Should the launch have been delayed? What else could be done?

[Nothv13]

The game was growing well before the WoW exodus.

Slowly in a gradual manner. The WoW exodus caused the player base to nearly double in a very short time.

[Velnora]

Slowly in a gradual manner. The WoW exodus caused the player base to nearly double in a very short time.

And if that is the case, if there was no need to upgrade, why was the common argument for the cash shop, so they could do server upgrades? The check engine light came on, and it was ignored while the mechanic charged you each time.

[DPZ2]

And if that is the case, if there was no need to upgrade, why was the common argument for the cash shop, so they could do server upgrades? The check engine light came on, and it was ignored while the mechanic charged you each time.

Hmmmmm. Might have something to do with the fact that they built, oh, an entire data center in Europe with the funds, including 12 worlds (at 17,000 population per that's 204,000 additional players who don't have to use the North American data center), and they're opening up a new Oceania data center that will be closer to non-Japanese players in the Western Pacific with the same funds? That particular project was well underway almost a year before WoW turned into a barbeque pit.

[Moonlite]

Hmmmmm. Might have something to do with the fact that they built, oh, an entire data center in Europe with the funds, including 12 worlds (at 17,000 population per that's 204,000 additional players who don't have to use the North American data center), and they're opening up a new Oceania data center that will be closer to non-Japanese players in the Western Pacific with the same funds? That particular project was well underway almost a year before WoW turned into a barbeque pit.

Which shows if they had planned for in game growth in NA and EU they would have some new worlds going live. Except either they didn't plan any growth (wow is an anomaly and they don't get blamed for that) or the plan was to see how many more players to stuff on the worlds until the experience started to suffer. You guys believe they don't have road maps planning years down the road?

[DPZ2]

Which shows if they had planned for in game growth in NA and EU they would have some new worlds going live. Except either they didn't plan any growth (wow is an anomaly and they don't get blamed for that) or the plan was to see how many more players to stuff on the worlds until the experience started to suffer. You guys believe they don't have road maps planning years down the road?

They did plan for growth in NA and EU and Oceania, and those plans were compromised by the Covid-19 virus as well as technology supply-chain shortages throughout the world.

Road maps made in 2019 (when Endwalker was in early development) suddenly became useless in 2020. With the bonfire that WoW created for themselves, road maps became obsolete where server growth is concerned.

All plans for growth, in almost every industry, had to be rewritten this year, given the economic impact of a Pandemic that is still raging in most parts of the world that is not Europe or North America. The clients we work with in IT are in that bind right now in the foreseeable future.

Only one current MMO (that appears to not be doing as well as planned) owns their own Cloud company.

[Moonlite]

They did plan for growth in NA and EU and Oceania, and those plans were compromised by the Covid-19 virus as well as technology supply-chain shortages throughout the world.

Road maps made in 2019 (when Endwalker was in early development) suddenly became useless in 2020. With the bonfire that WoW created for themselves, road maps became obsolete where server growth is concerned.

All plans for growth, in almost every industry, had to be rewritten this year, given the economic impact of a Pandemic that is still raging in most parts of the world that is not Europe or North America. The clients we work with in IT are in that bind right now in the foreseeable future.

Only one current MMO (that appears to not be doing as well as planned) owns their own Cloud company.

Companies are still filling orders. In fact auto industry wouldn't be so borked if they hadn't cancelled their order. You want me to believe they ordered new servers for NA and EU in 2019 and they have got nothing to show for it two years later. Yet somehow the servers ordered for OCE were delivered. Yes they can't get them running, but they say they have them. They have never claimed to have any EU or NA.



And yeah the road map for all forms of online entertainment were increased not lowered. Which still means we should see some servers. Not enough, god no. Let us play a little guessing game with SE being a company that has most definitely prioritized profits over player experience. They ordered ZERO servers for NA and EU even though they expected growth. Until WoW and New World bottomed out, then they were desperate. What they decided/hoped was enough players might move and they hoped EU, NA,and JPN would be stable once OCE was live. You have been here since 2015 and the way the sub is structured, the cash shop, and the way they have invested in this game.



You are 100% comfortable sitting there being, "It was all covid, SE couldn't have possibly put money ahead of the players." If you 100% believe that then I am sorry and when I see your next post I will erase this and just say you must be right. If someone who has been here from 2015 is 100% life on the line confident, I shouldn't question that. But that is how sure I am they made money over player choices that have lead us here. Do I think it would have been smooth, no. That doesn't mean it couldn't have been better.

[Hasrat]

Which shows if they had planned for in game growth in NA and EU they would have some new worlds going live. Except either they didn't plan any growth (wow is an anomaly and they don't get blamed for that) or the plan was to see how many more players to stuff on the worlds until the experience started to suffer. You guys believe they don't have road maps planning years down the road?

Or, maybe, possible, consider that major company plans and roadmaps are charted more than a year in advance. For all we know, they'd already planned to add more servers to EU to account for predicted growth after OCE went online. As we've seen, actual growth simply outpaced predictions by a large margin due to various factors.

[Moonlite]

Or, maybe, possible, consider that major company plans and roadmaps are charted more than a year in advance. For all we know, they'd already planned to add more servers to EU to account for predicted growth after OCE went online. As we've seen, actual growth simply outpaced predictions by a large margin due to various factors.

You and I are looking in the same direction it seems. But we came to a different conclusion. We both agree that they are planning years in advance, they were planning growth and they would have to order servers. I can agree servers have been delayed. Now here is where you and I seem to diverge. They order OCE servers they have them for now at least 6 months. Yet no signs of the planned in advance growth EU servers? And the "desperate" plea for patience they can't get any servers. Yet we both just agreed they road mapped this years ago. If the statement was we don't have enough servers or we refuse to risk employees travelling. Those are valid and imply they did plan growth and new hardware post OCE. Which should be live now, but travel.