Matrix Online: The Sky is Falling!

You're sitting at your computer, reading all of the details again. Perhaps you've spent the better part of a year mulling over the options in your head, unsure if you want to take that step. Maybe you've only recently discovered the choice and yet, apprehension still grips your heart. Surely you've weighed much more important decisions in your lifetime. Yet you cannot escape the fact that inside you really want to trust that this time they've got it right. Sure, $50 may not be a lot to many people but to you it's a big deal. Maybe you're a kid who doesn't have an income who had to beg your parents for an early holiday gift. Perhaps you're an adult with a mortgage to pay and kids of your own. Then again, you may just be an average, everyday person who isn't sure you should throw money away on something you don't even know you'll like. Whoever you are and for whatever reason, you've finally stopped agonizing over the decision and have made your choice.

You're satisfied with yourself. You've decided to pre-order what could turn out to be the most hyped up and anticipated massive multiplayer online game of the year. You are truly excited. However, the beta test you will get to participate in as a reward for your pre-order doesn't start for a few more weeks. So, you decide to check the message boards to see what other people have been saying. You know that most of what you read will be speculation, yet you cannot help but indulge your curiosity. You've created your account and signed in. With great anticipation you click on the link that will bring you to...

"Pre-Order Confusion"
"EBGames not living up to pre-order promise - Devs please read!"
"Gamestop doesn't know what's going on?!"

The sky is falling!

Suddenly, your heart leaps into your throat. You click on the first thread and quickly scan the messages. Confusion begins to cloud your judgment and you quickly click on the next post and then the one after that. Phrases leap out at you. Mean, hateful phrases that play on your earlier indecision like, "pre-order fiasco," "false advertisement," and the dreaded, "no one knows what's going on!"

Your throat constricts as your blood races and you continue to search through the forums, silently begging for answers. You find none. All you discover is hearsay and speculation as one person claims to have been told one thing while others claim to have been told something completely different. The hysteria that has spread across the message boards and now begun to infect you, which leads to the inevitable question: "Have I made a mistake?"

This all too common scenario has plagued many games in the past. Why should the Matrix Online be any different? Sure, the actual topic has taken many forms: The release date has been pushed back; they might cancel production on the platform you want; the game has changed producers and instead of the role-playing game you were promised, you are now getting a first person shooter. The one glaring commonality between these games and their problems is the rumor mill.

The first thing one has to remember when rolling through the message boards of a game under development is that no one knows for sure. A hundred things could change in the course of a game's development. Most of us realize this, yet we still find ourselves desperately seeking answers to questions that haven't been answered yet by the source. So then we reach out, searching for a ghost and find nothing. Uncertainty leads to speculation which leads to a variety of emotions as the winds pick up and the hurricane of misinformation continues to build strength.

There have been a plethora of posts full of questions, speculation and deliberate misinformation jamming the bandwidth to the Matrix Online message boards over the past few weeks. Some have been made by people who have legitimate concerns. Others have just been caught up in the maelstrom of confusion. Fewer still are those who so desperately wish to be "cool," or "1337," and post whatever nonsense that comes to mind just so they can have their names on the board as the one who provided the answers whether they be true or false. In the end, the only concept that brings answers is time.

The fact is simple. There has been some confusion on the part of the retailers. After all, no pre-order is the same and they often times come with varying perks. It is not often that the suits on the corporate level know for certain what the success factor may be for any given game. Retailers in the stores often receive their communication via e-mail mixed in with the daily numbers to crunch. Especially as we near the holiday season. They have displays to set up, many types of products to manage, and they are usually dealing with staffing issues. It is not difficult to surmise that they may have a lot on their plate and little time to finish the meal. It is not only possible, but certainly reasonable that many people on the retail level overlooked the information regarding the pre-order of a potentially popular game that isn't set to release for another 3 months while concentrating on the two or three that are scheduled to release over the next couple of weeks.

Then, there are the cases where people are aware of the product but they simply have not received it yet. There is little a retailer can do in the hopes of forcing the product to arrive any quicker. What should we expect them to do? Run out and hijack the trucks that may or may not even have the product on it? Perhaps they could take up their torches and pitchforks and march down to the producer's offices and demand they give them the product. After all, that's what we find ourselves doing to the retailers.

In all things, there is one certainty that no one can deny. Everyone involved wants you as a customer. You are the one who gives them the money that funds their businesses and their lifestyles. They need you much more than you need them, and whether it is obvious or not, they realize this. Despite what the doom and gloom crowd and the rumor mongers are saying, no one involved with the production or distribution of this game is trying to rip you off or intentionally mislead you.

As it turns out, the reality of the situation is the same now as it has been in the past. There have been some mistakes and they are being corrected. For whatever reason, Gamestop has received their product while EBGames has not. This is the same situation that the EverQuest 2 fans are dealing with, only the coin has been flipped for them. Not only did EBGames receive that product while Gamestop did not, they also chose to release it a day early to capitalize on the confusion generated by their competitor's unfortunate luck. Gamestop has lost money to EBGames over EverQuest 2 just like EBGames is losing money to Gamestop over the pre-order hysteria for the Matrix Online. In order to capitalize on the unfortunate circumstance of its competitor, Gamestop is willing to send the Beta information immediately rather than later should the customer call to request it. However, in the end, everyone is going to receive what they are entitled to. No amount of yelling, screaming or threatening is going to change this simple fact or make it materialize any sooner.

If you ask me what my decision was, I can explain it in very simple terms. If given the choice between betting on a sure thing or a questionable one, I'll take the sure thing. It's the nature of survival. Does this mean had I stayed with EBGames I may never have received my pre-order perks? Absolutely not. All I am presenting to you is this: You have a choice. Either way, you're going to get the end result you so desperately crave. The real question is whether or not you choose to exert the willpower necessary to avoid the hysteria and the patience to wait for the result you want. What amuses me is the possibility that while Gamestop has the edge with the pre-order beta codes, EBGames could be the one to deliver the actual product on time. One would have to appreciate the irony. I suppose we'll just have to see what happens in January. As I've said before, "the only concept that brings answers is time."