The Michael Swayne Story V: King of his Castle

Okay, so this morning when I was checking my Email, I received a message from the Square Enix online store. Allow me to show you what it stated.

Dear Michael Swayne,

Thank you for ordering on Square-Enix, Inc.. Unfortunately, one or more of the products you ordered is currently out of stock and could not be shipped. The product(s) has been placed on backorder and will be shipped as soon as stock becomes available. You will receive another email notification when your order has actually shipped.

Product Name Qty Ordered Backorder Quantity Amount
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Final Fantasy X / X2 HD LIMITED EDITION [PS3] 1 1 $39.99

As I have said several times, I ordered this game way back in December. It is now March, and only 8 days until the game is due to be released. How is it that in that amount of time they seem to have run out of copies? As a matter of fact, the day I ordered was December 11, 2013. Why am I getting the short end of the stick when I ordered the game so far in advance?

Now, not only does this mean I will have to wait for Final Fantasy X/X-2, but I am also stuck waiting for Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII as well. I ordered them at the same time. I thought, "Oh, I will get free shipping if I order them together. Otherwise, it's around $10 per game to buy them separately. I can wait for Lightning Returns for a month." Yeah, that month is almost over, and I want to get what I pay for on the day I was told I would get it.

Here's my theory, and it's a flimsy one. They shipped them in alphabetical order, instead of prioritizing by order date. My last name is really far along in the alphabet, and they ran out of copies before they got to my name. I mean, it's so low in the S's, it's nearly a T. I can't think of any other explanation. Why else would they choose to deny me of what I paid for on the day it should arrive? And really, if they didn't have enough copies, why not make more? They have three whole months to do that, and that's just since the day I made my order to their shop.

Part of me wants to say that it's not Square Enix's fault. After all, it's Digital River that deals with the orders and all that stuff. But when it comes down to it; it is Square Enix's fault, because they chose to use Digital River to handle the orders and distribution. When these problems arose for other customers last month when people who had pre-ordered Lightning Returns did not receive them on release day, they should have taken a step back and told Digital River that they weren't going to be in charge of that stuff until they fixed what was broken. Then, Square Enix could have taken the reins and handled that stuff itself, or used a different company.

Now I have to think about the future. Next month, I am getting a Hero of Light figure shipped to my house for a friend overseas. This piece cost $128.70. Should I be concerned about when it will actually arrive? It is supposed to arrive in April. It just said April 2014, so the exact date is unknown to me. If it was something for me, I wouldn't worry so much. But it's not. I know he'd understand if it doesn't arrive the day of, but if Digital River pulls another backorder, he may not like that. Keep in mind this item was ordered in February before Thief came out. So they have enough time to pour the plastic into the mold and paint it. There is no reason at all to put it on backorder.

RRRRRrrrrRRRR! It's just so frustrating. And there is nothing I can do about it except wait. And vent my frustrations here. Complaining about it did nothing, especially after the Thief incident. Which by the way still hasn't arrived. That game is also on backorder. So...as much as I know that the games are really what matters, this whole business thing is not making me want to play Square Enix games. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I do know one thing, I will NEVER pre-order from the Square Enix online store again. I don't care what the pre-order bonuses are. It seems like to much of a hassle. I bet if I had ordered the game on the release date or after, I would have already gotten them. That's just a hunch.

Moving on...

I did play some Final Fantasy XIII-2 this morning before I check my Email. I completed the Sazh DLC of the game, as well as the Bresha Ruins Episode (5AF) of the Main story. I want to do one episode per day. And the way things are looking, I will be done with the whole game before Lightning Returns arrives.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I just want to go to sleep, so I can wake up and start a new day. Maybe if I dream that my Email will have messages of delivery confirmation for my games, it will come true. I doubt it, but you never know. I hope to see you around the forums, and until then...

Later!

Michael