Sega Teases Phantasy Star Online 2 Western Release

Sega has announced it will be releasing Phantasy Star Online 2 in Europe and North America in "early 2013".

The free-to-play MMO launched in Japan on July 4 and is in development for PC, PS Vita as well as iOS and Android devices.  The press release, which can be seen at PSO World, only appears to relate to the PC version.

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The number one thing we want to provide players in Phantasy Star Online 2 is an adventure that changes every time they log in.

Sega America's digital chief Chris Olson said, "Phantasy Star Online was a revolutionary game when it was released, and we want to make sure that its successor in the series is every bit as ambitious. We look forward to introducing Phantasy Star Online 2’s unique, easy-to-access multiplayer action to the rest of the world next year!"

PSO2 producer Satoshi Sakai added, "The number one thing we want to provide players in Phantasy Star Online 2 is an adventure that changes every time they log in. Just as great table-top RPG experiences revolve around imaginative and unexpected encounters, we want players to consistently be surprised as they explore dungeons and undertake quests."

The original Phantasy Star Online launched on Dreamcast back in 2001.  Phantasy Star Online 2 takes place in the Year 238, the New Era of Light, where players will join a new band of Arcs in the fight against mysterious D-Arkers.  The game features real-time combat alongside class-based levelling, and embraces a mixture of sci-fi and fantasy aesthetics.

A teaser website for the game is now live, with an official announcement trailer expected to materialise later today.

Luke Karmali is IGN's UK Editorial Assistant.  You too can revel in mediocrity by following him on IGN and on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Club Nintendo's 2012 Platinum and Gold Prizes Revealed

It's been nearly an entire week since the last Club Nintendo year came to an end on June 30, but now Nintendo of America has finally revealed the prizes available to those loyal customers who achieved Gold or Platinum account status before that day came and went. (If that sentence made no sense to you at all, check out last week's article for some more clarification.)

First up, the Platinum prizes for users who earned 600 Coins or more. There are two Platinum-exclusive options this year, the first of which is a set of three new posters featuring promotional art from Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Kid Icarus: Uprising. Club Nintendo has previously offered Zelda posters as a standard reward, but this particular design is all-new – and kind of makes it look like Link's getting impaled in the head with the Master Sword. (Perhaps Wind Waker-era Ganondorf was in charge of composition.)

The other Platinum-only option is a new set of Mario-themed playing cards boasting some fairly ornate graphic design. As with the posters, Club Nintendo has offered Mario cards before – these are just different. And snazzier.

The Gold-level prizes, for users who earned at least 300 Coins before June 30, are once again headlined by a calendar. It's the standard Gold gift every year it seems, and this year's version should include artwork of Wii U launch software like Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros. U. I say "should," since the company hasn't revealed any images of it yet – just like every year, we'll have to wait until closer to 2013 to see what the 2013 calendar will look like. (Platinum status earners can also select the calendar instead of the posters or cards, if they choose.)

Lastly, a new option added for this year – games! Club Nintendo started offering game downloads a few months ago, so Platinum and Gold users can opt to ignore all of the physical prizes to instead score a free digital download instead. The games on offer are Super Mario Kart and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask from the Wii Virtual Console, Metroid II: Return of Samus from the 3DS Virtual Console and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again! from DSiWare (only redeemable on a 3DS, though.) Note that if you go the game download route, you only get to pick one of these listed titles.

And that's that for another year. So what do you think? How do these prizes stack up to those we received in years past? Will you get the posters, or the cards, or neither? Let us know your thoughts below, and we'll see you back again this time next year for your next Club Nintendo deadline reminder and 2013 prize announcement.

Lucas M. Thomas is leaning toward the cards, personally. He doesn't have enough wall space for all the Club Nintendo posters he already owns. You can follow him on Twitter.

Source : ign[dot]com

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance Pre-orders Get You AR Card Unlocks Ads By Google » Blog Tags Today's Most Popular Videos »

Square Enix will release Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance in North America on July 31, 2012, and those who step up to pre-order the game will receive three bonus AR cards that unlock rare Dream Eaters, a press release confirms. The game includes an AR feature that allows you to play with the Dream Eaters pictured on the cards, so this pre-order bonus basically amounts to extra in-game content.

One of the Kingdom Hearts 3D cards unlocks one of three random Dream Eaters: Ursa Circus, Sudo Neko, or (AWESOME name here) Meowjesty. The second card unlocks the R&R Seal Dream Eater and the third unlocks the 360° viewing stand. No, I don't know what any of this means or how awesome it might be. We'll all get to find out in July though!


Source : http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/723699/kingdom-hearts-3d-dream-drop-distance-pre-orders-get-you-ar-card-unlocks/