FINAL FANTASY XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan Announced

Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Square Enix, Inc., the publisher of Square Enix entertainment products in North America, announced a simultaneous launch for FINAL FANTASY XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan, the third expansion pack for the title. The long-awaited release of FINAL FANTASY XI for Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft will also be available that day. Specifically, retail product and service will be available as listed in the following regions (based on time zone differences) -- April 18 in North America, April 20 in Europe and Japan.

FINAL FANTASY XI, the first cross-platform, cross-continent massively multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG) will be accessible on Xbox 360 for the first time to players in North America, Europe and Japan. Gamers will be able to communicate and play together no matter where they are or from what platform they connect -- the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system, Windows operating system or Xbox 360 (platform based on region availability). FINAL FANTASY XI has more than 500,000 subscribers in North America, Europe and Japan, combined. With the release of the third expansion pack and Xbox 360 version, the world of Vana'diel will be an even livelier place to visit, expanding the community even further.

Treasures of Aht Urhgan can be played along with the original version of FINAL FANTASY XI (which is required to play any of the expansions) and does not require the Chains of Promathia and Rise of the Zilart expansion packs. The third expansion will be sold separately for PlayStation 2 and Windows users at North American retailers for a suggested retail price of $29.99 (USD). Treasures of Aht Urhgan will be available as part of the complete package for Xbox 360 which includes PlayOnline, FINAL FANTASY XI and all three expansion packs for the title -- Chains of Promathia, Rise of the Zilart and Treasures of Aht Urhgan at North American retailers for a suggested retail price of $49.99 (USD).

Features
- Players will uncover the tales and legends surrounding the the Aht Urhgan Empire.
- New jobs, including the highly requested Blue Mage and Corsair, have been added to expand battle strategies even further.
- Along with additional areas to explore, powerful monsters have also been added, including the Mamool Ja, a powerful tribe of the beastmen that hold dominion over the Mamool Ja Savagelands, a land hostile to the Near Eastern Aht Urhgan Empire.
- Keeping with the FINAL FANTASY XI principles, system enhancements in addition to those listed have been implemented to enrich gameplay in a variety of ways.
- On Xbox 360 gamers will be able to see and hear the world of Vana'diel like never before in high definition video.
- Join a community of over 500,000 with players from around the world and on several platforms.

Services Fees
North American service fees remain the same and are as follows: FINAL FANTASY XI subscribers will receive their first 30 days of access without charge. Aside from Internet service provider access charges, the free trial period will begin on the date players create their first "Content ID" or character. Any additional Content IDs purchased are also available without charge until the end of the free trial period. After 30 days, players can continue to play FINAL FANTASY XI by paying a monthly fee of $12.95 (USD) for one FINAL FANTASY XI character, and can create up to 15 additional characters for an additional charge of $1.00 (USD) per character, per month. Payment for monthly access charges must be made by credit card only (restrictions apply).

System Requirements
FINAL FANTASY XI for Xbox 360
Requirements for Xbox 360 version are as listed: Xbox Live account, Broadband connection (Xbox 360 does not support 56K connection) and Xbox 360 Hard Drive.

FINAL FANTASY XI for Windows
The minimum system requirements for FINAL FANTASY XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan are as follows: Windows 2000/XP, Intel Pentium III 800Mhz or faster processor, 128MB RAM, DirectX 8.1 compatible sound card, DVD-ROM drive, 56K or faster Internet connection, and GeForce series or Radeon 9000 series video card with 32MB of RAM. A DVD ROM drive is required to install Treasures of Aht Urhgan and the Vana'diel Collection.

FINAL FANTASY XI for the PlayStation 2
Published by Sony Computer Entertainment America, FINAL FANTASY XI for the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system is pre-installed on internal Hard Disk Drive (40GB)(for PlayStation 2). Available for a suggested retail price of $99.00 (USD), the internal Hard Disk Drive attaches to the Network Adaptor (Ethernet/modem) (for PlayStation 2), which connects to both broadband or dial-up networks, and rests in the expansion bay of the PlayStation 2 console.

For updates and information on FINAL FANTASY XI please visit: http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/index.shtml.

SOURCE Square Enix, Inc.