EverQuest 2 Impressions

LARGE GATHERINGS IN EQ2 WILL GET YOU BANNED! ;)

EQ2 won't even have an open beta... laughable.

Just lost half of their possible customers right there. At least with WoW, you'll know what you're getting.

I don't think I could purchase another MMO title from Sony Online Entertainment after my experience with Star Wars Galaxies. It was so off-putting. And before anyone says ".. but EQ2 is by a different internal development group" .. The negative experience I had with SWG extended outside the game to SOE's corporate culture.

Paid users post messages on station.sony.com that are (politely, constructively) critical of game design.
Banned.

Overwhelming percentage of posts in all SWG forums take on harshly negative tones; Developers lose the trust of their frustrated customers.
Forums Locked. People who hadn't bought the game yet couldn't even read the forums. Smart move, they wouldn't have been duped. Guess it was easier than actually adressing the problems.

SOE has the same upper level management regardless of the title you're discussing. As with most broken corporate culture, the problem starts there.

Blizzard rules because they typically underpromise and overdeliver. And for the most part, the way they deal with their public seems fair. SOE customer services makes their games feel as though they're being managed by the same people that handle your cable TV billing department, or the management team from your local motor vehicle license branch.

Widescreen worked in WoW up until the last patch.

God EQ2 looks dreadful. I don't think the characters on that selection screen could possibly have less expression.

I like the widescreen format idea.