@Lazz: I got my open beta code from Amazon.com as soon as I ordered. I entered it and approved it already on my beta account, which is indeed active and available already. The special items codes are the ones you can't use yet.

goddessakasha

@mixmastermind: More interesting is how about 10 million more people now play an MMO after WoW's success. Before WoW, MMOs were for only the hardcore, basement-bound gamers; after WoW, everyone I know has a WoW toon raidin' Kara.

tsathoggua

@mixmastermind: That's not really surprising though. I bet the MMO gamer base has grown quite alot due to WoW. And now people want something new. Im more surprised that it was just 50%. Doesn't at all mean that it will sell as good though, but it'll probably do pretty good.

Tajfoon

Huh, interesting fact: 50% more people signed up for the WAR beta than the WoW beta. 400,000 for WoW, 600,000 for WAR.

mixmastermind

Nice goodies, but there's no way I'm putting down $80 for a game that's still under NDA. If I try it myself in open beta and like it, sure. MAYBE when the NDA comes down so we can hear from people who aren't bought and paid for by EA Mythic (such as their own employees, or gaming "journalists" who won't dare insult the source of their next exclusive by calling a spade a spade). But certainly not before, and I'll be pretty annoyed if that means missing the only chance to procure one of these things.

Then again, 60K is an ambitious number. Let's say these guys sell a million copies in North America at launch, making them the number 2 US MMORPG overnight. 60K collector's editions is enough for 6% of the playerbase. Do they really think that more than 6% of the playerbase is going to want to spend an extra $30 on top of a $50 game and a monthly fee of $15 (or possibly more)? This might be one of those "collector's" items that's not too hard to find.

Green Armadillo

Oh damn, again something we won't see in Europe, at least not in spain. Damn :'(

andpin

I just got off the phone with EBgames, and apparently the promo codes for Open Beta access aren't going out yet. Although stated on "the manufacturer's site" (EA Mythic) that an open beta access code should be included with your order confirmation email, the reps at EBgames have told me that the system is not in place yet, and the codes will be mailed out at a later date. No biggie, since the open beta is months away, but a heads up nonetheless.

Lazz

80.00 for this CE is quite cheap compared to the original WC3 limited edition boxed set when it first came out. I believe that one was also around 70-80 but nothing too spectacular outside of the DVDs included and a CD of WC3's OST.

Tull

FYI:

You do NOT only get beta access via pre-ordering from game stop. It's listed prominently on EA's site.

[www.warhammeronline.com]

Evdor

Damn nice CE there, but for 80 bucks they'd best hope it comes with a lifetime subscription offer.

Karlott

preordered mine at gamestop today. Looks like a solid CE.

em0d

@kingmanic: Don't know for the others, but EVE online is steadily growing, not sliding into oblivion by any stretch of imagination.

Guizzy

Ah, actually managed to purchase it through ebgames.com.. Apparently they ship to Canada now. Well, sweet! I can't wait to play this.. WoW is ok, and it did a lot of things right in the MMO world, but for me it never really shook off the "kiddie MMO" moniker. It's just all a bit too easy.

Lazz

@Lazz: are you using firefox? cause i heard its giving people problems odly enough Internet Explorer works for it.

clintonskneecap

@uhwhutnow: so whats your forum name then? giving your forum name away doesn't break any NDAs and it is the only way to prove you are in the beta. I can google image search and find the image you just posted.

clintonskneecap

@clintonskneecap:

Bah! I tried to order online through EA's system, and it's completely b0rked. Clicking the "Continue" button from the checkout page (where you enter name, address, cc info, etc.) simply refreshes the page. I hate crappy ecommerce code. >.<

Lazz

The reason I keep playing atm is mainly due to the fact my little brother also has it and his PC can't run Conan.
pix: [bayimg.com]

uhwhutnow

It's going to be a shame for those who order this collector's edition and not even make a decent attempt to paint that Orc Warboss figure.

Tull

@uhwhutnow: i'll give you my kotaku password no problem. My point is that if you really didn't like the Beta you obviously wouldn't still be playing it or care about playing it anymore. So posting your forum name wouldn't be a big deal at all and since posting your forum name here wouldn't break any NDAs it also would allow you to stay in the beta since it dosn't give away any info at all and no one can use it against you. But you see you won't do it since you are not part of the beta.

Tell you what I will more then happily give you my kotaku password if you give me your beta name.

clintonskneecap

@Lazz: I heard you can order it from the EA website with out a problem not sure about from local candian stores.

clintonskneecap

@uhwhutnow: Is posting your forum name that unreasonable? Its not against NDA.

Seruza

Well, I know there are some WoW players who still thinks WAR is ripping off of their game when history suggest otherwise and things being reversed. In the end, WAR will appeal to the fans of the original IP and those WoW players looking for something new that actually allows for deep PvP gameplay.

Tull

HELP!

I've called three EB Games in Calgary, Alberta, Canada and they all tell me this is "not in their system". Does anyone know if this is limited to a US release? It says, I believe, "60,000 in North America", not just in the US! Any Canadians out there get a preorder for this?

Lazz

@clintonskneecap:
Tell ya what, I'll post my forum name if you post your kotaku password. We can all make unreasonable requests and then, clearly, that will mean no one has played the game .

uhwhutnow

@Seruza: I agree with you 100% to me its pretty clear he is making stuff up for some reason maybe he just likes the attention that or maybe he was raped by one of the developers of Warhammer online. I can't see why he has so much hate for a game that is in BETA!

clintonskneecap

I was in WoW's beta, and I really don't know where you get that it had more polish in closed...That game was pretty damn different from beta to release.

Seruza

@uhwhutnow: so no forum name huh? well ok then just proves you haven't played the beta. its cool you don't know what a Beta is meant for and complaining about bugs in a beta is like watching a unrendered cut scene for a video game and complaining that it doesn't look perfect.

clintonskneecap

@clintonskneecap:
I've been in a great number of betas and tried a great number of mmos. Warcraft (which I've played and quit already after finishing Naxxramas) was infinitely more polished in its execution, even early on in closed beta. The comparison really isn't even close in terms of balancing, world design, or core mechanics.

Now for some public trade shows for Conan to start up so i can start talking about that one. >_>

uhwhutnow

Why do people complain about trying out beta on any game then realize there's a lot of bugs and unbalanced gameplay while they were playing it. Ummm, hello McFly...that's what beta is suppose to be used for.

Tull

@futurebiblehero: Short of daily interactive strip show from Vanessa Hudgens, I somehow doubt a High School Musical MMO would compete that well. But you never know, maybe there are enough young girls eager for a MMO they can fit into that would eclipse WOW.

kingmanic

@futurebiblehero: if it has a option to put nude pictures of your character on the internet I would so buy that game.

clintonskneecap

@kingmanic: "DAoC is also a PVP EA/Mythic MMO which isn't fairing that well."

It's also been out for seven or eight years now. I agree that nothing short of a High School Musical MMO could compete with WoW, but that's a bit unfair of a comparison.

futurebiblehero

@uhwhutnow: you know looking over your list of complaints seems like you don't understand what a beta is. Everything you mention sounds like bugs and things that can be fixed pretty easily. They are all things that apear in a beta. I was in the WoW beta and I can tell you it looked pretty bad up to relesse. As for the WAR beta I have not played it but I know people in the beta.

clintonskneecap

@kingmanic: I wouldn't say DaoC isn't fairing well it did great for a while (Pre wow of course) Its still going strong especially for a game that has been out since 2001. Remember you don't have to have anything close to WoWs numbers to be succesfull. You maybe need a couple thousand subscribers. Hell even DnD online is still turning a nice profit and no one has really played that game since a few months after release.

Me I really hope this game dosn't get WoWs numbers because that means it will get WoWs community and I think everyone here can agree that WoW has the most immature community in MMO history. Sure there are some great people but lets be honest we would all like wow better if it had a smaller and more mature community.

clintonskneecap

@uhwhutnow: what was your forum name on the beta forums? everything else could just be missunderstood hearsay

clintonskneecap

@Seruza: Are you special?

Voteforme2020

@Tubatic: Honestly I don't know. If I did, i'd probably be making games. At the base they all seem to be about hitting that "feeder bar". Creates a senseless addiction to a game that really isn't that much fun, yet we can't seem to get away from them. I just think all of these recent MMO's are copies of each other.

radink360

The game may suck, but just in case it doesn't, I made sure to preorder this time before I miss out, like I did the Burning Crusade CE for WOW.

Milihpen

@The_Phiphler:
You can reply to anything that would have been testable at public trade shows and the like. Of which all i've said has been.

uhwhutnow

@Seruza:
DND online/LOTR online/SWG were all big budget MMOs big Brand MMO's. EVE is PVP oriented. DAoC is also a PVP EA/Mythic MMO which isn't fairing that well. Success in this field is almost a crap shoot but nothing I've seen thus far differentiates it from DND online/LOTR online/SWG. Success in the PVP niche is exactly what i prognosticated "flash fo success, slow slide into oblivion." Niches are both fickle and small.

kingmanic

@clintonskneecap:
So shall i rant about how bad the empire was? How bad the high and dark elves were?
* How the witch hunter can hit monsters and run away to start every fight with full combo points to execute for 70% of the mob's health?
* Or the stupid mechanic the Bright Wiz, DE Caster, and all them have to blow themselves up for 10% or so of their HP for using their abilities as some poor semblance of "balance"?
* The terrible class restrictions on nearly every item?
* The pointless grind public quests?
* The instantly respawning quest mobs allowing you to finish most of your kill tasks without leaving a 20 foot area?

take yer pick.

uhwhutnow

i may have to order this as WoW has gotten pretty old pretty fast, lvl 30 with 2 characters and im pretty burnt out with it, plus in this i could sell my characters soul to nurgle or something.

underground_slacker

Good gravy that is a nice looking Ork Warboss. WAAAAAAAGGGHHH!!! Stomp on da humiez an' stunties!

Tull

If anyone is interested I'll pay $25 for the artbook. That might make the price a little more tolerable? Let me know mkohr85(at)gmail.com

vantrum

@CitStream:

Gameplay.com have it for pre-order in the UK for £39.99.

Just ordered mine, will be checking out whether any high street stores are doing any special pre-order items though.

Kazzahdrane

For the people pretending they have first hand Beta info, even if you did have info like that, you can not actually spread it, since you are affected by the NDA. Even if you didnt sign it, you became involved when the betatester broke the NDA.

So please, just shut it with the "first-hand impressions".

The_Phiphler

Also WAR will have the EA promotion machine strongly behind it in the coming months. WAR is gonna become the flagship MMO of the company and they will build the hype big time.

Seruza

@radink360: So spill it man, what would be innovative in MMOs?

Tubatic

@kingmanic: The difference is those games arent 1. High Budget & PvP oriented.

Age of Conan and WAR will distinguish themselves because of their very different focus, they appeal to a very specific player base that has been ignored for a long time.

Seruza

I just bought it.

I've only heard good things about this game from people in beta.

goddessakasha

I'd like to find out if it's even worth playing before blowing 80 dollars on a box set.

uranutan

I think MMO's are dead in general. No one is doing anything new and innovative that would make it worth while to play again. This is WOW with DAoC's PVP system.

radink360

@mandarin: Yeah, I wonder how many (non-tabletop) players will buy this thinking you get that miniature painted like it is in the picture?

Brine

I have a softspot for Mythic considering DAoC remains the #1 MMO that I've ever wasted my life on (they appeal to my inner masochist). I just hope you don't need two subscriptions in order to compete in this game.

futurebiblehero

@Seruza: Unless it's incredibly better then WOW it's going to the same place DND online/LOTR online/SWG/EVE online is going, that is a brief flash of success and then a decline into oblivion. WOW has a large amount of social momentum; Many iterations and the money and backing to actually improve with each iteration; And the general good will of a few million players. All of the franchises I mentioned except EVE also have stronger "brands" then WOW or Warhammer but couldn't compete with or unseat WOW. Warhammer BETA looks like it's following in the fine traditions of also rans.

kingmanic

@fdisk: sorry its WAR not WHO Warhammer Age of Reckoning. WHO doesn't work since Warhammer is one word.

clintonskneecap

@Tizlor: it's been deleyed twice now which is standered for any MMO.

clintonskneecap

@uhwhutnow: you haven't played since orcs haven't been avaialbe for play since august. Good try though

clintonskneecap

This is by far the best Collector's Edition of a game to be released since WoW's and its Expansion. If I had any interest in this game I'd definitely pick it up.

Unfortunately WHO just doesn't stand out from WoW that much in my eyes, and I just can't see why I'd want to start from scratch in a game that is essentially WoW with updated graphics and a little better PvP when I already have 2 Lv. 70s...

fdisk

@jynxycat: go away troll, its already better than wow.

Seruza

Good thing it's still in beta eh.

Imagine Warcraft without 99% of the content it is now.
Imagine Warcraft without any talents.
Imagine Warcraft without any UI features.
Imagine Shamans killing 5 players by himself.

Hey look, it's the World of Warcraft beta.

jynxycat

You have to paint that thing according to the site.

mandarin

@Tizlor: Haha, someone's bitter at Bad Company.

Did you see the entire package?

Not that I'm interested in this, but that is pretty incredible for 40 bucks more.

The_Antihippy

Anyone who has tried it can tell you that the delay is nothing but a good thing, mainly because its prolly the worst I've played since launch-era anarchy online.

Imagine Everquest pathing, but worse.
Imagine SWG's vast fields of nothing, but uglier.
Imagine the class balance that allows a 13 goblin shaman to solo level 22+ mobs, but a level 13 black orc to have trouble with a single 13.
Imagine the coding that causes your pet Squig to run out of the zone and despawn himself 30% of the time because he cannot find a way to reach you or your target.

I could rant and rant, but its been the single worst mmo I've ever played, and due to changes to meet ESRB standards feels nothing like the game its based off of.

uhwhutnow

Meh, the development cycle has been short for the game even if they release in Fall 08. Most good MMOs take about 5 years, this will end up at 3. Il preorder this as soon as I can, looks like it will be good.

Mike Fahey, you could also mention that Europe gets 55,000 copies of this CE.

The_Phiphler

I really like the style they used for the CE Version, but it definitly is stolen by the WoW CE. But sure it´s nice :D

M.C.-Action

Oh Wow! We get to pay extra for shit that should've already been in the game to begin with! Jolly good! Good show!

Why would I preorder a game I haven't seen outside of screenshots and has been delayed for ages now?

The answer is I won't.

Tizlor

@CitStream:
Because in England and Europe in general, more things are taken care of by the government in terms of services such as electricity, so more money can be spent on personal things such as games. In the US, almost everything is paid for by the person, so games have to be cheaper to compensate. That's how I see it anyway.

Sqwerell

That. Looks. Absolutely. Incredible.

I wish I had 80 bucks. I have absolutely no interest in the game but that is worth it alone.

HungryWolf AKA C of TeamChink.com

@ManjiKengo:

Well, I'm glad they're including at item which allows you to sleep around.

Koztah

Wait, all that for $80? but thats £40! thats less than most ordinary games over here (UK). Why does everything in england have to be such a rip off.

CitStream

60,000? Blah, it was probably sold out before I even read this post.

KirbyMorph

@wallapuctus: "They enemy's be coming to attacking us quickly!"

Cappy

That's a nice little ork mini! Great initiative on GW's part there, could tempt many a GW player.

hezz05

preorder the CE at Gamestop and you also get a
Live head start- play before retail
open beta spot
exclusive in-game items-rittenbachs portable camp and sentinel's amber band which allows you to sleep around and the latter enhances your stats.

ManjiKengo

The comic looks terrible. I even spotted a typo. Did anyone copy edit it?

wallapuctus

see, this is what I was talking about in the last thread! It's friggin awesome!

Grumps

This is how a collector's edition is done.

KillerBee

This needed to be released 2 years ago when everyone was getting sick of wow. Instead its likely going to be released Q3? or Q4? which is round about the time of the NEXT wow expasion which means all the wow addicts arent going to bother looking at it. The ex wow players like me are likely to be the ones to pick it up.

Thermopylae

Ah, GW. The right hand takes while the left hand... also takes.

Fnor

Look this is a good deal and all, and sounds like one hell of a collector's edition. But 60,000 copies? and you get all this awesome exclusive in game stuff?? even extra exclusive quests? They've got to be kidding.

All my friends are stoked for this game, but I'm going to wait and see. But you know what's going to suck balls? Buying the normal version, which, judging from the awesomeness of this 'collector's edition' sounds pretty gimped. I seriously don't know if I could really be content just buying the 'normal' version of the game when there's 60,000 ubernerds who preordered this shit running around doing stuff I can't do with gear I can't have.

PS: Sounds like the beta is going REAL awesome. lol

weenort

This will be just as hot of an item as both the WoW and BC Collector's Editions.

Can't wait to eBay it for 4x it's worth.

Nyobari

That is beautiful, absolutely beautiful. And to think it is the same price as the Vegas 2 Collector's Edition...other people could learn a thing or two about how to actually make "collectors"/big fans happy, and thus win street cred.

Afore Notation

I played it at Gamesday last year, and while I realise it was still in beta... it just wasn't that great at all. Combat was jerky, actions didn't quite sync with your button presses, lots of little delays. Interface wasn't very impressive and their idea of a battleground was pretty... poor (take and hold the middle... that's IT).

Granted I'll probably pick it up at launch to give it another shot because no doubt some of my friends will be but no doubt we'll soon grow tired of it and return to WoW. Also right now Blizzard has a good few things going for them, patchs 2.3 and 2.4 have both been supremely awesome. As mentioned above as well, if EA don't get this out before Wrath of the Lich King, they're fucked if they think they'll be able to grab many WoW players.

Odin

@weenort: knowing EA they'll probably charge for all the stuff included in the special edition for people who bought the gimped...I mean normal edition

excel_excel

@Odin: "if EA don't get this out before Wrath of the Lich King, they're fucked if they think they'll be able to grab many WoW players."

I can't see the release as being 'fucked' if they can't release it by the next WoW expansion. I knew just as many people who quit because of the expansion as were hooked.
The people who've worked the hardest ("worked hard" in this case meaning raided the most nights) are usually the most upset at having their achievements diminished by the new gear that's subsequently better or equal to their tier 93 gear.

Arttemis

Too bad the actual game is gonna suck, but hey, you get a cool CE edition for the suckage.

Like mentioned earlier, maybe 2 years ago it might have done well, but now, it won't make it just like the last few "WoW killers" :/

I'll stick to WoW and Lineage2 for the time

z0phi3l

@Odin: I wouldn't be impressed by a Year old beta either. As long as they have a smooth launch then the WoTLK won't matter because people will get bored with WoW and come over to WAR.

clintonskneecap