With Warhammer: Age of Reckoning generating quite the buzz in the MMO community, we thought it was high time we asked some pertinent questions of the team. Here we have our very own Becky "Tovin" Simpson chatting with Mark Jacobs, GM/VP of EA Mythic, about WAR:

Tovin: The last extension of release came about because it was felt that additional time and effort to make WAR the game that it needed to be was needed.  Do you feel that the original extension created a need for further polishing and work across the world, or did it take longer then expected to accomplish the goal?

Mark: After going through this past phase of beta, while the team was meeting the requirements of the various milestones it was taking us a little longer to complete them than we had planned.  The extra time that was being used had initially been allocated for iterating on and polishing the game.  So, we had a choice, lose the iteration and polish time and release in June or extend the release date.  Obviously, we chose the later.

Tovin: Have the RvR implementations and changes posed more of a design issue then was originally intended, causing the extension to be necessary?

Mark: No, though I wish I could say that was true.  Being able to go to the fans and say that "Everything was perfect except we need a little more time working on RvR to make that system really great" would have been a really strong and even more positive message than the one we just delivered.  Unfortunately, it would not have been true so...

Tovin: Obviously release dates are an evil that most developers despise because of the pressure and expectations it creates.  Do you feel that this will harm player faith in the product you'll eventually be releasing? Mark: Yes and no.  Some people will lose faith, some people will say they have lost faith, some will gain some faith, etc.  As I&rsquove said elsewhere, I'd rather have the players be angry at us now than angry at us when we release the game.  What really matters is quality and you don't have to look any further at the success of WoW and Blizzard's long held development philosophy of shipping only when a game is ready, to see the truth and benefit that is derived from following that philosophy.   In the end it is the quality of the game that matters and not whether it was delayed during development.  Players will forgive delays; they won't forgive crappy games. Tovin: Because beta is now being extended are their any plans to invite more people then what was originally planned? Mark: Maybe. J   We'll see how things go over the next few months.  I certainly want to lift the NDA as soon as possible. Tovin: Can you tell us how far before launch collectors edition pre-orders can expect to be invited into open beta? Mark: Nope, sorry.  I don't want to make a promise that for some reason we might not be able to keep. Tovin: How do you expect this extension to impact launch coming up against end of the year releases from other developers? Mark: Oh, you mean &ldquoHow are you going to survive possibly going against WotLK?” J   One of the things I've said over the years to my team, back even before the DAoC days, was that we had to focus on making a great game and then see what happens. I don't trust any developer's release dates any more than I trust ours which is why I also say that release dates, especially for MMOs, are set in mud. Tovin: The WAR Herald was just re-launched with a new look and collectors edition pre-orders announced!  Care to take a guess on how quickly the 60k run will last?!

Mark: Until the last copy is sold? J   In all seriousness, we hope to sell out every copy of the CEs so that I don't see them in the stores come release date.  Every MMO I've seen that has had a CE for the initial launch (not expansion packs), has had some available at retail at launch, even WoW.  I want us to sell them all out.

Tovin: Thanks very much Mark, for taking time out of your hectic day to talk to us, and good luck with the release of one of the most anticipated MMOs of all time!

Mark: As always, you're welcome.  Thanks for the support and interest in our game!

Well, there is some interesting stuff in there... keep an eye out for more WAR news and exclusives!

By: Becky "Tovin" Simpson
News/Editorialist