2005: A Massively Multiplayer Odyssey
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Category: News ArchiveHits: 843
On April 10th, 2005, a promotional tour for WoW's Chinese Beta Test began with an 11 city opening. Like a swarm of locusts, crowds began to gather. Lines began forming. They would go on to purchase every pre-order disc in mere hours. The press covered stories of their camaraderie, of their waiting and of their epic numbers...
By the time the all-access beta closed on June 6, 2005, 500,000 Chinese had participated.
On July 20, 2005, just 45 days after launch, Blizzard announced 1.5 million paying subscribers in China. By November 8, 2005 the game had reached 4.5 million subscribers world-wide. It continued to gain subscribers, in North America, in Europe, and most of all, in Asia. This game has become a tidal wave that threatens to sweep us all away.
