Naoki Yoshida discusses the upcoming beta for Final Fantasy XIV

It won't be long now until long-time Final Fantasy XIV players and eager test applicants can experience the beta of the game's new version. Producer Naoki Yoshida has understandably been busy with the ramp-up, but he's taken the time to pen a new letter for the game's players that starts off by displaying all of the racial creation screens for the revamped creator. That includes showing off genders that had previously been unavailable, including female Highlanders and Roegadyns.

Beyond that, the letter talks about some of the restrictions in place from the beta that are still being developed, acknowledging that some character creation options will be held back until later in testing (the team is working to vastly improve hair color and style selections, for example). Yoshida goes on to talk about the production staff's New Year festivities and a visit from some of the Mythic staff members involved with Ultima Online. There are only a few more weeks until the beta stats, but Yoshida and the rest of the staff seems to believe that it's the first step to a better new year.