The game used the Hedgehog Engine 1 in its infancy, changing to the newer HE2 in 2020, and every June a special lobby to celebrate the anniversary of the mascot was released in-game. But Sonic was still a presence in PSO2 during its entire life. Yuji Naka, one of Sonic's creators, was also responsible for reviving the series for the Dreamcast with Phantasy Star Online, and ever since the team was responsible for both franchises.īut for PSO2, Sega decided to gather a new team, and for the first time, separate both franchises. The original Sonic Team was composed of veterans who worked on the first two Phantasy Star games for the Master System and Sega Genesis back in the 80s. The Sonic and Phantasy Star series were always akin to brothers.

Sakai's role at Sega is actually even older than this, having been a member of the team that developed Sonic Adventure.

He was first involved as a member of the art department and eventually became the director of Phantasy Star Universe and later on was the producer of Phantasy Star Portable 2. Sakai had been involved with the series since it's changing to an online game with the original Phantasy Star Online. In charge of the project, Sega designated Satoshi Sakai as the producer. The game was made with a plan in mind, 10 years of service that could keep the attention of players with constant updates and tweaks to the gameplay, keeping fans engaged and happy. Unlike the old titles, PSO2 had an unusual development. Using the same style of design from the Dreamcast game, but with a gameplay system reminiscent of PSU, the game can be considered a natural evolution of what the company learned throughout the years with those titles. Released in 2012 only for PC and only in Japan, Phantasy Star Online 2 united the best ideas Sega had for both the original Phantasy Star Online and its spin-off, Phantasy Star Universe (PSU). Source: Sega A journey through space and time Its age is beginning to show though, especially in the last few years. Thanks to its aggressive use of gacha-like microtransactions and a rich customization system, PSO2 is a game that attracts a lot of attention. Since its launch in 2012, the free-to-play game is one of the company's biggest successes in the online market. Phantasy Star Online 2 (PSO2) is one of Sega of Japan's most lucrative games of the last decade.

Pso2 character creation demo episode 4