If it's good enough for Cartman, it's good enough for Square-Enix.
The developers of the online role-playing game Final Fantasy XI seemingly borrowed a page from the Emmy-winning South Park
episode "Make Love, Not Warcraft" by updating the game with one of the longest - and most physically grueling - video game
fights ever. Introduced in the game's latest downloadable update, the boss monster "Pandemonium Warden" remained perfectly
fit after a group of high-level adventurers wailed away at it nonstop for over 18 hours straight.
Though the seemingly unbeatable boss will not prevent people from 'completing' the game --
persistent online games typically do not "end" like most single-player games -- it has sparked debate over what exactly the
game's developers, Square-Enix, expect out of their devoted fan base. Message boards have lit up with disgruntled players
calling out the company for failing to respect its very own in-game warning telling players they have "no desire to see your
real life suffer as a consequence [of playing]. Don't forget your friends, your family, your school or your work."
Easy for them to say. While the beast continually healed, the gamers weren't so lucky.
"People were passing out and getting physically ill," leaders of the player guild said in a forum post. "We decided to
end it before we risked turning into a horrible news story about how video games ruin people's lives."
Too late.
