February 10th, 2000 - Square have revealed some tasty information with regards to their leap onto the online world with Play Online, the recently anounced network portal which will be used with Final Fantasy XI, and to a lesser extent in Final Fantasy X.

In Final Fantasy X, Play Online will only be able to be used to acquire strategy guides and hints (through the main menu) to help players that would otherwise use the Internet or buy a strategy guide. Although this seems to be the only online feature for Final Fantasy X, Square has hinted that there may be a possibility of added quests as players log on to the Play Online network. At this stage however, it seems that Square will only use this Final Fantasy as a sort of test for the fully-fledged online Final Fantasy XI.

With Final Fantasy XI, the player will only be able to play the game online using Square's Play Online network. Players will be able to select either Japanese or English as their primary language on a world-wide network: if an English player would like to trade an item with a Japanese player, a simple icon will appear on the screen to perform the task, so as to break down any language barriers and provide a huge network environment.

Square also announced that Final Fantasy XI will feature Play Online compatability for both the PlayStation 2 and PC, so that if you save a game on the PlayStation 2, you will be able to carry on from say your office using a PC connected to the Play Online network.

There's also a good chance that Final Fantasy XI will be released at the same time on the PlayStation 2 and PC, and even at the same time in Japan and western countries - a first for a Final Fantasy title. Indeed, if Microsoft goes ahead with the rumoured X-Box console, that too will stand a good chance of being a part of the Final Fantasy XI Play Online network.

The future's going to be a very interesting place...