Oh, how i hate americans for thinking they're the center of the world.... First of: Why shouldn't they start the second phase on 4th of July as a "Independence-Day-Present"? Secondly: You know that this beta is worldwide, therefor most participants are non-american? We do not celebrate 4th of july, its just a normal day (though when we think about it, we know its ->the<- national celebration in the USA....do you know without looking in wikipedia when it is for germany? england? sweden? China? Japan?? ANY OTHER COUNTRY???)...so why shoudn't it start then. Lastly: Why should the last prize be the second beta phase? Unless its gonna be an open-beta (and i think not) it doesn't make any sence. Most people going on that specific community-site are most certainly not participating in the beta, therefor the "big prize: start of beta phase two" is meaningless to them, worthless.... ----------------- I want to state out: i do not have anything against americans personally. but i just can't stand the "we-are-the-center-of-the-world-and-everything-bows-to-us"-point of view.....
I would think that the American userbase heavily outweighs everything else. Not sure about South Korea at the moment, but they'll probably take over after release. The point is, as much as it might hurt you, the American fanbase and the limiting factors stemming from their culture do matter, and it's plausible to respect those to maximise the impact of a surprise.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but Blizzard is headquartered in California and, since they are part of the United States, will probably be partaking in July 4th celebratory functions themselves and it would be pretty cruel to have their employees work the weekend to cater to the smaller number of foreigners playing the game. Noone is asking you to bow to us, but America is the most powerful and relevant country on the planet. Whether we're that way for the right reasons is hard to say, however.
Take it down to numbers: there are roughly 300 million people living in the US. There are about 6 billion people worldwide. That means that its 300 million possible players against 5.7 billion. I didn't meant it to be country against country, but american player base against the rest of the world's player-base who are not celebrating 4th of july. So i imagine, even if there is a loyal and even big player-base in america, that most players are non-US. To be more clearly: There are 300 million Americans, but 500 million people living in the EU-States. Also i dont think that blizzard will shut down servers for the 4th of July next year because some of their staff are going to party. You are right, Blizzard is a US-Company, but has departments in Paris (for the EU-Servers) as well. Most people working there are non-Americans. But i don't want this to be an "Anti-America" thread....lets get back to topic. (otherwise we could spend weeks discussing)
The United States has more computer gamers than any other country on the planet (not the highest per capita, but highest total). Yes there are 5.7 none-american people on the planet. But how many of the almost 3 billion in China and India own a computer, let alone will buy this game? How about in Africa? Even in more developed countries like in South America or the middle east? The US is BY FAR the biggest market for this game, though Asia will likely over run it in longevity. The large majority of their opening day sales will likely be IN the united states, and even if they weren't, you could easily say that a gigantic chunk of the customer base is based here. Not to mention that more than half their staff in the states will probably be off for the holiday. So tell me why it would be a smart move to test a release via beta, when a huge chunk of your customer base that will try it, and a huge chunk of your work force... won't be able to partake? There's nothing self centered or egotistical about it. Its just being smart.
Americans have a free day on the 4th. Hard to release a beta with no employees. Also, what they ( ^ ) said
It's like launched a game on Xmas day. No, not all of your customers are Christian, but a lot of them are, and a lot of your employees are. It's not being egotistical UHMERRIKA!!, it's being business savvy. Same exact concept.
For crying out loud when will people stop treating Christmas as something purely Christian? Christmas has very little to do with Christianity and all the popular parts of Christmas have absolutely nothing to do with Christianity.
Well first of all, your post seems a bit stupid to me. You are whining because it COULD be on the 4th of July? Whereas it is not on your Countries significant holiday? Also where you trying to refer to us as being stupid?... Because last time I checked we have largest number of the worlds top prestigious schools... Not to mention the wealthiest country in the world. Stop your hate, I don't appreciate the criticism. On the side note, I'm almost positive the majority of the money from SC2 IN TOTAL will come from USA. We are the most developed country, just because there are billions of people elsewhere does not mean they have the resources to go out and buy a 60 dollar game, not to mention upgrade their computer. Also Blizzard is in California.....
Just seems like raging to me.... The United States has the most gamers (for better or worse).... Deal with it? Half of blizzards staff is in the USA.... Deal with it? Ok I think were good.
I think a good number of people have already covered the logical reasons for not re-starting the beta on the 4th, and that it isn't an ego-centric thing but a cultural and financial one. That said, would it be surprising if it were an ego-centric thing? I mean, Blizzard is based in the United States so of course this is all about us. Not you, but US. Don't **** with U.S., cause we own the world. Respect the United States, because if you aren't with U.S., you're against us. :wubclub:
