Season of the Beta
I've spent at least the last month playing nothing but betas. While it's pretty amazing to fill all my gaming time with free games, it does get old having an unfinished and buggy experience. But I will press on!
What I've come to realize while playing all of these games (6 in total) is that the time is right for Guild Wars 2. The time is right because there is no right time.
I have three children. When people talk to me about trying to figure out the right time to have kids, I silently scream "There is no right time. YOU ARE NOT PREPARED!" No matter when you have a baby, it will change your life. You will make the time right by adapting.
When Guild Wars 2 releases, there will be change. Either innovation will change direction, or Guild Wars 2 will set a standard, not for feature sets, but for innovation. What I mean is this: All of the betas are innovating. But they are timid. None of the betas I've played are changing more than one thing. They are taking the tried and true formula and tweaking one aspect: combat, character builds, questing, etc, but just one. Except Guild Wars 2. They are changing everything. Somethings, like crafting, just a little. But some things, like the Holy Trinity, they are changing big time.
So when Guild Wars 2 releases, if it's financially successful, other games will follow suit and not be afraid to change. If it isn't, well, back to stale MMO land where each beta has exactly one thing different. WoW and SWTOR and Rift can be compared easily because, let's face it, they are basically the same game with different lore. I welcome a day when different can also mean financially successful. When that happens, it will be much more difficult to peg competing games.
There is no specific right time for Guild Wars 2 to launch because they aren't competing with another game. They are competing with an idea that has no release date. It will stay around until someone challenges it.
