pay-for-alpha
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The Soapbox: Enough with selling alpha tests already!
The dam has burst, restraint has been cast off, and caution has been thrown to the wind. Seemingly overnight, game studios all over the place have thrown the doors open to the general public to get in on alpha testing, usually as a reward for loyalty and financing. Steam has an entire Early Access section that's dominating the sales charts, offering players a chance to hop right into an anticipated game while it's still in the middle of development. Kickstarter games routinely offer alpha and beta access to their financers as part of their reward structure. Trove, Elite: Dangerous, Shroud of the Avatar, Star Citizen, and EverQuest Next Landmark are among the vanguard of upcoming MMOs that have promised alpha or early access to players willing to shell out a few bucks right now. It's not enough to covet and chase after a beta key these days; all of the cool kids are in the alpha, apparently. The willingness of developers to wield alpha access as a reward and the enthusiastic acceptance by gamers to literally buy into it has me very concerned that this could poison the industry, the community, and the future of our games.
The Daily Grind: Will you be playing EQN Landmark next month?
Access to EverQuest Next Landmark is about a month away, according to a recent tweet by SOE CEO John Smedley. I'm kinda wondering where the time has gone, since it seems like last month that the company announced its next-gen sandbox and it seems like last week that it started talking up features and design decisions. I guess I need to see about getting some alpha access, and I'm interested to know how many of you have done or are planning to do the same. So there you go, today's Daily Grind: did you pre-order Landmark, and will you be playing it next month? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
