The official English PSU site has been updated with information regarding this Friday's update to the PC/PS2 servers and next Tuesday's update for the 360 servers. Check out the link above for full details! Also, feel free to join in our discussion on this update over at the forums.

Only a few days into the final week of the 1Up Platinum Cup and we've moved on and above the 3,500,000 Gurhal Check Points mark. Reaching this milestone has earned everyone a free synthesis board for the Twin Fluorescent Bulbs which will be given out at a later date following the close of the event. Our next stop is not too far off at 4 million points. Let's make the most of the few days we have left, fellow Guardians! Get out there and show everyone what you're made of!

Last night's update brings us the final week of the 1UP Platinum Cup. All four 1UP Cup missions are now available to play, each with an additional bonus mission now unlocked. Be sure to get out there and score your perfect 10 on all four missions to unlock your Rappy Suit and other great prizes!

With over three million points earned already, we've unlocked some great post-event goodies, including: Free Makeovers, Half-Price Clothing and Parts, +10% Synthesis Success Rate on Armor and Weapons, and 2 weeks of Super-Holy fortune for all races! There are three more prizes to unlock at 3.5, 4 and 5 million points, so let's get out there and end the week with a bang!

Earlier this week, the first chapter of Shadow of Arkguard was released on the official site. This "moving comic" fills in pieces of the story leading up to Ambitions of the Illuminus. It looks like there will be more chapters to come, so head on over and check out the first installment if you haven't done so already! Shadows of Arkguard: Chapter 1.

Thanks to RedMussel and -Asheth- for submitting the news!

Volta writes in to tell us about a 20th Anniversary Contest taking place for the Japanese player-base. Here's the scoop:

"On December 20, 1987 the original Phantasy Star game was released for the Sega Master System. This game was heralded as a revolution in role-playing games due to its non-conventional futuristic theme and pseudo-3D graphics. Since then, over ten games have been released chronicling the the adventures of the forces of good against the Profound Darkness.

To celebrate the occasion, Sega Japan has announced that it will be holding an image contest across both the Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst and Phantasy Star Universe servers. Winners will get their submitted image plastered across billboards located within the game as well as some other prizes.

To get more information and enter the contest, visit the Japanese Phantasy Star website."

Thanks for the heads-up Volta! It's hard to believe that the Phantasy Star franchise will be turning 20 this December. Who feels old now?

Sega of America has announced the release date and prices for Ambition of Illuminus. Here is a breakdown:

Platform/Release Date	Price	Notes
XBox 360 All Regions: Nov 20	1600 Microsoft Points ($20)	1.75 GB Download. Requires Phantasy Star Universe Disc.
PC/Playstation 2 NA: Nov 20 EU: Jan 25, 2008	$40	Stand-alone install. Will include offline Episode 2 Story Mode.

Credit goes to Wallin for bringing us this news. You can discuss this update in our Phantasy Star Universe forum.

Earlier today, the first two 1Up Platinum Cup Missions were temporarily removed and replaced with Deadly Brilliance, the Neudaiz Mission. This mission features numerous enemies and Floader Racing. It will be temporarily removed on November 2nd and replaced with the Guardian Colony mission. Also, Formalwear and Formal Dress are now available in the Rappy Feather Exchange mission for 20 feathers.

EspioKaos has posted a roadmap for the next several months of Japanese updates. These updates will include level cap increases, Partner Machinery releases, new Story missions, two cup events, new classes, and much more. If you are interested in previewing the future updates, be sure to check out his post.

Yesterday marked Phantasy Star Universe's first birthday. Our little one is growing up so fast, where does the time go? If you've been around since day one, give yourself a pat on the back and enjoy a piece of virtual birthday cake on us!






So what's in store for the future? Once the 1UP Cup craziness is out of the way, we'll have Ambitions of the Illuminus on our doorstep, which looks to be a promising expansion to the game. Just in time for the holidays, too! Keep a close eye on the front page to find out about some exciting contests that will be coinciding with the release of the expansion. Tailing close behind is yet another birthday, ours! PSO-World will be celebrating its 7th birthday this January, so be sure to stop by for those festivities as well. It is sure to be a great holiday season and new year!

The 1Up Platinum Cup Event has gone live on the regional PC/Playstation 2 and XBox 360 servers. According to the event webpage, the event will run from October 19th to November 16th. Here is a breakdown of the mission release schedule:

Mission Name	Planet	Schedule
Invisible Road	Parum	Oct. 19 - Oct. 26, Nov. 9 - Nov. 16
United Front	Moatoob	Oct. 19 - Oct. 26, Nov. 9 - Nov. 16
Deadly Brilliance	Neudaiz	Oct. 26 - Nov. 2, Nov. 9 - Nov. 16
Elements of Unrest	GC / HIVE	Nov. 2 - Nov 16

The goal of each mission is to collect chips and clear it as fast as possible. If you earn a S-Rank in a mission run, your team will be taken to a special bonus mission counter. The enemies in these missions feature enhanced droprates and lowered HP. As the event progresses, additional bonus missions will be released. Once the current mission is completed, your score will be added to a global "Gurhal Check Point" total. Prizes will be unlocked as certain milestones are passed.

Also, Rappies appear quite frequently in these missions. The feathers dropped by them can be used in a limited-time item exchange quest. The list of items and their prices can be found on this page. As the event progresses, additional items, such as Formalwear, should be added to the list.

You can share your game-play experiences and ask questions in our Phantasy Star Universe forum.

In a website update today, Sega confirmed that the 1Up Platinum Cup will be starting on October 19th with the release of the Parum and Moatoob missions. Also, the Halloween lobby decorations and Rappies will be activated. Finally, the following changes will be applied to the XBox 360 servers:

• The "Death Penalty" will be removed.
• Enemies and bosses will have their speed reduced in high-level missions.
• A security enhancement will be released to fix some security exploits.

Credit goes to ShadowDragon28 for bringing us this news. You can discuss this update in our Phantasy Star Universe forum.

Sega of America announced today that the 1Up will be sponsoring a multi-week event known as the 1Up Platinum Cup (AKA Famitsu Cup in Japan) starting on October 19th. Each week, a new mission will be released corresponding to a specific planet. The goal of each mission will be to collect 10 golden orbs within a certain time limit. If your party is able to achieve S-Rank during the run, they will be taken to a reward quest where monsters have reduced HP and improved droprates. Also, numerous exclusive prizes will be handed out during this event including: Rappy Suit, Bikini Swimwear, Formalwear, slot units, and much more. You can discuss this long-awaited news in our Phantasy Star Universe forum.

Today marks the official release date for Ambition of Illuminus in Japan. This exciting expansion contains several new items, stages, and gameplay additions. Several importers are sharing their impressions and screenshots in our Phantasy Star Universe forum. If you would like to get a preview of things to come, be sure to join in the discussion.

PSO-World.com is proud to announce a massive new update to our Phantasy Star Universe Items Database. Thanks to a tremendous effort from our resident workaholic, Ryna, the item database is now packed full of brand new features and functionality for your browsing enjoyment. In addition, we've also added support for the upcoming PSU expansion, Ambitions of the Illuminus. Some of the other key features in this update include the following:

Improved search functionality

Greatly improved sorting and filtering capability

More thumbnails and preview images

New 'gallery mode' listings for select categories

New item sub-categories with their own pages

More in-depth item comparison features

Better version and region support

Don't just take my word on it, though, head on over to the PSU Item Database and see the new stuff for yourself. While you're at it, drop by the official release thread to shower Ryna with questions, comments, bug reports, and hopefully a little appreciation ;)

The Japanese 360 PSU site has been updated with what we can expect to see in this Friday's update.

New co-op mission
A new mission entitled "True Darkness" will be added. Residual A-photon energy at the HIVE has given birth to a new Dulk Fakis. Guardians are asked to report to the HIVE to take down the creature once and for all!

New photon arts
A new batch of PA Fragment-traded photon arts will be released. These arts include Dus Majarra, Twin Penetration, Regrant and Megistar, among many others.

Thanks to pikachief at the forums for pointing this out!

Update! The official English PSU site has been updated with this information.