True Fantasy Live
Online TFLO
was an MMORPG in development by Level-5 for Microsoft's Xbox video
game console. After a long and troubled development cycle that
lasted close to two years, the game was cancelled on June 2nd, 2004.
The game was to take place in a massive fantasy setting where up to
3,000 users, each with their own fully customizable character, could
adventure around with each other fighting monsters and collecting
various items.
Often cited as one of the most
disappointing project cancellations of recent years, True Fantasy
Live Online was highly anticipated almost right from the moment it
was announced in 2002, and was touted as one of the premier titles
for the Xbox and its Xbox Live online service in Japan. Yet despite
being "fully playable" and near completion according to Microsoft
around the time of its cancellation, the title's development was
littered with complications from the very beginning. One such
problem was Level-5's inexperience with online network coding, and
their inability to properly implement voice chat compatibility into
the game. It was a feature never before implemented on such a large
scale in an MMORPG, however Microsoft was very adamant on its
inclusion, as it was a key feature to their Xbox Live service.
Relations between the two companies soon began to spiral out of
control as Level-5 struggled to meet the demands required by
Microsoft, who in turn grew frustrated at the lack of progress being
made on the game. There were also significant disagreements on the
direction of the title, with Level-5 aiming to make a more casual
based MMORPG, similar to World of Warcraft, and Microsoft demanding
a more long-term, Everquest-like title that would draw players in
for months to come. After an extremely short and rather
underwhelming showing at the Tokyo Game Show in 2003, True Fantasy
Live Online was quietly delayed from its initial Fall 2003 release
into 2004. From then, little was seen or heard about from the title,
and after a surprising absence during the year's E3 convention, it
was officially cancelled by Microsoft on June 2nd.
In the months following, Level-5 President and CEO Akihiro Hino
stated in a Japanese interview that the poor relations between his
company and Microsoft, partially due to the latter's inexperience in
dealing with Japanese developers, was one of the major reasons
behind True Fantasy Live Online's cancellation. He also heavily
implied that the two companies did not part amicably, and it stands
to reason that the two companies most likely will never work
together again.
[info from
Wikipedia] |