March 10th, 2002

Please keep in mind, this is only a rumor at this point, but the current scuttlebutt about Square is that they're more than a little nervous about Sony's less than stellar plans to take the PS2 online. You see, in the history of consoles, add on modules like the PS2 hard drive and network adapter have never done well. Square's next multi-million dollar game, Final Fantasy XI, requires the purchase of said hard drive and network adapter, a grand total of about $140, and that's not even counting the cost of the game itself or a monthly fee for playing it.

Square is already in terrible financial shape after the dismal showing Final Fantasy The Movie put in at the box office, and they can't afford another financial debacle at the moment. They are afraid, and with good reason, that people will not want to fork over nearly $200 just to start playing Final Fantasy XI. The word on the street has it that they have essentially told Sony that even with their 19% ownership of Square, they'll have to share Final Fantasy XI with the Xbox. Sony isn't taking this too kindly, but if the good people at Square have their way, Xbox fans will be getting their Final Fantasy XI game on about the same time as PS2 owners.

So what's the punch line? Xbox gamers won't have to spend a single penny to upgrade their consoles before playing the game. We already have a hard drive and network adapter thank you very much. You see? Pay homage to the evil empire of Microsoft and all will be well with the world.

-K'Tok