My computer can’t even run Civilazation 5, or Sims 3. Why will Anet believe that my computer will be able to run Guild Wars 2, using the “Latest technology….” It won’t. And many other computer systems won’t either. For better or worse many players will be forced to upgrade or hack out new computer systems just to even keep up with those that have monster rocking systems. In that playbook, they’ll be missing out at probably a million players worth of sales. $59.99 for the game….then anywhere between $500-$2,000 dollars in equipment just to play it. Even I saw the visual graphics at E3 and the computer they used to play it…we’re not talking about every day run of the mill equipment. We’re talking about “Reckomended System” material for the best results to play the game.

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Consider Guild Wars one big giant Beta, that’s been played by 3million+ players world wide. Now take a team that brought you Guild Wars, learning from what players wanted, and all they intended, and all the mistakes they know they made and wish to make them better.

And you’ll get Guild Wars 2. Basically the Alpha model, of everything the players ever wanted, and all the things Anet learned from the original, and what they truelly intended.

In that respects it’s going to be a great game!

But like many computer gaming company’s, they also fell victim to the “Oh look at this amazing technology on the market. Let’s build a game using all the latest visual graphics and computer programming technology

The other week we hosted our first Beta Weekend Event, when hundreds of thousands of players who pre-purchased Guild Wars 2 got their first chance to play the game. This was a huge milestone for ArenaNet; with no NDAs and no press embargoes, the beta version of Guild Wars 2 would have to stand on its own before the full force of the Internet.

I think it’s safe to say that the response was overwhelming in more ways than one. Firstly, the number of people who pre-purchased the game far exceeded our expectations, and we had to temporarily disable pre-purchases. In the end that wasn’t enough, and even with 48 worlds we didn’t have enough server capacity to meet the huge demand.

Fortunately, the vast majority of players were able to get into the game and experience Guild Wars 2 in all its glory. Seeing Tyria come alive, with players interacting with dynamic events or engaging in epic World vs. World battles, was an amazing experience. We’ve highlighted some of the great coverage coming out of the Beta Weekend in, but suffice it say that we were blown away by the reaction from the community. The positive feedback just strengthens our resolve to deliver the best game possible.

This was definitely a real beta, designed to find problems, gather player input, and learn what work still needs to be done before we ship the game. We’ve listened to your feedback and we’re making some important improvements to the game for the next Beta Weekend Event.

I want to thank each and every one of you for your support—every time you participate in our test events you help make the game better. We’ll see you in-game!