Square Enix has announced that a new location, being referred to as an Alternate Reality, will be tested in Japan this February. The event will take place in a Final Fantasy XI exclusive internet cafe called Real Vana'diel. The cafe allows gamers to play Final Fantasy XI with others using the best PCs to run the game. However, the store will close on February the 10th and the 17th for 4 hours each day. This is being done so as to test the new world made by Square Enix. On those days, testers will do a battle balance test, a loading time test, and provide the necessary input that the FFXI developers require in order to make sure that this world is ready to be played online. Gamers interested in becoming testers can apply in the Real Vana'diel store (Akihabara, Japan) from January 23 till January 26, 2004. The winners of the selection will be announced on January 30, 2004. Apparently, Square Enix will be renting the internet cafe to allow general gamers to play the new world on their own test servers.

Description of the new world:

"A door that leads to a world shrouded in darkness is about to open ...The true nature of this "other world" remains an enigma, its existence whispered of in rumors. What lies beyond the boundaries of Vana'diel's reality? The search for answers begins here ... Unseen by the eyes of mortals, a land of eternal night ... A malevolent world that exists behind the curtain of reality ... And what lies in wait for adventurers that stumble inside ... here can the portal to this hidden realm be found?" - (Official US FFXI website)

This world will challenge the skills of high level players and apparently be an unforgiving alternate reality. It is still not known when the world will be made accessible, but there are a few images from it that can be viewed using the link below.

Link >> Images of the new location