Possible subscription losses in EU?

[Cordain]

I was talking to a friend of mine tonight who has been sucked in the MMORPG world by World of Warcraft. Think what ever you like of the game itself, the customer support and overall management of the game, in EU side as well as in US, has been excellent after the game became a huge success.

Customer support works and there is a feel of connection and dialog between the powers that run the game and the people playing it.

So after seeing the post where a community manager here calls the gamers (who have been waiting this like the second coming for quite some time now) sociopaths and basically mentally ill, he just wondered if i was sure the game was worth getting over waiting for the release of Wrath of the Lich King. I said yes, but didn't say he should consider moving to the US servers.

I'm wondering just how many of those who were unsure of the game, got put out by this whole clusterf of a OB launch. Both by the company trying to run it and the potential customer base acting like idiots..

 

[Spookie]

So after seeing the post where a community manager here calls the gamers (who have been waiting this like the second coming for quite some time now) sociopaths and basically mentally ill

Sorry. I'm a gamer. Don't give me the same label as them.

I don't go round giving CMs death threats because something went tits up and I'm going to miss a majority of a beta which I didn't pay for and will have no effect on the released product.

They aren't gamers they are fucking lunatics! Anyone who takes a game that seriously is very disturbed.

 

[Aada]

I like the game so i'll be subbing i think so far it is worth all the trouble.

 

[Xandax]

I know the handful of people at work who were interested, they are laughing at GOA and most likely will not sub the game now.

Personally - if we get this cluster f. at head start, I too am out of here. Not paying to be a sub par customer and being misled/lied to as GOA have done so far.

 

[Xanthea]

Cancel my pre order yesterday, now waiting for WoW expansion and daoc new server "origin"..

If however i will play WaR in the future for sure it will NOT be on EU server's.

 

[Frosty]

Im dissapointed with how its been run so far. And im sure mythic/ea are embarrassed. But i shall carry on playing euro and see how it goes.

But i do think that the person who insulted the customer base should be warned and made to appoligise.

Although im sure half the customer base would prefur to see a utube clip of him hanging by one testicle

 

[Fink]

Well, I kind of expected an email today and the last time I played DAOC GOA charged me for 3 months after I had cancelled my subscription. There was nothing malicious but it was still a cock up. Their customer service is woeful as well.

I genuinely think they are a bunch of cowboys but to be honest I want to ply the game and so if you want to go running you have to put up with blisters.

 

[Perf]

Cancel my pre order yesterday, now waiting for WoW expansion and daoc new server "origin"..

If however i will play WaR in the future for sure it will NOT be on EU server's.

Bye

 

[caswallawn]

as far as I'm concerned what is happening now isnt a big deal thist same problem happend the day wow launched in europe I got my key in on the first day and a friend took about 24 hours longer to get into the game. so my opinion of everything that is happening now is that its good as it is showing all the weaknesses in the system so up till launch they have a chance to get these systems working for the people actualy paying for the game.

as come on the truth is with a open beta for MMO's is the majority of the people will never get the game or have no intention of getting the game but just want beta and will shout and ball till they get in as to them it is a free game for a while. but the fact is when the game goes live there probly wont be this many people jumping the servers in one go due to time zones, time your at the shop to pick up the game or time the mail comes. the problem here is every1 had the keys sevral days before then they gave an exact time the server would be up so every1 dove on it like a hobo on a steak.

 

[Xandax]

as far as I'm concerned what is happening now isnt a big deal thist same problem happend the day wow launched in europe I got my key in on the first day and a friend took about 24 hours longer to get into the game. so my opinion of everything that is happening now is that its good as it is showing all the weaknesses in the system so up till launch they have a chance to get these systems working for the people actualy paying for the game.

as come on the truth is with a open beta for MMO's is the majority of the people will never get the game or have no intention of getting the game but just want beta and will shout and ball till they get in as to them it is a free game for a while. but the fact is when the game goes live there probly wont be this many people jumping the servers in one go due to time zones, time your at the shop to pick up the game or time the mail comes. the problem here is every1 had the keys sevral days before then they gave an exact time the server would be up so every1 dove on it like a hobo on a steak.

The issue have very little to do with people complaining about beta.
The issue comes with the horrendous planning which makes everybody beta test the account center which should have been up earlier (and tested), and not the game.

 

[dee777]

Cancel my pre order yesterday, now waiting for WoW expansion and daoc new server "origin"..

You really think Mythic will release those?

B2T: I was very disappointed by GOAs performance on sunday, however I planned ahead and had a lot of other stuff to do as I expected them to fail. I logged in every two to three hours to see if anything changed, then moved to do something different. In the end I was able to play from about 23:30 CET, so at least the promise of a sunday start was kept for me.

Given the trouble GOA went thru, I dont believe we will see this kind of crap at headstart, which is all that counts for me, so if there are no more major fukkups I will sub and play the game. GOA will have to climb quite a mountain to regain faith in their competence, but I am not sure if that is one of their priorities. Please note that, if my former assumption is correct, I dont blame them. Its a company that needs to make cash, so they ll do whatever is necessary to help that cause. Fine by me actually.

Bottom line: WAR rokks. It needs more than one fukkup to prevent me playing it. And no, due to latency, timezone and difficulties getting the client with subscription, I dont like to play US servers anymore.

 

[eksdee]

if people are flippant enough to dismiss a game over a beta, then they're kind of person i'd rather not be playing with anyway .

had this debacle been for the live release, however, i would certainly understand it. hopefully this all teaches goa some valuable lessons.*







*disclaimer: but if daoc is anything to go by, probably not xD

 

[crash_614]

See, now I DID pay for open beta access. I got the collectors edition purely to ensure that I could test the game, and find a class that I knew I'd like before release. As things stand, I'm not going to be able to check all of the classes and starting areas, and have enough time to play each one to formulate an opinion.

I feel sorry for Iain and Magnus who have had to bear the brunt of abuse from everyone.

I registered my key over 12 hours ago now, and still haven't received the fabled e-mail of access..

I'm not mad. I'm just disappointed.

 

[Xandax]

if people are flippant enough to dismiss a game over a beta, then they're kind of person i'd rather not be playing with anyway .

had this debacle been for the live release, however, i would certainly understand it. hopefully this all teaches goa some valuable lessons.*







*disclaimer: but if daoc is anything to go by, probably not xD

People don't dismiss the game because of beta.
They dismiss it because of the incompetence of the ones who're running the show.

many people haven't even been able to beta test the game in the open beta they paid to be a part of!!!

 

[eksdee]

*running the beta, at the moment.

 

[MrNadger]

People don't dismiss the game because of beta.
They dismiss it because of the incompetence of the ones who're running the show.

many people haven't even been able to beta test the game in the open beta they paid to be a part of!!!

I don't think people are dismissing the game, they're dismissing the European release and migrating to the US one.

 

[Mumia]

I have been enjoying the game for 2 months now, was in the closed beta, and enjoyed it very much, seeing how it became better with every patch, and I was sure that all the negative talk about goa on the forums was highly overrated. I would have thought they had learned from the Daoc disaster and where ready for the big OB start.
I must say that they have proved every bad prediction made in these forums true, and its still not working yet, and headstart is sunday, where my guess is at least the double amount of players will try to get their keys typed in and get into the war.
I have ordered 2 copies of the CE, one for me and one for my wife, she is still trying to get the betaclient downloaded and has still not gotten any email.
So here is what I am going to do, Ill buy the 2 CE's and put them on the shelf, then I am going to send an email to mythic, and simply ask : who is goa and why are they trying to ruin my mythic game. I am also going to tell them that they have now lost 30 euro's for this month and ask them when they are going to open their own servers in europe. I will repeat this every month until goa is out of the game, and the game is being handled by a company that actually cares for their paying players. This might take a year, but on the bright side most of the bugs and hickups will be out of the game by then.
I hope other will follow my idea, so that at some point someone at mythic will realize that they could be making millions in europe, but they are not because of the incompetence of Goa.
You know, lost revenue is one of the only things that actually can get a company to change its ways.

 

[AnkaVanka]

I have been able to try the US open beta some and I honestly think that I would like to play this game. However, I'm not going to get it before christmas. By that time I'll know if GOA has managed to shape up. If they haven't... well, then I shall consider if I'm yet again to go for US servers. I'd truly rather not due to timezone discrepancies but... If things post launch looks as bad as they do now there's simply no way I'd buy this service, or rather complete lack of service.

 

[Pandemic]

Cancel my pre order yesterday, now waiting for WoW expansion and daoc new server "origin"..

If however i will play WaR in the future for sure it will NOT be on EU server's.

nah mate get into destruction on same server so I can kill you

 

[Lorgar]

I have been enjoying the game for 2 months now, was in the closed beta, and enjoyed it very much, seeing how it became better with every patch, and I was sure that all the negative talk about goa on the forums was highly overrated. I would have thought they had learned from the Daoc disaster and where ready for the big OB start.
I must say that they have proved every bad prediction made in these forums true, and its still not working yet, and headstart is sunday, where my guess is at least the double amount of players will try to get their keys typed in and get into the war.
I have ordered 2 copies of the CE, one for me and one for my wife, she is still trying to get the betaclient downloaded and has still not gotten any email.
So here is what I am going to do, Ill buy the 2 CE's and put them on the shelf, then I am going to send an email to mythic, and simply ask : who is goa and why are they trying to ruin my mythic game. I am also going to tell them that they have now lost 30 euro's for this month and ask them when they are going to open their own servers in europe. I will repeat this every month until goa is out of the game, and the game is being handled by a company that actually cares for their paying players. This might take a year, but on the bright side most of the bugs and hickups will be out of the game by then.
I hope other will follow my idea, so that at some point someone at mythic will realize that they could be making millions in europe, but they are not because of the incompetence of Goa.
You know, lost revenue is one of the only things that actually can get a company to change its ways.

Not going to happen.. people want to play, I want to play!! I am off this week and wanted to see how it plays before I decide to buy, but imo they really really owe the people who paid for their spot and cannot gain access!

I work in the finance sector and customer service is the core of what we do... well next to the cash and probably the best you could do is ask people if they feel they have a concern is to e-mail the person in charge of EA and explain your concern. I know if our MD gets one letter or e-mail he goes nuts.

To be honest I found the post on the WAR Europe site where a director claimed he does not usually speak to gamers very offensive. And if that is the attitude and vision given by a senior member of the company what hope is their for the rest of the staff.

 

[Ogen]

Guys listen op..

EA is more the aware of our problems in EU atm..

Just look at Letter from IainC on Open Beta Situation - Page 68 - Warhammer Forums

The EA bosses allready took actions etc..
OK, GOA aint sacked, and im cool with that tbh in a way. Least that would just delay the process even further. But maybe they just need a few kicks to the grind, and maybe abit of help from the US..

I pray to god this storm blows down soon, and the games launches without problems.

Keep in mind, this is BETA.. Ofc, we arent suppose to test the registration service, but we did. And i guess GoA now knows about the problem, and the seriusnes in it, and does the job right next time.

If not, well then bad for us.. I just hope EA steps up then.

 

[karrion]

Seems to me that allot of people were extremely disappointed by this huge screw-up by GOA. If I were a CEO at Mythic I would be seriously concerned about the state of affairs in Europe.

I know people are saying "its only a beta" and they are correct, it IS only a beta. However this beta release will be scrutinised by EVERYONE on every forum and everyone in the gaming community, including the press.

The gaming press will get hold of this and rip it to shreds. (pretty much the same as we are doing now). Although the majority of beta players will remain when the game launches, it will damage WAR's ability to attract new players that did not pre-order and are waiting for the reviews.

IMO Mythic would be wise to drop GOA and develop their own infrastructure in Europe, This is why Blizzard's service is so great. They don’t rely on anyone else.

Oh and whoever builds a website in flash and expects it to handle massive amounts of traffic needs a serious slap. Whoever developed WAR-Europe.com obviously rides the little-bus to school.

Other than the serious screw-ups GOA have made, I have to say that the game, on first looks seems very impressive. Smooth controls, half-decent graphics and no bugs that I could find (yet) This could save WAR from the fate of LOTRO and AOC.

I was there on the beta for WoW in the US that that was terrible, loot-lag that lasted 10 minutes, server crashes, bugs and lags all over the place. So WAR is already doing better than WoW IMO.

I just hope the world is big enough and the content varied enough to keep players interested for years. THAT is the mark of a truly decent MMO.

 

[Celestra]

I just sent an email mythic/ea, I wonder if I'll get more information from them, but I doubt it. This is what I sent:

Dear Sir/madam

This must be the 1000th email to you to ask what is going on with the EU-warhammer:age of reckoning.
I am a collectors edition customer, and to be completely honest parting with nearly £60 for this game, I expected a bit more than what I'm currently getting. I am hoping that as a paying customer I will get some response to this email from you.

The EU open beta launch has been a complete shambles. Many people are considering returning their pre-orders and playing on the US servers in protest over the company GOA. Surely with such a cock-up of the launch GOA are in breech of their contract for failing to deliver it's promises to yourselves and to us, your customers.

GOA are notoriously known within certain gaming communities as the company that run another MMORPG into the ground for it's lack of customer relations. Why then has EA, a gaming giant, allowed GOA to manage EU-WAR? From posts that I have read on forums, we are told that it's because Mythic had a contract with GOA before EA went into partnership with them, if this is the case then I understand that honoring this contract is vital business practice. But surely after 3 days of fiasco EA and Mythic should be questioning the reliability of this company and it's future to host such a huge MMORPG and in my opinion should be looking to get out of the contract with GOA before they lose their European customers.

I am seriously considering returning my collectors edition as I am sure many others are too, but I would first like to hear from Mythic and EA about what they plan to do about this situation. Because quite frankly, if GOA are going to continue hosting, then I can assure you the European servers will be pretty empty.

Yours sincerely

 

[Ogen]

Seems to me that allot of people were extremely disappointed by this huge screw-up by GOA. If I were a CEO at Mythic I would be seriously concerned about the state of affairs in Europe.

I know people are saying "its only a beta" and they are correct, it IS only a beta. However this beta release will be scrutinised by EVERYONE on every forum and everyone in the gaming community, including the press.

The gaming press will get hold of this and rip it to shreds. (pretty much the same as we are doing now). Although the majority of beta players will remain when the game launches, it will damage WAR's ability to attract new players that did not pre-order and are waiting for the reviews.

IMO Mythic would be wise to drop GOA and develop their own infrastructure in Europe, This is why Blizzard's service is so great. They don’t rely on anyone else.

Oh and whoever builds a website in flash and expects it to handle massive amounts of traffic needs a serious slap. Whoever developed WAR-Europe.com obviously rides the little-bus to school.

Other than the serious screw-ups GOA have made, I have to say that the game, on first looks seems very impressive. Smooth controls, half-decent graphics and no bugs that I could find (yet) This could save WAR from the fate of LOTRO and AOC.

I was there on the beta for WoW in the US that that was terrible, loot-lag that lasted 10 minutes, server crashes, bugs and lags all over the place. So WAR is already doing better than WoW IMO.

I just hope the world is big enough and the content varied enough to keep players interested for years. THAT is the mark of a truly decent MMO.

Making a review of a game, playing the beta, would be kinda dumb, wouldnt it? Since beta means unfinished.. Thats like reviewing a car that have no seats yet..

 

[Lorgar]

I know people are saying "its only a beta" and they are correct, it IS only a beta. However this beta release will be scrutinised by EVERYONE on every forum and everyone in the gaming community, including the press.

The gaming press will get hold of this and rip it to shreds. (pretty much the same as we are doing now). Although the majority of beta players will remain when the game launches, it will damage WAR's ability to attract new players that did not pre-order and are waiting for the reviews.

Remind anyone of the issues of DAoC....

It is BETA, its just not the way we thought we would be testing.... It sux but you have to give them a chance.

 

[Bluetribal]

I was a little disappointed ofcourse, but I really think GOA well get it right this time, and I even played DAoC EU. I will give them a fair chance when retail goes live and maybe form an opinion on GOA's service and support after 6 months or so of playing. Like I've done with every MMORPG I was interested in and seemed like it had a passionate team behind it. I think it's too premature to dismiss GOA based on open beta and I can only imagine how hard it would suck to pass this game for another when GOA does indeed redeem itself.
I think too many "gamers" have been overreacting in a very negative and whiney manner over this GOA & open beta issue. I'd much rather see these people go and have fun WotLK.

 

[adams901]

most of these "whiney" people only bought the pre-order on the promise of open beta access, I havent really been that vocal about it, but 3 days after open beta launch and I still cant use the key I payed for?

I think some of us have a right to be annoyed (as long as we are not abusive about it)

 

[Manisch Depressiv]

Sorry. I'm a gamer. Don't give me the same label as them.

I don't go round giving CMs death threats because something went tits up and I'm going to miss a majority of a beta which I didn't pay for and will have no effect on the released product.

They aren't gamers they are fucking lunatics! Anyone who takes a game that seriously is very disturbed.

You're a sheep and not a gamer.

 

[Bluetribal]

Why are a few days of last minute stress testing servers so valuable that you would pre-order only based on that??
Ofcourse it's not right that GOA promised it, I think they shouldn't have make it part of the deal in the first place, but I think anyone that knows what beta is about realises the potential of current issues occuring.

 

[wooly]

My thoughts...

1/ Beta Key - Free from this very lovely forum - Verdict : Excellent
2/ OB Download - Long(ish) but not the worst I've seen - Verdict : Good
3/ OB Account Creation - No joy since Sunday am - Verdict : Dire
4/ OB Beta Key Activation - See above (not at this point yet) from rest of forum looks bad - Verdict : Dire
5/ Actual OB Play Time - Blah Blah Blah... What can I say...

I know this is an open Beta so I'm not that bothered. Everything so far has only taken time (the most valuble of commodities of course) so its frustrating but not worth throwing the toys out of the pram. No cash has changed hands...

When the ordered games appear next week (actually money has changed hands) that's when it gets serious.... I'm not a fortune teller so I can't see into the future but I'm edgy about the "REAL" start. History dictates that from previous MMORG launches that it won't go well.... but lets see.... Even WOW had woes at the start... I remember getting free days back...

I'll not be sub'in until I know I've seen it and GOA prove its a viable start , i.e. its not a complete right off... I exepct some PAAAAIIINNN!!

Wooly