1.0 Alpha, Beta and launch were atrocious versions of the game (I think we can all agree?). I stopped playing until March 2012 and when I came back I found an enjoyable game, granted with a couple of deep-rooted issues (for me, the major one was the Market Wards and the economy), but very playable nonetheless. I played from March until shutdown and was left wanting more.

From what I've seen so far, ARR has very little to worry about. At the very worst, it could be considered average, but it's certainly not atrocious (as last time) and I'm confident that the features that have been promised for the next Beta phase and launch will ensure the gaming press return at least 'good' reviews (I'm hoping the game will deserve better than that, but until everyone's had a couple of weeks to sink their teeth into it, it can't be predicted).

So those are my reasons as to not consider it relevant to compare 1.0 launch with ARR launch.

I've mentioned it before, but I think a major influence on the actual release date will be that of TESO's, because the gaming press are naturally going to compare the two. Will ARR go live first and have to retain subscribers from TESO, or will ARR instead have to pull subscribers from TESO?