World of Warcraft EU Beta Begins

Voodoo Extreme is reporting that after a delay due to storms, the World of Warcraft EU Beta has begun. From the article: "The first phase of the Final Beta Test will also allow the testing of the World of Warcraft localized server infrastructure under heavy loads. As soon as system stability allows, the second phase of the testing process will begin and more players will be added into the Final Beta Test. We will make every effort to accommodate all requests for beta accounts but there is always the possibility that we will be unable to meet demand, and we therefore strongly encourage motivated players to register an account as quickly as possible once the second phase of the Final Beta Test begins."

Beta test? I don't get it...

[Seumas]

As an avid WoW player, I have to say that I don't understand the point of an EU WoW Beta. The game has been out in the US for a couple of months. It's finished. It's done. It's boxed, installed and played by tens of thousands of people.

So other than changing language libraries and setting up some new servers in Europe, what is there to beta test?! And since they already have experience with the US servers being rolled out, it's not like they don't have a strong idea of what hardware is needed in Europe for the release to go well.

Re:Beta test? I don't get it...

[Natlaw]

So other than changing language libraries and setting up some new servers in Europe, what is there to beta test?! As evidenced by the WoW-server problems in the US, 'setting up some servers' is apperently a non-trivial problem (for Blizzard). That's besides getting the german/french clients out for public testing, getting the forums running, working in the GM's, etc. Blizzard says the want to deliver a smooth service, so they're taking the time to set it up. Of course, I want them to hurry up as well >