GOA is in trouble, but it's Mythic's job to deal with it.

In response to the Warhammer European Beta mess from the other day, Mark Jacobs has posted on his blog letting people know that they're not the only ones unhappy with GOA (European distributor of WAR) for the mess up. But the head of Mythic Entertainment is also making it clear that he considers this to be an internal problem. While it's fine for us to be upset over the situation (and who wouldn't be?) it doesn't warrant the threats and abuse he says has been hurled GOA's way.

Why do some people feel it is okay to threaten, curse, abuse and be downright hostile to other people over a game, especially in this case when it is only over access to a game that is still in testing (Open Beta Test = Not Yet Ready For Prime Time, Players)? While I’ve become quite cynical over the decades, I still find myself amazed at times at certain people’s reactions to stuff like this. I don’t mind when people get upset but to treat other people in such a callous, mean and immature manner is really a bit much. Again, it’s not the complaints I mind and nor am I excusing GOA or Mythic when we mess up but to apparently take things like this so personally is just hard for me to understand even though I know that most of the very hateful things are being said just for effect.

While Mr. Jacobs is right that this mess doesn't deserve threats or hateful abuse, there's two things about his argument that sound a bit off to me. Firstly, he says twice that he's not defending GOA for their problems, but it really has a feeling of a kid saying "No one can pick on my little sister but me." Being an older sibling who's said those exact words on more than one occasion, the feeling makes sense. A better word to use though would have been excusing.

For Mr. Jacob's blog post, please check here.