Square Enix has today announced the North American release of Final Fantasy XI for the PC. The massively multiplayer online role-playing game, which is also scheduled for release on the PlayStation 2 in March 2004, allows players to interact with each other in the same fantasy world regardless of which version of the game they're playing.

　　"With the success and overwhelmingly positive response we had with the beta program, we are extremely excited about what we will achieve with players from around the world as we launch Final Fantasy XI in North America," said Yasu Kurosawa, US online producer, Square Enix U.S.A. "Final Fantasy XI is one of the largest, most in-depth online adventures and promises to deliver an amazing experience with a compelling storyline, highly detailed graphics, numerous events, boss battles and other features that are unique to the Final Fantasy series. There are currently over 300,000 active PlayOnline subscribers in Japan, and we are confident that Final Fantasy XI will find similar success in North America."

　　The fantasy world of Vana'diel features more than 100 areas for players to explore, including mountains, forests, ice plains, deserts, oceans, rivers, castles, and dungeons. For more information, check out our previous coverage of the game.