[Resolved] Amazon cheated DOA5LR Pre-order customers.

[The Enforcer]

[Resolved] Contacting 'actual' Customer Support over the phone did the trick. They submitted a request and within a couple of hours, I received the code. I would highly advise this over using the email method.
~Thanks DOAN

Original Post

Spoiler

After numerous communications with Amazon, I have reached a definite response that Pre-orders are only valid when placed between Feb 11 & Feb 16th. I have only so many words to express how livid I am at this situation. Since I have seen other members here mention not receiving their pre-order bonus, I thought it may be helpful to consolidate similar issues and find out how this can be resolved.

I have two objectives

1) Request from @Mr. Wah or any of you in contact with Team Ninja any ideas on how this can be addressed.

2) Suggest this community restrict future purchases from Amazon pertaining to pre-orders or suggest Team Ninja discontinue offering exclusives to Amazon based on how this was handled.

Word of pre-order exclusive content through Amazon was revealed as far back as October of 2014. I continued to wait to pre-order to ensure that Team Ninja verified these exclusives. Once they did I pre-ordered the game on January 16th. However, the pre-order bonus did not post until much later.

Reference: http://gematsu.com/2014/10/dead-alive-5-last-round-release-date-announced

Once release date rolled around, I received notification of the game shipping, slated to arrive by the 20th. It arrived on the 18th, and I received no bonus code or email. My first correspondence with Amazon yielded only a message saying I would receive an email around the 20th, or a day after my game arrives.



19th, No Email. Contact Amazon again. This time I receive a message stating that because I pre-ordered the game BEFORE the promotional period I would not be getting a code. All I would receive was a partial refund.



I replied again stating my aggravation with this policy and stated that I would be expecting a code or a full refund. I again received another message stating that the code could not be sent since I pre-ordered the game before the period.



This practice is utter garbage. It has been common practice for years within the gaming industry to accept pre-orders even before exclusives have been announced and then to honor them up until the release date. Developers benefit from this to ascertain metrics regarding potential sales. The tactic of using exclusives is in the interest of the seller. What benefit is this practice to the developer if marketing gain is only made available one week prior to the release.

Hopefully, others who have run into this issue with Amazon can sound off so that Team Ninja knows what has been going on. Understandably, content offered is only additional and likely to be released after 90 days, but for those who altered their buying decisions based on content choice only to receive nothing is poor taste on Amazon's part. They received the full benefits of advertising through exclusives from Team Ninja and other news sites. If they are unable to honor convential pre-order bonuses, they have no business offering exclusive content. GameStop & BestBuy had no problem with issuing their pre-order bonuses, and same for other online retailers from what I've seen based on pictures posted here.

Thank you to those who endured reading this, and to those who can help prep this in a way that might make it into Team Ninja's hands. I know that I can contact Tom or Tani directly, but I thought I'd check feedback here first since they likely have larger problems via Xbox crashing & DLC they are probably swamped with at the moment.

** This pertains to Amazon US for the PS4 version of Dead or Alive 5 Last Round

 

[deathofaninja]

The preorder DLC was advertised long before the 11th...

 

[The Enforcer]

The preorder DLC was advertised long before the 11th...

Advertised by Team Ninja & outlets yes, but Amazon still didn't have it attached to the product even when I had purchased it in January. They were extremely late in posting it. I recall seeing tweets that Team Ninja had to check into the matter.

 

[deathofaninja]

What's really interesting is that I've never gotten bad customer service from Amazon; if I've had a problem they have fixed it. What I would do is call their customer service number instead so you can get real results.

 

[CyberEvil]

That's purely on Amazon. Every other vendor came through and it's up to the outlets to distribute as they see fit.

 

[The Enforcer]

Thanks, I'll try that one last time before sending this off to TN. Between here and DOAW I saw other members mention not receiving anything from Amazon. I suspect that their computer systems didn't allocate the bonus to all those who ordered the game before they updated the product information which would support what these chuckle heads are telling me.

 

[Split Infinity]

I received very different response from TC. Like TC, I didn't get my promotion code, and have e-mailed them about it. In return e-mail Amazon stated they ran out of promotion codes, and would get new batch within 2-4 business days.

 

[deathofaninja]

Yeah, so Enforcer got bad customer service. That's what I figured unfortunately.

 

[The Enforcer]

I received very different response from TC. Like TC, I didn't get my promotion code, and have e-mailed them about it. In return e-mail Amazon stated they ran out of promotion codes, and would get new batch within 2-4 business days.

I remember seeing you mention you didn't get one with your video. Was your correspondence all through email with them? I would have been less irritated with them if they could have a response like they sent you, but it seems the customer service reps I spoke with were all farmed out with limited understanding of the situation or something.

 

[Split Infinity]

Enforcer, yep, I was corresponding with e-mail only. In my experience that way is better, cos the rep can take his time in researching the matter, rather than scrambling for info when he's on phone or live chat with you.

 

[The Enforcer]

Enforcer, yep, I was corresponding with e-mail only. In my experience that way is better, cos the rep can take his time in researching the matter, rather than scrambling for info when he's on phone or live chat with you.

That was my whole thought process as well in addition not having time to do phone calls while working, but apparently the service people I spoke with weren't as motivated. :-/

Just called the regular Customer Service number. The gal submitted a form to the games department, and I'm supposed to be contacted back. By phone or email, I don't know yet.

*** Update ***
Received a code via email a couple of hours later. Split, I would recommend calling them. Seemed to be more useful than doing the email thing.

Thanks again, @deathofaninja

 

[Split Infinity]

I'm a patient guy.=) Plus I'm international, so I don't feel like wasting my quid on a call.

Aaand my amazon code has just arrived, so I'll be heading out to Beach Party with Showstoppers. =D

 

[Star Outlaw]

I also pre-ordered my PS4 copy from Amazon, it just hasn't arrived yet due to really bad weather. Guess I'm going to have to jump through some hoops once it gets here (hopefully today). I'll try email first and then call if I have to.

 

[Matt Ponton]

1) Request from @Mr. Wah or any of you in contact with Team Ninja any ideas on how this can be addressed.

Just wanted to address that there is nothing on Team NINJA's side they can do since they provided the codes to Amazon.

 

[The Enforcer]

Just wanted to address that there is nothing on Team NINJA's side they can do since they provided the codes to Amazon.

In terms of the codes, no, but if a retailer had some form of faulty distribution as a whole after receiving content from the developer, perhaps they could have released the specified content early, or re-issued stuff with proof of purchase. A can of worms, I know, but if Amazon had screwed that up in mass, I would hope a developer would settle a situation like that. Granted that did not occur here, and Amazon fixed the problem, until that point though, it was not ethical to declare ineligibility when TN themselves had marketed said content through various retailers.

 

[Matt Ponton]

Just was saying Amazon was given the codes from what I understand.

 

[Star Outlaw]

Actually turns out I did get the code in my email on the 20th. I don't think I should have been eligible, but whatever. I finally got the game now and all the costumes I want.

 

[The Enforcer]

Actually turns out I did get the code in my email on the 20th. I don't think I should have been eligible, but whatever. I finally got the game now and all the costumes I want.

Anyone who pre-ordered should have been eligible despite some of the mixed feedback I had. In the end it seems like a giant miscommunication in the Customer Service dept. Glad you got yours.

 

[Tyaren]

Had similar happening to me with Amazon Germany. As some might know, the preorder bonus in Germany was a whopping 16 costumes: Ninjas, Aloha, Beach Party and Showstoppers. Sounds almost to good to be true? Yeah, kinda...when no codes had arrived after a few days of the Last Round release, I contacted the customer support by phone and at first they didn't even know of any preorder bonus for the game. After I was able to proof, that there had been indeed a preorder bonus, I was forwarded to someone else, who told me, that they had for some reason not included my order with the preorder bonus and they were going to change that. Then it took two more days and finally my codes arrived via email and luckily worked. I've heard of others, who are still waiting for their codes and of some, whose codes did not work or did only partially work. It was the first and last time I preordered on Amazon. :/