Grand Theft Auto Online launched 10 days ago and it only now seems to have reached a stable state, much to the dismay of people with amnesia. For the rest of us, we all knew it would be a disaster, as we have seen this movie many times before and starring companies who have far more experience and know-how with online games than Rockstar does. Hell, if Blizzard can’t get it right with Diablo III, what chance does anyone else have?
That being said, it is pretty messed up that we can’t expect to play something we bought for on the day it launches: from Simcity to Call of Duty, the first day and even week can be a symphony of frustration to any gamer who dares dip their toe into the online world. How does this make you feel? Do you get angry at this or have you come to a place of serene acceptance, as I have? Are these just the breaks or should companies go out of their way to compensate their customers, as Rockstar is doing now with the bribe, I mean, gift of $500,000 for GTA Online? Should they stagger allowing certain timezones access or would that make you angry knowing that people on the East Coast are already playing while you have to wait a few more hours? Speak now or forever hold your peace!
These kinds of games have been around for at least ten years now, and we still don’t have the foresight to take preventative measures when it comes to online issues? It feels like nobody’s learning from past mistakes.
It’s not that no one is learning from past mistakes, it’s that developers don’t want to shell out the server cash in order to have the capabilities to support all of those players that flood in on day 1, when a month later half of those servers they bought won’t be needed due to the decline in players. I think in the future more game companies should do what The Old Republic did and allow certain people who pre-ordered by a certain date to get in early. Also a good ol’ fashioned MMO-style server que would help as well.