Square Enix Shop: "Bonus Code Included"

Dear SE,

Please remove the "Bonus Code Included" info-graphic from your products on your storefront once the code has expired. While it is nice the expiration date is listed in the notes on the web page it is very easy to miss as compared to the big pink graphic posted above the picture of the item. While your customers still receive the physical product it is disappointing to not receive the digital item as well when it is being prominently advertised. This is currently the case with your "FINAL FANTASY® XIV: A REALM REBORN™ THE ART OF EORZEA -ANOTHER DAWN [ART BOOK]" product. https://store.na.square-enix.com/pro...-dawn-art-book

Alternatively, please stop making digital rewards expire. I'm not sure the benefit you gain from not honoring bonus codes you have already issued.

Thank you
~Kat

P.S. Sorry, if this this is the wrong forum for this.

The reason why SE has made in-game item codes that come with physical merchandise like the Model Enterprise minion you mentioned short term with an expiry date is for marketing reasons - it increases interest in the merchandise being sold (and thus helps translate that desirability into sales, especially preorder and launch sales, which helps give a quick return on the expense of producing the item), plus it also helps reduce the incidence of onselling of the item (where someone buys an item from SE, then sells it through a thirty party, usually for a profit).

This was particularly shown with version 1.0's bonus items that came with the Collector's and Standard Editions of 1.0 (Onion Helm and Garlond Goggles respectively). Because these item vouchers have no expiry date, unopened copies of version 1.0 with unused item vouchers intact are selling for outrageous amounts on sites like eBay, not helped by the fact owning even an unopened copy of 1.0 entitles that person to download the PC version of ARR for free - the 1.0 serial code works as an ARR code as well.

So to ensure that doesn't happen again with merchandise, the item codes have a limited time window you can register them. Of course it won't stop onselling, particularly when the code is still 'current', but it will reduce it. So I don't see SE changing this I'm afraid.

The thing is, you can still buy items with a "bonus code included" as advertised on the official SE website. Only when you try the code do you find it's invalid. I know from experience after having received an item as a gift. It's not really acceptable given the items are still heavily promoted as having the bonus item(s).

Some of the incentive for FFXIV players is that they want the codes not the item. There's a lot of retired items I wish they'd have kept myself. I hate games that retire items and it's one of the biggest flaws of FFXIV I find. That and items that are locked behind $150 statues. I tried buying the Odin state also when it released but it wasn't available for purchase right off the bat. I don't think I'd want to pay $150 for an emote though either but the statue did look interesting and considered buying it at the time. However giving it an emote was ridiculous. There's some retired item codes I wish I code have obtained but I'm a student in university and my costs need to be managed with many other things so at times I might not get around to the item til much later even a couple years. That's how I missed out on the Bahamut minion. I also think it's ridiculous putting the codes behgind items. I don't want the items I want the ingame items. Retiring items in this game already isn't so great. The glamour is limited and even tossing orchestration roles to time limited items on square enix store can really lose it's effect even for advertising for the free company. There's event clothes I tossed when I started the game because I didn't know of the armoire at the time in 2.0 and didn't have retainer space. Unfortunately there are several items that never went to the Mogstation like several bikini's for female characters. I found the perfect top for one of my cosplay glamours but it was locked behind being a retired item on one of the swimsuits. I also couldn't make it fanfest last year in New Vegas though I paid for it but I couldn't recieve the minion and glam I from it and even though they just released the glamour they still left the minions locked. I know of quite a few people wanting that cloud mount and the original fat chocobo however it's all locked behind retired items and they haven't marketed them to mogstation. So retiring items is a huge disappointment. In regards even if we got to wait a year it'd be nice if event and square enix items just all ended up on mogstation without the items from square enix to buy.