People love the word beta. Just saying beta excites people. Getting to play something before it’s finished (and for free) gets people to do crazy things… like buying Crackdown for example.
While last summer the beta discussion was all about the Xbox, this summer we are talking about the PlayStation. More specifically the Metal Gear Online Beta. From what I understand there are three beta’s going on, one for Europe, one for Japan and one for America. Apparently, Europeans and the Americans have been registering into the Japanese beta for MGO, denying real life, authentic Japanese people from registering.
In an attempt to quell the masses Konami has started removing the people who live outside Japan from the Japanese Metal Gear beta. This statement was issued to all of the people who were removed:
Thank you for using KONAMI ID. However, we regret to inform you that your KONAMI ID has been deleted due to the registration of false information. We would like to add that this is in direct breach of the KONAMI ID Basic Terms and Conditions of Use clauses "2.4 Prohibited Conduct" as well as "2.2 Registrant Information". Your KONAMI ID will be deleted once you have read this mail. For more details on the Terms and Conditions of use, please refer to the below web address.
If you wish to take part in the "METAL GEAR ONLINE PREMIERE BETA" test, we would recommend that you obtain a KONAMI ID for the region you live in provided that the public beta test is open to you.
Yours Sincerely
KONAMI ID services
That’s pretty rough for people who thought they were in and didn’t actively pursue a code in their own territory. Although I believe part of this is Konami’s fault. They only announced the European beta on April 11th, with the opportunity to download starting today, even though it doesn’t start until April 21st. So it is understandable why people in Europe have tried to register in a different region.
The Americans have no excuse. GameStop stores have had beta keys for some time now and many stores still have them. You pre-order MGS4, you get access to the beta. If you just wanted the beta key but not the game, then cancel your preorder and get your five bucks back. Done.
Since there are three separate betas going on I do understand why Konami wants to keep everyone restricted to their own region, but I don’t understand why there are 3 betas going on in the first place. What kind of benchmark tests can you do by restricting the regions? It seems counterintuitive. And I think people should be able to play with everyone. But what do I know.
[via PSOnly]
