Can ArenaNet retain its player base for GW2?

Probably not. But the players who started PvP later in the game (like me :P) will be eager for a fresh start, seeing how hard it is to get into PvP now. I know I will buy GW2 as soon as it comes out, and start PvPing the very same day, just to get a decent chance

I'm extreamly board of Gw right now, cause there isn't anything left for me to do. I lost the drive to get more money and items, so farming is out. I've beaten 95% of all content (including dungeons) in normal mode, so the only thing left is hard mode.

But i will definatly buy GW2

It will depend on if GW2 is a good game.

What player base? The people who bought Proph and expected a new, grindless game, or people who started with Nightfall because they heard it has super awesome titles and armores you can get?

GW2 will have plenty of players regardless of what the Guru population decides to do. These doomsday threads are boring, I'd rather put my money on these guys: http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/200803...t-d59542a.html

This.

12char.

Only if they keep coming with updates I think. Skill buffs/nerfs and maybe more important new content. Be it titles (a lot of people seem to like that) or personally I would love to see new god realms or something.

Hm... no if they keep they 'force to choose' line like EotN went...

If You have to make one character of profession and each race to be able to try all combinations (that is, more than one character of each profession or one character of each race), take for sure that I'm not even smelling it.

umm have you forgotten about alpha that will come way earlyer than beta and can convince many people to stay.
but yea i seriously thought beta will come on the second half of 2008 im pretty sure there will be a million delays right before they announce it.

Your WoW account expire? Or you finally realizing how boring WoW really is. I know, why don't we all go play WoW for the next two years?? -belch-

I think there will be lots to do for new players, as well as old players. I'm betting that once GW2 promo begins, millions will flock to GW1 for the bonus content they'll be able to unlock before GW2 even releases. Content that can be unlocked in GW2 as well, but will give players in GW1 a head start. And as always Arena Net will likely add just enough content/features to grab attention of old players, such as full hero parties etc. . .

It's call Marketing Zigger, kinda stuff you should be learning in college when not staring at a game on computer screen.

To tell the truth, I hope they get rid of part of player base. The "QQ, I want everything NOW!!!!1!!lol" part.

It's actually been locked for quite a long time now.

It's already been stated that the content unlocked in HoM will not give you any advantage over anyone else. It'll probably be some sort of mini-pet or some such. Also, how will 'millions flock to GW1' when there's not even that many players? If things go reeeeally well, maybe a million.

They will without a problem, as long as things don't go sour. I've been playing for years, still play actively. I've taken breaks, went to play other games.. but I always come back.

who really knows. ill bet about 1/3 of the current guild wars players will move on. the real question is how many accounts are active or how many players are there really? the main guild wars site says 5mil units sold. i guess that totals all 4 games combined. most accounts have all 4 games and alot have 2 or 3 chapters. so lets say of the 5mil theres really 1.2 million individual accounts, how may of those are owned by the same person. alot of us bought multiple accounts before character slots became availible. i have 3 plus my son has 1. i would be willing to bet theres less then a million players and i would bet theres less then 600k active. of that i would say 250k might actually move on to GW2

You have obviously been sleeping through your marketing classes as well. Advantages and Content are two entirely different concepts.

We choose to see hear and repeat only what suites our own opinion. For WoW addicts, opinions will always favor the fix.

ofcourse it will. More people will go back to guildwars 1 i recon after the release of gw2. especially if they've never played it and enjoy gw2

Right, which is why I did not comment on the content but on this:

A head start in what?

'Advantages = Head Start' is part of your WoW stat building equation. Sorry, Stat stroking/addiction ala WoW is not likely to be dominant feature in Guild Wars 2. Trying to superimpose WoW stats, and all the disadvantages they create, into why Arena Net will never do something is feeble thinking.

"Advantages and Content are two entirely different concepts." especially in Guild Wars. Arena Net could give players of GW1 (because they've spent so much time character building) an instance the equivalent of Versailles (with 20k acres) as player housing, or unique flying mounts, pets, or their favorite armor/weapon from GW1; earlier access to many features that will need to be unlocked by new GW2 players. . . . . . Where is the advantage in that? Is one player somehow more powerful than the other? Wishful thinking, but Guild Wars 2 will be the polar opposite of WoW, if Arena Net has any common sense. Stat stroking likely won't play a part in why you enjoy Guild Wars (1&2).

New players unlocking content, that GW1 players have already unlocked, is far from disadvantageous. "Much has changed since those early interviews" to paraphrase M. O'Brien.

/Agreed

I'd like to see some new titles.. I've been kinda bored after i reached r6 koabd.
New elite area would also be nice...if it's not something that can be done by an ursan team.

I don't think we need "more content" as in areas to explore

but we do need

more titles
more events
more rewards
more options in HoM

I think that would keep most people active till GW2