“Why I Hate Not Being in Rift Beta” or “So Many MMOs, So Little Time”
Unlike some other folks, I am not happy that I didn’t get into the Rift beta. It also doesn’t help that everyone and their mother is in it!
While I agree with Syp in that betas really tend to ruin (or at the very least dilute) launch day experiences (I am going through that with Cataclysm at the moment – everything is new, except I experienced it all in beta four months ago), I am increasingly aware of how little time I have on my hands these days. I have a blooming career, I got engaged recently, and I am writing for both this blog and a local magazine. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day.
So keeping that in mind, it would be very beneficial to be able to experience betas of an upcoming MMO, both because I am very good at providing constructive feedback, and because it will clarify for me whether of not I want to invest in the title when the final (hopefully polished) title launches. And this applies to every beta out there, not just Rift.
Which side of the fence do you lean on? Would you rather get in the beta? Or avoid it for the launch day experience altogether?
Are We New At This? 
I like participating in betas as it gives me the opportunity to scope a game out and form my own opinion on it. Like i did with rift (i wont be buying it)
Agreed. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day man. The only other option would be to not sleep. And although I can function without sleep for some time, I doubt that will be good for my health in the long-term.
I definitley like to particpate in Betas. It has helped me make up my mind on multiple occasions, two of which were recent. Perpetum and Rift. I declined on both, the former because it wasn’t polished enough, and the later because it was too PvE centric. I may pick up Rift at some later date if I’m feeling a crazy PvE urge, but by then, SWTOR will probably be out to satisfy that craving.
Perpetuum is like Eve Online in its embryonic stage. Perhaps in a few years it will get a lot better, but for now it is too unpolished.
I am not too big on PvP, so the lack thereof is OK with me. I am just not an early adopter because aside from largely conflicting second-hand accounts and the marketing lingo, I don’t know what the game is really like to play…