So very true; that first impression is critical. The best thing you could do is have a reasonably polished beta and not rush it. It'll cause a lot of buzz (NDA or no, people will still talk to friends, family, coworkers, and leak sites will always exist). You want them saying good things about how fun the game is and the quality of the experience and how they're really helping with polish and balancing and feel - not suffering through horrendous bugs and missing gameplay elements.
We have D3 and other things to occupy us; it's better that you make that great first impression to players than rush beta out the door. I may be insane not asking for beta immediately, but I want PS2 to be successful more than anything else. Its better to put it out when its ready in spite of my own crazed desire to play it.
You wow'd us all with the GDC footage, winning over countless skeptics. Beta's an opportunity to do that again AND get valuable player feedback on the experience. If we have to wait, so be it. I've been waiting over half a decade, I can wait a few more months or years.
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Last edited by Malorn; 2012-04-27 at 09:52 AM.
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