Sega has announced that Phantasy Star Online 2 is coming to PlayStation 4 next year in Japan.
The free-to-play RPG is a direct sequel to the online Dreamcast RPG. It was released in 2012 on the PC and came out on PlayStation Via in 2013. The game has been relatively well received in Asia, where there are over 3.5 million registered users across Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Phantasy Star Online 2 has not made its way to American shores, and may not with the PS4 release.
“While the prospect of a western localization is still up in the air, the SEA release features English-language support. However, Asiasoft has implemented an IP block to prevent prospective players living outside the region from accessing the game’s servers. These restrictions were briefly lifted recently over connectivity issues, but were put back in place after the matter was resolved,” Destructoid reports.
A launch in the US is not that farfetched, though. Sega has shifted its strategy toward downloadable games. Phantasy Star Online already has a fan base familiar with the franchise (albeit from more than ten years ago) and a console release would make sense, given the Dreamcast, GameCube and Xbox roots.
