Cata Release Time

[mmorpg]

the smartest way would be to release and open servers at the exact same time, release 12:00 one timezone and the same time the other timezone just that it has to release exactly the same time(man my idea is hard explain would be easier to show but i aint got no video camera)

[gruszy]

With the new digital pre-sale option for buying the game, I can't see why they couldn't keep a 12:01 EST release/start and just allow people on the west coast to use that option, meaning that they'd get to start play at 9:01, but it would mean everyone still starts at the same time.

I myself have no intention of going for a server first because I have to work, but with the digital pre-sale, I'd think any west coast person going for a server first would be using this option because to go to the store, buy the game, go home, install, and start playing means they are still going to lose an hour or more to the rest of the time zones just because the other time zones will already be home and ready to play at 12:01 while they are getting their game.

[Koto_and_Juri]

the smartest way would be to release and open servers at the exact same time, release 12:00 one timezone and the same time the other timezone just that it has to release exactly the same time(man my idea is hard explain would be easier to show but i aint got no video camera)

As long as the servers are up at the same time, it doesn't particularly matter when the actual games are distributed. It has been a set tradition for many stores to hold midnight release events.

With the new digital pre-sale option for buying the game, I can't see why they couldn't keep a 12:01 EST release/start and just allow people on the west coast to use that option, meaning that they'd get to start play at 9:01, but it would mean everyone still starts at the same time.

I myself have no intention of going for a server first because I have to work, but with the digital pre-sale, I'd think any west coast person going for a server first would be using this option because to go to the store, buy the game, go home, install, and start playing means they are still going to lose an hour or more to the rest of the time zones just because the other time zones will already be home and ready to play at 12:01 while they are getting their game.

I would like this suggestion but for a few things. As is known, the release date is 12/7/10, not 12/6/10 at 9pm. Your suggestion is unfair to some as well. There are still some that do not have access to a credit/debit card of their own and would like to go for the achievements. It would be unwise to penalize the younger of the players because they cannot use digital presale.

[spennyy]

all in all...i think they should bump it up PST time cuz 3 am EST just sucks.

[Kelekona]

As long as the servers are up at the same time, it doesn't particularly matter when the actual games are distributed. It has been a set tradition for many stores to hold midnight release events.


I would like this suggestion but for a few things. As is known, the release date is 12/7/10, not 12/6/10 at 9pm. Your suggestion is unfair to some as well. There are still some that do not have access to a credit/debit card of their own and would like to go for the achievements. It would be unwise to penalize the younger of the players because they cannot use digital presale.

If they hadn't screwed up and made the release date the 6th, then this would be a great idea.

[Hanto]

To expect everything in life to be fair is crazy, but when I see a logical, fair way to change/handle something, and its not being used--then yes, i expect it to be fair when its so simple.

It's not logical or fair. People in different time zones are not allocated to their specific time zone's servers, they are all over the place. Just as what happened with WotLK, east coast players had a 1-hour advantage or more to those of other time zones to get realm firsts and so on. No doubt whole guilds of people on the east coast probably worked on getting Naxx down before other people due to this advantage (on EST servers or not). How is that fair? Blizz is handling the issue properly and fairly. Be fortunate you aren't one of the people waiting for the UPS/FedEx truck to show up the next day with their CE copy or pre-ordered Amazon copy.

[Nicerotas]

I'll be honest, I don't see why it really matters. I mean what is three hours? Two months from now after this expansion what are those three hours going to do of anyone?

[Koto_and_Juri]

If they hadn't screwed up and made the release date the 6th, then this would be a great idea.

It seems to me that you are one of those people that would complain if a bomb leveled LA at midnight because you'd have people calling you at 3am(EST) telling you to turn your tv on to the live events. Blizzard is based in the Pacific Time Zone, and they are going to make their releases based on that.

[Kelekona]

Obviously, 2 more west coasters, so you don't care how it affects east coasters.

[Silentshank]

i live on the east coast and this is totally fine with me because i am going to my local gamestop to buy it and who knows how long i will be there after i get it. so i have 3 hours to do whatever. i dont mind one bit.

[gruszy]

I would like this suggestion but for a few things. As is known, the release date is 12/7/10, not 12/6/10 at 9pm. Your suggestion is unfair to some as well. There are still some that do not have access to a credit/debit card of their own and would like to go for the achievements. It would be unwise to penalize the younger of the players because they cannot use digital presale.

This really wouldn't change the release date for the actual hard copy of the game, it just makes the game playable earlier, which was possible for the other expansions as well. I had people in my guild on the west coast who had friends on the east coast buy their copy and give them the code over the phone, meaning they started playing at 12 est even though they lived on the west coast.

And I don't have any numbers, but I'd think that the majority of players going for server firsts, have a debit/credit card of some form to use, be it their own or their parents, they still have one. And I usually don't see many young kids going for server firsts, it is usually 16+ from my experience on my servers for the last 2 expansions.

[Simca]

I live on the east coast and I'm fine with it.

As for your suggestion on how to fix it... that wouldn't work. The release date is the 7th, not the 6th. You -could- have the east coast stores start selling the game at 3 a.m., and the CST stores at 2 a.m., etc., but I think you would likely complain about that solution too because -you- have a personal problem with 3 a.m. vs midnight.

The fact is that 3 a.m. is better for some people than midnight and worse for others. They will never make everyone happy and they realize it.

However, they can and did make things more fair this year and I welcome it.

This really wouldn't change the release date for the actual hard copy of the game, it just makes the game playable earlier, which was possible for the other expansions as well. I had people in my guild on the west coast who had friends on the east coast buy their copy and give them the code over the phone, meaning they started playing at 12 est even though they lived on the west coast.

And I don't have any numbers, but I'd think that the majority of players going for server firsts, have a debit/credit card of some form to use, be it their own or their parents, they still have one. And I usually don't see many young kids going for server firsts, it is usually 16+ from my experience on my servers for the last 2 expansions.

There's a difference between giving a code unofficially over a telephone and -officially- having all stores selling the game do it early.

A MASSIVE difference.

Giving a code over the telephone has nothing to do with a release date. Certain stores in certain timezones having different release dates than other stores is a retail nightmare.

[Kelekona]

They made things more fair for anyone that lives farther west.

[Chrysia]

Obviously, 2 more west coasters, so you don't care how it affects east coasters.

I live in the Central time zone, and I think you're a crybaby honestly. You have a job, so this affects you because you need to sleep, right? So why not just purchase Cataclysm after work, instead of losing tons of sleep, and being tired, irritable, and an inefficient worker the next day? Stop acting like a crybaby because Blizzard is trying to make it more fair to the hardcore achievement whores, the people who are really affected by this move, not those of us who just want to play an hour or two to see some of the new stuff. That new stuff will still be there the next day, those achievements might not.

[Simca]

They made things more fair for anyone that lives farther west.

Things are still equally fair for the majority of east coasters.

Just because -you- have problems with a 3 a.m. server launch doesn't mean the majority of people do.

[Koto_and_Juri]

I live on the east coast and I'm fine with it.

As for your suggestion on how to fix it... that wouldn't work. The release date is the 7th, not the 6th. You -could- have the east coast stores start selling the game at 3 a.m., and the CST stores at 2 a.m., etc., but I think you would likely complain about that solution too because -you- have a personal problem with 3 a.m. vs midnight.

The fact is that 3 a.m. is better for some people than midnight and worse for others. They will never make everyone happy and they realize it.

However, they can and did make things more fair this year and I welcome it.



There's a difference between giving a code unofficially over a telephone and -officially- having all stores selling the game do it early.

A MASSIVE difference.

Giving a code over the telephone has nothing to do with a release date. Certain stores in certain timezones having different release dates than other stores is a retail nightmare.

The main reason they wouldn't do as mentioned in paragraph 2 is that noone wants to hold a release event at 3am. Seriously.

[Simca]

The main reason they wouldn't do as mentioned in paragraph 2 is that noone wants to hold a release event at 3am. Seriously.

That and retail stores don't do variable time-delayed releases anyway.

I was just countering his argument with one in the opposite direction.

[Elementlawl]

"Hi I'm from the East coast and I'm going to complain because they're deciding to make it equal for everyone instead of giving us a 3 hour head-start for a 4th time in a row."

Q-Fucking-Q

[Kelekona]

It's amazing how a logical discussion on how the release dates weren't fair, and this change didn't change anything, went from every person that posts here that lives on the west coast telling everyone on the east coast to shut up. This isn't a hard concept to understand : West coast had to wait 3 hours from when the game was released to play, and now east coast has to wait 3 hours to play from when the game is released. Instead of of the east coast having an advantage by playing earlier...they get to sit around and wait 3 hours instead. Everyone gets to start at the same time, but instead of releasing the game earlier, they bring servers up later for the entire country because the west coast couldn't get their achievements. Yea, thats not fair to anyone on the east coast. I'm in the middle of the country, so I had to wait until after east coast anyways and I still believe this is a wrong way to do it.

[Chrysia]

It's amazing how a logical discussion on how the release dates weren't fair, and this change didn't change anything, went from every person that posts here that lives on the west coast telling everyone on the east coast to shut up. This isn't a hard concept to understand : West coast had to wait 3 hours from when the game was released to play, and now east coast has to wait 3 hours to play from when the game is released. Instead of of the east coast having an advantage by playing earlier...they get to sit around and wait 3 hours instead. Everyone gets to start at the same time, but instead of releasing the game earlier, they bring servers up later for the entire country because the west coast couldn't get their achievements. Yea, thats not fair to anyone on the east coast. I'm in the middle of the country, so I had to wait until after east coast anyways and I still believe this is a wrong way to do it.

Again, the east coast achievement whores aren't really effected by this, you know why? Because the people SERIOUSLY going after those achievements took those days off. The only effect it has is makes everyone start at the same time. That means that non-achievement seekers can't make worgen or goblins until the next day. It's perfectly fair, it just means you have to wait a bit, it's not the end of the fucking universe.