As part of the Final Fantasy XI We are Vana’diel interview series, Square Enix shared insight from former Global Promotion Producer Arata Hanyuda about the Windows PC version’s development. The company also released two pre-release event footage showcasing the game to celebrate its 22nd anniversary.
To start, Hanyuda brought up how the team behind Final Fantasy XI were already working on a Windows PC version to appear alongside the PS2 release. He also cited part of this was the hurdle to get the BB Unit for the console release. This is why the PC version appeared six months after the PS2 launch.
Here is Hanyuda’s commentary on the BB Unit and PC release:
First of all, the PlayStation BB Unit wasn’t available through the regular sales channels. You had to buy it directly from Sony Computer Entertainment (the company name at the time, now known as Sony Interactive Entertainment) or from somewhere like your internet service provider. So we had to make sure any potential customers knew that. Meanwhile, we were already planning a Windows version of the game from pretty much the beginning. I remember [Producer Hiromichi Tanaka] talking about how more and more people were playing games on the PC and that we should work on preparing a Windows version from the start in order to reach them too.
Hanyuda also explained the reaction and outreach to PC manufacturers when Square Enix started working on that version of Final Fantasy XI. He noted, “Out of all the PC manufacturers, Dell was especially enthusiastic. FFXI ran great on their highest spec PC at the time, so they wanted to work together with us when the Windows version launched.” He also mentioned the Dell and Intel presidents were at the announcement for that version of the game.
As for the early Final Fantasy XI footage, it is split into two parts. The first video shows some character models and locations n the world and how in-game chat will look:
As for the second video, it takes people out into the field to look at more locations:
