-700-000-users-91-000-concurrent/

 

Phantasy Star Online 2 tops 700,000 users: 91,000 concurrent

"MMO companies are usually pretty secretive about their user numbers. Sega bucked that trend recently when it announced that 730,000 players had registered for Phantasy Star Online 2. The registration metric is pretty fluffy when it comes to actual player numbers, though, and fortunately the company also announced that PSO2 achieved a peak concurrent user number of 91,513 on July 7th.

These numbers are solely the result of the recent Japanese launch. The game is slated to debut in Europe and North America sometime in 2013."

Except PS series of games are really a MMORPG.   They are more of a lobby based Co-op RPG.   I would place PSO2 in the same category as Diablo 3.

I have mixed feelings about PSO2.   The P2W business model is a let down, but the game looks to be everything that I wanted PSU to be.  

Originally posted by xeniar
I have played Phantasy star online episode 1 and 2 to death on the gamecube i cannot wait for this title.

Same here.

I was skeptical at first, but honestly, this game has delivered for me.

You can try it now, if you want to.  Just make a JP account and use the English translation.  Fixes the menus and stuff, so it has some basic playability for English-speaking players.

Originally posted by Kurush

I was skeptical at first, but honestly, this game has delivered for me.

You can try it now, if you want to.  Just make a JP account and use the English translation.  Fixes the menus and stuff, so it has some basic playability for English-speaking players.

any chance you could give more detailed instruction or a link to such for those of us sadly ignorant of what you are talking about?

here we go Kotaku has the answer to my question, thought i'd share it with other fans:

http://kotaku.com/5928484/cant-wait-for-phantasy-star-online-2-heres-how-to-play-the-japanese-version

Originally posted by chelan

here we go Kotaku has the answer to my question, thought i'd share it with other fans:

 

http://kotaku.com/5928484/cant-wait-for-phantasy-star-online-2-heres-how-to-play-the-japanese-version

I heard there's an unofficial english patch we can use, most of gameplay narratives (text included) are in japan , but like important menus are translated. Despicable that you cant understand them but it's better than nth.

Btw its 2013 .. no news whatsoever.

Pretty much anyone can play the JP version.

Youll need google chrome for translation of the sign ups so you dont pull your hair out trying to understand it all.

The hardest part is getting past the captcha security. use lexilogos.

There are a total of three different unofficial and fan developed translation patches that can be used at the same time, a chrome app for in game alerts and one for a revised launcher/updater.

The english speaking community is largely on ship 2 in the 20ish blocks.

If you use all the translators the game is pretty easy to understand and adjust to. You will be left to figure out some various sub menus in regards to some non client side information. Nothing game breaking though and most of the stuff that is not translated has been well enough documented through wikis and databases.

Official patch days are still a bit of a bitch as the fan translated files always need to be updated after them. Most of the time the story related patch takes a bit longer. Probably due to limited resources being that no-one gets paid to release these updates and it gets done on peoples free time and good will. The newer released fan made launched is supposed to alleviate most of the hassle but I have not tried it yet.

Here are your best bets for info and community:

http://www.pso-world.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=42

http://bumped.org/psublog/

http://cirnopedia.frostsabre.com/

Those three spots will give you about all you need to know about the game. Its all purely infomational. The patches youll have to find on your own but they are not difficult to locate. Theres even a couple roundabout ways of purchasing AC and various other premium aspects of the game.

Don't hold your breath for a North American release. As it sits I doubt it would have much western appeal and I think sega knows this. Its really just a simple dungeon crawler shrouded in sci-fi glitter. Others have said not to enter this game with WoW-killer expectations. That is the best advice to date.

On a side note: This game plays best on a PS3/Xbox style gamepad controller. I would not recommend the mouse/keyboard combo as the combat is geared as action oriented.