A few changes I would like to see.

[bungiefanNA]

That's sad really. I would really like a physical copy of SoA. I guess people like me who collect music cd's, bluerays, and physical copy of games, are a dying breed.

I dont want to support companies like Steam,Amazon etc. I want it directly from Square enix themselves. Call it a prefrence. Call it security. Call it whatever you want to, but until they do I wont purchase it.

I donot use my computer to surf the web, look at wiki's etc. Infact this is the only thing i've done on my computer other than games. And the only reason I posted here was because I thought these might be legitimate claims, based on the people I have talked to about the current systems.

That's kind of a waste of all the power and capability a computer has, to only use it for games. My computer does just about everything in my house, from running my TV, to giving me stuff to read, to storing my library of whatever content I have, to running old game consoles.

Like it or not, shipping a physical copy is much more expensive than providing a download, as you can have infinite copies of the download generated, and don't have to pay any shipping or distribution, as well as time for delivery to the customer being greatly reduced. SquareEnix wouldn't have to worry about producing too many physical copies either and eating a loss on that production and distribution cost. Many computers nowadays are shipping completely without optical drives because digital distribution is so common for video/audio/software content that it's being built into all the major operating systems. Steam and Amazon are the giants of digital software distribution, and as they are the first place many people look, it doesn't make sense to try to compete with them by starting your own service when you can just publish to them. Heck, even Microsoft doesn't run their own software download servers for their programs and operating systems, they use DigitalRiver, which a lot of other companies do. SE is nowhere near the size of Microsoft.

It's not like it's hard to download the FFXI install data from someone else that has it either. BlueGartr has links to all the expansion installers. All you need from Steam or Amazon is the registration code, and you can get the install data from elsewhere.

If you want a physical disc, you can burn the data to one. It won't be any different in content from a disc sold in a store. Otherwise, you can buy an Xbox 360 disc, or a Japanese PS2 disc (though the code won't be useful to you unless you have a JP account). I'd rather have the install data on a flash drive though, easier to update when new data is released.

Steam and Amazon take multiple payment options. Gift cards are sold in physical stores that work with them. I believe PayPal works on at least one of them, and that can link directly to your bank account.

Back in December, with the all-account-two-week-reactivation event, they released a full download of the core game and all expansions for PC. They deactivated the links when the event was over, but I'd wager that someone kept them and had them up elsewhere for download to this day. It's not hard to get install data for PC. SE sells expansion codes individually in your account management page.

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

SE didn't release a physical copy of SoA that I know of

They did in one place. Guess where!

[Olor]

They did in one place. Guess where!

North America, for Xbox?

all I can say is.. Enjoy the recreation of the credit system. Then again you may very well be one of those exploiting such systems for all I know, you know not being accountable for all the debt you spent?

I don't own a credit card, can still buy stuff digitally using my debit card or if that fails with points cards etc. I don't see what this has to do with anything, I don't really understand the fetish of having something on a disk when services offer free re-downloads and if that fails fans have back ups of the files available online...

[bungiefanNA]

Also, you can make a physical copy of a digital download. Just burn it to disk, copy to a backup hard drive, or put on a flash drive. Heck, put it on your own cloud storage if you want. The data is the same as if you bought a disc, you just don't have the fancy packaging, and you could make some yourself. Internet connections are getting fast enough, it makes more sense to reduce waste by not producing the cardboard and plastic for a physical copy, and the customer gets the product faster.

[bungiefanNA]

Again you donot know peoples limititations. All I hear is the same thing spewed over and over again. "This is easier" or "that is cheaper" , again this is not what I asked for.

So what limitation would prevent you from downloading the install data when you need internet access to play this game? If you are doing so on a computer, what would limit you from saving that to physical media? Adoulin would fit on a CD, it's 400 MB, and blank CDs cost pennies each.

Burn the data yourself to physical media if you need tangible proof of possession of data. The benefit is you can make as many copies as you need. Hard drives and solid state storage are quickly becoming the defacto remaining standard for physical storgae of computer programs. Download-only is what a lot of companies are pushing for, and it makes ecological sense. Optical media isn't as dense in data capacity, and can't be recycled for more data. Read-only data storage made of plastic is inefficient. Digital-only also gives you the ability to choose what sort of physical media you want, and how many physical copies you want, you're not limited to their choice of media. That removes limitations from you. I remember when WotG released on DVD-only, and some people still didn't have DVD drives. It's not like Windows is a protected platform that prevents you from burning downloaded data to another media. All data is digital on a computer, media is just a container. What's wrong with putting it in a container of your choice rather than getting it in one type of container from the manufacturer?

Credit has its purpose. There's no way I'd be able to afford a house of my own without some line of credit, with houses in my state running 6 digits of cost. I take as little credit as I can, but for big purchases, it's the only way to afford an item that costs multiple years of income. I don't see what it has to do with your issue though.

[Xantavia]

I dont want to support companies like Steam,Amazon etc. I want it directly from Square enix themselves. Call it a prefrence. Call it security. Call it whatever you want to, but until they do I wont purchase it.

If it is just Aldouin you want, Amazon would be the better option based on what I remember at launch. Those that went with them had almost no issues. Those who bought from SE (and digital river?) that was handling the distribution, was giving people a ton of headaches. Things may have changed though.

Personally, I totally agree with you. I buy digitally, but only if it is the only way. Otherwise I want something that is mine for keeps.

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

North America, for Xbox?

Close, but the only unique thing NA got was Ultimate Collection for Xbox. All six of the JP 360 players (and however many EU players) could get the add-on disc alone, though.

But no, the physical media versions of both the Adoulin stand-alone and what we would call the Ultimate Collection are JP ONLY.

I don't really understand the fetish of having something on a disk when services offer free re-downloads and if that fails fans have back ups of the files available online...

I'm thinking he's saying "ME GRIMLOCKE DON'T LIKE DRM!" without realizing there is no DRM if he gets it from Amazon.

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

Not sure if troll...

No, as in Digital Restrictions Management, which is what people usually mean when they complain about "not really owning" a digital download version of the game. The Steam version is forever tied to your Steam account (can be revoked, etc.), but once you purchase and download from Amazon it really is yours, even if you delete your Amazon account.

Burn it to a DVD, print out the PDF manual, do some grade-school arts-and-crafts and you can have your very own "boxed product" indistinguishable from "the real thing."

[bungiefanNA]

So you asked to update to Adoulin from POL Viewer, but that wouldn't give you a physical copy, it would still be a download. You wouldn't even have an installer, just the patch files falling into place. What are you really asking for, and what's the difference from downloading from another source and making your own physical copy? You say we don't know the limitations of others, but you aren't stating any limitations so it can be explained why they shouldn't limit you.

[Ziyyigo-Tipyigo]

Well, a POL download isn't going to happen. The client was never designed to handle something like that, and it's not practical to go back and to try to introduce that now. Besides, that would break their current business model of making you buy copies of a new expansion for each of your platforms (e.g. having to buy both the Xbox 360 and PC version).

The point is something for people who have issues getting it other ways, or wish to only trust certain companies.

There's Steam, Amazon, and S-E's own online store, though history has shown that last one is actually the least reliable (apparently thanks in part to their reliance on Digital River). Between those three options there are at least as many different payment methods as there are for paying for your subscription (e.g. I could have used cash for my Amazon purchase in the same way I use cash to buy Crysta). As I mentioned before, getting a copy through Amazon (at least) differs from a physical copy only in the lack of a pressed physical disc; Amazon and FFXI could permaban my accounts tomorrow and I could still uninstall and reinstall it with wild abandon.

I could say a ploretha of reasons why one would have issues

Try us. What rational issue would there be preventing a player from getting Seekers of Adoulin when they are otherwise capable of both subscribing to and playing an MMO?