A little under two weeks ago, Turbine and Midway Entertainment made two very important announcements: the revolutionary founders program and the release date for the Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO)! The latter has been expected for some time, but the former certainly wasn’t; indeed it was quite a surprise for anyone in the industry! I was certainly taken aback from it myself, but that does not mean I abhor it; no, for it could lead to a tremendous amount of prosperity for the title moving forward. But is this necessarily the case for the release date announcement? I am not so sure of this.

Why could I be so pessimistic about an April 24th release date? Further, it is March 30th (the date of open beta) for those who pre-order the product. That means the game will be available to fans in just less than two months! Ah, but this might not be what is best for the title at all, but this is indeed speculation – yet not without merit!

I wish to look back to 2004, the year that both EverQuest II (EQ2) and World of Warcraft (WoW) were released, with particular emphasis to the latter. It is widely believed – and not without good reason either – that WoW is the most successful online game in the world, and not just because of its exceptional design philosophy, but also because of the polish. Indeed, I argued this very fact a few weeks ago, and I cannot under-estimate the importance of this: the game was in alpha (which was a lot like a beta if memory serves) and then in the beta process for a very long time.

As far as LOTRO is concerned? It wasn’t in for nearly as long.

In terms of the time line we are presented with, LOTRO did not enter beta until sometime last summer; if we are generous, that would give the title eight months in that process before the pre-order customers enter Middle-earth for the first time. Contrast that with the year or more beta time that successful online games are given and it is a considerable worry.

Am I being overly pessimistic with this worry, however? I may be, and we shall certainly find out in the months ahead – specifically in mid April – where we will ascertain if my fears were warranted; but I certainly hope they are proven false and the title is successful from the get-go. After all, as Star Wars Galaxies (SWG) and WoW have proven, poor launches do lead to mediocre results and successful starts have a positive effect on the fortunes of any online game. Let us hope that Turbine will be ready by then!

What about this founders program, however? What is the discussion on this topic all about and why is it significant? If you are behind in the news and wish to read up on it, you can do so on , or simply read my summary: if you pre-order you will have the option of a discounted subscription (or a life time one), special in-game items and access to the open beta on March 30th – and those characters get transferred over to the life service! That is a considerable amount to consume, however, so let us look at each item one at a time.

Discounted or Life-time Subscription

When I had first heard about this model I had my doubts. Initially, the word desperation entered into my head: has Turbine realized they simply cannot contend with WoW or other online games and wish to win subscribers over with a cheaper price? But after some consideration I dismissed that thought from my mind; instead, I think it is a tactic to lure in customers wary of an online fee. This thought, initially, sounds ridiculous, but after my experience managing Guild Wars OGaming – that game has no subscription – I can confidently say many players are adamant against a monthly fee and may entertain the idea of a discounted one, if not become estatic about the life-time option.

Indeed, what about that life-time subscription fee of $199.99? This is certainly an interesting move by Turbine, and one that may cost them in the end; for they are asking players to pay for twenty months worth – one and a half years – as the only premium fees from such players. Do you see how it can be dangerous? Most players play an online game for at least two to three years; the exceptions being those who utterly dislike the game or changes made at some point in development. This isn’t even including the hardcore fans who play for a long time; EverQuest Live, for example, sustains itself through a nearly 100,000 hardcore base who have been playing for over five years! To put this into perspective, imagine if Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) had instituted the founders program: they would no longer be receiving money from most of their subscriber base! This would have disastrous results; I do hope that Turbine will excel at bringing in new players – something SOE has always done poorly, by the way – or else disaster will surely occur.

Special in-game items and Open Beta

Not much needs to be said about the special in-game items that Turbine will make available for pre-order customers; besides the lack of context we are given, such additions will not make or break a game or impact it in any significant way: precisely what I am interested in. Open Beta – and the turn-over of those characters to the live service – on the other hand, interests me greatly: not wholly in a positive light either.

To begin, I have an endless amount of praise for Turbine who is granting pre-order customers entry into the open beta; it is a tremendous incentive to pre-order the game – not to mention a ‘demo’ as well – and it will lead to increased subscriptions overall. One of the greatest criticisms of online games is the ‘if you want to try it, buy it attitude.’ Whilst companies like Blizzard and SOE have been able to dismantle this expression by means of free trials - which is not something you want to do with a recently launched game; but Turbine will be doing this with an open beta preview, so to speak: for that they are to be commended.

What can be done, then?

The solution is rather simple and somewhat obvious: label the live servers that contain open beta characters quite explicitly. If this is done, then those who care about ‘firsts’ or an economy that isn’t unfair to new players will be appeased – which should be everyone, at least as far as the latter is concerned. If this does not happen, and players roll on servers that contain open beta characters, then it will lead to considerable protest and dissatisfaction within days of the live service opening: this I guarantee.

Whilst I have been overly pessimistic on many matters in this editorial, I am very excited to see us moving closer and closer to the inevitable release of LOTRO. I have been waiting for this title for a very long time – all the way back when it was called Middle-earth Online – and it is hard to believe that the wait is almost over. In the meanwhile, I will be heading to my local games store and see if they have any copies of the pre-order available; I hope you, my readers, do as well: I expect to see all of you at launch for the best title of 2007!