Square-Enix announced a triumph of sorts, reporting that their PlayOnline services had surpassed over a half-million users by the end of 2003. Since Final Fantasy XI was released for the PS2 in Japan back in May 2002, the service had steadily gained steam, first when FFXI was released for PCs in November 2002 and most recently when the game was introduced in the United States. The membership population, which was already a healthy 300,000, took about two and a half months to exceed 500,000. In all, over one million individual characters have been created for the game.
Since FFXI is also expected to be released in the United States on the PS2 by March, everyone can expect those numbers to continue climbing. The game's continued success is expected to have an influence on Square-Enix's other imminent releases, including Ambrosia Odyssey and Front Mission Online, and the company is expected to take those games in the same direction FFXI followed.
[Sources - Square Insider]
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