I played FFXI on the Playstation 2 from its PS2 release until the Chains of Promathia expansion..

I've been considering getting the game again, but it will require a large investment on my part.. My question is regarding the amount of time FFXI will be available for the PS2.. I will have to spend roughly $230 to fully play it the way I'd prefer, plus two monthly fees.. So, if I'm to make that investment, I'd like to know I have atleast a year of gameplay left.. So, basically, will FFXI be available on the PS2 for another year?

I know the slimlines don't support it, the player population has gotten smaller, and the PS2 population is only a fraction of that, but I enjoyed the game immensely, but don't want to blindly jump back into it only to have the rug pulled out from under me a couple months into it.. Well, get back with me

FFXI will always be available for the PS2 userbase on as long as FFXI is around. There are still many PS2 players around and will continue to.
The question you're asking and most are wondering is will future expansion pack will be available for the PS2 players. With no new harddrive available for PS2 players future support such as new expansion packs probably won't be made available for the PS2 userbase.

That's not to say you can't enjoy the game without any new expansion pack as it's hard to believe but some players in the game still haven't gotten the COP expansion pack yet. So you can always play the game for years and years as long as FFXI is around, just that you may not be able to access some new areas due to expansion pack not being made available for the PS2 userbase in the future. Of course this is all a guess work.

My guess is that once the PS3 online capability and function are finalize and Sony decides on what to do with their online gaming, SE will take a hands off approach on FFXI for PS3 until then. But I expect that FFXI will be made available for the PS3 and that somehow or someway, PS2 users will be transfer over to PS3.

That's awesome news, just what I wanted to hear, actually.. Looks like I'll be going back then..