Xbox Living

Square Enix needs to work on its releases. Specifically, the release of the Wings of the Goddess expansion for the MMORPG Final Fantasy XI is not going well. The expansion is in the midst of release on the Xbox 360, as well as the PC and PS2 systems.

I’ve had a hard time getting this expansion, and installing it on any of these platforms.

• First, the game’s release date was ambiguous. The game “ships” on November 20, with the content going live on November 22 (actually November 21, because the 22nd is a Japanese date). My local stores all said the Xbox version would arrive on November 21, but it did not arrive until November 22.
• Second, most stores didn’t get enough copies of the game. My local game stores received a whopping two copies each of the Xbox 360 version: one of the entire game with all four expansions ($50) and one of the expansion only ($30). Some big-box stores only received the full version of the game. Fortunately, I managed to snag a copy of the expansion-only version at one store, after three others were completely sold out.
• Third, the PC version was delayed, and my local stores aren’t expecting it until Monday (almost a full week late).
• And fourth, the registration server has been clogged up for over 43 hours — so even if you get this expansion, it’s difficult to play it. I finally got through this morning, after forcing my way through error message after error message and retry after retry.

I’m not horribly impatient, and if a game is a couple of days late, I can live with that. But in the case of an MMORPG, the problem is magnified somewhat. The fact that some players are currently playing the new content, while others cannot access it, creates an inequality. Players who managed to install the software have a head start, while others are left in the dark.

There are a number of things that Square Enix could do differently. They’ve promised that Wings of the Goddess will not be the last expansion for the game, so here are some things to remember for next time:

• Ship the game early, with a ‘do not sell’ sticker.
• Advertise the date that the game will actually be in stores, not the shipping date.
• Put an extra day between the release date and the date the content goes live: giving a buffer zone for people who have trouble finding the game, or for any technical difficulties that might arise
• Consider delaying the content-live date if shipping errors arise. MMOs usually strive to maintain equal playing fields for all players, but some people are getting this update a week late.

An additional note for Xbox 360 gamers playing Final Fantasy XI: Some of the Xbox copies of the expansion have improperly-formatted registration codes. Your registration code must be entered in all-caps to work — the lowercase letters that may appear in your registration code are a misprint.

But there it is: Wings of the Goddess is here, sort of. I finally have my Xbox 360 copy installed, but I’m greatly unimpressed with Square Enix’s planning of this release. Fortunately, I’ve had Mass Effect to keep my quite busy while I waited.