Tag Archives: PC

Phantasy Star Online 2 Reaches a New Record For User Connections

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A news post made on the Japanese Phantasy Star Online 2 website announced a cool milestone for the PC game: a new record for simultaneous user activity! Previously, the highest number stood at 123,758 connections, but on May 15 at 10:50 PM, SEGA recorded 131,265 user connections.

To commemorate this event, SEGA has planned a small bonus for users: log in during the upcoming maintenance period of June 15 – June 22, and users will receive rare item drop and experience boosts for use when the game is operational again. Additionally, log in anytime from June 16 to June 21and users will receive a free gift. It’s possible to receive one gift for each day of this period, for a maximum of six.

It’s nice to see this milestone achieved for PSO2. It’s worth noting that the PC userbase in the US and Europe is particularly active, too. We hope that SEGA continues to pursue bringing PSO2 to Western fans.

Phantasy Star Online 2 X Sakura Wars Crossover Event

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Phantasy Star Online 2 sure does love its crossovers. And why not? Especially if there is an upcoming event for Sakura Wars.

Some time ago, Sega announced a collaboration event with the Sakura Wars series for Phantasy Star Online 2. With the broadcast of the recent 42nd PSO2 Livestream, we have more footage and images to share.

The collaboration event features Scratch items inspired by Sakura Shinguuji and Ichiro Ohgami. There are also voice options for the characters, with the original seiyuu (Chisa Yokoyama and Akio Suyama, respectively) reprising their roles. There are also weapon skins for the respective character’s weapons, alongside Mag Devices (autonomous supportive units) themed after their Koubu.

Check out a small gallery of images below!

Bumped’s PSUBlog has archived footage of the 42nd Phantasy Star Online 2 Livestream broadcast. The segment of the broadcast featuring the Sakura Wars collaboration (following some other segments, include another Sonic the Hedgehog lobby and a new story event) can be viewed below.

PSO2放送局第42回～龍乱の大祭Part2

This Sakura Wars collaboration update is scheduled for late June.

I know I sound like a broken record at this point, but this year has seen an abundance of Sakura Wars-related events – from concerts, to museums, and to game promotions with other franchises. The only possible way to make this 20th year anniversary sweeter than it already is…

…would be to announce another Sakura Wars game! Please oblige, Sega!

Credit to the above-linked PSUBlog entry for information and archiving the Livestream broadcast.

Sakura Wars Crossover Featured

Sakura Wars X Granblue Fantasy Event Now Available in English

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We’ve been keeping an eye out on the Sakura Wars X Granblue Fantasy crossover event since its launch, given that an English translation had been announced for the event. As we mentioned in a previous article, the game’s Japanese version actually has an English language option, and as such events like this one also end up getting an official translation. With a few days left in the campaign (it’s ending May 23), the English translation finally appears to have been finished. We’ve included a few screenshots below from the prologue, and we’re also planning to make a video of all of the story sequences before the event ends.

While the story of the event isn’t anything amazing, it’s more Sakura Wars, so we’re not complaining! Although playing these Sakura Wars crossovers, one can’t help but wish that SEGA would bring back these characters in an actual new Sakura Wars game. After all, what better way would there be to celebrate the franchise’s 20th anniversary this year?

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SEGA MD Classics Hub Featured

Over 350,000 Mega Drive/Genesis titles Purchased on Steam Following SEGA Mega Drive & Genesis Classics Hub Launch

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SEGA Europe have announced that SEGA Mega Drive & Genesis Classics has proven to be a huge success, as they have sold 350,000 units on Steam since launching just over two weeks ago. SEGA Mega Drive and Genesis Hub’s support for the Steam Workshop has made it possible for fans to upload custom ROMS for the games, and since the hub’s launch hundreds of custom ROMS have already been uploaded by the community. Read on for the official statement from SEGA Europe, and a comment from their Director of Digital Distribution.

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SEGA Mega Drive Classics Hub

SEGA Europe Announces New SEGA Mega Drive Classics Hub on Steam (UPDATED)

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Update: In the press release following the announcement, SEGA Europe have announced a 66% off sale on all SEGA Mega Drive games currently available on the platform. The sales will start when the service launches on April 28th. At the moment, it’s not clear what all this means for the US. We’re assuming the sales and the hub will be available, but whether or not it will still use the Mega Drive name is unknown. The games will also feature Steam Workshop support, but the exact details aren’t know yet.

Original post:

During the latest SEGA Central today, SEGA Europe have revealed that they’ll be launching the new SEGA Mega Drive Classics Hub on Steam on April 28th. As the name suggests, this is a hub from where you can access your favorite SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis games on Steam. But rather than a simple menu, the hub is actually a 3D room, based on a typical bedroom of an early nineties SEGA fan. It features dynamic time-of-day effects, a shelf that displays all the Mega Drive games on Steam and a classic CRT TV. You can view the official announcement video and the SEGA Central episode featuring more information below. We also included the entire list of SEGA’s currently available Steam games that you’ll be able to access through the hub. Buying any of these games on Steam will grant you access to the hub. You can also find more information on SEGA Europe’s newly revealed news blog.

It’s not clear if this hub will actually be available in the US, as the update makes no mention of it. The SEGA Mega Drive was known as the SEGA Genesis in the US, so it’d be odd if the hub used the same name worldwide. Continue reading »

Phantasy Star Online 2 PlayStation 4

New Trailer Shows Phantasy Star Online 2 Gearing up for its Launch on PlayStation 4 in Japan

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SEGA have released a new trailer featuring a ton of updates for the game, which will be released simultaneously with the game’s release on PlayStation 4 in Japan on April 20. The game is getting a small graphical update on PlayStation 4, but the PC version will be getting a new Tier 6 graphics setting which offers the same upgrade (we talked about this update in an earlier article.)

In an earlier trailer we also got to see the cast of Phantasy Star Online 2: The Animation being added to the game. You can watch both trailers below. Unfortunately, SEGA have stated that there are no plans to localize the PlayStation 4 version. The PC version of the game was announced for the West back in 2013, but was delayed. At this point, it’s not clear if it will ever materialize.

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Shenmue 3 Xsens Test Featured

Shenmue 3 Team Begins Motion Capture Testing

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The Shenmue 3 team have posted a new update on their Kickstarter page, revealing that they’ve begun testing of several motion capture systems, starting with a new motion capture system by Xsens. Initial testing of the system appears to have been promising, as the system is apparently highly responsive with little noise interference. When all systems have been tested, the team will announce the final winner.

The update also puts the spotlight on some of the gifts that the team has received from the fans as a token of support. Lastly, they’ve also attempted to upload the latest screenshots of the game in a higher quality, but the process appears to have failed and they’ve contacted Kickstarter to help them upload the correct ones. In the meanwhile, the team is pointing people to the official website to get higher quality images. Those appear to be the same quality as the ones we’ve posted in an earlier article (courtesy of Sony).

NiGHTS Into Dreams HD

Green Man Gaming SEGA Spring Sale Includes Valkyria Chronicles, NiGHTS, Jet Set Radio, And More…

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Digital retailer Green Man Gaming has launched a Spring sale featuring plenty of SEGA PC games . We picked out the game’s relevant to our interests and included them in a list below. If you’re interested in adding some more SEGA games to your collection, you may want to take a look.

GameDiscounted PriceDiscounted %
Binary Domain$3.74/€3.7475%
Binary Domain Collection$3.99/€3.9975%
Jet Set Radio$1.24/€0.9975%
NiGHTS into Dreams HD$2.49/€1.9975%
Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing$2.49/€2.4975%
Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed$4.99/€4.9975%
Sonic and All-Stars Racing Transformed 4 Pack$14.99/€14.9975%
Tembo the Badass Elephant$3.74/€3.2475%
The Typing of the Dead: Overkill$4.99/€4.4975%
Valkyria Chronicles$4.99/€4.9975%
SEGA Strategy Humble Bundle - Shining Force

The SEGA Strategy Humble Bundle Includes Valkyria Chronicles, Shining Force I & II

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Humble Bundle and SEGA are once again releasing a monthly Humble Bundle dedicated to SEGA games*. This time, it’s a bundle featuring plenty of SEGA’s strategy games on Steam. Of course, Valkyria Chronicles is part of the collection, but SEGA have also included the first two Shining Force games. These were turn-based tactical RPG’s that were first released on SEGA’s Mega Drive/Genesis console, and have since then been re-released on various other systems, including the PC.

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Phantasy Star Online 2 Episode 4 Opening HD

SEGA Releases HQ Version of New Phantasy Star Online 2 Opening Cinematic (UPDATED)

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In an earlier article we talked about the new opening for Phantasy Star Online 2, with a link to a low quality version of the opening, taken from a niconico live stream. SEGA have now uploaded a much higher quality 720P version of the opening to their Youtube Channel. You can watch it below!

SEGA is currently holding a closed beta test for Phantasy Star Online 2: Episode 4 on the PlayStation 4 in Japan. Unfortunately there’s still no news regarding the release of the PC version in the West, which was announced almost four years ago but has yet to materialize. You can read SEGA’s latest official statement on the matter here.

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