Early Retail Release in Your Area?

Exactly. We do not choose to offer early access. We chose, instead, to offer something else. We were, in fact, required to give neither. However, we offered a Sneak Peek Weekend as a special gift. Please do not ask for more.

Just a small point and I'm really not trying to be rude, but didn't we pay for that special gift?

I've read these forums since the very beginning and have pretty much seen it all. People come here to ask questions and make suggestions about the game. Most of them do so in a polite and professional manner. And in those instances when Ms. Gray or one of the other Anet associates responded, they replied likewise in a polite and professional manner.

That being said, I think the above quote from Ms. Gray comes across as a bit condescending to me and a little high and mighty. You adequately made your point previously. There was no need to come across in the manner in which you did. All this tends to do is make those who were unpolite and unprofessional to be even more so. I can only imagine how hectic and nerve wracking it most be in your position and I've seen where posters were not polite and professional in their posts but in this case I think you came across as a bit on the arrogant side and that doesn't help matters.

The information on the log in screen for GW is also misleading. It says Guild Wars Eye of the North is now available for pre order. But if you go to the Game In Store or PlayNC the only thing available is the Pre Release. A bit confusing if you ask me.

Just my 2 cents worth on the subject.

A GIFT is FREE! We PAID for the privilege of the sneak peak weekend.

I would like to nominate Gaile Gray as next president of the U.S.A. She starting to sound more like a politician with every post in this thread.

I'm not asking for more. In fact, I would have been fine with no sneak peek. It was nice, and as mentioned, I did pay for it.

I am asking for something to be done to alleviate the huge potential of a store server crash at 12:01 Friday morning. You know just as well as I do that it is more than likely going to happen. Why even take the risk when there are so many things that could be done to alleviate the crush of people trying to buy at midnight?

*Breaks out the popcorn*

Allowing people to purchase gwen cheaper or earlier than release would not be the healthiest thing for the relationship with retailers. Even if some were selling the game early there's nothing Anet could do as they would piss off the other retailers who were abiding by the agreement that Anet itself would break.

It would be a nod to customers though, but who needs them? Plus they will still buy the expansion whether it's days before or on the exact minute the game goes live. Can the expensive-as-all-hell server(s) handle the load? Will the standby team be able to bring it(them) back up quickly? We'll just have to wait and see.

*Butters popcorn*

Please please please - stop going after Gaile. She is not a decision maker. She can only report to you what she is told. If she could give you early access, I am sure she would consider it, but once again she is not a decision maker.

She doesn't make decisions.

Say it with me. She doesn't make decisions.

She has claimed in the past to be a full dev, a member of the team. Okay, but that does not include making decisions.

Kay? No decisions. Really. Not a one. She just reports to us.

Just reports. No decisions.

Kay?

Thanks!
TabascoSauce

ps - No decisions. Really. Just report. Seriously.

What is with all this talk about having "Paid" for the Pre-release??

You did not pay for the pre-release. You put down a down payment on the full product. As a thank you for that down payment Anet decided to make available a Preview Weekend.

Letterman's Top 10 list:

Top 10 problems with America today.

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5. Obesity
4. Republicans
3. Reality TV
2. Republicans

And the Number 1 problem with Americans today:
An overwhelming sense of self entitlement. *cue applace*

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... Can I have a cookie?

I think I can summarize peoples concern... when midnight ticks around we want to be able to go straight to EotN and have at it... there's worry that we won't be able to do so if we use the ingame store. Granted if all goes well then the five minutes it takes to purchase the game would be no big deal, however if the servers crash and burn... there will be sadness.

Even if there was a three hour 'early purchase' window that would be wonderful... there would be a rush and enough time for any errors to present themselves and be repaired.

Regardless, Thursday evening will see many pizza trucks outside the offices of ArenaNet.

Going to agree with thezed on this one. You paid for a pre-order. ANet didn't have to give a pre-release. They didn't have to give you the three exclusive weapons, or access to the sneak-peak weekend, or anything else that came with it.

All you nay-sayers should really be thankful that you got any of that. Most games that I've pre-ordered have never given me any sort of gift.

Not everyone has gotten the pre-release due to pre-ordering with ANet - theres plenty of folks who wanted the DVD/box/manual who are buying elsewhere otherwise this thread wouldnt exist. The pre-release was something I paid for, over and above the cost of GW:EN.
As a result Im not going to have the issues if the shop does crash and burn under the pressure on friday but it doesn't mean that the people who do want to buy via the store might not have that and are expressing worries about that and that their 'down payment' may mean wasting a lot of time trying to get through to the store.

Lucky to the timezone, I'll be at work at 12:01am pst (9:01am gmt+1), So I'll probably avoid the store rush.
I too think it'll be simple if pre-release key allows a xx hrs access so people have the time to buy the game.
But Annette said no so there is no need to complain about it, as she's quite stubborn


PS: Wishing the best to the Annette night shift team.
Hope GW:EN goes live hiccup free.

Gaile,

I plan on purchasing GWEN on the online store. How large will the download be? Approximately how many GB? Not trying to stir the pot, just wanted to know.

Thanks

Guild Wars Fan

"C:\Program Files\Guild Wars\Gw.exe" -image

It will be tiny.

Most retailers gave the Pre-Release for free if you pre-ordered GW:EN (usually requireing a 5-10 $ down payment). If you had to purchase the Pre-Release in addition to the cost of GW:EN then you got screwed. Sorry about that.

I agree with the concern about the Online store servers. What I don't agree with is the sense I am getting from many posters that because of this concern we DESERVE or NEED to be able to buy the game in advance of release or be allowed access after release just by having the Pre-Release.

Anet has made a decision regarding release, a decision based on business needs we players know nothing about. The best we can do at this point is wait and hope for the best.

Funny thing is, if all goes well with the store on release day, all the people complaining about it are going to look like a bunch of *explitive deleted*.

Thanks Fate Monk. I actually use this command switch for updates. However, I just wanted to know the actual download size for the GWEN update prior to actual release. Thanks for your input.

Alas, due to circumstances and my location, the retailer I use (Amazon UK) didnt offer the pre-release as part of the GW:EN pre-order so both me and my OH paid for pre-release codes Its quite typical for us, we didnt get access to the pre-order NWN2 stuff from Amazon either.

Don't kid yourself. The pre-release was a way for Anet to gauge how many customers they can expect to purchase GW:EN online much more than it was a "special gift." That's where the barbed posts are coming from. It doesn't have anything to do with Gaile making decisions. It's reporting stupid shit like that which irritates people.

I never claimed the pre-release was a special gift. Of course the pre-release was a way to gauge intrest in the product. That marketing tactic has been in use for a long time.

The "special gift" was allowing those who get the pre-release to access Preview weekend.

On a side note: I think Gail has given up hope on this topic. It has veared way off of its point.

If that should be true I'd have to say it's not to wise for "business reasons" for the Community Relations Manager to ignore what some perceive to be valid questions and have asked them in a polite and professional manner. Ignoring something doesn't necessarily mean it will go away. Then again if it's ignored until after Friday it's a mute point. Not good but still mute.