Is Blizz the root of all evil?

[Sword_of_Doom]

I'm thinking you didn't play EQ when it launched.  The stability on Stormrage prior to the last patch was better than the stability on, say, Prexus 6 full months after EQ launched.
Maintenance days for EQ were horrible for the first six months or so.
Same was true of EQ for a lot longer than six months.

I don't disagree with the existence of the problems we've been having, but for heavily-played MMOs, crappy technology during the first few months is almost part and parcel of the experience. As for promised content not being in place, that's not Blizzard's fault so much as it is Vivendi's.
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This is the standard response that really concerns me. It means that we as consumers should and expect a crappy experience because that is the NORM. It is the standard in the industry. Honestly, is this what people really want? Isn't the point of Beta testing to iron out all these "crappy technology" problems. Isn't Beta there to polish a game so that its playable and enjoyable to the consumer? The current state of MMO's is exactly as described. But in any other field of service, Blizzard, SOE etc. would have been out of business a long time ago. Why is this acceptable? I don't have the answer for that other than as long as consumers are willing to shell out the bucks for "crappy" launches this will continue.