A rumor has made its way through the tubes that early copies of Final Fantasy XIII, which goes on sale December 17th, may contain "Campaign Codes" related to Final Fantasy XIV. Unfortunately, there are no details as to what the codes may activate. Early speculation leans towards either a slot in the beta, one of the promised "focus groups" or perhaps just some special item.  However, any high hopes should be kept in check until more details emerge.

Still, while the purpose is unclear, there is some precedent for such an offer. Along with the recently released 4 Warriors of Light Final Fantasy Gaiden, Square Enix is running a campaign for early buyers.  If one purchases a copy and enters a special code on the Square Enix Members site before November 8th, they are eligible to receive a special Dragon Standee, pictured left.

Being a fan of anything from Square Enix with two or more F's in the title, I picked up this DS cart on release day and entered my code online.  There are a few things I noticed along the way that speak well for this rumor.  First, is the item is used as a display in stores and cannot be obtained in any other way.  We know Square Enix is willing to provide unqiue items beyond what are offered by trading points in their Members Store.  Second, the process entailed filling out a survey in which it was indicated there would be future "early purchase" bonuses. 

We'll have to wait and see if they do in fact adopt the early purchase campaign to Final Fantasy XIII and what prizes they have in store.  Maybe I shouldn't have checked "did not affect my purchasing decision" on that survey...

Tip o' the Taj to FF14-FAN for the info.

Buy Final Fantasy XIII to Get FF XIV Contents Key

2009/11/06 FF13初回特典にFF14のキャンペーンコードが同封

12月17日発売のファイナルファンタジーXIII の初回特典にFFXIVの「キャンペーンコード」が同封されるとネット上で騒がれている。この「キャンペーンコード」がベータテストへの応募券なのか、限定アイテム引き換え券なのか、1ヶ月無料券なのか、又はデベロップ版ダウンロードコードなのかは不明。ファイナルファンタジーXIIIの12月17日発売は日本のみのため、日本のファンには朗報か。尚、海外のFF13発売は2010年4月中旬予定。

問題の画像

(以下追記記事)
先ほどお伝えした「キャンペーンコード」ですが、FF11のサービス内でも多々使われており、もしそれと同様の物だと仮定するならば、FF11用語辞典によるとこれはイベントや物品販売などで入手した「キャンペーンコード」を使用し、希望のキャラクターでキャンペーン登録を行うことで、ゲーム内でアイテムなどの特典を受け取ることができるサービスである。ベータテストは全地域(全世界)で行うとインタビューで公言されている為、日本のみにベータ応募券を入手できるチャンスがあるとは考えにくい。しかし仮にベータ応募コードだったとすると、スクウエアエニックスにとっては非常に思い切った判断であると言える。続報に期待。

Just to get everyone on the same page:

• Early copies of Final Fantasy XIII will contain a "Campaign Code" for use with Final Fantasy XIV


• This code will allow you to receive a "secret in-game item"


• To activate the code, you must purchase and register a copy of Final Fantasy XIV

Glass half full: Foreign players will be getting a separate campaign in their FFXIII copies?

Or maybe both are true.  We'll let you know once we can get some clarification so eager importers don't end up empty handed.

As we all know now, anxious Final Fantasy XIV fans can finally sign up for a chance to play the first closed beta version on PC.  Meanwhile, in Japan, people were lining up to get their hands on copies of Final Fantasy XIII, which was rumored to contain a chance to enter the upcoming Playstation 3 beta version.

So, how did that turn out?

Discuss this in the ZAM forums.

It's 9:45am on December 17th, and I'm here outside of GEO, one of the largest game store chains in Japan.  I have my pre-order slip all ready to go, and the store should open in about 15 minutes.

The pre-order slip was purchased back when The Four Warriors of Light: Final Fantasy Gaiden came out, which turned out to be a pretty good game.  Hopefully they'll release it overseas within the next year.

As a fair number of people began to show up, the store staff began issuing numbers.  These were for an "at-the-door" reservation system, so you didn't need to use it if you had already pre-ordered.  The tickets were only good at that one particular store, and only until noon that day.

One pleasant surprise was that the game turned out to be "only" 7,770 yen instead of the widely reported 9,240 yen.  Price didn't seem to phase many of the other patrons though, since I saw a lot of Special Edition Lightning PS3s being happily snapped up.  Stacks of strategy guides were readily available at the counter as well, but did not prove to be as popular.  

Guides these days are somewhat irritating though.  The ones that are sold close to the game's release are only "starter guides" and contain basic information about the game and a walk-through that stops around halfway.  Most of the game's secrets are still left secret.  You have to wait a couple weeks to a month to see the real guides start to hit the shelves.  Usually, it's best just to search for a wiki if you get stuck.

Anyway, back on track.  We have Final Fantasy XIII in hand, so let's see what the deal is with this Campaign Code.

On a side note, I can't stand that plastic wrap stuff.  You always have to keep picking and picking at that little part at the top trying to get your fingernail under there.  And then when you manage to pull the plastic up, you only get a tiny little piece off, and that just makes it harder.  People always tell me to open from the bottom, like that will do any good.

Well, whatever.  I'm going to get my Campaign Code one way or another.

OK, so now we're inside the box, and we have the game disc, manual, Square Enix point card... hopefully the Campaign Code slip is in here somewhere.

Found it!  It states that public service will start in 2010, and to visit http://jp.finalfantasyxiv.com for the newest information.

The back is just like we previously saw in the leaked picture.  In addition to unlocking a "secret item" in Final Fantasy XIV, the Campaign Code is also used to enter a lottery for spaces in the Playstation 3 version of the beta.  You need the Campaign Code for both of these purposes, so even after signing up, you will want to put this in a safe place.

The beta sign-up itself was fairly similar to the US version, with a few differences.  In the Japanese one, there is a choice between PC or PS3 beta, with the latter requiring the code.  One thing that would have been nice was a confirmation that you entered your code correctly -- it seems to just send along whatever you type in regardless of whether you screw up.

Like the US version, the Japanese beta form also asks if you work in the gaming industry of have any fan sites.  Hopefully this will not work against an applicant since the rules state you cannot reveal any information gleaned about the development of Final Fantasy XIV when playing the beta.

There have been a several skeptics recently, myself included, that were wondering what Square Enix had planned for the beta, thinking they might be overlooking their foreign audience.  Well, I have to say I am pleasantly surprised with how they have handled the initiation of their first closed beta so far.  

For the time being though, it seems that Japanese players and foreign players will be somewhat segregated, although it may just be too early in development to dump everyone into the same Eorzea all at once.  Not to mention, gaming systems like Playstation 3 are far more popular than PCs, so a PC-only beta in Japan would not make as much sense.

Anyway, it's great to see the fans happy again.  We had a bit of the drought regarding Final Fantasy XIV info, but Square Enix has brought an early Christmas present to players around the world.  Now that I'm all signed up, I might as well pop in Final Fantasy XIII and check it out.

See you in Eorzea!

Yutori wrote:

Beta code for PS3 only.
Only valid if you register for the Japanese version.
The part where you select Japanese / NA / EU others.

If you sign for Japanese, n you select Ps3, it will ask you for code.

Don't
think where you register from matters.. so long you got the japanese
game version , japanese account, the code will work.

Snipewolf wrote:

I probably play through this in a week or something and sell it off 2nd hand. But so far I feel White knight chronicles slighly better. FFXIII kinda abit too linear for first 3 chapters.