Network Adapter is here! Praise! Reach out and smoke someone. Or cross-check, smash, tackle, leg-sweep or ollie over them – even if they’re in another time zone. With the Network Adaptor (Ethernet/modem) for PlayStation®2, just about anything is possible. Like downloading new rosters, stadiums or characters. Trash-talking opponents you’ve never met. Or better yet, starting your very own east coast-west coast sports rivalry. All against live competition, so no two games are ever alike. The Network Adaptor for PlayStation®2 is here. Get your game online. What news does this bring to our FFXI hearts? Well, this is just one step closer for release of FFXI. Now for just the HDD to come about, the brain of the game. You heard it from Sony, and you heard it from here. Get yourself one of these small nifty things and see how much it changes your gaming experience! by Jim Kouvalis ~Krystic~

Square Announced Shipment Halt for FFXI Square is stopping there shipments? Why? Will these problems accure again and what does it mean for the U.S.? Square has announced that shipments of Final Fantasy XI will continue on in smaller amounts. Sales were halted two weeks ago when all PlayStation 2 Broadband units were sold out, since the Playstaion 2 Broadband units called Playstaion BB must be purchased to play FFXI. Square says that shipments will cease when the PS2 Broadband units become unavailable once again. Sony's promise to Square, telling them they will supply them with the PS2 BB, for the sake of Sony's and Square's profits. Square's PlayOnline server currently hosts 50,000 Final Fantasy XI subscribers in Japan, and Square anticipates a total of 300,000 by the end of 2002, and 400,000 by the end of this years fiscal year (March 2003). Square's PlayOnline server problems have mounted to 80-100 million yen in losses ($600,000 to $800,000 US). The Dengeki sales charts indicate that Final Fantasy XI has sold a total of 89,688 copies as of June 7 and are still rasing rapidly. by Jim Kouvalis ~Krystic~

Square gets all newsy. Everyone's favorite RPG juggernaut has been making news like wildfire the last couple of days, with a flurry of announcements and a great deal of activity. Foremost among Square's announcements is the revelation that it has one further game to be unveiled. Now the timing of that announcement has been confirmed: Square will present its new title next week in the Japanese magazines Dorimaga. Nothing has been revealed about the game; there has been no mention of either platform or which series it might belong to. Naturally, this is fuelling speculation that the title could be the oft-rumoured Chrono Break or perhaps even a brand new title. In an interview this morning, Yoichi Wada indicated he hoped his company would have two Game Boy Advance titles released by the end of the 2002 fiscal year. At this point, Square has announced Final Fantasy III, a new game to follow up Final Fantasy Tactics, and a remake of Seiken Densetsu. Of these three, FFIII seems the most likely candidate for quick release, as it was previously under development for the WonderSwan Color. Next, the company turned its attention to its online venture, Final Fantasy XI. Communicating that its subscriber base currently sits at 120,000 registered users, Square is hoping to build that number to 400,000 worldwide over the next year. Final Fantasy XI will launch in North America sometime in 2003, and an advanced PlayStation 2 version will become available in Japan sometime in March 2003. The company is particularly eager to reach the 200,000 subscriber mark because that is the point where it breaks even on the game. All of this adds up to a rosier financial picture for Square, which at the start of the fiscal year had not factored in a possible GameCube game. Forecasting at least a million units sold for FF: CC, that translates into a much more profitable situation than the company has faced in the past couple of years. Expect further developments from Square over the coming weeks, as the Tokyo Game Show kicks off and the holiday season swings into full gear. As always, RPGamer will be there to bring you the news. by Andrew Long

Final Fantasy XI Game Information Publisher: Square EA Developer: Squaresoft Genre: MMORPG Number of Players: A LOT Net Support:Yes Off-line Play: No Dual Shock: Yes Platform: PlayStation2, PC Japan Release: Available North American Release: First Quarter of 2003 European Release: TBD