Microsoft has announced it is scrapping the development of its first, mass-participation role-playing game for the Xbox console, saying it could not deliver on its promise of a "truly novel" experience.
The game, named in advance True Fantasy Live Online, had been actively promoted since March 2002 as a revolutionary game in which thousands of people could participate at once. It was being developed by the Japanese company, Level 5.
The game was intended for the Japanese market and its release had been promised for the end of the year, having been postponed twice before.
True Fantasy would have been the first so-called Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) software for Microsoft's Xbox, of which 14 million consoles have been sold worldwide.
Such mass participation games allow players to interact as characters in a fantasy universe in which they engage in various occupations, fight battles or just "live" ordinary lives.
In May 2002, game-maker SquareEnix launched the hugely popular Final Fantasy XI game in Japan for PlayStation2, rival of the Xbox. Made by Sony, it was the world's first MMORPG for consoles other than personal computers.