of Fate (1999) and Vagrant Story (2000). The company also began work on PlayOnline, a platform to host the company's online store and web content as well as online services for their games. Sakaguchi was mostly based in Hawaii by this point; in addition to leading production on Final Fantasy IX (2000), he also worked at the 1997-established Square Pictures studio on a feature film based on the Final Fantasy series. Called Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, it was planned as Sakaguchi's first push towards cross-media storytelling; however, the project ran over budget and ended up costing Square and co-producer Columbia Pictures US$137 million. During this period, Sakaguchi also created the concept for Final Fantasy XI, the company's first MMORPG, developed by the Chrono team and led by Ishii. 2001–2003: Final years, merger Upon its release in 2001, The Spirits Within was met with mixed critical reception, and grossed only $85 million. Labelled as a box-office bomb, the film damaged Square's finances, and led to the closing of Square Pictures. Following both the failure of The Spirits Within and a delay to Final Fantasy X (2001) for the PlayStation 2, Square suffered a financial loss for the first time, prompting Sakaguchi, Takechi, and director Masatsugu Hiramatsu to resign from their positions. Sakaguchi was kept on as executive producer for Final Fantasy, while Takechi and Hiramatsu were retained as external consultants. This period left Sakaguchi in a state of low morale. In late 2001, Suzuki stepped down as President, and was replaced by Wada. Yosuke Matsuda became Senior Vice President. Ito also left during this period to work as a freelance composer. Following its financial losses, Square agreed to sell Sony a 19% stake in the company. Due to their still precarious financial situation and the softening console rivalry between Sony and Nintendo with the release of Microsoft's Xbox, Square successfully reached out to Nintendo to begin development for their hardware again. Square began development on Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles for the GameCube in late 2001. Under Wada, the company underwent restructuring with the intent of streamlining production and resources, and cutting development costs to increase profits. It also began production on a direct sequel to Final Fantasy X, titled Final Fantasy X-2 (2003); this broke with the common approach under Sakaguchi, who disliked direct sequels. Final Fantasy X-2 was Sakaguchi's last credited project at Square, and he left the company