Nick

@rock99rock. I'm confused why this is funny? I had a 1.5yo Elite red ring two weeks ago. I sent it in and they repaired it and had it back to me in 7 days with no charge.

Chicken-Fila! Varsity! I live just out of area! Noooooooooooo!!!!!! /darth

Anyone who thinks FFXI doesn't have enough content is a moron. The game is boiling over in content, and it arguably has the deepest missions set and one of the best stories of any mmo ever made.
That being said, I have never played any other eastern mmo's, so it easily could be a diamond in the rough.
However, it does suffer in being a grind fest to level a job to end game. There seems to be a mentality in the mindset of the director's that a player should suffer in some samurai without a master symbology to be able to get to a point of enjoying end game content. One can only hope that this changes in FF14, and the early comments of much more solo content to level indicates a change in attitude that I'm sure western gamers can appreciate.
Leveling in an mmo is supposed to be a part of the journey of the game, and should not be easy. But there should also be a balance so that it is not driving a larger player base away.

They didn't specifically say the 360, they said they were considering other hardware from Microsoft.
If you look at the way the 360 is built, and the fact that it was introduced in 2005, there is probably a strong chance we see a new machine from Microsoft at next years E3 for a 2010/2011 release.
Squeenix obviously knows more behind the scenes information about Microsofts time line for their next system than the public does (which is none).
The fact that the 360 wasn't specifically mentioned and that it was stated as "other console hardware" really makes me think that the PS3 is simply a timed exclusive, and they are going to wait to send this to a MS machine when they introduce the next console. This certainly would help them not be limited 5 years down the road by 360 architecture like they were with the PS2.
One can at least hope.

Agreed. The head start Japanese players had in FFXI was significant. It allowed them to corner the market on crafting, high end NM's and gear very early leaving NA's on the short bus.

@Marrvia, They aren't wasting time on this game that could be spent on something else because it's an entirely different design team. If you check the official page on the game you will see that the director is the same guy that is in charge of FFXI. He has his own people that have nothing to do with the single player games. That's the whole reason this game will be able to launch the same year as FFXIII. There will be an entirely different team working on FFXV that won't be hindered in any way by FFXIV. I mean this should be obvious. The current MMO is 7 years old with 4 expansions and 3 smaller mission expansions. Do you think the same team could have been doing all that while making FFXII and FFXIII? Obviously not.

Well if that engine can handle the world of Fallout 3 and Warhammer Online then the FFXI-2 MMO is certainly not out of the question. But you would think they would be way beyond deciding on a game engine, as it's been several years in the making now. However, most of that production is assuredly PC side, and they could be looking at using the engine for their 360 port.

Technically it created three jobs. Someone had to make the graphic.

@you @evan, Mine does the same thing. Thought I was always just missing hearing it ring. But after enough times of having it sit on my desk and suddenly beep telling me I had a voicemail I've been convinced of the issue.

But having it repeat this in an Apple store is completely hit or miss. It's akin to taking your car to the mechanic only to have it suddenly cure itself...

This is not really a new plan. They have just adjusted their un-advertised 5-state regional 3,000 minutes/month $50 plan to nation wide. I'm betting they're banking on the fact that hardly anyone used 3,000 minutes/month anyway, so that can offer it as unlimited to sweeten the deal in the consumers mind.