Final Phantasy announcement
$8.95 a month for the Yanks, with downloadable quests and other trinkets
American Cubists will be able to buy Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II from October 29th - assuming Sonic Team can fix some irritating bugs between now and then - but those paying their $8.95 per month subscription fee will be able to do more than just group with other online gamers. Sega of America today announced that as with the Dreamcast version, players will be able to download newer and greater quests as quickly as Sonic Team can invent them. Having played for free on the Dreamcast, PSO addicts are being forced to cough up for the privilege this time out, and Sega hopes to lure them back with the promise of gimmicks and extras. The recent revelation that the Cube's first online game would allow for full GBA game downloads - including NiGHTS - is only part of it.
Of course, those in the States who would never pay for any such tripe can always gather three friends together and go through the split-screen offline game for up to four players. But as the name suggests, Phantasy Star Online is best in the company of networked others, whether modem or broadband.