Today is a special day, Sony has just recently released their Network Adapter (sans hard drive) and to kick-off the event, Chris brings us an even more in-depth look at the long-awaited Final Fantasy XI. While the game's fate on these shores is still in limbo, there is still hope.

While the Japanese game requires the use of the PS2 HDD unit, many were skeptic that the game would never see a US release because of Sony's decision to release their networking adapter without the hard drive.

I was one of the early adopters who waited in line for hours yesterday to pick up my own Network Adapter (yes, I too did not pre-order). When I got home, I ripped the package open to find my castrated peripheral still sported a handy-dandy IDE interface. Curious? Also of note was that there was reference to the hard drive in both the manual and the packaging... the plot thickens.

What does that mean exactly? While this is purely speculation, and if you cite me i'll sue you. It is a possibility that Sony may allow gamers to purchase their own 3rd party hard drives (if they hold firm on their plans to never release their official HDD unit) while providing the interface software at a later date. While i'm sure there's a ton of technical details involved, i'm fairly sure that the PS2's lack of a large storage medium will have to be addressed if we're to see any of the more complex MMORPG's on American PS2's.

Also of note is that our Final Fantasy XI preview update marks the first appearance of our new preview format. This is the product of the input of alot of our readers as well as our staff, and I hope you all like the changes we've made. Special thanks to Chuck, Nick, Andy, Nicole, Chris, Evan, Mike, Eve, Eric, Berk, Juan and even my Mom for giving tons of feedback and html suggestions. Also a big thanks to all the other readers who sent in suggestions via AIM and email that made these changes possible. You all rock!

Next week we'll be rolling out or GameStop Affiliate pre-orders in time for Grandia Xtreme and Kingdom Hearts, so stay tuned.

• Final Fantasy XI Preview Update