Update (14 April 2020):

Only several days after announcing that they will be issuing refunds to everyone that was affected by the Final Fantasy VII Remake language version issue, PlayStation Asia has confirmed that they have given out the refunds.

I can personally confirm that this is true, as they have notified me via the PS4 System Notifications, and I have checked my PSN Wallet, which is now filled with the same amount of money I paid for the Chinese/Korean version of the Final Fantasy VII Remake Digital Deluxe version.

If you faced language issues for Final Fantasy VII Remake and did not receive a refund back to your PSN Wallet, or are still facing language issues, please reach out to our customer service (Via our Call Hotline or our Facebook Inbox) (2/3)

— PlayStation Asia (@PlayStationAsia) April 14, 2020

That said, if you still haven’t received your refund, or you’re one of the ones who don’t automatically qualify for a refund, you should call PlayStation Asia Contact Support (from your respective countries listed below).

• Hong Kong https://asia.playstation.com/cht-hk/support/
• Taiwan https://asia.playstation.com/cht-tw/support/
• Singapore https://asia.playstation.com/en-sg/support/
• Malaysia https://asia.playstation.com/en-my/support/
• Thailand https://asia.playstation.com/en-th/support/
• Indonesia https://asia.playstation.com/en-id/support/
• Korea https://asia.playstation.com/ko-kr/support/

Kudos to PlayStation Asia for taking swift action, though I did still have to initially purchase the same game twice and play a day later than everyone else.

Update (11 April 2020):

Only one day after publicly acknowledging the problem, PlayStation Asia has announced that they have already identified that were affected by the Final Fantasy VII Remake language version issue, and they will be issuing refunds to all the victims.

We will be updating the affected customers for the arrangement via our owned channels (Social, Website), as well as via PS4 System Notifications.

We apologize once again for the frustration caused.

FAQhttps://t.co/mT1Nsy1xEG (2/2)

— PlayStation Asia (@PlayStationAsia) April 11, 2020

I can personally confirm that this is true, as they have contacted and notified the victims of this issue individually (I just received a notification from PlayStation Asia myself). They have also published a FAQ on the matter, clarifying that no further action is required on the victim’s part (you don’t need to call Contact Support anymore) and that victims will be updated of their refunds via PS4 System Notifications.

However, this automatic refund policy will only apply to those who pre-ordered the Chinese/Korean version of the Final Fantasy VII Remake before 3pm JST on 8 April 2020 (or 2pm GMT+8 for the affected countries) on the Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand PlayStation Stores.

For example, I pre-ordered the game on 7 April 2020, so I automatically qualify for the refund. As for those who ‘accidentally’ purchased the Chinese/Korean version of the Final Fantasy VII Remake after that time and date, you will need to call PlayStation Asia Contact Support (from your respective countries listed below).

• Hong Kong https://asia.playstation.com/cht-hk/support/
• Taiwan https://asia.playstation.com/cht-tw/support/
• Singapore https://asia.playstation.com/en-sg/support/
• Malaysia https://asia.playstation.com/en-my/support/
• Thailand https://asia.playstation.com/en-th/support/
• Indonesia https://asia.playstation.com/en-id/support/
• Korea https://asia.playstation.com/ko-kr/support/

If you want to play the Final Fantasy VII Remake as soon as possible, don’t worry. You can purchase the correct English version now, and still be refunded for the Chinese/Korean version.

I did the same thing, though it’s unclear when exactly PlayStation Asia will be giving out the refunds (at the time of writing), so you will have to spend an additional RM243 or RM354 right now for the standard or digital deluxe version, respectively.

Original story:

There I was, eagerly waiting for the clock to strike midnight on 9 April 2020 and anticipating the release of the Final Fantasy VII Remake. As I booted up the game, what popped up onscreen (to my absolute horror) was the main menu completely in Chinese, instead of English. I immediately went to the PlayStation Store to confirm my worst fears; I had somehow pre-ordered the Chinese/Korean version of the game, which I have never even “accidentally” done in my life.

Now, it’s clear that I wasn’t the only one afflicted by this issue, nor was it simply a mistake on my part. Many gamers have complained about the same problem online. How is this problem affecting so many people?

It turns out that other gamers (including me) pre-ordered Final Fantasy VII Remake from the What’s Front/Featured tab of the PlayStation Store. There was no clear indication or explicit mention that this was, in fact, the Chinese/Korean version of the game. In all my previous experiences of pre-ordering games on PSN, the default version that’s usually featured is the English version.

Most of us only discovered that we have the Chinese/Korean version when we started playing it at launch (which was already too late), or when we checked the email receipt for the game.

PlayStation Asia finally responded to the issue earlier today, posting that they’re actively looking to solve the issue of the Final Fantasy VII Remake language version error.

We are actively looking into finding the best solution and we aim to give one as soon as we can. (2/2)

— PlayStation Asia (@PlayStationAsia) April 10, 2020

Gamers are requesting for refunds or at least a language patch of some kind to allow changing to English. They also reportedly called the PlayStation Asia Contact Support number to no avail, as no one could seemingly be reached.

Can i ask for refund please?

— Joseph Gunawan (@Josephgunawan_) April 10, 2020

No, the issue is they trick you into it by putting it on the Whats Hot/Front of the Store WITH NO INDICATION THAT IT IS CHINESE/KOREAN. This is false adverstising and horrible business practice. its. a trick

I have been trying to contact through the phone with no luck at all.

— OBM (@obm88) April 10, 2020

The pre order page on the ps store never mention about the language of the game we purchase

— Joseph Gunawan (@Josephgunawan_) April 10, 2020

What a disgraceful blunder. Thousands of fans were waiting for this moment to be spoiled by your ineptitude. You punished the loyal fans who pre-ordered as soon as it became available and did not bother to rectify before launch. Shame on you!

— Shim Jan Ting (@sjanting) April 10, 2020

It’s unclear at this point what action the folks at PlayStation Asia will take to solve the issue, either by offering full refunds or somehow swapping the games with the English version. I don’t think an English language patch would be a feasible fix considering how the PSN system works, but it’s still potentially possible.

It was extremely disappointing to find out that I couldn’t play the game last night, especially after waiting so long and spending quite a sum of money on it. The standard version of Final Fantasy VII Remake costs RM243, while the Digital Deluxe version costs an even more expensive RM354.

Final Fantasy VII Remake is out now for PS4. Check out our review of the game here to tide you over while you’re waiting for a fix from PlayStation Asia to this issue.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhMfztIJHwc&w=560&h=315]