07/06/2002 Archived Entry: "Launch!"

Has any game that touts itself as having an online component ever had a good launch?

I ask because I'm currently trying to play America's Army, and at this moment it's impossible to get on any servers because they're all down. All of them. Unfortunately, since the game requires that you play on-line as part of your qualification (unless you hack the game's config files), that means that, temporarily, no one can play the game.

This makes me very sad.

I seem to recall horribly bad problems with Battle.Net and Diablo II's launch. I also seem to recall horribly bad problems with the launches of EverQuest and Ultima On-Line.

FOR THE LOVE OF FUCK, PEOPLE, CAN'T ANYONE IN THE ENTIRE GAMING INDUSTRY LAUNCH A FUCKING MULTIPLAYER GAME WITHOUT THE LAUNCH TURNING INTO SOME KIND OF MONSTROUS TRAVESTY?!

Is that too harsh? I only ask because it seems that each company that tries to launch an on-line effort always says that they'll be ready, that their product will be different, and then they fall on their faces at exactly the same point where everyone else who's tried the same kind of thing has fallen before.

I will now go back to randomly clicking on on America's Army: Operations servers in Gamespy's shitty browser. Perhaps by next week, I will actually be able to play.

[Previous entry: "NWN"] [Return to archive...] [Next entry: "More AA:O..."]