That Korean Investment firm, KDB Daewoo Securities, is talking Guild Wars 2 expansion… again. They are really keen on it happening the second half of 2013. They probably use models, stock discussions, and neuromantic rituals to determine it among all the other NCSoft happenings for 2013. Let’s make this simpler.
ArenaNet says their Guild Wars 2 Live Team is 15-20 times larger than the live team of Guild Wars 1.  The Guild Wars 1 Live Team is about 5 people. ArenaNet staffs over 300 people. That leaves 2/3 of the studio working on something else. Take away business, pure tech, etc., etc., that still leaves a big chunk working on… something else. Enough to make KDB Daewoo bring it up a second time.
ArenaNet is very agile. One team that cleaned up Orr might have split up to build guild missions or helped with the next part of Flame and Frost. And, then the rockin’ sound guys probably have to spread their infinite love around between tons of projects. That isn’t to say that they do have a team working on expansion-type content. I would find it harder to believe that they didn’t. It’s just that ArenaNet seems to shift resources quickly.
When Community Manager Martin Kerstein responded that the studio is committed to expanding the world through the Living Story, I don’t think he was being disingenuous. It’s just likely that the shift of resources is to all the features coming in the February-March updates. Who knows where the brunt of the studio will be focused in summer.
Bottom line: I think expecting ArenaNet to sell some kind of content is a reasonable expectation for 2013. It might be a $20 “expansion” more similar to Eye of the North that opens up some of those regions hinted when Guild Wars 2 in-game map is zoomed out (e.g., Blood Legion Homelands). It could be a huge MMO expansion. ArenaNet seems to still be testing their income out a bit, as seen by the Bouquet of Roses, which thankfully was not in a randomly-generated box of chocolates [ed: remove Forrest Gump joke]. I am still excited at the prospect of seeing what ArenaNet intends for the game’s long term with a possible offering of such a future in 2013.
–Ravious
I have to say that I liked SOE’s “box in the store every six months whether its ready or not” philosophy more than I have liked any other company (including SOE) since. As a consumer I am ready to pay another $50 every six months to get more of an MMO that I am enjoying. Give me that and there’s a very good chance you will keep me as a customer.
Speaking as a paying customer again, I am not in the slightest interested in “polish”. Never have been, never will be. As a music fans I prefer demos to releases, club gigs to stadium shows. As a reader I prefer proofs to published editions. As a gamer I prefer betas to live (except, obviously, when it comes to lack of permanence in characters). I have the highest possible tolerance for bugs and unfinished content provided I am getting a constant stream of new.
I am ready for a GW2 expansion right now. Perfectly happy for it to be “just” more of the same but in a dozen or so new maps, preferably with a couple of new races. Put that out and you can have my money.
Make me wait until the autumn, let alone, god forbid, next year, and there’s a very good chance I will have moved on. Lots of competition, lots of it very good. Don’t hang about, give me a way to give you money.
You realise that you are one individual. the majority of gamers as a whole very much prefer polished content rather than buggy, unfinished content that’s released during a set course. To most people, it’s not worth buying if its unfinished. i wouldn’t eat a half baked pizza and i won’t play a half made game, which most gamers would completely agree to. While you are entitled to your own opinion and what you may think is right, you also have a specific company that markets content over polish, SOE. Leave GW2 for those who want the proper polished game and you take the unfinished but more content games that SOE publishes.
On a selfish level I really hope not – I still have all of the original content to play through, plus alts to fiddle around with! But they do seem to be keeping new things rolling which is good.
Well, GW1 had a new “expansions” each one year or one year and half. I think it is razoable to think Anet will sell us a new expnasion for GW2 now at the end of 2013 or at the start of 2014. Take note that is the Anet model of “money making”: no subscription, but they will sell expansions each year or one year and half.
I find it weird people keep bringing up the KDB Daewoo Securities when NCSoft itself during their last conference call (available in audio form in their website in Korean with English translation) said they were expecting GW2 to keep generating revenue with the China release and the new overseas “package”.