I actually think this is might be a legit case. Square Enix policies on canceling/renewing accounts are pretty shady if I remember correctly.

Eh... the courts will determine if disclosure was appropriate or not. Cases like this, whether they proceed or not, are a bit of a wake up call for how all "monthly fee" type games manage their subscription process... and I'm sure that some are rather shady in their dealings.

I agree, phantomile. I looked into doing FFXI on my ps2 I was dumbfounded at not only the startup cost, but the monthly cost on top of that.. it's why I didn't do it and went to WoW. You can't NOT know what you were getting into with that. That they were robbing us blind (or trying to) I'm sure squenix wouldn't even begin to deny.. but they were VERY up front about it.

Only lawyers benefit from class action suits.

The only thing I remember about FFXI (besides the fact it was the most boring and least solo friendly MMO ive ever played) is its canceling process was a pain in the ass.

@-PL-
"Actually I've seen some pretty shady stuff happen with FFXI subscriptions. If you subscribe near the end of a month, I've seen Squenix charge full price for a month even if you only were subscribed for 3 days that month."
That's not shady. FFXI specifically states that it does this when you sign up. It's called a "prorated system", and is a common business model.

Sucky for users? Sure. But not "shady" business tactics, especially when they explain explicitly what prorated service is. It's the 12 year olds that steal their parent's credit cards and don't read it that complain.

AliasWyvernspur has the right idea people: read your agreements, don't just always click "I agree".

I like your cigarette comment at the end of this post. It really puts things into perspective for me.

What? Smoking is bad for you? Seriously?

Next time i forgot to pay a bill i'm going to sue those guys so HARD!

can I sue for making a shitty 360 port?

So yeah guys, you know that big wall-o-text that there was when you signed up for the game that had the big "I accept" button underneath that you hastily clicked?

Case closed.

@ Magnalon: You gotta be shitting me. I've signed up for hundreds of services in my life, cable, phones, all sorts of stuff. I've never been charged twice because I happened to get cable at the end of the month.

"I'd like to sign up for cable please"
"Oh you can't, wait for a few days, then call us back, it's the end of the month so nobody will sign up yet"

What the hell are you smoking?

Okay, criticizing the game aside, it is an MMO. there are fees. $12.95 for first character, $1 for each additional character (which isn't needed since you can have as many classes on one character as you want). $1 for Tetra Master (which is a separate game bundled with most copies). You can get a PlayOnline Plus account, some extra fee or another that nobody ever subscribes to for extra features.

That's it. If you create an account and play one character, $12.95 a month. And you can't click a button to accidentally sign up for anything else. You know full damn well what you're getting into for each and every fee, and they ensure this with a lengthy process that's a pain in the ass if you want to make a second character. There is NO way you can not know.

Late fees? I've never seen them. Credit cards are charged at the beginning of the month. If the funds aren't available, your account is suspended until they are paid. If somehow there are still late fees somewhere, I'm sure they are clearly explained in the dozens of screens you have to agree to before you can sign up for a..anything.

OMFG dudes....

Oh its shady when they double charge you for paying late or to reactivate an account. If you cancel an account and reactivate they will charge you double.