"Xenosaga Episode I" was developed by a core team of between 60 and 80 people, expanding to over 100 people at its most active development period. Among the staff, twenty of them had previously worked on "Xenogears". The biggest issue faced when building the team was that they were developing for the PlayStation 2, a console with far more power than any previous console they had worked on. A major improvement in Takahashi's view over his work on "Xenogears" was that he was able to make the entire game using 3D graphics, something he had been unable to do with "Xenogears". Due to the amount of preparatory work and getting accustomed to the new hardware, actual development did not start until 2000, lasting approximately a year. Namco provided development support with the motion capture technology. Takahashi later noted that the sheer number of young and inexperienced developers in Monolith Soft negatively impacted development, with the graphics engine being completed only six months before the game's release. Prior to its announcement, the game was developed under the working title "Project X".