Conan Watch #1

Minka Kelly

So the "Early Access" program has begun (I think). It's common, probably even usual for new MMOs to offer a short period of time where people who pre-ordered the game can start playing before the official release date. In this case it's the standard 3 days.
I preordered (the Collectors' Edition, naturally, which has been shipped and will be reviewed in a future Conan Watch) and as per SOP I received a preorder key by email which I was supposed to register to get access to the EA program and unlock any other preorder bonuses. "Unfortunately" when I first went to register, the AoC website wasn't yet accepting registration, and I subsequently forgot all about it.
Which brings us to what might be the first of many Conan farces. For some reason Funcom (or whoever decides these things) put a limit on the EA population. Why, I don't know. Why they should not have the same capacity for EA that they do for launch, a whole three days later, is a mystery. Why the "offer" shouldn't be open to all preorder customers is a mystery. In any case the EA is now listed as "sold out" when you attempt to register a pre-order key.
Of course the official spin is that they underestimated the enormous public interest in the game and weren't prepared for the huge number of people that signed up. As if that's a good thing, and not fucking stupid, given the game is supposed to be an MMO. If they can't handle the preorder population, it doesn't bode well for the full launch, but that remains to be seen.
I'm not obsessed with power-leveling and grinding harder than the next person so EA doesn't really interest me, other than the fact it's currently Sunday, which would be a more convenient day to play than Tuesday, for those of us with actual occupations. The way the population has already been tiered does leave a slightly nasty taste though, and I expect AoC forums will not only feature "I was in beta" but also "I was in EA" qualifications in every post.