Phantasy Star Online 2 Coming West in 2017? Don't Believe Everything You Read On The Internet
Sega released Phantasy Star Online 2 in Japan on July 4, 2012. Only a few days later, the company announced plans to bring the game to the West, even going as far as to produce a trailer for Western audiences. There was a snazzy website, the occasional news update over the next year or two, and then ... nothing.
Seriously, nothing. Sure, Sega might sometimes pay lip service to the notion of a Western release, but the lack of any solid news for nearly five years was enough to test the faith of even the most die-hard PSO fan -- and provided plenty of ammunition for us at MMOBomb to tease our resident die-hard PSO fan, Magicman. The answer for any nigh impossible event in free-to-play gaming -- "When do you think we'll see X?" -- was often along the lines of "Probably after Phantasy Star Online 2 launches in the West."
But hold on campers! There's a new sheriff in town, by which we mean a new Twitter account for the North American version of Phantasy Star Online 2! And here's what it posted today:
PSO2 is coming West! The free-to-play multiplayer action RPG Phantasy Star Online 2 will be coming to North America in 2017!
— PhantasyStarOnline2 (@PSO2_na) June 6, 2017
Holy #&$^@.
It's everything we've ever dreamed of! Free-to-play! Sponsorships for gear! A launch on the Vita! It's here, it's finally here!
Wait.
Hold on a sec. The website hasn't been updated. The Facebook page hasn't been updated. And did they say the Vita?
This is not an official account and the information isn't accurate. We have no updates on PSO2 at this time. https://t.co/ptrdX45phF
— SEGA (@SEGA) June 6, 2017
Oh. Way to ruin all our fun, Sega.
To be honest, we were so caught up in the excitement that we took it as real at first, too. In fact, I'd written the first two paragraphs before Magicman found that Tweet from Sega. They're still good, right?
To whomever set the whole thing up, we have to say, "Well played." For just a few moments, he or she provided a shining beacon of hope to hungry Phantasy Star Online fans, even if that beacon turned out to be just a light bulb and we were all suckered into it like mosquitoes.
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About the Author
Jason Winter is a veteran gaming journalist, he brings a wide range of experience to MMOBomb, including two years with Beckett Media where he served as the editor of the leading gaming magazine Massive Online Gamer. He has also written professionally for several gaming websites.
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