Kyle over at Massively reports that Jumpgate: Evolution has passed 150,000 beta signups….

Kyle over at Massively reports that Jumpgate: Evolution has passed 150,000 beta signups.

Wow. That’s impressive.

With 150,000 testers going through every inch of the game, looking for bugs and reporting them, stress testing everything, seeing that the economy is functional, that all the art assets are working correctly, this game is guaranteed to rock.

Seriously, though, when are companies going to drop the fiction that ’testers’ actually test and just call it ‘free playable preview’. And let’s be honest here, people were spending hundreds of dollars to get into the Wrath of the Lich King ‘beta’. So I don’t think it will be too long before they just drop the idea of a free playable preview/beta test entirely, and just charge a premium for ’early access’, which may include bugs and unplayable elements, but dropping the idea that these gamers get to try the game for free.

Charge early access/beta players a buck when they sign up for beta. Or auction off beta slots.

Right now, signing up for beta just means, “Hey, free game.” Nothing more.