Square-Enix has sent out emails to fans who pre-ordered Final Fantasy VII Remake’s 1st Class Edition letting them know the company will be making a first attempt at charging for the $329.99 package next week, three months before the game even comes out.
Twitter user @peanushernandez posted a screenshot of the message, where Square-Enix said this was meant to help people? In some way? Let’s just read the specific section:
“Pre-orders are typically debited 2 to 3 weeks before the shipment date. However, some customers have experienced payment rejections in the past due to insufficient funds or expired credit cards before payment processing leading to pre-order cancellations.
[…]
To ensure there are sufficient funds in your account, the payment processing attempt for FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE – 1ST CLASS EDITION [PS4] will start earlier than usual.
Please expect the first debit attempt to happen during the first week of December. If this attempt is unsuccessful, there will be additional debit attempts throughout the next few months. Upon successful payment, your order will be secured and is expected to be shipped near the release date of March 3rd, 2020.”
So the idea here seems to be that this will help people who may not have the funds at the time of the first attempt. A problem that Square-Enix has manufactured by setting it up this way. But the bigger issue is that, should you have the cash to pay for the 1st Class Edition three months before the thing even launches, you will be charged that $329.99, along with tax and shipping. Just in time for the holidays.
Square Enix gonna start charging for FF7 next month, just in time to be broke for Christmas. @Wario64 pic.twitter.com/KoVlByErJ2
— SANNA MARIN STAN ACCOUNT (@PeanusHernandez) November 28, 2019
More Final Fantasy:
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So what does a person do in this situation if they pre-ordered under the assumption they wouldn’t be charged until closer to the March 3 release date? Ensure you don’t have that much money in your account over the next few weeks? Carry an abundance of cash on you at all times instead of putting it in your bank account? Square-Enix has really put its customers in a bind by doing this. $329.99 is no small amount of money, and even if this wasn’t right before the holidays when everyone’s buying gifts and planning travel, a lot can happen between now and March where that money might really come in handy.
Final Fantasy VII Remake’s 1st Class Edition comes with a lot of additional stuff to merit that price tag, including an artbook, soundtrack, some DLC content, a steelbook case, and most notably a figure of protagonist Cloud Strife on a sick motorcycle. When your kids ask why you couldn’t afford to buy them a Switch Lite and Pokemon Sword and Shield, you can show them a picture of Cloud on a motorcycle and all will no doubt be forgiven.
If Square-Enix decides to make this its go to way of charging people for pre-orders, some folks are going to run into this problem again in a few years, as the company has confirmed that the second part of its multi-game Final Fantasy VII Remake is already in development.
