I ordered two AoCs from Play.com on 8th May and had two concurrent order numbers. Received only one key and emailed them three times about it without any reply. Telephoned them and was assured the second key would be allocated in time. Reading about the problems other Play.com customers have had I emailed them again just now and finally had this reply:

I apologise that you did not recieve your second pre-order code.
Unfortuantely we have sent out all the codes we have been allocated.
We asked Funcom for more however they declined on the basis that today
they have stopped early access, so even if we were to get mroe codes
they would not work.
We cannot do anything further to get you another early access slot. As
such our hands are tied so any complaints should be directed to
Funcom.
Again i sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Kind regards -Play.com

As my contract is with Play.com then I feel any grievance over breach of contract is with them, however, Funcom have definitely underestimated the number of keys required by EA customers and if they are sensible should do something about it. This augurs badly on their behalf as if they are willing to let down their customers so soon during the EA part of their launch I wonder what plans they have should any problems arise when the main launch is under way?

Well, developers can you clarify the situation?

And by the way MMORPG.COM you are still advertising the availability of Early Access to the game on your site...

The pre-launch hype they've created is really quiet remarkable.   Again, I really admire the marketing job they are doing creating a false sense of scarcity.   Other publishers ought to sit up and take note.   If 1 million is more or less correct then that's a $5 million pre-launch bonus baby, too!  These guys are real capitalists.

Wow, this sucks, I pre ordered from Funcom and didn't get a key because "There is a delay in delivering at least one of your licence numbers. Please wait for a separate email including your missing license keys that we will send you as soon as possible." <- direct quote from my pre-order email. The only reason I pre ordered from Funcom is because of the run around I was getting from Play.com. I was prepared to pay more by going through Funcom because I was under the impression it would be quicker to get a key that way.

Now I can see why the was a "problem" lesson learned. I've cancelled my Funcom pre order through Funcom as I'm no longer prepared to pay more fro a game I can get cheaper else where. Ill just pick my copy up from a brick and mortar on launch day. I feel sorry for those who were planning to play on a PvP server, it will be Hell trying to level up when there are lvl 20's and 30's running around.

Ah well, such is life, no point crying about it now.

forums.ageofconan.com/showthread.php

UPDATE:

The waves are getting rather high on this subject and I understand completely that many players are not happy about the fact that Early Access is sold out as of today and I'm sorry about the misunderstanding and the confusion this has caused.

We did limit the maximum number of possible registrations for Early Access from the beginning so it wasn't a decision we took later. We knew that a specific number of players would be willing to take the offer and get 3 days earlier access to the game. That the registrations would reach that set limit as fast as they did we didn't quite expect but that doesn't change the fact that the number was limited.

The limit was set to make sure that registered players would have the chance to download the client and access the game servers 3 days prior to launch. With an unlimited amount of players, that would not be possible.

We do take your feedback on this issue very seriously and will be back with more information about this as soon as new facts are available.

Thanks for your support and understanding.
Oliver 'Tarib' Kunz
Senior Community Manager

Dear Customer,

Thank you for contacting us.

In response to your request we have cancelled your order #
40805132252####

Oh well

this has to be the biggest pre-release screwup ever

a lesson in how to rid yourself of paying customers without getting any of thier money.

lol

What sort of useless update is that ....

I got the client five years ago but didn't get my key before it closed.

Heh gamestop charged me yesterday was a surprise.

i feel sorry for the people who got left out, but if you really wanted to play this game, don't let THREE DAYS influence the next 6 months.

there sure seems to be alot of crybabies for what is suppoesed to be an Adult game. We are only talking about three lousy days for pete sake. First thing I'm going to do when i log in to the game is find the ignore key. I'll probably be needing it.

Ah they'll be back when the reviews and word of mouth start hitting the streets. Too early still. Let people experience what I've experienced in closed beta. They'll be back only without the pre-order virtual items.

You can say QQ all you want, but the bottom line of the matter is that this situation is simply bad business.  MMO audiences are notorious for not forgiving big screwups, and make no mistake; this is a HUGE screwup.  Think about the people who wanted to play with their guild, and now will be three days behind.  How many of them say "screw it" and simply wait till Warhammer?  You can talk all you want about it only being three days, but if you have half a brain about MMOs you know that someone starting three days behind their friends will likely never catch up.  Like it or not, MMOs are a race to max level, and for many people the most fun in an MMO is when the game is completely new and the entire server is leveling up together.  To think that people won't buy the game because of "only three days" is not a stretch of the imagination by any means.  Amazing that in such a competitve market a company is willing to straight up shoot themselves in the foot.  Complete and utter foolishness if you ask me.

Gee, I sure am glad my pre-order and account setup worked flawlessly without a hitch. I don't have to hate Funcom and can enjoy my game! :)

Originally posted by Balthaazar1

Gee, I sure am glad my pre-order and account setup worked flawlessly without a hitch. I don't have to hate Funcom and can enjoy my game! :)

and my friend who was lazy about his preorder code even got into the early access when I called and told him it was back open earlier.

Originally posted by Punk999

Heh gamestop charged me yesterday was a surprise.

Not for early access, I can promise you that. Funcom bills you for that. You were either charged for your pre-order which provides you with the items/reserved copy (and that is what its supposed to do). The Early Access charge is independent of Gamestop/Best Buy or wherever.

Originally posted by zaxxon23

You can say QQ all you want, but the bottom line of the matter is that this situation is simply bad business.  MMO audiences are notorious for not forgiving big screwups, and make no mistake; this is a HUGE screwup.  Think about the people who wanted to play with their guild, and now will be three days behind.  How many of them say "screw it" and simply wait till Warhammer?  You can talk all you want about it only being three days, but if you have half a brain about MMOs you know that someone starting three days behind their friends will likely never catch up.  Like it or not, MMOs are a race to max level, and for many people the most fun in an MMO is when the game is completely new and the entire server is leveling up together.  To think that people won't buy the game because of "only three days" is not a stretch of the imagination by any means.  Amazing that in such a competitve market a company is willing to straight up shoot themselves in the foot.  Complete and utter foolishness if you ask me.

very true indeed.

My fondest memories are always the first few days to a week in a new MMO. Its not just a race to hit lvl cap but also a race to discover things about crafting, find interesting places, etc.

One thing that many are missing here is the names. Ive used the same two names for my avatars going back  to Ultima. I still run across people 10 years later that ask 'hey so and so, any chance your the same dude from swg or ao or ultima, etc. Ive reunited with many players over the years because of this. Yet thanks to this screwup, I might not get my names that I so desire. If that happens, rest assured I wont be playing AoC

I got in.  Too bad you guys did not.  AoC rocks.  I will feel sorry for you but I will still have fun.  I will tip my 40 to you while I am playing.

This is the MMO I have been waiting on since my first steps in EQ1.

Originally posted by zaxxon23

You can say QQ all you want, but the bottom line of the matter is that this situation is simply bad business.  MMO audiences are notorious for not forgiving big screwups, and make no mistake; this is a HUGE screwup.  Think about the people who wanted to play with their guild, and now will be three days behind.  How many of them say "screw it" and simply wait till Warhammer?  You can talk all you want about it only being three days, but if you have half a brain about MMOs you know that someone starting three days behind their friends will likely never catch up.  Like it or not, MMOs are a race to max level, and for many people the most fun in an MMO is when the game is completely new and the entire server is leveling up together.  To think that people won't buy the game because of "only three days" is not a stretch of the imagination by any means.  Amazing that in such a competitve market a company is willing to straight up shoot themselves in the foot.  Complete and utter foolishness if you ask me.

Sorry, but this was just plain rediculous.  Three days and you cant catch up?  Also, the pre-order cards/emails all said "Early Access Program," not "Early Access."  This whining is one reason why i really don't like coming to these boards, too much complaining about the stupidest things, all of which have NO significance to anything in real life.

I preordered aoc a long time ago. I was bored of wow and wanted something new, went back to lotro but the pvp is ruined now imo. i'm a really big pvper and that's the only thing I liked about wow. I can understand how people are upset they wont get in early, but if you really like this game and want to play something new just wait a few more days. You never know there could be down time and you can read what the early starters are saying about how the game plays. I thought they made a big jump with that performance patch and can't wait to get in. I also think there will be a lot of people upset yet once the game is live and everyone can join some will and they will soon forget the fact other people were in a few days a head. Again I can understand why people are upset but it's not the end of the world, you will get in soon and if you are canceling or refuse to play the game now then this game isn't for you and you really don't enjoy it that much. They had limited keys to hand out, if you were pumped on this game maybe you should have preordered sooner :/. Yes some people wanted to see how the game played in beta etc, but you could have preordered a while ago and still canceled before the early access.

Well I got into the early access lol, unfortunatley it says my d/l will be done in a week lmao!

Laz, set the upload to 25, should speed it up dramatically.