Phantasy Star Universe beta on XBL

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpotPosted Oct 13, 2006 10:25 am PT

Prerelease edition of Sega's online role-playing game hits Marketplace, allows players to sample the game until next week.

The Japanese launch of Phantasy Star Universe for the PC and PlayStation 2 was beset by connection issues, corrupted character data, and other problems. The glitches were so prevalent that Sega actually shut the game's servers down for a few days and reset the clocks on users' 30-day free trials.

Now the game is set to arrive in the US on the PC, PS2, and Xbox 360 later this month, and it appears as if Sega is trying to ensure a smoother launch for the game, particularly on its new console. The Xbox Live Marketplace is now host to a downloadable beta test of the Xbox 360 version's online multiplayer mode, which will be available only until Sunday, October 15, according to Sega.

In the beta test, players will be able to create their characters and play the game with up to five others. Only Xbox Live Gold subscribers will be able to participate, and there is a cap on how many people can be playing the game at any given time. (Xbox Live Silver subscribers will be able to play the final game so long as they pay the game's $9.99 monthly subscription fee.) The beta test period will run until midnight on Wednesday, October 18.

Phantasy Star Universe is rated T for Teen and will be released October 24. The PS2 and PC versions of the game will retail for $49.99, with the Xbox 360 edition selling for $59.99.

105 Comments

  • Dr_Salvador

    Posted Sep 21, 2009 10:56 am PT

    montly fee is additional to any subscription to xbl you have, and theres theres no pachage deal for example 6 months or 1 year.thats 120$ +40 ( game + xpansion roughly). Play the demo its free

  • Sephiroth_alpha

    Posted Mar 1, 2008 7:18 pm PT

    Hey real quickly, PSU requires an XBOX LIVE GOLD membership to play right? Whats this $9.99 additional fee I keep hearing about? If u have to pay an additional Fee that really sux. Is it even worth it?

  • RodSteele

    Posted Oct 21, 2006 1:54 pm PT

    Do i need a credit card to pay the $9.99? Or is their going to be something you can buy of the shelf that you can use like World of warcraft did.

  • Thrash777

    Posted Oct 19, 2006 5:40 am PT

    I love this game so much, that I'm importing it to play it a month earlier!

  • gwds

    Posted Oct 18, 2006 12:06 am PT

    What he said...

  • eViL_kA

    Posted Oct 17, 2006 11:08 am PT

    true its not quite an MMO, and its a team of 6 Hagame. but its close enough. i consider it more like a downsized MMO. faster paced and less time consuming. you do walk around the cities that are full of people and thats where the MMO part comes in, but even in true MMOs you don't have 1000's of people in a party. 6 is not like an 18person alliance as in FFXI but you also don't need give up all your RL time in order to make some semblance of progress. this game is perfect for me because i dont have to sacrifice my RL and the other games i enjoy. on another note the Live account fee does not pay for PSU or Sega! Live has nothing to do with it financially speaking. the money you pay to MS does not go to Sega. so stop griping about a fee. it costs money to maintain these types of games. on top of that they add new quests, armors, weapons, and sometimes jobs without charging you "microsoft points". if you really like it then drop a couple of combo meals a month and you got enough. if not then go buy your combos and drop this subject completely. if you still dont understand go do some research on MMO fees. What console game that has no monthly fees lets you go online, run around a city, and interact with 100's of other gamers? Thats right, NONE! See the rest of you in PSU.

  • ell420

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 9:59 pm PT

    First time playing an MMO. I never wanted to get sucked into something like it. Figured I have a gold account so I'd try it & found this game to be a blast. I experienced 0 lag during questing with a party of 4 & liked that it was a live-action RPG not just clicking "attack" over & over. You actually have to have skill in your timings & button presses. I would buy it but still won't just so I won't get sucked in. It was hard to get connected but I'm sure it will be smoother once the final game comes out & everyone with a gold account is not trying to get on.

  • dilmanx01

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 12:34 pm PT

    I enjoy the demo, Haven't played PS since dreamcast days but it sure took me back to them golden times, but since reading the comments, if I have to truly pay for this seperate even with my gold membership, than forget the game. Paying for wow, live, and now this, dag, I don't play games that much. Thats why I like Guild Wars so much (good work arena). 10 bucks is small, but its still money that could have been in my pocket. I really hope they only charge the silver members :-P

  • hagame

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 11:12 am PT

    I'm still not sure how they can call this game a MMO, that is, unless a team of 4 is considered "massive"

  • tcampbell1976

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 10:57 am PT

    After playing FF XI for three years, I can say with PSU... it is cheaper per month, voice chat works in the party only and you won't have to wait hours looking for a group of people or meet frustration when people leave. A very casual mmo, I'm sold.

    Read Sega's PSU site... the beta was only on marketplace for two days then it was taken down. The beta servers are only open until Wed anyway and Tues XBL is down for maintenance. Not to mention a ton of nabs in the game are trying to scam people with items for money or level like crazy because they think their character info will carry over... read Sega's site, your character doesn't carry over - you start all over when the game launches.

  • wingchunstudent

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 10:53 am PT

    I could log in at 3 in the morning no problem. I don't see what the matter is. Just sleep during the day and login first thing in the morning.

  • Thrash777

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 8:59 am PT

    Here's a tip for everyone; When you get online and logged in, STAY in, otherwise the next time you try, your space might be taken by someone else! I haven't logged off since I got it when it first appeared.

  • Imagiggoloyo

    Posted Oct 16, 2006 8:04 am PT

    Yeah! WhoOooO! Beta...well I tried logging on for approximately 2 days (since Sat.) and I simply gave up. I deleted the beta from my HD out of the frustration. I mean geez...almost one hour of "Retry Retry Retry Retry Retry Retry Retry Retry Retry Retry Retry Retry Retry Retry Retry Retry Retry Retry " kinda gets tiring! But I'm most definately buying the full version!

  • PRJOKER

    Posted Oct 15, 2006 6:31 pm PT

    Just hope this PS gets more attention it deserve and not over shadow by a gliz up FF I have all the PS's series and hope this one is even better

  • xterryx

    Posted Oct 15, 2006 5:38 pm PT

    Sunday night still can't get to play this game----can't connect to server.

    I've been trying since Friday!!!!!!!!!!

  • Thanos_of_MW

    Posted Oct 15, 2006 5:32 pm PT

    It would be nice to test this game, if you could actually log into the server Is the server running at all GS?

  • kurokami1

    Posted Oct 15, 2006 12:02 pm PT

    noooooooooo i just got home today and i cant download it TT.TT
    is it gonna be in a xbox magazine? or available later on xbox live?

  • fgjnfgh

    Posted Oct 15, 2006 11:13 am PT

    I download this game from xbox live market BUT I CAN"T LOG ON TO THE SERVER

  • Nagidar

    Posted Oct 15, 2006 10:50 am PT

    Your XBL Gold fee is so you can play all your other games online, you can cancel your Gold subscription if you only want to play PSU online.

  • SavoyPrime

    Posted Oct 15, 2006 10:45 am PT

    I hope the single-player campaign will be good. I'm still not cool with the fact that I still have to a pay a monthly fee when I already pay for XBL Gold.

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