Notes

Log-in Delays Hit Guild Wars II Launch

Log-in delays lead to Guild Wars 2 launch to be delayed



28 August 2012



Log-in problems have hit online video game Guild Wars 2 as the game officially launches.



After five years of development, the much anticipated massively multiplayer game launched on Tuesday.



The sheer volume of players accessing the game meant that many had delays or could not meet with their friends while trying the new title.



This launch comes at a difficult moment for online game developers who are trying to keep their players on the line.
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It is set in the same fantasy world of Tyria as the first, however it takes place two decades after the first Guild Wars.



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While 28 August is the official date for the release of the title, pre-ordered copies of the title could be accessed on the 25th of August.



Keen players who attempted to sign in to play on the first morning of the early access period had to wait for a long time to start or to play in an area known as a "staging" area that left players unable to play with their friends.



Since the official launch is set to bring in more players, there may be delays.



Guild Wars 2 gives players the job of reuniting the members of the heroes guild, called Destiny's Edge, who are needed to save Tyria from the ravages of five older dragons that have awoken, and caused chaos to the world and its inhabitants.



ArenaNet claims to have made significant changes to the usual mechanics of massively multiplayer online games (MMOs) to remove the burden of work needed to make Destiny's Edge to re-form and from the other tasks and quests players are set.



Alec Meer, a PC games news site Rock Paper Shotgun said that Guild Wars 2 presented many mainstays of MMOs, in an "fresh, nuanced" manner that could keep players' attention.



"The complex, highly tactical and flexible combat should give it a new meaning beyond the usual loot-hunting routine that is typical of its contemporaries," he told the BBC. "This is a game to be learned rather than be able to spend all day sunk into it."



Guild Wars 2 has been launched in a period of transition for many MMOs, which have lost regular players. Many developers have dropped monthly subscriptions and have switched to the "freemium" model that allows players to play for free but with additional charges.



Wesley Yin–Poole who is Eurogamer's news editor said that Guild Wars' history could mean that it would not have to pay upfront fees.



The game is in an "unique" place in the MMO landscape, as players have to pay before downloading and navigating. Guild Wars 2 is available in the UK for PS49.99. He explained that micro-transactions on equipment or other accessories can allow for the payment of the game's ongoing development.



"That method worked for the first Guild Wars game, and it looks set to work well for Guild Wars 2," he said. "It gets away with it because it has huge hardcore appeal , and an established fan base that was already devoted by the first game."



He said that Guild Wars 2 may have been in opposition to the trends of other MMOs but that there was no doubt that the traditional monthly payment model for online gaming was "dead".



Millions could still be paying for World of Warcraft but that offers a free-to-play version, he added, and other games, like Star Wars: The Old Republic are set to go the same way.



He added, "I doubt we'll see an MMO with a monthly subscription ever again."



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Related Internet Links



Guild Wars 2



Rock, Paper, Shotgun



Eurogamer



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