7 character slots @ EUFanDay

[DrakeWurrum]

One advantage arenanet does have is the lack of monthly. So you don't actually lose out that much by buying at release, other then potential to look for a discount a few months down the road once the hype is gone and boxes on the shelves need to be moved to make room for new games.

So once you buy, you pretty much can play whenever. It's not like with SWTOR where those who bought at release were literally screwed. You either pay monthly for a "privilege" of waiting for the game to get fixed, or you quit and cannot play the game any more.

A monthly subscription doesn't give anybody any kind of "deserved" treatment. People pay subscription for access to the game and nothing more.

The lack of a subscription, in the case of ArenaNet, gives them more incentive to release a complete game. Sure, they can patch it. But isn't that the approach SWTOR took? And look how it now has the reputation of being a very shoddily put-together game.

ANet, if they want to get a reputation for a quality product, will have to release their game in as flawless a state as they possibly can, in order to ensure that people will be more than willing to purchase future expansions/campaigns for GW2.


Example: I bought the original Guild Wars 1. I could still, any time I want, log in to play it, right?
Except I don't really like Guild Wars 1. It's not a bad game, it just doesn't appeal to me, and I don't really enjoy the mechanics of it.
So they're not getting my money for any of the campaigns.

[Lucky_]

I get a feeling that you missed my point. I'm not saying it's a "get out of making a proper game free" card. I'm saying that it gives them significantly more leeway with early release design problems and bugs.

Perhaps an example will serve better to explain the angle I was going after.

1a. I buy SWTOR at release. I pay 15 mothly. Game isn't fixed to work at reasonable levels until 1.x, several months later. I paid several months worth of monthly for a half-broken game. I feel like I overpaid as I paid more then 1b for same product.
1b. I buy SWTOR after 1.x patch that fixed most problems and delivers a good game. I paid much less then guy in 1a, and I feel superior to him because I didn't really miss on anything.

2a. I buy GW2 at release, and it feels like an unfinished game because of [reasons]. I do not feel inferior to 2b because we both paid the same amount of money.
2b. I buy GW2 after patch 1.x that fixed [reasons] and delivered a good game. I do not feel like I overpaid because I paid just as much as 2a.


There are many other facets to the argument, but in this particular one, GW2's model allows for more leeway for having a bad game at release provided it's fixed later on.

[Squirrelbanes]

Five was perfect for beginnings. 1 for each race. Not too many or too few.
I also think it would have been testing buying slots.

[DrakeWurrum]

I also think it would have been testing buying slots.

Essentially what I said. :3

[Squirrelbanes]

Essentially what I said. :3

Skipped 2 pages sowee 2 days away....there's a lot to catch up on!