By Daily Press staff
Call it online role playing by the sea. Final Fantasy XI will be held on the Santa Monica Pier from March 9 through March 11. It is a massively multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG) with more than 1.5 million characters to date. Players undertake multiple adventures through Vana’diel, in a gaming universe that contains the award-winning visual content, innovative gameplay and deep storyline for which the Final Fantasy series is known. The Rise of the Zilart and Chains of Promathia expansion packs expand the storyline and open up a variety of higher-level skills and abilities. The upcoming third expansion, Treasures of Aht Urhgan, will include the introduction of the long-awaited job class, Blue Mage.
With the release of Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft version, Square Enix will be expanding its cross-platform strategy, making Final Fantasy XI available to a much wider audience across around the world. The powerful next-generation capabilities of Xbox 360 will provide a much more dynamic and visually impressive gateway to Vana’diel. In addition, players can finally experience Final Fantasy XI in hi-def, only on Xbox 360.
Square Enix Inc., the publisher of Square Enix interactive entertainment products in North America, has announced the third annual fan festival for Final Fantasy XI. The event will feature major announcements and developer panels and offer gamers the first chance to play the new expansion Treasure of Aht Urhgan.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 8, 2006. Read the original PDF.