Square Enix has revealed some details on the raising of Chocobos, a feature upcoming in their MMORPG Final Fantasy XI. Unlike many MMORPGs where players will simply buy a mount and be done with it, FFXI's new mount system will require players to acquire a chocobo egg first. Each chocobo egg will have a certain set of genetic information, and some players may find themselves with incredibly rare eggs.

Once players have successfully hatched a chocobo, they won't be keeping it in their mog houses. The moogles moaned and complained about the smell, so players will have to work with Chocobo Stable employees to care for their chocobo. Chocobos will have an active mood, so players will need to feed their chocobo when it's hungry and spend time with it.

Players will eventually be able to match their chocobo up with another player's to breed a new egg, though much like Final Fantasy VII, there's that chance that the child will be nothing like the parents...

Square Enix has stated that raising a chocobo from infancy will take about one to three whole months with a bit of effort each day. Much like gardening in the game, however, players whom have an active schedule will still be able to put in the effort easily. Square Enix should be able to provide screenshots of this feature soon, and have hopes that they'll be able to implement competition in between the chocobos.

Final Fantasy XI's latest expansion, Treasures of Aht Urhgan, was released in April worldwide.