Phantasy Star Online 2 Open Beta Announcement!

Yup, fresh off of their Closed Beta test, the team behind PSO2 have announced they’re launching into Open Beta – which means you’re all allowed in!
Well, by “all” I do mean all of you that have access to an Xbox.. PC players still have a little longer to wait before the game launches on to it, and even longer before it launches onto other platforms.
Ahead of the launch, it seems as though Founder’s Packs have been made available, but let me reassure you that while some MMOs have pretty horrid rewards for those of us that pay a little extra, this pack looks pretty solid.
Granted, it’s pretty expensive: It’ll cost you around $60, but what it provides is a brand new Sonic the Hedgehog themed costume set, a 30-day Premium subscription, inventory expansion and consumables.

So, if Sonic with boobs is something you’re interested in, then you’ll probably love this. Otherwise, honestly, apart from the inventory expansion I don’t see much in the way of being worth the money.
Which honestly is a good thing since it means most of us, well, actually all of us will be missing out on.. approximately nothing.

From what we’ve seen of the game and what it’s going to offer, there doesn’t look like anything that could threaten complete free to play players.
The Japanese version had a very effective business model, and players were hoping that the English version would follow suit.
It’s good to see that happening, as we’re in desparate need of a good free to play MMO that doesn’t cater to players that throw more money at it in a month than you probably do on rent in a year.

Right. Phantasy Star Online 2 is launching this month into Open Beta, on March 17th specifically. That’s this coming Tuesday!
The client will be available from Monday the 16th to pre-download in preparation, though so I’d advise setting it to download ahead of the Open Beta.
There were some complications with the Closed Beta of the game and that was to be expected.
I’m hoping that they’ve ironed out all of those issues though ahead of the Open Beta as they need a smooth launch, especially if they’re going to be charging some people to play the game.
Unfortunately Sega doesn’t have the greatest track record.. but hey, we got the game eventually and that’s what counts.

But let me tell you: I’ve played the game, quite extensively at that. And I can assure you that it is definitely worth the wait.. if this is the kind of game you’re into.
Not if you’re expecting a replacement for something like WoW or Final Fantasy XIV.
The launch of PSO2 will feature episodes 1-3 in terms of content, including full localization of the game – from text, to names, to the voice-acting. Yes, the game is fully English-dubbed.
While I haven’t seen nearly enough of the game to accurately gauge the English voice cast, I can only hope it’s better than the majority of South Korean MMO English dubs. Blade & Soul, Aion, Astellia, Black Desert.. ugh, don’t even get me started.
Not only will we have access to the first 3 episodes of content, but we’ll also have the most updated balance and quality-of-life improvements made directly to the Japanese version of the game.
Which, honestly doesn’t make complete sense to me if we’re missing some of the content but hey, I’m sure we’ll get up there real quick.

I’m excited to get the game into a fully released form as the game has been in desperate need of a Western release for the last.. well, ever. I honestly don’t know why Sega waited almost a decade to get this game out, it’s ridiculous.
Nevertheless, I’m excited to see it hit the Xbox because you know what’s left after that, right? Yup, the game’s going to be heading to PC next.
That’s where I played the Japanese version – well, heck, that’s where everyone played the Japanese version from outside of Japan. So it’ll be refreshing to get it on PC later this year.
Hopefully the beta test for the PC version of the game begins within the next few months, as we need an Anime MMO to hold us Anime fans over until Blue Protocol launches.
And yes, Gran Saga and Genshin Impact are both coming, but this’ll be the biggest release of the year – on PCs anyway.

And that’s it. Don’t forget to set your alarm to download the game on the 16th. Don’t forget to pre-order the Founder’s Pack if you’re interested in the Sonic themed DLC. It’s honestly a solid deal.