ugh... tried reading it again, because I actually consider what beaghan1 says to be smart.... But I can't. I get too discouraged. I open the page, see the half-<font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>, and that site just loses all credibility to me. Sorry, I must be too old or something....
Your definition of "<font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>" seems to be EXTREMELY broad. I guess commercials on tv with girls in miniskirts are "<font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>?" Commercials that show a woman in a bathing suit is "<font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>?" Age has little to do with it -- you're just incredibly prudish, or you're trying to find something to complain about so you don't have to discuss the actual article and the points it makes.
Right next to the huge lettering that says "Now in Open Beta!"
you are starting to sound like a broken record ....
It also says "live" right next to the entry for it below that. So which is correct? The one you prefer to believe? Even PWE doesn't really seem to know which state the game is in.
Right next to the huge lettering that says "Now in Open Beta!"
you are starting to sound like a broken record ....
no that one you chose to ignore. That one where L = live. You cant convince me that you are that dumb to find it on your own, after several people posted it, i wont buy that.
Your definition of "<font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>" seems to be EXTREMELY broad. I guess commercials on tv with girls in miniskirts are "<font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>?" Commercials that show a woman in a bathing suit is "<font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>?" Age has little to do with it -- you're just incredibly prudish, or you're trying to find something to complain about so you don't have to discuss the actual article and the points it makes.
Real woman in miniskirt = show me the site, I'll gladly read all the articles.
Cartoon japanese animation "hentai" = site is intended for 12 year old naruto fans, therefore content is dumbed down to their level of intelligence. No thank you.
Real woman in miniskirt = show me the site, I'll gladly read all the articles.
Cartoon japanese animation "hentai" = site is intended for 12 year old naruto fans, therefore content is dumbed down to their level of intelligence. No thank you.
It's an advertisement for Ragnarok-2, an animated MMO in the "anime" style. They've had ads for many games up on that site -- they're a site devoted to MMOs, after all. They even had an ad for Neverwinter up there at one point. But considering how dismissively insulting you're being, I have a feeling trying to debate with you is pointless. You're dead-set in your opinion, and no amount of facts will make you think otherwise.
Real woman in miniskirt = show me the site, I'll gladly read all the articles.
Cartoon japanese animation "hentai" = site is intended for 12 year old naruto fans, therefore content is dumbed down to their level of intelligence. No thank you.
thought you said you are offended by that add, not that it doesnt suit your mightly level of intelligence. You gotta choose one.
and yet, with all that superior intelligence you still need 5 people to point you out that L = live. Maybe even more, depends on how long you ignore it :P
ugh... tried reading it again, because I actually consider what beaghan1 says to be smart.... But I can't. I get too discouraged. I open the page, see the half-<font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>, and that site just loses all credibility to me. Sorry, I must be too old or something....
Bill Murphy: The Beta Is aLie One of the more common occurences as more games go freeto play is to see "soft launches", so-called open betas, where theteam can hide behind the beta moniker but simultaneously profit by takingplayers' money for cash shop items. In his latest column, Bill Murphy takes onthis troubling trend. Read on and then tell us what you think in the comments. Editorial By William Murphy on May 16, 2013 I couldprobably make this a video rant, but in the interest of just getting it all outthere, I thought I’d keep it to the old print format that we serfs havedominated since the movable type was invented (thanks, Mr. Gutenberg!). It’s atopic that’s been bothering me quite a bit lately: the idea of “open beta”meaning “we’ll take your money, there will be no wipes, but please don’t callit launch”. The most recent case of this is of course Neverwinter, butFirefall seems to be doing the same thing (someone can correct me if there willbe character wipes there). And it’s been the standard practice of the F2P MMOindustry for years now.
Really, Isuppose it’s not hurting anyone. It’s like when a friend you haven’tseen in awhile shows up to a party and suddenly they have a missing mole, or cappedteeth, maybe even butt implants... but they won’t admit there was workdone. We all know they had some cosmetic touch-ups, but no onesays anything because you don’t want to embarrass the poor bugger. “OpenBeta” is just the act of a company trying to hide something we all cansee. There’s little to no meaning in the words if the NDA is down, thecharacter wipes are over, it’s being treated like a launch by PR, press,and players, and most of all... if you’re taking money from customers. If you’rereaching into your players’ pockets, and I’m talking about more than just for“founder’s packs” that grant closed beta access or early head-starts, your gamecan’t be called beta anymore. Look at Facebook games: how long was (is?)Farmville in beta long after it was taking people’s impulse purchases forfaster crop finishing and fancy French residences? Similarly, how longare we supposed to buy (pardon the pun) that a game is in “Open Beta” beforegiving it a review? We gaveNeverwinter and Cryptic the benefit of the doubt and are calling our normal“Review in Progress” series of articles “Open Beta Diaries”. But we don’tanticipate holding off on a review score until they decide the game canbe called launch. Issues with bugs, exploits, and whatnot aside: the gameis taking player’s money (and an awfully lot of it if you look at the cash shopprices). We’ll be reviewing it by early June at the latest, which is on parwith our other big Review-in-Progress timelines. If the game isn’t out of“Open Beta” and launched by then, it’s not really our concern. What’s moststriking about this conundrum, and I hate to keep picking on Neverwinter here,is that for the most part our reviewer (Suzie Ford) is loving the game. It’snot like Neverwinter couldn’t be called “launched”. I mean, we’re nottalking about The War Z here. Though there are issues, the core gameplayis a lot of fun, and it’s poised to be a lasting themepark MMO for a lot ofplayers. In fact, I’m playing it nearly everyday by choice. I don’thave to either, because I’m not reviewing it. I just genuinely enjoy thejump-in and jump-out gameplay it allows on my current RL schedule. So whynot hoist up the big boy pants and call the game “released”? We all know it is,so own up to that fact. The littler ones don’t cost less... In themeantime, we’ll keep seeing more and more F2P developers and publishers toutingtheir “open betas” as a form of real beta that they’ll gladly take your moneyduring. I’m sorry, but that’s just not how it should go. For reviewpurposes, a few of us at MMORPG.com were given Hero of the North founder’spacks. That’s $200 worth of Astral Diamonds, an epic spider mount, and a bunchof other perks that we didn’t have to pay for. Without them, the gamewould be far less enjoyable as Suzie’s article states. Would I likeNeverwinter as much without all these freebies? Probablynot. The game itself would still be fun, don’t get me wrong, but myfreeloader’s convenience items are part of the enjoyment for sure. So, asa wise reviewer, Suzie’s gone ahead and ponied up for a $40 horse herself. Goodon her for that! The Founder’s Packs are clearly the game’s best deal, asyou’re paying $6 a re-spec, $30 for companions, and $40 for mounts of thehighest quality. And frankly, if you’re charging that kind ofmoney for an “open beta” you can afford our site to consider yourgame released. Bill Murphy / BillMurphy is the Managing Editor of MMORPG.com, RTSGuru.com, and lover of allthings gaming. He's been playing and writing about MMOs and geekery since 2002,and you can harass him and his views on Twitter@thebillmurphy.
Beaghan1, thanks to you, I could read the article.
So this guy who writes a blog disagrees that companies should say their products are in open beta whilst charging for it. That's great, and he is entitled to his opinion. The thing is, as we have seen with the numerous exploits, bugs, etc... This actually is still in beta. If this was a real launch, it would be one hell of a flawed product.
But you forgot one thing: when buying a founders pack, you did so with the intentions of helping the developers finish their product. It was more of a donation, with perks, rather than a purchase. You are supporting the devs in their endeavor to deliver a smooth, polished final product.
You were in no way forced to "Buy" this game. Exact same thing for bronze/silver/gold/plat/diamond supporters in PoE, and cosmetics in Dota. You are giving them money with the intention of helping them finish their product.
If you would have been forced to drop 60$ on the game, and it came out in this state, then you would have reason to say this isn't an open-beta. You weren't forced to, however, which makes your founders' packs a donation, in essence.
Thanks for your time, enjoy your open-beta, folks.
Beaghan1, thanks to you, I could read the article.
So this guy who writes a blog disagrees that companies should say their products are in open beta whilst charging for it. That's great, and he is entitled to his opinion.
Thanks for your time, enjoy your open-beta, folks.
no its a guy who owns the most important mmo site in internets vs you... who has a phobia of cartoon girls wearing mini skirts.
So even if you refuse to admit it, that guy that writes a blog does have a bit more influence than you, with your carskirophobia (couldnt find such a phobia anywhere so i gave it a name, hope you dont mind it?).
while at the same time, PW still disagrees with you. For gods sake, someone take a screenshot and show it to him.
btw you have failed to reply to my question
What exactly do you think will change once this game stops being in so called open beta, and goes live?
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pressexpose1Member, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 0Arc User
You have not made a case. All you did is provide information that other games do the same thing. All of those games are soft launched. Massively has stopped categorizing any game that takes money ( not including pre-order or 'founder' type packs ) and will wipe before a supposed launch date as in beta but as soft launched. Jack Emmett said in a recent interview that the game was launched. Zeke Sparks said that all the content was in place that was finalised ( as opposed to things they could not fix in time and that will be added later ), bugs were fixed, end game is fully open and balance issues had been sorted before this launch ( he was clearly mistaken )
You are arguing semantics. The game is unfinished but it is still launched. People are now paying to test.
If you want a case then present an argument. Don't just offer names of games that are also soft launched. Everything else you have said ( apart from the distraction of your ridiculous cartoon <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> accusation, those images are industry standard in fantasy now, same for Neverwinter ) is simply your opinion.
Real woman in miniskirt = show me the site, I'll gladly read all the articles.
Cartoon japanese animation "hentai" = site is intended for 12 year old naruto fans, therefore content is dumbed down to their level of intelligence. No thank you.
Ah, I see. You're not part of the "how dare women in fantasy games not wear armor that's indistiguishable from fully-covered men" faction, you're in the knee-jerk "I'll stereotype all animated media via a complete ignorance of the medium" crowd.
You know, I've never understood that one. The whole "gamers hate anime" thing. Probably because, growing up in the 80's, gamers & anime fans were the same group - fans of a fringe/niche thing that the ignorant masses had no clue about.
I'd like to point out....PWE/Cryptic ....GAVE....HotN packages to the media.
Allow me to introduce a new vocabulary word.
Ethics.
This is exactly why I dont trust reviews from any site that includes advertisements of the very games they're reviewing. Conflict of interest. At my company, we are not allowed to accept anything over 50.00 USD including dinners or anything else.
Why doesnt he review the ame without that package? ....because he knows that he couldnt honestly give a good review if he was playing that way, and even says as much in the article.
But...that being said...
He is completely right about the "open Beta" and the only ones it fools are the fanbois and suckers....the intended audience of F2P games.
pressexpose1Member, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 0Arc User
edited May 2013
1. Your lack of knowledge does not negate the facts
2. Sure there will be content but that's part of the release schedule. They release regular content ( such as it is ) for STO, That's been launched years.
Speaking of semantics, why do you keep appending that adjective to the word 'launch'?
OH! That's right, because the game isn't launched yet!
Because that's how the industry classifies it. I don't change the words to suit my argument, I simply report things as they are. Soft launch is the industry classification for a game not fully developed but launched to the public anyway and fixes applied as they go. It usually means that an employer or shareholders are demanding a return.
You can call a dog a cat, or a pig, or a horse, but all other facts beside the name stay the same, it's still the same thing. Similarly NW is in every aspect, except the title they choose to give it, a launched game. A title alone doesn't mean anything, but the facts mean everything. If it looks like a launch it will be treated like a launch, regardless of the title.
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tek83Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero UsersPosts: 0Arc User
1. Your lack of knowledge does not negate the facts
2. Sure there will be content but that's part of the release schedule. They release regular content ( such as it is ) for STO, That's been launched years.
I love how people bring this argument up. You're going to believe 1 tiny little icon, over the fact that OPEN BETA is plastered over everything else, and the fact that there hasn't been an official statement saying the game has been released.
I love how people bring this argument up. You're going to believe 1 tiny little icon, over the fact that OPEN BETA is plastered over everything else, and the fact that there hasn't been an official statement saying the game has been released.
Some of the people today just astound me.
Word. I've just about given up, but I feel it is my duty to enlighten these simple folk.
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pressexpose1Member, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 0Arc User
I love how people bring this argument up. You're going to believe 1 tiny little icon, over the fact that OPEN BETA is plastered over everything else, and the fact that there hasn't been an official statement saying the game has been released.
Some of the people today just astound me.
Be astounded all you like. Only Cryptic are calling it open beta. None of th industry insider articles classify it as anything other than launched. None of the large mmo and gamer sites are classifying it as anything but launched. The company who owns Cryptic, who own the rights to the game, who have paid for the development of it don't classify it as open beta, they class it as live. They make the distinction on their games page. it distinctly shows live and NOT open beta and given that it's their property that's why it's a valid observation. Cryptic can call it a cabbage for all i care, the people who own the game call it what it is.
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pressexpose1Member, Neverwinter Beta UsersPosts: 0Arc User
Word. I've just about given up, but I feel it is my duty to enlighten these simple folk.
you've given up because you have no argument or evidence. You have just spouted your opinion to make a point you erroneously believe to be fact. That's not how debate works, that's howling at the moon.
Be astounded all you like. Only Cryptic are calling it open beta. None of th industry insider articles classify it as anything other than launched. None of the large mmo and gamer sites are classifying it as anything but launched. The company who owns Cryptic, who own the rights to the game, who have paid for the development of it don't classify it as open beta, they class it as live. They make the distinction on their games page. it distinctly shows live and NOT open beta and given that it's their property that's why it's a valid observation. Cryptic can call it a cabbage for all i care, the people who own the game call it what it is.
That's why there's a huge graphic saying "Open Beta" one their main home page. Yeah, that makes sense.
Comments
Your definition of "<font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>" seems to be EXTREMELY broad. I guess commercials on tv with girls in miniskirts are "<font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>?" Commercials that show a woman in a bathing suit is "<font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>?" Age has little to do with it -- you're just incredibly prudish, or you're trying to find something to complain about so you don't have to discuss the actual article and the points it makes.
It also says "live" right next to the entry for it below that. So which is correct? The one you prefer to believe? Even PWE doesn't really seem to know which state the game is in.
do you also use hands to cover side adds while browsing that site? I do it all the time, or else id have to watch cartoon girls wearing mini skirts.
And after that i go back to my happy killing spree in my mmos.
Right after my dinner, i like to watch a good movie, where people kill each other.
But thats ok because there are no cartoon girls wearing mini skirts.
no that one you chose to ignore. That one where L = live. You cant convince me that you are that dumb to find it on your own, after several people posted it, i wont buy that.
Real woman in miniskirt = show me the site, I'll gladly read all the articles.
Cartoon japanese animation "hentai" = site is intended for 12 year old naruto fans, therefore content is dumbed down to their level of intelligence. No thank you.
It's an advertisement for Ragnarok-2, an animated MMO in the "anime" style. They've had ads for many games up on that site -- they're a site devoted to MMOs, after all. They even had an ad for Neverwinter up there at one point. But considering how dismissively insulting you're being, I have a feeling trying to debate with you is pointless. You're dead-set in your opinion, and no amount of facts will make you think otherwise.
thought you said you are offended by that add, not that it doesnt suit your mightly level of intelligence. You gotta choose one.
and yet, with all that superior intelligence you still need 5 people to point you out that L = live. Maybe even more, depends on how long you ignore it :P
Bill Murphy: The Beta Is aLie
One of the more common occurences as more games go freeto play is to see "soft launches", so-called open betas, where theteam can hide behind the beta moniker but simultaneously profit by takingplayers' money for cash shop items. In his latest column, Bill Murphy takes onthis troubling trend. Read on and then tell us what you think in the comments.
Editorial By William Murphy on May 16, 2013
I couldprobably make this a video rant, but in the interest of just getting it all outthere, I thought I’d keep it to the old print format that we serfs havedominated since the movable type was invented (thanks, Mr. Gutenberg!). It’s atopic that’s been bothering me quite a bit lately: the idea of “open beta”meaning “we’ll take your money, there will be no wipes, but please don’t callit launch”. The most recent case of this is of course Neverwinter, butFirefall seems to be doing the same thing (someone can correct me if there willbe character wipes there). And it’s been the standard practice of the F2P MMOindustry for years now.
If you’rereaching into your players’ pockets, and I’m talking about more than just for“founder’s packs” that grant closed beta access or early head-starts, your gamecan’t be called beta anymore. Look at Facebook games: how long was (is?)Farmville in beta long after it was taking people’s impulse purchases forfaster crop finishing and fancy French residences? Similarly, how longare we supposed to buy (pardon the pun) that a game is in “Open Beta” beforegiving it a review?
We gaveNeverwinter and Cryptic the benefit of the doubt and are calling our normal“Review in Progress” series of articles “Open Beta Diaries”. But we don’tanticipate holding off on a review score until they decide the game canbe called launch. Issues with bugs, exploits, and whatnot aside: the gameis taking player’s money (and an awfully lot of it if you look at the cash shopprices). We’ll be reviewing it by early June at the latest, which is on parwith our other big Review-in-Progress timelines. If the game isn’t out of“Open Beta” and launched by then, it’s not really our concern.
What’s moststriking about this conundrum, and I hate to keep picking on Neverwinter here,is that for the most part our reviewer (Suzie Ford) is loving the game. It’snot like Neverwinter couldn’t be called “launched”. I mean, we’re nottalking about The War Z here. Though there are issues, the core gameplayis a lot of fun, and it’s poised to be a lasting themepark MMO for a lot ofplayers. In fact, I’m playing it nearly everyday by choice. I don’thave to either, because I’m not reviewing it. I just genuinely enjoy thejump-in and jump-out gameplay it allows on my current RL schedule. So whynot hoist up the big boy pants and call the game “released”? We all know it is,so own up to that fact.
The littler ones don’t cost less...
In themeantime, we’ll keep seeing more and more F2P developers and publishers toutingtheir “open betas” as a form of real beta that they’ll gladly take your moneyduring. I’m sorry, but that’s just not how it should go. For reviewpurposes, a few of us at MMORPG.com were given Hero of the North founder’spacks. That’s $200 worth of Astral Diamonds, an epic spider mount, and a bunchof other perks that we didn’t have to pay for. Without them, the gamewould be far less enjoyable as Suzie’s article states.
Would I likeNeverwinter as much without all these freebies? Probablynot. The game itself would still be fun, don’t get me wrong, but myfreeloader’s convenience items are part of the enjoyment for sure. So, asa wise reviewer, Suzie’s gone ahead and ponied up for a $40 horse herself. Goodon her for that! The Founder’s Packs are clearly the game’s best deal, asyou’re paying $6 a re-spec, $30 for companions, and $40 for mounts of thehighest quality. And frankly, if you’re charging that kind ofmoney for an “open beta” you can afford our site to consider yourgame released.
Bill Murphy / BillMurphy is the Managing Editor of MMORPG.com, RTSGuru.com, and lover of allthings gaming. He's been playing and writing about MMOs and geekery since 2002,and you can harass him and his views on Twitter @thebillmurphy.
So this guy who writes a blog disagrees that companies should say their products are in open beta whilst charging for it. That's great, and he is entitled to his opinion. The thing is, as we have seen with the numerous exploits, bugs, etc... This actually is still in beta. If this was a real launch, it would be one hell of a flawed product.
But you forgot one thing: when buying a founders pack, you did so with the intentions of helping the developers finish their product. It was more of a donation, with perks, rather than a purchase. You are supporting the devs in their endeavor to deliver a smooth, polished final product.
You were in no way forced to "Buy" this game. Exact same thing for bronze/silver/gold/plat/diamond supporters in PoE, and cosmetics in Dota. You are giving them money with the intention of helping them finish their product.
If you would have been forced to drop 60$ on the game, and it came out in this state, then you would have reason to say this isn't an open-beta. You weren't forced to, however, which makes your founders' packs a donation, in essence.
Thanks for your time, enjoy your open-beta, folks.
yep, got it. again, thanks.
But he is wrong. It is a beta, becuase any money pumped into this game was done so voluntarily, with full knowledge that the game was in beta stages.
EDIT: also, if you choose to buy Zen, that is your prerogative.
no its a guy who owns the most important mmo site in internets vs you... who has a phobia of cartoon girls wearing mini skirts.
So even if you refuse to admit it, that guy that writes a blog does have a bit more influence than you, with your carskirophobia (couldnt find such a phobia anywhere so i gave it a name, hope you dont mind it?).
while at the same time, PW still disagrees with you. For gods sake, someone take a screenshot and show it to him.
btw you have failed to reply to my question
What exactly do you think will change once this game stops being in so called open beta, and goes live?
You have not made a case. All you did is provide information that other games do the same thing. All of those games are soft launched. Massively has stopped categorizing any game that takes money ( not including pre-order or 'founder' type packs ) and will wipe before a supposed launch date as in beta but as soft launched. Jack Emmett said in a recent interview that the game was launched. Zeke Sparks said that all the content was in place that was finalised ( as opposed to things they could not fix in time and that will be added later ), bugs were fixed, end game is fully open and balance issues had been sorted before this launch ( he was clearly mistaken )
You are arguing semantics. The game is unfinished but it is still launched. People are now paying to test.
If you want a case then present an argument. Don't just offer names of games that are also soft launched. Everything else you have said ( apart from the distraction of your ridiculous cartoon <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font> accusation, those images are industry standard in fantasy now, same for Neverwinter ) is simply your opinion.
1. I've never heard of him/been to that site before
2. new paragon paths, Gauntlgrym/ new content. 20v20 PvP, 'raid' style PvE content... New gear, z-store stuff
Ah, I see. You're not part of the "how dare women in fantasy games not wear armor that's indistiguishable from fully-covered men" faction, you're in the knee-jerk "I'll stereotype all animated media via a complete ignorance of the medium" crowd.
You know, I've never understood that one. The whole "gamers hate anime" thing. Probably because, growing up in the 80's, gamers & anime fans were the same group - fans of a fringe/niche thing that the ignorant masses had no clue about.
I don't care either way but I'll bet you that it's still saying open beta after those things are in game.
Speaking of semantics, why do you keep appending that adjective to the word 'launch'?
OH! That's right, because the game isn't launched yet!
I'd like to point out....PWE/Cryptic ....GAVE....HotN packages to the media.
Allow me to introduce a new vocabulary word.
Ethics.
This is exactly why I dont trust reviews from any site that includes advertisements of the very games they're reviewing. Conflict of interest. At my company, we are not allowed to accept anything over 50.00 USD including dinners or anything else.
Why doesnt he review the ame without that package? ....because he knows that he couldnt honestly give a good review if he was playing that way, and even says as much in the article.
But...that being said...
He is completely right about the "open Beta" and the only ones it fools are the fanbois and suckers....the intended audience of F2P games.
i have never heard of you before, but that doesnt mean you dont exist
2. Thats new content... what does that have to do with open beta / live discussion? Are you saying games stop adding content after they go live?
To make it as simple as possible for you - what difference would there be if this was 'live', and not 'open beta' , when it comes to your nr 2.?
2. Sure there will be content but that's part of the release schedule. They release regular content ( such as it is ) for STO, That's been launched years.
A large majority of the bugs/exploits would be squashed.
The shards would be gone, and we would have the same 'mega-server' model as the rest of PWE games
I could even envision the addition of some kind of 'sub' model or maybe a one-time purchase for non-Ob players.
Will they stop adding things after the game is live? That's not even an argument.
No
No
Yes and have no more wipes coming down the drain. Which is why they are not in beta. That is just an excuse for releasing a broken/unfinished game.
Because that's how the industry classifies it. I don't change the words to suit my argument, I simply report things as they are. Soft launch is the industry classification for a game not fully developed but launched to the public anyway and fixes applied as they go. It usually means that an employer or shareholders are demanding a return.
I love how people bring this argument up. You're going to believe 1 tiny little icon, over the fact that OPEN BETA is plastered over everything else, and the fact that there hasn't been an official statement saying the game has been released.
Some of the people today just astound me.
Word. I've just about given up, but I feel it is my duty to enlighten these simple folk.
Be astounded all you like. Only Cryptic are calling it open beta. None of th industry insider articles classify it as anything other than launched. None of the large mmo and gamer sites are classifying it as anything but launched. The company who owns Cryptic, who own the rights to the game, who have paid for the development of it don't classify it as open beta, they class it as live. They make the distinction on their games page. it distinctly shows live and NOT open beta and given that it's their property that's why it's a valid observation. Cryptic can call it a cabbage for all i care, the people who own the game call it what it is.
you've given up because you have no argument or evidence. You have just spouted your opinion to make a point you erroneously believe to be fact. That's not how debate works, that's howling at the moon.
That's why there's a huge graphic saying "Open Beta" one their main home page. Yeah, that makes sense.