Sega announced this morning at the E3 show that they will be releasing a new installment in their Phantasy Star series called Phantasy Star Universe. Unfortunately, they were very tight-lipped about the title and as such no information has been revealed.

There is no word yet on what system the title will be or whether it will be an online game similar to the Phantasy Star Online series or if it'll be a real follow-up to the original series from the Master System and Genesis days.

Sega showed a 1 minute video of the game consisting strictly of CG cut-scenes. The cut-scenes were very impressive and showed various sequences leading to believe that it is not simply an intro (as in PSO) and more like the kinds of cut-scenes you would expect in a Final Fantasy game. No gameplay footage was shown.

Another hint about the possibility of this game being a true sequel to the original 4 games is that at one point during the presentation, a small "Phantasy Star V?" text scrolled at the bottom of the CG cut-scene. Obviously, the presence of the ? in there pretty much only serves to confuse the audience and keep them guessing as to the identity of this next installment.

The title is being developped by Sonic Team and should have a release date of 2005.