Final Fantasy XI to require monthly fee

[05.21.01] » Better start saving...

    Earlier today, Square re-confirmed that Final Fantasy XI would require a monthly access fee, as well as the player to be a member of Square's internet service PlayOnline. In addition to the monthly fees, the cost of the game disc was revealed to be between 6000 yen and 7000 yen. While this is cheaper than the 8800 yen that Final Fantasy X will retail for, it will effectively place the game disc alone around the average Japanese price of 6800 yen (about US$55). Although fees for PlayOnline and FFXI have yet to be announced, the game will already be more costly than the first online console RPG, Phantasy Star Online, which requires no fees past the purchase of the game. No plans for a single-player/offline mode for FFXI have been announced.