Producer Hiromichi Tanaka shared his thoughts about the Xbox 360 version of Final Fantasy XI. The producer of the company's flagship MMORPG and head of Square Enix's third production team confirmed that the game will support a maximum resolution of 1280 x 720. While Tanaka mentioned that the capabilities of the hardware would allow for improved visuals, he explained the development team was currently working on various adjustments, and hence he did not know whether there would be any visual improvements. He however confirmed that the texture resolution wil be identical with the game's PC version.

He also explained that it would take some time to adjust the game data to a new CPU, as PCs running Final Fantasy XI are Intel-based, whereas Xbox 360 features a Power PC as its main processing unit. The fact that both versions make use of Direct X however, would make the process of porting the game over to the new hardware a comparatively easy task. Interestingly, Tanaka revealed that Square Enix was originally working on an Xbox version of Final Fantasy XI, but had to abandon its release due to the closed nature of Microsoft's Xbox Live service.

When the reporter asked him about the Xbox 360 version's release date and suggested a 2006-2007 release date, the producer only laughed and said it would be much earlier.

He also confirmed that development on Final Fantasy XI's third expansion pack began simultaneouly with Chains of Promathia's development. He however refused to give away any specifics regarding this new expansion.

Regarding a possible expansion of Final Fantasy XI and PlayOnline into Asian markets, the producer of the Japanese version of EverQuest II, Sage Sundi explained that discussions about a launch in China were underway, however due to the unique market environment (such as a law requiring servers to be set up within the People's Republic), it would be difficult to release Final Fantasy XI in China.

• GameWatch