Curse

Soflaz · May 02, 2006, 05:34 PM // 17:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by nitra

Then why, on the Head start day did I see 7 different people using CE?

It was because they bought the CE key from an online retailer.

Also I'm just curious after reading all this and caling my local EB Games. The guy said it would be a couple of days 'til I got my CE in. I can live with that. But then I see people ehre saying it will not be in 'til the Summer.

Are they sending an early wave to those who pre ordered the CE and holding out on the rest? I'm so confused

EternalTempest · May 02, 2006, 05:50 PM // 17:50

Here is the situation from the look of it:

They sell more pre-order's of CE then they actually made.
They shipped what they had out to vender's.

Gamestop/Ebgames appears to be sitting on what they have and made a deal with Anet to get the correct amount to = there current pre-orders number before they send any of them which is expected on 5/4/06. (aka anet's produced more ASAP for this vender)

They are making more and if the vender is out out (and not in the ebgames/gamestop situation) they will hit they June 30 batch.

axe · May 02, 2006, 05:51 PM // 17:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by DevilStick

I love Guild Wars (all chapters). I preordered my CE as soon as it was available.

Now that the head start is over, and it's apparent I may not get my CE until Friday, maybe even longer, I'm disappointed. A little delay (like to the end of this week) will be fine, but I'll be really disappointed if I can't get my copy until July. I was one of the hard core folks who lined up as soon as it was possible to preorder.

But, as long as my characters, my progress and my Tengu masks are still there, I'll be disappointed but Ok. If Anet didn't have the policy it announced, I would be livid. I would be ragequiting.

So, while I applaud Anet's efforts, giving me a couple of extra days to play while I wait, and at least not deleting the progress I made, I think it's Ok for folks to be a bit disappointed. We were, after all, some of Anet's biggest fans, and we just want to play without having to give up on the CE.

Just my $0.02.

My feelings exactly, Im not angry, just disappointed

I dont want the standard Ed. I want the collectors edition and I want to play it today. So maybe thats too much to ask for, but I just feel that while Anet makes great decisions and makes tremendous effort to please its players that they could have extended this "free" factions thing (for pre-order people) until this Fri.

YES they would lose some money, but thats how most businesses do things, sometimes they have to admit a mistake and pay for it out of their bottom line, they arent going to go broke by losing a few sales, plus most of the people who preordered the CE are such die hards that they have multiple accounts, and intend to buy multiple factions expansions, I just think the situation was not analyzed correctly, anyone that plays this game will buy Factions just for the new skills alone. I just dont think its that big of a deal to extend the headstart till this Fri.

Soflaz · May 02, 2006, 06:02 PM // 18:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by EternalTempest

Here is the situation from the look of it:

They sell more pre-order's of CE then they actually made.
They shipped what they had out to vender's.

Gamestop/Ebgames appears to be sitting on what they have and made a deal with Anet to get the correct amount to = there current pre-orders number before they send any of them which is expected on 5/4/06. (aka anet's produced more ASAP for this vender)

They are making more and if the vender is out out (and not in the ebgames/gamestop situation) they will hit they June 30 batch.

So what your saying is, I will get my copy of CE byt he end of th month. But the poor souls who didn't pre order it a month or two early have to wait until the summer?

DevilStick · May 02, 2006, 06:03 PM // 18:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by supadave

nice poke.. To be honest I haven't even got it out of the plastic bag yet. I'm going to most likely give it away to a guild member for one of our contests.

It's an XL which is a bit big for me. Not what you expected I assume

Hehe - I'm glad you didn't take offense. Was just teasing.

EternalTempest · May 02, 2006, 06:07 PM // 18:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soflaz

So what your saying is, I will get my copy of CE byt he end of th month. But the poor souls who didn't pre order it a month or two early have to wait until the summer?

That's a guess on my part, but from what they said publicly and stuff in the forums and ebgame/gamestop eta for release on my orderinformation seems to be true.

The end of the month is from there web site.

Quote:

Guild Wars Factions Collector's Edition Availability 28 April 2006
Due to unexpected production delays, the initial batch of Guild Wars Factions Collector's Edition will be shipping in North America on May 4 rather than the scheduled release date of April 28. We are working with select retailers such as GameStop and Electronics Boutique for in-store availability on Friday, May 5.

While this first supply of the Guild Wars Factions Collector's Edition is limited in quantity, production is underway for a second run and we expect those to ship in the U.S. on June 30, 2006.

The teams at ArenaNet and NCsoft sincerely apologize for any inconvenience, and appreciate your patience while we work on a solution that will get the Guild Wars Factions Collector's Edition to you as soon as possible.

My ebgames is showing 5/4 and I ordered in the middle of last month but know no one that has the eb/gamestop ce out there.

achan1523 · May 02, 2006, 06:46 PM // 18:46

To all the disgruntled gamers:

I understand all your frustration and anger, but please let's stop flaming A.Net and threatening them of not planning on buying CE ever again. IMO, if they bring out the 3rd CE efficiently and with amazing material that goes above and beyond the regular edition... YOU GUYS WILL BUY IT UP DESPITE YOUR ANGER. They have apologized over and over again, but realize this is the first addition (xpack or whatever u wanna call it) to Guild Wars they have released. They sound like they have definitely learned from their fumbles and mistakes. For those angry that they paid more for something that isn't worth their money, its a valid opinion, and honestly just cancel the pre-order and that will reflect your anger to A.Net. Otherwise, these verbal tamtrums are really getting old and childish.

To A.NET:

I hope you understand your market/fanbase. Many don't really care about the real-life problems of production and logistics, nor do they know about development delays. So if you want to do better the next time learn as much as you can from these people as they are providing your company with greatly deserved revenue.

Some things I have noticed that gaming companies do when they release games:

1) NEVER release a regular edition BEFORE a collectors edition. IF you have to delay the release of the regular edition until collectors becomes available.

2) Following the first point, NEVER extend head start event. Head start events are good for those pre-order the game - in essence you are rewarding those who are willing to shell out money before they even get the product. Once you close off the head start event (you can even market it like a beta) - make sure its CLOSED, no if ands or buts. And as long as your strategy sticks to the first point, nobody can complain because nobody gets ahead in the game

3) ONLY provide special head start keys to those ordering off your website. It provides incentive to those who want to pre-order the game to do so directly from you. MEANWHILE do not allow cancellation of pre-orders after the head-start event.
This should prevent those childish teenage scammers who really dont have enough money to buy the game (or those who will blast through your game before it even comes out and then not buy it). Since you cannot convince external retailers to abide by your rules, this is the best way to secure your revenue.
Meanwhile you have access to the most amazing marketing information: a estimate of demand for the CE edition (hopefully allowing you guys to strategically decide on a good number to produce). ALSO its ok to produce less than demand - hence that would make a REAL LIMITED collector's edition (eg. WoW Collector's Edition). Blizzard sold out their collector's edition before the presale was even over creating a black market (but then thats good for you since there's more marketing hype right?)
ALSO by providing incentives to people to order directly from you and accepting no responsibility for those who order from outside retailers, you now have a method to contact them if things go wrong. You can provide bulletin updates and if necessary the all coveted retail CD KEY that everybody who bought a CE wants.

Hope that helps A.Net! Don't take this as a lecture, just somebody who graduated from strategic business management cares a lot about the product you produce

Keep up the good work in terms of content

AC

CyberNigma · May 02, 2006, 06:46 PM // 18:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mordakai

Why did you pay in full for something not in stock? And how are shipping delays Anet's fault?

Mordakai is right (and not just because she's in my guild/alliance :-).. ArenaNet is the developer and in their agreement with the publisher (NCSoft), they apparently are dealing with public relations. Complaining about ANet handling distribution (unless someone knows otherwise) would be like bitching at Bungie for postponing the pc and mac versions of Halo, or not giving out the Halo 2 expansion packs for free in the beginning. The publisher usually has the power, not the developer.

ArenaNet has probably done all they can in this manner. In fact, they probably had to push to get NCSoft to extend the original deadlines in the first place. I am not even sure if it's an NCSoft problem, though I doubt we'd get any confirmation regardless (ANet won't bite the hand that feeds it). Bugs are ANet's fault, not distribution. I really believe they've done all they can in this regard. I'd suggest bitching at NCSoft on their own site (either Lord British's US branch or Shord Dong's Korean headuarters).

EDIT: Again, thanks for the extra time over the weekend, it was much appreciated, even though some people don't seem to show it...

Venomios · May 02, 2006, 07:12 PM // 19:12

My beef with Anet/NC Soft that hasn't been resolved yet is this - I contacted NC Soft thru gw's support website to inquire about the CE delay (on 4/27/06), and was told that unfortunately, if a retail key isn't added by the end of headstart (at that time, it had not been extended) I would lose the characters I created and any content earned... the only way to avoid this was to rush to the local gamestop and I managed to snag their last copy of the standard release. Over the next few days, I find out that everything I was told was wrong, and that I COULD have just waited for my CE edition, but now I'm stuck with a product I don't want. I can't exchange it. Any plans, Gaile, or any othe Anet rep, to remedy those of us that would have gladly waited, without complaint, a few extra days, had we not been lied to by account support?

Studio Ghibli · May 02, 2006, 07:20 PM // 19:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Venomios

My beef with Anet/NC Soft that hasn't been resolved yet is this - I contacted NC Soft thru gw's support website to inquire about the CE delay (on 4/27/06), and was told that unfortunately, if a retail key isn't added by the end of headstart (at that time, it had not been extended) I would lose the characters I created and any content earned... the only way to avoid this was to rush to the local gamestop and I managed to snag their last copy of the standard release. Over the next few days, I find out that everything I was told was wrong, and that I COULD have just waited for my CE edition, but now I'm stuck with a product I don't want. I can't exchange it. Any plans, Gaile, or any othe Anet rep, to remedy those of us that would have gladly waited, without complaint, a few extra days, had we not been lied to by account support?

Here's hoping ArenaNet will be extra-nice and allow those who purchase both the SE + CE to have additional slots worth the money spent on the SE (ie: 4 extra character slots).

Or, hell, maybe two.

Something.

PLZ TO BE THROWING TEH BONE.

Pompeyfan · May 02, 2006, 07:30 PM // 19:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mordakai

How would they keep track of who bought the CE and reg. ed. in order to get the refund?

Simple - you e-mail them in the original CD access key to prove you had it, and they can cancel it

Quote:

Originally Posted by mordrakai

Uh, no you're not. You're still buying Factions! You're hooked for life. So, you don't get the bonus dances. Take a deep breath, realize it's not the end of the world, and deal with it.

]

Not quite, I already had an SE Factions and was going to use the key on my 2nd GW account with the CE on my primary account, but seeing as I've now had to add the SE key to my primary account and it'll be lost if the CE key is then added so wasting £30, I've cancelled my CE pre-order this afternoon and shan't bother adding Factions to my 2nd account which I'll use all 4 character slots for storage only. Not too botherd about lack of dances/emotes as I never use them - just wanted the CE for the art book and the fact those I know with the original CE seem to get consistently better drops than those without.

Venomios · May 02, 2006, 07:44 PM // 19:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pompeyfan

botherd about lack of dances/emotes as I never use them - just wanted the CE for the art book and the fact those I know with the original CE seem to get consistently better drops than those without.

Really? One of my friends has the original CE, and the only good drops he's ever got were the ones I gave him. heh... He does have glowing hands, tho... and that is important for finding the toilet in the middle of the night...

Siren · May 02, 2006, 08:35 PM // 20:35

I figured this was the best thread to post my reactions, so here it goes.

At the launch of Chapter 1, I regretted not reserving a Collector's Edition, but only because I hadn't realized how incredibly gorgeous the concept art collection was. The custom emote didn't interest me at all. Certainly, none of the in-game perks made the CE appealing.

Out of that regret, and upon seeing the Factions CE had a new concept art collection, I pre-ordered almost immediately, as soon as Gamestop had the CE listed for pre-order. Again, I didn't care at all about the back-up dancers, or any of the cosmetic in-game perks. I was digging the art work, the map, the poster, etc. I'm more an art enthusiast than hyperactive, obsessive gamer.

My reasons for purchasing the CE for Factions were exclusively due to those extra, physically tangible materials. Had I just wanted Factions by itself, I would have grabbed a Standard edition and had no problem with it.

Some would tell me that I could have just grabbed either the CE key from the NCSoft website, or gone with the Standard edition and then acquired the art materials later, but I saw what was happening on eBay with the first art collection, and I wasn't about to drop 100 bucks on the first one. And I suspected that the second art collection would follow a similar trend.

So I pre-ordered the CE from Gamestop.com. I received the Bonus CD in the mail a week or two before Factions launch, and entered the pre-order key. I was set to go, if only for the launch weekend. But wait, what happens? The show I'm doing at Rutgers opened. Suddenly a few hours in-game per day dropped down to maybe 15 minutes per day, if I was lucky.

And then today on my reading days before Finals, when I've finally got some free time again, after the show closes, I log-in and what do I find? I've been locked-out of my level 15 Assassin, which, mind you, was incredibly difficult to level, considering I had so little time over this past weekend.

I'm not going to get angry, snooty, bitchy, and so on, because that's completely unproductive and inefficient, and I loathe inefficiency, but I would like to say it's a major disappointment. I respected the art and graphic design team at ANet so much that I spent an extra 30 dollars just for their artwork. I didn't have to do that. I wanted to do that.

Then I find out the pre-order key basically meant nothing at all. No matter what anyone can do, no matter what proof of reserve from Gamestop customer records that anyone can show...anyone without a retail key will not play Factions. I can understand the logic behind such an assessment, but I think it's entirely flawed, because it's based on a completely arbitrary adherence to a definition.

There's no question in my mind that the automated account systems we use right now can pinpoint who has what types of pre-orders/reserves by cross-referencing them with the major retailers. Even something as simple as "Please select your vendor, your name, and your order #" then running a search for that information would be monumental in helping the players that have found themselves on the short-end of the stick, as it were.

If there are 10$ pre-order keys from Amazon.com, why would they ever be confused with the 80$ pre-order keys from Gamestop.com? Isn't each key unique in the first place?

Maybe I'm just thinking too much in the future, maybe it's just the science-fiction nerd in me talking, but honestly...instead of extending the Head Start period by what amounts to 48 hours, when clearly the earliest ship date for Factions CE is later this week...the intelligent thing to do is offer players options that do not include "Just buy the Standard." That is entirely sloppy business management.

And I think one of those options certainly should have been some sort of cross-referencing.

I'm waiting for my Factions CE so I can ogle over the pretty pictures, and with Finals and more weekend busy time coming up, I won't have time to play much anyway, but still. I'm not pleased at all.

Doomslay · May 02, 2006, 09:06 PM // 21:06

Ok so I can play my main account if I put in a Factions standard game key (which I have ) but if I want the special emotes I would then have to pay for the limited editon and use the key Thus paying twice for the same account (BTW color me stupid I did the with the fist installment and ask anet if I could seperate them to which they said so sorry GERRRR )

Look The way I see it the answer is simple offer an upgrade kit for the price difference between the two that way I can play till it comes out.

WELL GAIL WHAT SAY YOU ????

zemelett · May 02, 2006, 09:21 PM // 21:21

I laugh so hard when people threaten to "leave gw forever!!!!" its just so bloody funny. You think with a world wide following and player numbers in the millions they will even notice. ahahhahahahahaa...

I'd love to work for ANet (as a programmer) and dont think there could be a better job to have. You people have no idea how much time and effort goes into this game and mostly to make us all happy and have a better game play experience. For every one out there that says "Oh this could have simply been prevented by doing <insert idea here>..." you obviously have no idea how the real world works. Things go wrong all the time, and many of them uncontrollable. How many games out there have people who browse the fan sites looking for ideas from the game community and then actually implement the ones that the majority of the community ask for? You could probably count them on one hand, maybe 2 hands but my bet is on 1.

I have been locked out of my canthan characters as well, but from what I hear from my friends you can get to lvl 20 in about 2 or 3 days (if you play casually) so you'll be able to catch up in no time at all. Plus you can always take your old chars and try to get the Great Cartographer title or try to capture 90 elites...You are not completely shut down, its not like they banned your account.

M I D G E T S · May 02, 2006, 09:57 PM // 21:57

I pay $80 for CE and don't have access to the game now basically and everyone that payed $50 for a regular version is jolly, ty ANet.

Forsythe · May 02, 2006, 10:17 PM // 22:17

I think in the future there should be a little more clarity when posting news articles instead of doing retroactive damage control by picking on the semantics of how posted news didn't actually say anything with certainty.

Remember, if it doesn't say "we promise," then it means nothing and is always open to amendment.

Balance · May 02, 2006, 10:25 PM // 22:25

If I get the retail package within this 10-day grace period, w/o the pre-order, I can still make the 2 extra characters, right?

sh4ft3d · May 02, 2006, 10:30 PM // 22:30

I have an interesting dilemma. I bought my CE in America but I use euro servers; how will I be able to use the key? If I remember correctly, didn't didn't work last time I tried so I had to put in the pre-order key instead.

rotielover · May 02, 2006, 11:02 PM // 23:02

While I appreciate there is enough blame to go around, all this could have been resolved by OFFERING CE KEYS ONLINE!!! Then I could happily continue playing a game I PAID FOR, and get the box goodies whenever.

Is there something so wrong with that option, Gaille??

PS. I also hardly believe that anyone at A.net doesn't have CE keys if they want them.......