Why I think that this is the perfect time for GW2

First let me start by saying that when I say that this is the perfect time for GW2, I mean for it's planning and development. It obviously won't be released for at least 2 years.

I have heard a lot of people saying that it is too soon for GW2, that Anet should keep GW1 going, that they feel betrayed by having GW2 being planned and developed already, that they feel like there is no reason to keep playing thier toons in GW1, and various other complaints that generaly say that this is the wrong time for GW2.

But I for one think this is the perfect time. Here are the reasons I think so:

The community: The community right now is still going strong. Any info that gets released spreads like wildfire. There are even people who frequent the fansites, and don't even play GW much anymore. If they waited until GW1 was really winding down, the community would not be able to spread the word nearly as far, and the buzz would be less than it otherwise would be.

The other thing about the community is that letting them know now that GW2 is on the horizon allows the community to give the devs input into the game. This gives the devs a great source of ideas and a great way to know what the main fanbase will be interested in for the game, and with enough time to actually include it.


It will give us a mature game at launch: GW1 was a new type of game when it was launched. Anet took a bunch of risks when it came to GW1. The business model, the game style, the community relations - there were so many things that they were doing differently, that GW was a big risk overall. It payed off in spades, and over roughly the past 2 and a half years (counting early beta) a more mature game has developed. The community has grown with it, as has the business model, and the company Anet as a whole.

So, as things like the attribute system (anyone remeber refund points?) evolved, Anet learned a lot about how the game should work. Later additions like NPCs in the GH, Observer Mode, and Templates added to a much richer game. Those kinds of things that have been added over the past 2 years can be part of the game at launch for GW2, and the lessons Anet learned can be incorporated into the game from day 1.


They will be able to include things that would be too dificult or too bulky in the current engine: There are certain things that the community has been begging for since release, and in some cases even since Beta. Player-to-player trade improvements, more character creation options (facial, etc...), and the z-axis fix (to fix the problem where someone under a bridge can "run in to" someone on top of the bridge) are just a few examples.

I am convinced that at least some things that the community has asked for push the limits of the game engine to the point that they needed to essentially re-write huge areas of the engine itself, causing a dilemna for an established game. With a new game, you can start with a new engine, and new flexibility to make changes over the next several years to make a much better game.

So these things that the community has been calling for can be integrated into GW2, where putting them into GW1 would be extremely difficult and impractical at best, if not next to impossible. One good example of this is the addition of persistable areas in GW2. I suspect that, despite the fact that a lot of fans have asked for this, that it would be next to impossible to work into the current engine. And changing the engine inside GW1 itself would be impractical at best.


The game will have strong ties to GW1: As some of the information about GWEN and GW2 has been filtering out, one of the things that has caught my attention are the ties between GW1 and GW2. The hall of monuments, and the things that you can unlock for your GW2 characters via GW1 is a huge level of interaction with the GW2 game even before it is released.

Personally I think that is a great gesture to the community, and to thier fans. The ability to unlock exclusive things in GW2 via GW1 gives GW1 players a special place in the new game. If they waited another year or 2 before starting development, they may not be able to pull as many people into GW2, and the hall of monuments wouldn't have nearly as much meaning.

Some people have complained about GW1 going away, but with the strong ties to GW1, think of GW2 as a new campaign with a really big upgrade. Yes, you can't port all your toons, but you can use the Hall of Monuments to reserve thier names, get special gear, and keep thier legend alive.


Infrastructure: In Anet's (current) unique engine, thier infrastructure is completely scalable. The infrastructure can literally grow dynamically as needed, and a shrinking base would be easy to scale back as well. While the server setup for GW2 may be different, especially with persistance and larger areas with players in them, I suspect that they will keep the scaleablity, and a similar enough engine that it can share some of the same infrastructure.

By planning and developing GW2 while GW1 is still going very strong, they will be able to take advantage of the existing servers, connections, etc..., and once GW2 is released, as GW1 winds down, the unoccupied servers can be re-tooled for use with GW2 as it expands, and it saves on the infrastructure cost for GW2. That allows Anet to spend more money on developers and other things to make an even better game.


Fixing some mis-steps: In the PCGamer article, they said that the game started to feel "bloated" to them. That is a direct result of the way that they planned and executed the system of "campaigns". Stand-alone games with add-ons to the existing game, adding professions and skills every time gets exponentially more difficult with each one. That plus the time frame for finishing development between one and the other made for a complete madhouse for development, and made for less original content than most fans would have liked.

The problem is that if all Anet did was to take a different direction, and go with expansions on a better time frame, they still have a mostly bloated game to deal with. Rather than continuing to keep going down that same track, starting from scratch makes for a much, much better game. It allows consolidation for things like the different armor systems (Prophecies, Factions, and Nightfall all do armor a little different), and weapons systems (i.e. inscriptions).

Other things like unlock packs, expansion character slots, and other things that became available through the GW store well after launch can be integrated from the start, and prevent things like people having to buy seperate storage accounts, and prevent the people that said things like "What, you mean I bought that seperate account for nothing!" or "You mean I have to buy Factions for BOTH my accounts??!?"


(Last, but not least) Growth: In GW1, with Anet shifting away from campaigns to go with expansions, growing the fan base would be a tough nut too crack. While still possible, it would be hard. With going to a new game, you can structure for grwoth in different ways. For example; if your business model is to use expansions, you have to find a way to bring new players into the mix with each expansion. With GW1, the fact that they would have to choose between 3 different base games to get the expansion is daunting for a new player.

But if you plan to do expansions from the start as with GW2, they will have 1 base game to buy, and you can plan special promotions with each expansion to get new players into the mix. Plus they can plan the game for growth down a new path, whereas with GW2, they ould have to be adapting to the new growth plan.


All in all, I think this is the perfect time to start talking about (and starting development of) GW2, and I think it's release will be timely.

That was a long read.

Luckily I listened to the new guildcast at the same time, thus saving me precious minutes of my life.

You hit good points. I'm slowly being coaxed into believing it was a good strategy on Anet's part.

I disagree with that 100%. I know the PvP community has dwindled to the point of no return. The PvE community has had dramatic drops as well. One thing I still don't get though, why do people play GW PvE? I mean you have your own realm with henchies and heroes fighting against AI, so why play an on line multiplayer game? Kiind of defeats the purpose, doesn't it?

Because it's a game and we have the choice to play how we want. Not everyone wants to play this game because its online multiplayer. For some it may be that they just want to do the storyline.

I could ask the same of PvPer's. It seems kinda boring to just keep fighting random people on the same maps over and over without going anywhere and no storyline. Just my opinion.

The very fact that you are here, and that you read this proves that the community is still here and strong. Like I said above, there are people that don't even play GW anymore, but still frequent the boards. imho, Anet had to strike while the iron was hot so to speak, and get GW2 going before loosing those people that are drifting away from GW.

lol, <3 PvEer's

Anet really botched the announcement and pissed a lot of people off. Most companies would have done thusly:

(1) Annonce GW:EN
(2) Release GW:EN
(3) Announce "Early development Has begun on guild wars 2"
(4) Time Passes
(5) Announce GW2 as the next game, release window, release details on the game and specifics on the beta
(6) Have GW2 beta, announce release window
(7) Release GW 2.

Everything that we know to today in outside of the timeframe of the above is a negative for Anet.

* Today we know that the all future campaigns were cancelled (this was on the cover of the mag). It sucks for Guild Wars 1 players that a game that we thought had a future (anet would market new campaigns to new players) does not have a future. It sucks for guild Wars one players to know that the attention Guild wars one deserves may be shifted onto other projects, and it breeds distrust. Want an Auction House: sorry, anet is workking on guild wars 2... Want HA fixes: sorry, anet is working on guild wars 2.

And why did anet have to announce no more expansions period? I'm sure that anet would release more expansions if market conditions dictate that.... It just didnt need to be announced period. Games like Everquest got expansions after their sequel was released. GW could unexpectedly become a megahit in china or something warranting additional content. GW still has an expansion to hype now. I just dont uderstand why they would do this now.

* Today we have an approximate release date, which will only piss us off should anet fail to make that.

* Today we have a list of features which already disappoint some as being too-similar to features of existing games, and will dissapoinmt others when the actual game delivers different with this expectation. (Recall descriptions of Alliance battles versus the actual product). With 2 years of development left, these can change or be refined so why announce them now as final. There are both too many generalities and specifics regarding Guild wars 2. Anet should have decided how core mechanics leveling work and only then released details.

* The announced features that we do know make it clear that GW2 is more than just a graphical upgrade of Guild wars 1. It's a different game. But with new features, and no-ability to transfer characters over... there's little additional reason for either guild wars 1 players to (1) keep playing now, or (2) even buy the game without looking at the game on it's own merits. Sure, Anet's delivered a good game and good level of service with updates and weekends but the track record isnt perfect (trade spam), and sucess at one type of game doesnt portend sucess at another type of game.

* The hype machine for Guild wars 2 has started... but we cant buy the game now or anytime soon. It's too early to build hype for this game. It's frustrating acutally, and by the time the game comes out, some other game (Diablo 3, starcraft 2, MMORPGS from Marvel and DC comics... whatever) will be the "fresher" hype.

* The release of GW:EN information at the same time as guild wars 2 information just confuses a lot of people. The relase of GW:EN and guild Wars 2 on physical hard-print magazines with small readerbases that guild wars players dont actually read lead to a lot of basless rumors and misconceptions as third-hand detials were passed.

As for the OP, the perfect time for anet to release Guild Wars 2 will be when the community thinks guild wars 1 is stale. We now know that anet thinks that the community will decide Guild wars 1 will be stale in 2 years. Do you agree or disagree with this judgment?

100% disagree. I don't know about you, but I was expecting Chapter 4 about this time (like Factions last year).

If Anet simply said, "Well, no more Chapters, but we do have an expansion coming out at the end of the year", can you imagine the outrage? Then, on top of that slight, AFTER we buy an expansion, they tell us, "Well, hope you had fun in the last Guild Wars expansion. We're starting Guild Wars 2 now!" OMG. I can't even imagine what the forums would be like! While I suspect some people will support Anet no matter what, even I would find that news.... disturbing to say the least. I'd feel like I was conned into buying a final expansion for an old game.

No, this really was the best course for a very difficult announcement.

Guild Wars does have a future... it's called Guild Wars 2. (wow, "Autumn in Ascalon" just cycled randomly on my itune as I wrote that! Great song.)

Tell me, if they said "Possible expansions to come in the future", and they didn't ever come, would you turn around and call Anet liars?

Better for consumers to be pleasantly surprised than disappointed with expectations (as the currant situation shows all too clearly!)

It's never too early to build hype. Plus, by announcing early, they have plenty of time to hear consumer inputs.

This is a win/win for Anet and us.

These will be cleared up in time. They had to announce them both together, because they are linked to each other, and announcing one without the other would cause MORE anger and confusion.


Disagree. Anet didn't think Guild Wars was stale, they thought it was bloated. The stuff they wanted to do for Chapter 4 morphed into a whole new game. It would have been easy to scale back their designs, and just turn out another decent Chapter and make some easy money. Kudos to Anet for going the riskier road, and actually taking a chance on Guild Wars 2. I, for one, think it's a great idea and will make Guild Wars 2 the premier MMORPG on the market.

^ To this guy, a.net and galie has already said they will keep teams to run and maintain and update GW1. Maybe there won't be an auction house or anything DRASTIC, but I expect holiday events and skill balances to continue.

But yeah, I do agree it was kinda stupid announcing GW:EN and GW 2 at the same time. Some people will not want to buy GW:EN because they know with GW 2 it will be outdated. It also kinda creates a lot of confusion on these boards ("Omg Gwen is in GW 2," "Gwen is in GW:EN, not GW 2," "no you idiot GW:EN isn't GW 2 its Chapter 4," "Hall of Monuments nnoooooobbbb") <-- and other such confusing stuff on these forums

Don't you buy a game to play it? How does it have no future when you get to play it? Besides, the answer to most of those comments is "we can't do that with the current GW1 engine". I'm sure if it was feasable, we would have an auction house by now.
Would you suggest they just say "Hey we are making Guild Wars 2, but we don't have any information for you"? The game is so far away, they have to speak in generalities because as they develop it, things will change. They probably have an idea on the mechanics of leveling, but as you said, if they said "the cap will be 100", and through development they decide it sould be 50, people would complain.
Hall of Monuments in itself sounds like enough for people to want to build their legacy. Beyond that, I don't understand when people say "there is little reason to keep playing" because GW2 has been announced. Don't you play the game because you enjoy it? GW1 hasn't even been out for 2 years, yet the estimates put GW2 release around 2 years from now. That means we haven't even had GW1 for half it's life yet....
They had to explain why they were doing an expansion and not a new campaign. If they had come out and said they were only doing an expansion, people would have wigged out thinking the Guild Wars franchise was going to die. By announcing GW2, they give the why behind the change in direction.
This I will agree with you on, it sucks that information is getting around word of mouth before people can read the actual article. Things always change when communicated this way.
No, the time for anet to release GW2 is when they don't think they can improve or add to GW1 anymore. There are things they want to do that they can not do in GW1. They made a strategic decision to start from scratch and build their vision rather than trying to mickey mouse something in GW1.


Edit: Looks like Mordakai types faster than I do...

If you announced GW2 at the same time as GW:EN is released you'd steal a lot of it's thunder. Alot of the features of GW:EN are tied in part to GW2. It helps get people excited and buy GW:EN.

If they announced it after GW:EN was released, people would be in game going, WTF is this Hall of Monuments business?

There are pros and cons to each scenario. I think ANet chose wisely.

Do you want GW2 to come out very soon but be extremely buggy and not much more than GW1 with jumping?

...or do you want to wait a while so that GW2 becomes the greatest game ever since the original?

Guild Wars is still real active, and with large updates, holidays, and GW:EN on the horizon, most people will have something to keep them busy until GW2 is released in a few years.

To those complaining about how Anet made the announcement, you seem to wish Anet had lied about their plans and deliberately deceived the community to avoid an immature reaction.

I may be misinterpreting the posts, but that strikes me as sad.

I would rather be treated like and adult and been given the straight story on the assumption that I could handle it.

Personally, I'm looking forward to GW2. Understanding that GW:EN is the bridge to that game and the only way I can buff my "decendants" and start off a brand new, potentially great game that's forever free with pets, titles, and selected equipment is all information I'd rather have sooner than later.

/Agree

Anet's announcement with both GW:EN and GW 2 is perfectly executed since The Hall of Monuments, the storyline conclusion of GW 1 and the storyline transition from GW1 to GW2 will all be in GW:EN, then I think both games are worth buying

Yeah its perfect since the game won't actually be out until next year.

Now GW has a good community, lots of players who were new to the MMO thing ready to upgrade, good lore and history (background for the new game) and a stop to the whole campeign deal before it got TOO repetitive.

All around.. great!

A-Net has had an almost constant ear towards the Community at-large.

While certain things most certainly attribute to a 'dropping off' of specific individuals (skill adjustments, quote-unquote Nerfs, certain Chapter decisions((I'm still not settled on how I feel about Factions)), 'smart' AoE-dodging AI, and other balance testing typical for a game of this type), they haven't once taken the stance that 'what we say, goes.' While I will state that we are playing A-Net's game, A-Net has always listened to us. They may not have always done what we wanted them to do, but the singular reason for that is because they are thinking of GW as a whole, rather than catering to each and every individual desire of the community.

This is not a bad thing.

As far as GW2 is concerned, I believe they've made the best decision they could have. Considering that it could be so unbelievably worse (I'm looking at YOU, Star Wars), I fail to see how people could even begin to nitpick about the direction that A-Net is taking regarding the future of our beloved hobby/obsession. :)

People really are just nitpicking. While we have a good amount of information about the future of Guild Wars already, we don't have as much concrete evidence as a lot of people would like to have. Fine. Wait a month or two. Hell, wait a week.

The way I see it, A-Net is showing us what they currently have in store for us.

And hey, it'll be free! How can anyone possibly complain about one of the best MMO's ever made getting a potentially greater sequel... that's still going to be free?!? The answer to that is simple. People love to complain, and they are never, ever happy.

Well, I could care less. Keep up the great work, A-Net. I'm already waiting with baited breath for the release of my next favorite online game. The sheer fact that I'll actually be able to make a consistent Family out of the Skycleaver name is enough for me. :)

They are very much blackmailing myself and others into buying GW:EN... By not having character transfer and having this hall system you are forced to buy an expansion for a product they view as outdated.

GW is not outdated, it'll keep running. You are in no way obliged to buy GW:EN. Continue nit picking if you want.

Oh they very much see it as outdated other wise they wouldn't feel the need to kill the series and make GW2. And yes i am forced to buy GW:EN otherwise i've wasted a large portion of my time amassing my materialistic character features like Mini pets, titles, etc.

First people complain that there's no reason to keep playing or buy the expansion. Then they complain that they're being forced to keep playing and buy the expansion.

/sigh

The reality is that there is a designed incentive to keep playing if you love GuildWars and have confidence in Anet's future. If you don't, you can still play for fun (and for free).

If there is no fun in the game left for you, you can always come on game forums and whine like little girls.

See, you have lots of choices.

I'll agree with this. My original "knee jerk" reaction was that the timing of the information release was dumb. I figured GW:EN (as everyone loves to call it) would lose out on sales, as it was a dying series at that point. But after thinking about it, they were screwed either way (or brilliant either way, depends on how you want to look at it).

I think it would have been kinda fun to have a GW2 trailer at the end of GW:EN, and after beating GW:EN (I made a funny) and viewing the trailer, you get access to the Hall of Monuments.

Either way, I agree, there are pros and cons to either situation. Hopefully everyone else can look at this objectively and see it the same way.

Mack

Yes, "Da Shiz", impressive as always. Where's your argument, "bro"? Not enjoying your free fried chicken anymore?

PvP is still alive and flourishing, no need to shed tears and spread negativity. A top guild disbanding cannot even closely be considered a dwindling of the PvP crowd. They're just known, that's all and the e-drama blows everything up like it's the end of the world.

Why announce GW2 at the same time as GW:EN? I see it as a way to push the sales of GW:EN... and also tie them over revenue-wise while maintaining fan base until GW2 is out. Want recognition for your GW1 accomplishments and special things for GW2? Well then... go out and buy GW:EN. Want to satisfy your infatuation with little Gwen? Well... go out and buy GW:EN.

I think this is a good strategy... except the timing will be critical. There are a lot of people that don't care for GW:EN and will just wait for GW2. Then there are a lot of people on the fence... and waiting for more GW:EN information. At the very least... even if players have lost interest in playing GW1... all GW:EN and GW2 news has us all talking about the future of GW. I believe that alone is a success.

LOL!

Amen to that!

I think this kind of attention that A-Net is getting for GW2 is what they're hoping to get. Think about it, no console games nor PC games had this kind of frenzy discussions anywhere. I mean we don't see a forum board where peoples are excited about Halo 3 and discussing about the features and the depth of the game. By releasing GW2 info now, we got a first glimpse of the game and knew about A-Net's intention for future GW titles. I still believe that we should have gotten equal amount of information on GW 2 and GW:EN at the same time. Instead we got alot of information on GW 2 and peoples are jumping to conclusions as to what the game will be.