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The Vana’diel Lobby Surpasses 300 Members, Brings Together Final Fantasy XI Online Players

Since November 28, 2003, The Vana’diel Lobby has attracted thousands of visitors, of which over 300 have registered. The popular website is one of only a few sites dedicated to servers for the online multiplayer role-playing game Final Fantasy XI Online.

January 13 2004--Since November 28, 2003, The Vana’diel Lobby has attracted thousands of visitors, of which over 300 have registered. The popular website is one of only a few sites dedicated to servers for the online multiplayer role-playing game Final Fantasy XI Online. One reason for its success, founder Robert J. Funches says, is the focus on the players and not on making money. “There’s a lot of websites out there that run banner ads and pop-ups to stay online. The Vana’diel Lobby, though, is completely ad-free and supported by donations from our members. That’s what keeps people coming back.” When asked about whether the lack of consistent revenue could lead the Lobby to close its doors, Funches replied with a firm no. “As long as the game is around, our members will be around, and they are the ones who will keep the Lobby running.” Anyone can donate through the button at the top of the site, and extra features for those who donate are being implemented, Funches also said.

The Vana’diel Lobby’s front page looks daunting at first if visitors aren’t familiar with Final Fantasy XI. The game, developed by Square Enix, is played on thirty servers to accommodate more than a half-million users on the PC and Sony PlayStation 2; each server board is listed on the Lobby’s main page. What also draws a lot of traffic is the general discussion board, where Funches and other players give advice and help to players new and experienced. “A game with such demanding hardware requirements is bound to frustrate new players with problems,” Funches said, “and thankfully there are a few people on the board who are able and willing to help for free. Most of the time it’s a question about ‘How do I do this?’ or ‘Where do I find this?’, and usually someone answers within a few minutes. It’s not uncommon to see two or three people answer a question.”

The success stories of The Vana’diel Lobby are apparent. In the logo appears the slogan “Where parties meet and adventures begin,” and on many of the boards, that slogan appears to be true. Several groups (known in the game as linkshells) have found new players through the Lobby, especially on the servers called “Fairy,” “Ragnarok,” “Siren” (the server Funches plays on), “Unicorn,” and “Valefor.” The most successful to date is the Government Issue linkshell, which has attracted a number of players on Fairy. New players, as well, have found friends and linkshells through The Vana’diel Lobby, listed as a community site on the official Final Fantasy XI site at http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/. Even more experienced players have been able to make new friends through the Lobby.

When asked about future growth of The Vana’diel Lobby, Robert J. Funches said he expects a huge increase in members when the North American version of Final Fantasy XI for the Sony PlayStation 2 is released this spring. “In just over six weeks we’ve managed to get 330 members. A lot of people are waiting for the PS2 version, and just as we expect Square Enix to add more servers, we expect to see the Lobby’s membership grow.”