Sega at last confirms that Phantasy Star Online 2 will be going live across North America and Europe some time "early 2013."  How early into next year naturally remains to be seen, but it's enough to know at this point that the publisher still intends to go global with the sequel to its classic sci-fi action MMORPG that first took off on the Dreamcast over a decade ago.

“Phantasy Star Online was a revolutionary game when it was released, and we want to make sure that its successor in the series is every bit as ambitious,” said Chris Olson, Vice President of Digital Business at SEGA of America. “We look forward to introducing Phantasy Star Online 2’s unique, easy-to-access multiplayer action to the rest of the world next year!”

“The number one thing we want to provide players in Phantasy Star Online 2 is an adventure that changes every time they log in. Just as great table-top RPG experiences revolve around imaginative and unexpected encounters, we want players to consistently be surprised as they explore dungeons and undertake quests,” added Satoshi Sakai, Phantasy Star Online 2 Producer at SEGA of Japan.

Over ten years have passed since the release of the boundary-breaking Dreamcast hit, Phantasy Star Online, and SEGA is poised to continue the Phantasy Star series’ multiplayer legacy on PCs worldwide with Phantasy Star Online 2. In the Year 238, the New Era of Light, players will join a new band of Arcs in the fight against mysterious D-Arkers, embarking on another epic adventure of infinite possibilities!

Phantasy Star Online 2’s features include:

• Deep sci-fi fantasy universe filled with lush landscapes, extraordinary creatures, and epic adventures
• Revolutionary real-time combat and third-person action with devastating combos and counters to master
• Flexible, class-based leveling system that lets players define their own play-style with distinctive melee, ranged, and magic weapon types
• Randomized dungeon maps and unexpected mid-quest encounters that ensure each quest is different for each player
• Deep character creation system with a nearly limitless number of potential appearances
• Three degrees of humanity to experience across three unique races: the versatile Humans, spiritually-powered Newmen, and artificial CAST 

PSO2 launched in Japan last week for PC, with the smartphone and Vita releases still slated for later this year and 2013, respectively.  A boxed retail release of PSO2 on PC meanwhile is planned for a September release, and will include bonus items.  The game is currently free-to-play, supported by microtransactions using "Arcs Cash."