It should have launched free to play, the game is just flat out not good enough to warrant paying every month. If free, this could have developed a decent sized community. As it is, it's going to bleed players
The fact that they've already started pre-purchasing means that the clock is ticking on when they have to release a product, (by law they can't hold the money indefinately). That being said, June 28 seems really aggressive. My guess all along has been a July/August launch
The only reason why some people think subscription games are on the way out is because Guild Wars 2 is free to play. Funny thing is: we had this same conversation when the original Guild Wars came out, and how did that end? Oh yeah, we're still paying $15 for the premium MMO's. Things won't change. Going free for an MMO is a last grasp to try and maintain cash flow, but it's only a short term solution.
I'm tired of publishers whining about "secondhand sales" and doing their best to derail the industry. If I sell my truck, General Motors doesn't get a cut just because of a logo on the grille, and if I sell my home, the contractor doesn't pocket any money just because he built it. Once a sale is final, the publisher has my money and I have the right to do what I want with my game copy. I go out of my way to avoid digital downloads all it does is limit my future use of the product I legally purchased
This just goes to show that the differences between the two consoles is slight, and really isn't worth arguing over. Yet we'll see the fanboys argue over it anyway. It looks like this gen is going to be a stalemate.
northArrow's comments