June 1^st, 2001 (12:00am) - As if paying for your SegaNet isp wasn’t enough, Sega today announced that they will now incorporate a payment feature with PSO Ver. 2 What this means, is that to get online with this new highly awaited game, you will have to dish out a certain number of $$ to play online with it.

From launch of PSO in Japan, users that want to play online have already been paying a monthly fee, and it seems to work well in Japan. In America though, things may be a little different.

The service is said to be fairly cheap, but will it be cheap enough? The general public may not be happy with this decision, because now Sega is expecting us to pay for our isp, then they expect us to pay $40 to $50 just for an expansion to the first game that should have been in the first game, and finally they want us to pay to play on the net with it? As you can see this doesn’t seem like a great way to milk us for money. Here is the official statement.

"Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2" will include an online payment structure. As with all U.S. versions of Sega Dreamcast network playable games, the original "Phantasy Star Online" includes unlimited online gameplay at no additional cost. Due to the high demand for "Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2" among U.S. gamers, Sega of America announced on May 17 that it would bring the game to the U.S. market.

"Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2" will incorporate an online payment structure. Pricing information for the U.S. version of "Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2" has not yet been released. While "Phantasy Star Online Ver. 2" can be enjoyed offline, gamers can now access new features, modes and quests through the game, available this Summer for Sega Dreamcast. Gamers can still enjoy unlimited online gameplay with the original "Phantasy Star Online" at no cost."

Source: VGNation