Final Fantasy XI Online – Registration Problems and Other Fun

by Chad Alderson on May 3, 2006

WOW – I just tried to play Final Fantasy XI and couldn’t
even make it past the registration process. Considering that I am in tech and
know my way around a computer this doesn’t go so well for game publisher Square
Enix. I was so frustrated with the whole process that I sent them a nasty-gram
which I put below for your reading pleasure and as a warning for others who may
be considering purchasing the Final Fantasy XI Online game.

To the Product Management Team Responsible for Final Fantasy XI

I just bought Final Fantasy XI today at Costco. I got home and loaded it
up. Instead of seeing a FFXI splash screen come up I see a stupid PlayOnline
menu asking me to navigate a HORRIFIC setup and registration process.

The next surprise was the monthly $12 subscription fee. Do you REALLY
think that I would pay $12.00/month on top of my Xbox live subscription? To put
it in perspective, you are only $2.00 cheaper per month than a basic Netflix
account -  and Netflix offers unlimited rentals. So please do tell me,
what EXACTLY is your “value proposition”?

OK, moving on to the actual registration process… First thought – the
keypad consol you decided to burden the world with is a complete joke. What do
your UI designers do in their spare time, torture small animals?

Let’s take a look at the registration codes themselves (all 5 of them
buried on the last page of the instruction booklet – which the setup process
fails to mention). After searching through all the documentation I finally came
to a long list of codes. So which one of these cryptic codes (so cryptic that
they would make Windows XP registration codes green with envy) do I pick, the
PlayOnline code? The FFXI code? One of the other 3???  Hmmmmm.

I fumble through the "softkey" menu (yet another UI abortion
gone bad) only to discover that NONE of the registration codes even work!!! You
guys just wasted 1 HOUR of my time. Awesome.

I’m taking this POS back to Costco, telling them how bad I hate it and
why, telling all my friends about it, then posting it to my blog – I’m confident
that there are others out there with the same problem and are pissed off.
Hopefully they will find my rant on a Google search and share their experience
with everyone.

P.S. If I see any new games with Square Enix listed as the
publisher, I’m running the other way – as quick as possible.

The
best part about this is that when I submitted the feedback above to their online support site, I got the following confirmation message:

“It
may take some time before you receive a response.”

I’m sure it will…

[update - 08-20-2006: I still have not received a response!!! Should I be surprised?]

[update - 12-09-2006: Still no response. I've given up. As you can see by the comments, many others have had the same problem. I urge you to avoid this game! I've updated the game jacket below ;-) ]

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{ 54 comments… read them below or add one }

Ayrun May 13, 2007 at 10:47 am

Maybe you should have got a PC. This game works wonders on a PC. The XBOX my good sir is rubish. If a 19 yr old girl can do it then im sure you can do it.

The extra fee is clearly stated on the back of the box aswell. You say the manual was hard to read, may i sugest reading lessons.
:D
Have a nice day.

Taku May 13, 2007 at 6:40 pm

I got an email from the guy that lost his PlayOnline ID number. Here’s what to do in case you lose your PlayOnline ID:

Call the PlayOnline Center, the telephone number is inside your manual.

Tell them you need to retrieve your PlayOnline ID. They will have you verify your info and they”ll be able to give you the PlayOnline ID over the phone. Also, if you ever have a problem with your password you can call them and have them reset the password for you.

Hope this helps :)

William Helm May 14, 2007 at 11:48 am

ok,

Well I think to solve all this Crap and B.S. about how the FFXI company screwing people is to get together and file a class action lawsuit..

I would have to agree that they should make the registration codes valide more than once.. Come on what is it used for anyhow??, to get aaccount on playonline or to make sure its not pirated ?? I feel it should be used as many times as you want due to the fact that the stupid company is STILL getting a freaking $12.00 U.S. out of us each month for playing.. It is very unreasonable for them to make you buy a fresh copy from them.. no other company out there makes you do that that I know of.. its not like its a pirated copy or anything.. its just a used copy and people get bored of computer games so they sell them.. if you was to buy a freaking SP2 game that dont use playonline but some other subscription company they dont care where you getting the thing from as long as you pay for the Monthly subscription..

Anyhow I would like to see people come together here and hire a lawfirm to place adds in papers and magazines (roll playing ones would be the best and gaming mags in general) and explain whats gonig on and if they want to join the suit but have a valid copy.. Im sure you can sue them to either A) give new registration codes out for VALIDE copies of the game or make it where it dont have to be registered once, 2) refund ALL copies of the game at a fair price for the UPC code on the box.., 3) and this is a MUST… Pay for all court fees..

hope this would give people a good idea and a movment on this subject.. im in for ure ill tell you that..

anyhow sorry for the spelling.. but you get my point..

Peace,

Will

ToyKalibur April 4, 2008 at 11:26 pm

So i bought this game around the time WoW came out. I was talked into playing WoW first and so i did. This game i bought unopened FFXI Online sat on the shelf for years… My son decides he wants to check it out so when im finally sick of whats going on in WoW, i decide to install it on the PC.

…
…..

So it seems my son has played with a knife and cut off… the play online reg code. I know thats it cause the page i have starts with the bottom part of the box and tells me what code it is. So i decide to go to the site. I saw that im pretty much screwed till monday.

WTF AHHHHHHH!

This game has been around for how long and their support only works 5 days a week? Well the hell with this game…. Ive obviously been spoiled by Blizzard and WoW online and glad i dont have to share this game with my son… Ill buy him Warhammer when it comes out or something.. FF games can stick with consoles and no onlines… Play online can kiss my ass…!

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