Earthquake impact on game service

[vagus]

In connection with the temporary suspension of services, players will not be billed for any PlayOnline service throughout the April billing cycle.

Surprising. Not necessary but a nice gesture by SE. On a side note, can we finally say that this proves servers are in Japan and not in Cali. XD.

[Shenrien]

it's all right here

http://www.playonline.com/ff11us/pol...ews20541.shtml

Due to the continuous earthquakes occurring in the eastern regions of Japan since Mar. 11, 2011, the power companies in Japan have encouraged everyone to cooperate by conserving as much energy as possible as it is feared there will not be enough power supply. Based on the current situation, we have decided to shut down the game servers temporarily, and therefore to suspend services of FINAL FANTASY XIV, FINAL FANTASY XI, and PlayOnline temporarily.

The services will be temporarily suspended for at least a week starting on Mar. 13, 2011 3:00 (PDT). We will provide an update regarding the reinstatement of the service as additional information becomes available. In connection with the temporary suspension of services, players will not be billed for any PlayOnline service throughout the April billing cycle. Additional information regarding this matter will also be posted as it becomes available.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, and thank you for your understanding of this unusual situations.

[Date & Time]
A week starting from Mar. 13, 2011 3:00 (PDT)

[Affected Service]
- FINAL FANTASY XIV
- FINAL FANTASY XI
- PlayOnline

* The following services, normally accessible from the official PlayOnline homepage (http://www.playonline.com/), will be unavailable during this time.

- Friend List Plus
- FINAL FANTASY XI Linkshell Community Beta Version
- PlayOnline Friend List Application
- Community Site Link Registration: Owner Menu

* Additionally, the following types of support will also be temporarily unavailable:
- PlayOnline Password Recovery
- PlayOnline Account Cancellation
- All activities requiring the confirmation of personal information

* Please be advised that we will continue to operate the official websites, FINAL FANTASY XIV Lodestone, forums, and the SQUARE ENIX Support Center to be able provide our customers with updates on the current situation.
????
[Reference]
An excerpt from the Caution posted on
TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY (TEPCO)’s home page:

A big earthquake occurred in the northern part of Japan at 2:46PM of March 11th 2011. Because TEPCO's facilities have been seriously damaged, power shortage may occur.
TEPCO appreciates customers' cooperation in reducing electricity usage by avoiding using unnecessary lighting and electrical equipment.
We are taking all measures to restore power, however, we expect extremely challenging situation in power supply for a while. We kindly ask our customers to cooperate with us in reducing usage of power.

[Draylo]

Wow they will lose like 2~3m for giving that month off ;x guess thats pocket change for them.

[Naratu]

....I kind of thought it was common sense to think that servers are in japan......

[Burningthought]

Wow they will lose like 2~3m for giving that month off ;x guess thats pocket change for them.

2~3m isn't much if it means people are being saved because of the extra energy though. I think they are also doing this so people will have less of an incentive to be playing online games during a state of emergency. I wonder if other JP companies are going to do the same thing.

[Dazusu]

Surprising. Not necessary but a nice gesture by SE. On a side note, can we finally say that this proves servers are in Japan and not in Cali. XD.

Traceroute could have told you that years ago.

[Kaisha]

The optimist says it's a "Thanks for putting up with our shit" for the month since we'll likely get even more downtime after the servers are back up since the major update will be out as well.

The pessimist in me says I'll either get double-billed the following month, or that SE will remember that I still have $30 in Abyssea add-ons to pay them come the next fee cycle.

[Sym]

I don't think SE flat out said it would be up to a month.... but consiering they did just have two nuclear plants go poof (one of them for good since they are dumping sea water into it) the odds of it being down more than just 1 week due to power problems isn't much of a stretch. I wouldn't be surprised if they were indeed down for the better part of a month. Considering starting tomorrow in all of tokyo and several other prefectures as well they are having mandatory 3hr power outage every day to continue until further notice.

[Burningthought]

The optimist says it's a "Thanks for putting up with our shit" for the month since we'll likely get even more downtime after the servers are back up since the major update will be out as well.

The pessimist in me says I'll either get double-billed the following month, or that SE will remember that I still have $30 in Abyssea add-ons to pay them come the next fee cycle.

At least you'll get your ass some stones on the down time.

[Toxictaru]

Not necessarily true. There is always an increase in demand when a situation like this happens. Couple that with having to bring plants back online and running to capacity, it takes a while. The first few days always have increased loads, and demand typically declines steadily in the days after. While 2 plants are indeed offline indefinitely, the infrastructure should be set up to handle the fact that they are offline, it is just a matter of figuring out the best way to do it.

[Draylo]

No you don't, the servers are down so everything stops functioning.

[Jememy]

Fenrir is holding a silent protest to all earthquakes.
http://img560.imageshack.us/i/ffxi20110313013558.png/

[Spira]

Wow they will lose like 2~3m for giving that month off ;x guess thats pocket change for them.

its social responsibility.

keeping their servers up so other people can have fun, and they can make money is kinda frivolous considering other people might need the power for stuff like lights, cooking and other parts of their basic everyday lives

[Draylo]

They don't have to give the month off though, unless they plan to keep the servers down past march.

[Francisco]

Oh fine... I'll be the one to do it...

SE Lackey: Sir, horrible news about the earthquake!

Tanaka: What is it? Is Sundi trapped under rubble? Is my sweet old momma hurt? Is my dog dead? Out with it!!!

SE Lackey: Worse! Due to the decreased Japanese player population in abyssea, NA players have been occasionally claiming Amun, Gukamutz, Tunga and Heqet uncontested.

Tanaka: SHUT IT DOWN!!!

[Gokulo]

its social responsibility.

keeping their servers up so other people can have fun, and they can make money is kinda frivolous considering other people might need the power for stuff like lights, cooking and other parts of their basic everyday lives

Servers will be down in March, but they won't charge people for playing in April, so he wasn't talking about what you are. Shutting the servers down now is of course a good idea, but I personally wouldn't mind paying normally in April - S-E could use any money they can get ^^; But I can see masses raging about their lost playtime.

[Spira]

you can consider that a bonus to consumers. technically they save a bit on electricity by keeping the servers down, but more importantly they're also sending the message that they're not taking this as an opportunity to earn profit.

[Draylo]

Oh fine... I'll be the one to do it...

SE Lackey: Sir, horrible news about the earthquake!

Tanaka: What is it? Is Sundi trapped under rubble? Is my sweet old momma hurt? Is my dog dead? Out with it!!!

SE Lackey: Worse! Due to the decreased Japanese player population in abyssea, NA players have been occasionally claiming Amun, Gukamutz, Tunga and Heqet uncontested.

Tanaka: SHUT IT DOWN!!!

lol

[Spira]

Servers will be down in March, but they won't charge people for playing in April, so he wasn't talking about what you are. Shutting the servers down now is of course a good idea, but I personally wouldn't mind paying normally in April - S-E could use any money they can get ^^; But I can see masses raging about their lost playtime.

they've already billed march anyway, so from a practical point of view its a lot easier to waive a subsequent month than refund the current.

[Gokulo]

True. I didn't reactivate in March because of some time problems and other stuff so that's even better for me I guess ^^;