I'm canceling my Amazon pre-order. I get that the game comes out soon and it shouldn't be a big deal. I admit that I am still excited about the game. However, the fact that early beta access was pitched as a pre-order incentive and us Xbox players are getting less than 2 days to play is disturbing.
I feel like I've been duped, since the earlier beta periods were considerably longer and I pre-ordered under the assumption that beta event 3 would be equivalent in length. As others have said, the download alone will consume much of the time. I have already lost trust in Trion and I haven't even technically become a customer yet.
That said, I'll wait on reviews. There are way too many things that can go wrong with an MMO, and I don't feel like gambling. Call me a whiner if you want, but it just seems shady of Trion and a bad indicator of things to come.
I agree, this is like being spit in the face really. This is not as much about the play time as it is the time to test for bugs and glitches. We can only assume one of three things: Extensive server and game testing have been done on the Xbox that merits less time (which I think we should be made aware of); the PS3 and PC are still not stable and need more time; or the fans on Xbox are paying for something Microsoft said or did wrong. My money is on the third.
First issue is that it is on week days, so people really have to stress themselves to even get on. Sure call in from work, neglect the kids, or forget any other obligations you have, but there is still going to be something sacrificed. Not only that, but the time is too short to really get any info in about bugs; when pressed for time like this what do you think players are going to be doing more of, playing the game and having fun or reporting bugs? Another issue is if they do not let you download before the beta launches, this is going to cause so much lost "testing." Lastly, one big problem with the servers and this beta is done.
Here is my theory: Microsoft does not want this game to succeed because it can also be played on PS3 (the competitor), Microsoft allow less time to test so that game launches with more bugs because Microsoft knows players will drop a game with to many bugs and commonly not pick up another copy for another system, Trion/SciFi see this and try to make the best of the BS and says "Well lets put it on a week day line-up so less people have time to test the crap time we are allowed to give them" Which means the less people that know the servers are bad for the Xbox the less will ***** about it. I am sure you guys can see where I am going with this.
I hate to say it but our best bet is to grab the game for the PC because it has had the most testing and would seem to run smoother, and if you have a controller for your PC you can use it. If you do not have that option, I am so sorry for your loss as this does not seem like launch is going to go easy for you. I have no qualms with stating I will be jumping the Xbox ship and taking this one to the PC.