FFXI held a press conference today to discuss the future of the game.
The future is not totally bleak, but the beginning of the end is near:
- Final mini expansion scenarios coming out over this year
- PS2 and Xbox 360 support ends next March (so you have one year to get a PC, folks)
- Two mobile versions are planned: A stand alone single player game called Grandmasters set in Vanadiel, and a mobile MMO version set in the current game world, live, with a duty-finder esque system to facilitate parties.
I used to joke that FFXI could run on a cell phone, and it seems SE agreed.
After the final three patches over the next year, SE will continue to provide legacy support to the PC version and their new mobile platforms, but will no longer create any new content scenarios.