Ni No Kuni: Wrath of Digital River

Preorders for the very nice, very exclusive Wizard’s Edition opened last summer. In a bid to increase preorders, and perhaps hype, a kickstarter campaign was launched, pledging new items to be added as orders increased. It was an interesting idea, and it added several new things to the collection at no additional charge, an would be added to previous orders as well. Some were disappointed when they couldn’t pick this up at the time, but that is how most collector’s editions work, right?

Apparently not. Orders were reopened last week, for a very brief window, for more of these collectors editions. This was actually a great idea, as it let them sell of extra stock, increase hype after reviews started trickling in, and satisfy those consumers who missed out during the summer. This could only be done in the United States through Namco Bandai’s online store, who uses a company named Digital River to distribute. After the game was officially released on Tuesday, many people were anxiously awaiting information regarding their lovely Wizard’s Edition, like when it would ship and when they would get to play. However, for many people, that was very quickly marred by an email they recieved late last night.

This is, word for word, an email that was sent out last night by Digital River:
Dear Customer:Digital River is very sorry for the problems you had ordering NAMCO BANDAI’s Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch™ - Wizard’s Edition. Regretfully, we must inform you that because of an error in our ordering system, the available inventory of Wizard’s Edition was oversold by mistake. As a result, we were unable to fulfill your order because it was placed after the stock was depleted. You will receive an official order cancellation notice within 24-48 hours.We want you to know that Digital River does not take this situation lightly. We are implementing process improvements to prevent this issue from happening again and are committed to regaining your trust. While we can’t replace your order for the Wizard’s Edition, we hope that you will accept this one-time-use coupon code for $20 off (valid through March 31, 2013) on any item from clubNAMCO. Please feel free to shop today for one of your favorite NAMCO BANDAI games or pre-order Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 3. We are confident your next experience with us will be a good one.Coupon Code: *********

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us at namcobandai.en.cs@digitalriver.comfor assistance.
Sincerely,
Digital River Customer Service

This was obviously not the email people were expecting.Various game website forums exploded with angry users reporting similar emails, as well as Namco’s official forums and even the Facebook page of the game. For some people, the day turned into a roller coaster ride of disinformation. One person reported that they had called the store support line earlier yesterday, and was assured by a representative that the order was fine. That person then called back shortly after, and was told their order had indeed been cancelled, but could be reordered. After hearing three different things, they called back one last time, spoke to a supervisor, and was finally told their order was cancelled, that nothing could be done about it, that Digital River had oversold the Wizard’s Edition, and the best they could offer was a $20 coupon to use at their store. While other people haven’t had things play out quite like that, they did buy a Wizard’s Edition, only to have it cancelled. I myself am one of those people. I’ve emailed Digital River and Namco asking about what exactly happened, and will update when I receive responses.

First Post: Ni No Kuni Hype

I'm getting to be an old gamer. Sure 26 may be young to some, but I wake up with a sore back, sore knee, I yell at kids to get off my lawn, technology is passing me by, and sometimes I miss the good 'ole days of sitting back with a quality console JRPG and losing myself in its world. After closely following Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch for quite some time, I feel like a kid again.

For those who don't know, you play as Oliver, who after suffering a terrible tragedy gets transported into another world. How that happens I'm not sure, but I am anxiously waiting to learn about it all next week. From the demo I played, the battles are reminiscent of Pokemon, with the ability to control monsters you catch and can evolve. Battles take place in an "open" battle environment, where you can move around the enemy however you want. The game is created by Level-5, of Dark Cloud and Professor Layton fame, as well as Studio Ghibi, of incredible anime fame. The world looks incredible and beautiful. The few reviews I've read are just glowing, and in time I hope to post my very first review of this game.

Look forward to it, preorder it, buy it, play it, enjoy it.