On May 16, 2005, FINAL FANTASY XI celebrates the 3-year mark since its launch in Japan, and prepares to enter a fourth year of service! The original Vana'diel Census was created as a simple overview of the FINAL FANTASY XI community-- a community that has continued to grow at a phenomenal rate. In response to this growth, the fifth Vana'diel Census will include several new categories that will analyze the FINAL FANTASY XI community from a whole new perspective. Without further ado, let's take a look at what the data reveals.


First, let's analyze the login distribution. This graph represents the total number of simultaneous logins across all worlds over a 7-day period. Little change can be seen from the same time period we analyzed last year, and the various peak times of Japan, North America, and Europe continue to create the unique FINAL FANTASY XI login pattern. In Japan, the number of logins increases sharply from 9 p.m., while the North American peak time stretches for 5-6 hours across Japan's midday period. The length of the North American peak time can be explained by the 3-hour time difference between the east and west coast, with each local time zone peaking at around 7-8 p.m. Logins for Europe tend to drop slightly before midnight JST, and then slowly rise over the next 5-6 hours. With such a wide range of peak times, the worlds of FINAL FANTASY XI are constantly populated by tens of thousands of players.