Final Fantasy XIV is beginning to turn into one of those "development hell" titles.  Back in May, we learned that the game, originally slated for a late 2010 release, wouldn't see store shelves until 2011.  Then just last week, Yoshinori Kitase, the game's producer, stated that the company "can't commit" to a 2011 release, either.  After an alleged five years in development, this is certainly frustrating news, and now the closed beta, which was supposed to start at 10:00 tonight (EDT), has now been postponed.

FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test, which is scheduled to begin at 19:00 (PDT) on Aug. 31, 2010, will be postponed due to a confirmation of critical bugs. New schedule will be releaseｄ at a later date.

Along with the postponement of FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test, the issuing of registration code for FINAL FANTASY XIV Open Beta Test will be postponed as well. With the download of client software's installer, it will be suspended at 19:00 (PDT) on Aug. 31, 2010.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

This is the disheartening message fond on the official website of FF XIV.  Obviously, "critical bugs" seem like a perfectly valid reason to postpone the beta test, but after a half a decade in the studio, it's more than a little discouraging to see that the game is, apparently, still not in any sort of playable form.  When Square Enix announced Final Fantasy XIV right alongside Final Fantasy XIII, fans were elated at the prospect of two FF games in development, but also nervous about the publisher overextending itself, as it has a history of doing.  It's starting to look like those fears were well-founded.