PHANTASY STAR ONLINE 2 Going Free-To-Play On PC and Vita

The free-to-play-bug is getting passed around at an astonishing rate. There has been so many MMOs making the transition, that I am losing track. But, I guess it's a good thing. Subscriptions are not for everyone.

Recently, the future of Phantasy Star Online 2 was discussed at a media briefing and head producer, Satoshi Sakai, said that the closed beta for the game will start at the end of April. Sega, as of right now, is making room for 100,000 players to access the beta.

The pricing was also addressed at this meeting as well and the team stated that they are making the game free-to-play on the PC and Vita. Item based micro-transactions will take place, in order to generate revenue. As an added bonus, you will be able to download the game's client, making for easy accessibility.

Sega is also working on a version of the game that you can play on iOS or your Android-phone. The mobile versions will also share character data with the PC and Vita versions, but will be simplified with social game-like qualities.

The versions are coming out at different times, which is weird. The PC version should be out early summer, while the smartphones versions are in the fall, and the Vita won't see PHO 2's face until 2013.

I am puzzled by this. Not the game, but the way they are going about it. It reminds me of what they did to Street Fighter X Tekken, with the Vita title coming out months after the console release. Then again, the whole MMO genre has gotten strange as of late.

Will you be playing Phantasy Online 2?