Game launches are critical things and, based on participating in virtually every major MMO launch since UO in 1997, I’ve seen my fair share of what works and what doesn’t.
In my not so humble opinion, and in point form, the best launch involves:
- Have the closed alpha and beta testing done. Be happy with the game.
- Announce an open beta period for a week or two prior to the proposed launch date, where EVERYONE can download the game and play it to a level cap well below the game’s actual level cap, but through enough content to show it off.
- During this open beta phase, allow people in the open beta to pre-order the game at the retail price and with the option of a monthly fee or a one-off payment “for life”.
- Then, on opening day, whether those people’s discs have arrived or not, they already have the game client on their desktop, ready to go. This is a HUGE benefit for o/s gamers where the boxed product might not reach their mailbox for weeks after the actual launch.
- Some games have also allowed characters and guilds built during the 2-3 week open beta period to remain in the game world. This is a great bonus for people, especially in terms of securing their preferred names, getting their guilds sorted, etc, for Opening Day. LotRO did it, for example, and it worked REALLY well.
What do you think?