Guild Wars E3 Event Interview

HomeLan Fed has conducted an interview with ArenaNet, in which they discuss the developer's decision to open up a public alpha test of Guild Wars during E3. Here's a snip:
Q: First, why did ArenaNet wish to make such a bold move like opening up their alpha test of Guild Wars to the public?

A: Guild Wars presents an approach to game development and experience that is fundamentally different from many existing titles. We have spent a lot of time talking to many organizations and people about various aspects of our game such as skill based game play, intelligent asset streaming technology, fully hosted and serviced infrastructure, and no monthly fee, but unless you experience it first hand, it can be difficult to understand what it all means to the individual gamer.

So, we decided to create an opportunity to let people experience Guild Wars for themselves. We than looked at how we would let people all over the world come and play Guild Wars. E3 was chosen as the proper venue because E3 creates tremendous excitement in the gaming community every year for new products and new ideas. However, E3 is exclusive for the people who are fortunate enough to attend it. So, we thought it would be cool to let everyone in the world experience what it is like to be at E3 and play a game that has never been publicly available.

Although there are risks in opening up an online game that is not even in beta stage to the world, we decided that it was worth having people experience the fun and exciting game play that Guild Wars has to offer. We feel that gamers will understand that the game is still in an early development stage and appreciate the unprecedented access we are offering. We believe there will be many more passionate Guild Wars fans as the result of this event.