The re-release of the PC version of Final Fantasy VII that was announced back in early July was released on Square-Enix’s online store for $11.99 a few hours ago. This was followed by the game being suddenly yanked from the service a few hours later.
Going by the messages currently found in the technical support section on Square-Enix’s forum, there seems to be a multitude of issues with the game’s built-in DRM, which uses the often-criticized SecuROM. According to one user:
“After installation, it asks you to enter your serial for it to connect and unlock the game for you. I entered my serial, it connected to the license server, and it tells me my activation failed and my serial was invalid. I did it manually with my serial and unlock code, and still nothing. I paid $12.70 for something that doesn’t work. Perhaps you could flip the ‘on’ switch, SE? Thanks”
Sounds like a Square-Enix employee may have been influenced under a ‘Haste’ spell and got a little ahead of his or herself. We’ll keep you updated as the situation develops further.