Asheron's Call was released on Nov. 2, 1999. Turbine and the AC community just celebrated the ninth anniversary of the game, which is an amazing milestone to reach.

This thread on the official AC forums demonstrates the MMORPG still has a dedicated following after nine years. Turbine had announced in the October release notes that "On Nov. 2, Asheron’s Call will celebrate its 9th anniversary. Make sure you are around that day for some special fun!" While many players expected a live event from that note, the evening instead consisted of the usual fireworks, disco opening and dispersal of anniversary shirts.

I am certain that Turbine is proud of the the game's ninth anniversary. In fact, AC community relations poster Frelorn states it in the thread. On the other hand, I can understand why players may have been disappointed with the in-game birthday celebration. In any case, congratulations to Asheron's Call, Turbine and the players for this momentous occasion. Frelorn's responses in the thread are copied below.

Here is a portion of Frelorn's first response in the thread to show the AC team's side of the story:

I am all for letting people voice their opinions, good or bad, but I won't sit here and just let people bash us. I apologize if players read more into the notes then they were supposed to. Our 9th anniversary is a very special occasion to us, and we are very happy to have made it here.

Again, everyone is allowed to express their feeling on the day or the events surrounding it.

Here is a portion of Frelorn's second response. Again, Frelorn seems apologetic and open to discussion on the topic:

When we intend on running live events, we will generally tell everyone ahead of time so that people can adjust their schedules accordingly so they can attend. Again, I apologize if the notes caused people to think otherwise, as that was not our intention. We will continue to and have always read all of the posts here on the forums.