It’s been a long road from conception to completion for ArenaNet’s latest MMO, Guild Wars 2. After a five-year development period, the smash-hit online RPG was publicly released a little more than two weeks ago, to much applause. But despite all the planning, beta events, and server stress tests, ArenaNet couldn’t prepare for the onslaught of insatiable players, chomping at the bit to get on their favorite worlds.
Citing server issues and crowded world areas, ArenaNet temporarily pulled the plug on digital sales until most folks had settled. They also softened the blow of server overpopulation by allowing players to freely transfer their characters for a limited time — after that, it will cost 1,800 gems, a form of in-game currency. It seems this good will has paid off for the award-winning developer, as sales have recently broken the 2-million mark. Despite the initial growing pains Guild Wars 2 faced, fans have remained faithful, and have been continuing to show their support and purchase the game.
Mike O’Brien, ArenaNet President and Co-Founder, promises that this is just the beginning for Guild Wars 2.
“Reactions from around the world justified the time and care we put into developing Guild Wars 2 and making it into the game it is today… And this is only the beginning. We’re continually fine-tuning the game to deliver the polished experience that our players expect, and we’re already working on new adventures and experiences to introduce into this truly dynamic online world.”
It appears that the enormous interest in Guild Wars 2 will not be slowing any time soon, and with so much to see and do — even after capping out at level 80 — it’s not surprising. Reaching a staggering 92% on MetaCritic, and piquing our interest significantly, it’s safe to say this potential WoW-killer is set to receive a number of “Game of the Year” awards.
Ranters, have you had a chance to plunge into the world of Tyria?
Guild Wars 2 is available now.
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Follow me on Twitter @superkyol.
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I’m actually surprised they weren’t better prepared and I guess shows the level of confidence they had in their own game (which, in and of itself, is a surprise because I thought ArenaNet knew they were making something a bit more special)
But come on, it’s the only fresh ticket in town atm so of COURSE people are going to flock to it! All those bored WoW people waiting for Panderia, people tired of running the same SWTOR scenarios, or those disappointed in TERA (or all the other mediocre MMOs recently released like D3 or last year’s Rift) have been just waiting for a good quality game to come along and actually hold their attention for more than a month.
They were as prepared for the influx of new players as anyone could have been, considering the size and the scope of the game. It just so happened that many people gravitated towards specific servers. Some friends and I had a terrible time attempting to get on Jade Quarry! Fortunately though, everything has evened out – for the most part.
Well the fact that they had to shut down sales kind of proves they weren’t prepared. They should have done what others in the past have done which would be to have more servers available at launch than they thought they would possibly need and then transferred and shut down servers as things stabilized.
They are just lucky we are all desperate enough right now because one thing has been proven about the MMO crowd, we are mercilessly unforgiving (especially if there are other choices out there)
Holy crap, some news that isn’t about the Wii U. This is the only gaming site that has done nothing but talk about Nintendo all day.
well it is a game news website and a huge nintendo announcement happened yesterday. Of course they’re talking about it. hell i’m excited because ninty finally got off their asses and got serious with the third parties. hell, michael pachter actually thought they did well and is now praising the wii u when he has done nothing but put it down and say nintendo is gonna fail up till now.
more on topic GW2 did well, i don’t particularly care for Arena nets staff but the game is good. not to mention its the best f2p mmo out there currently so a lot of people can pick it up without feeling forced to play it because of subscription fees. which is the main reason i picked it up.
I’m not saying they shouldn’t cover the Nintendo stuff, but that’s all they’re doing. I haven’t seen anything about the new Halo 4 ViDoc, the new Black Ops 2 multiplayer/zombie news (don’t remember what it was, but I saw it a day or two ago), or anything else that isn’t about Nintendo. Look at IGN, G4, Gamespot, Joystiq, Kotaku, or any other gaming site, and you’ll see tons of stuff not related to Nintendo as well as Nintendo stuff. What is the incentive to visit gr.com if they’re always late with their stories and don’t even post most of the big stories?