Expansion rollout strategy

[Aogami]

The only response here that has any real merit to it is the one that raised concerns about people pre-ordering the expansion and then canceling or charging it back. I can understand them not wanting to give out codes for the expansions with pre-orders if there's a significant risk of them not getting paid for them at all, which would probably result in them having to ban accounts over it and it being a huge mess. There's got to be some way to work around that though.

The other stuff though I really don't get. I PAID for ShadowBringers - included in what I paid for IN FULL is the Heavensward and Stormblood expansions, which are products that are out and available now, not gated behind a release date. Saying that they are only there as a courtesy makes no sense, they are there because you need them in order to play the new expansion. You can't play ShB at all unless you've completed the other two expansions. If you're going to sell all three expansions in one bundle and then not let me have the two which are currently out, then you should be offering ShB at a discounted price for people who already own the other two, to make it worthwhile to buy them early instead of forcing me to pay for them again.

I bought everything when it came out on my own account. I was fine with it. But for someone like my wife, who is interested in picking up the game now, SE is offering a product which bundles everything together, letting you pay for it, and then saying sorry you can't play any of it until June even though everyone else can.

I'm just saying there's got to be a better solution than what is going on now, and I don't think citing precedent from other MMOs with similar business models really addresses the issue - I don't think it's fine for them to do it that way either. If you sell me something which is available now, I want to use it now. I don't want to have to wait just because a part of the bundle won't be available for a few months. That doesn't make sense to me.

[Jojoya]

The other stuff though I really don't get. I PAID for ShadowBringers - included in what I paid for IN FULL is the Heavensward and Stormblood expansions, which are products that are out and available now, not gated behind a release date.

The product is clearly marked as pre-order, which means you are reserving a copy in advance of release. You haven't obtained that copy yet and until you receive it, you would not have access to the things it includes unless it specifically states those items will be available in advance (such as the Aetheryte Earrings being available on March 1).

If SE has already charged your credit card or other payment method, you might have a case for expecting them to deliver the portions of the product already available since they have already received the funds but that would depends on the consumer laws where you live. Contact your local Consumer Affairs/Consumer Protection agency.