Topic: Did you catch this story Raniz?

[Sirgod]

 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world_business/view/88495/1/.html

Microsoft scraps 'True Fantasy' mass role-playing game for Xbox


TOKYO : Microsoft Corp. said it has scrapped the development of its first mass participation role-playing game for its Xbox console, saying it could not deliver on its promise of a truly "novel" experience.

"True Fantasy Live Online", under development by Japanese maker Level 5 Inc., had been actively promoted since March 2002 as a revolutionary game in which "thousands" of people could participate at once
"Currently we do not have a certain prospect for completion so it was decided to halt development," said Asako Miyata, a spokeswoman for Microsoft's Japanese unit.

"We tried to make a network game that we wanted to play ourselves," Level 5 said in a statement. "But development took more time than we estimated."

The game was intended for the Japanese market and its release had been promised for the end of the year, having been postponed twice before.

"True Fantasy" would have been the first so-called Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) software for Microsoft's Xbox, of which some 14 million consoles have been sold worldwide.

Such mass participation games allow players to interact as characters in a fantasy universe in which they can engage in various occupations, fight battles or just live regular lives.

In May 2002, gamemaker SquareEnix launched in Japan the hugely popular Final Fantasy XI game in Japan for Xbox-rival PlayStation2 made by Sony. It was the world's first-ever MMORPG for consoles other than personal computers.

- AFP
-------------------------------------------------

Stephen

[Sirgod]

 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world_business/view/88495/1/.html

Microsoft scraps 'True Fantasy' mass role-playing game for Xbox


TOKYO : Microsoft Corp. said it has scrapped the development of its first mass participation role-playing game for its Xbox console, saying it could not deliver on its promise of a truly "novel" experience.

"True Fantasy Live Online", under development by Japanese maker Level 5 Inc., had been actively promoted since March 2002 as a revolutionary game in which "thousands" of people could participate at once
"Currently we do not have a certain prospect for completion so it was decided to halt development," said Asako Miyata, a spokeswoman for Microsoft's Japanese unit.

"We tried to make a network game that we wanted to play ourselves," Level 5 said in a statement. "But development took more time than we estimated."

The game was intended for the Japanese market and its release had been promised for the end of the year, having been postponed twice before.

"True Fantasy" would have been the first so-called Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) software for Microsoft's Xbox, of which some 14 million consoles have been sold worldwide.

Such mass participation games allow players to interact as characters in a fantasy universe in which they can engage in various occupations, fight battles or just live regular lives.

In May 2002, gamemaker SquareEnix launched in Japan the hugely popular Final Fantasy XI game in Japan for Xbox-rival PlayStation2 made by Sony. It was the world's first-ever MMORPG for consoles other than personal computers.

- AFP
-------------------------------------------------

Stephen

[Sirgod]

 http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world_business/view/88495/1/.html

Microsoft scraps 'True Fantasy' mass role-playing game for Xbox


TOKYO : Microsoft Corp. said it has scrapped the development of its first mass participation role-playing game for its Xbox console, saying it could not deliver on its promise of a truly "novel" experience.

"True Fantasy Live Online", under development by Japanese maker Level 5 Inc., had been actively promoted since March 2002 as a revolutionary game in which "thousands" of people could participate at once
"Currently we do not have a certain prospect for completion so it was decided to halt development," said Asako Miyata, a spokeswoman for Microsoft's Japanese unit.

"We tried to make a network game that we wanted to play ourselves," Level 5 said in a statement. "But development took more time than we estimated."

The game was intended for the Japanese market and its release had been promised for the end of the year, having been postponed twice before.

"True Fantasy" would have been the first so-called Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) software for Microsoft's Xbox, of which some 14 million consoles have been sold worldwide.

Such mass participation games allow players to interact as characters in a fantasy universe in which they can engage in various occupations, fight battles or just live regular lives.

In May 2002, gamemaker SquareEnix launched in Japan the hugely popular Final Fantasy XI game in Japan for Xbox-rival PlayStation2 made by Sony. It was the world's first-ever MMORPG for consoles other than personal computers.

- AFP
-------------------------------------------------

Stephen