Final Fantasy XI Launches

The Playstation’s first major massively multi-player online game, Final Fantasy XI, officially launched in Japan yesterday, accompanied by numerous unforseen problems. According to The Magic Box, shortages in the availability of the PS2 broadband network adaptor have reduced the number of available copies of Final Fantasy XI in Japan. The first shipment of copies is already sold out across Japan. Madman’s Cafe reports that an unexpected overload of users attempting to set up a Final Fantasy XI account and log-in to the game has created connection problems for Squaresoft’s PlayOnline website and related online companies including a general server crash. Square has announced that they anticipate having the PlayOnline services & servers back online at full capacity by Saturday morning.