Aion Launch AND Beta Dates Confirmed

NCSoft has confirmed that its Aion MMO is to kick off in Europe on September 25th. But before that it goes into closed Beta (dates at the end of this story).

We're sure that NCSoft is taking a swipe at somebody when it says that, "Unlike any MMO before it, Aion is a uniquely crafted online experience (game) where flight offers much more than just a way to explore the landscape - it is a strategic and integral part of combat, quests, and exploration." Nice, we like flight nearly as much as we like fight.

Aion Closed Beta Dates
Friday, 3rd July to Monday, 6th July
Friday, 17th July to Monday, 20th July
Friday, 31st July to Monday, 3rd August
Friday, 14th August to Monday, 17th August

Aion preorder details here. Pre-orders, of course, enable you to enter the Beta so that you can see if the money you've spent on the pre-order will have you playing unbuggy code.

We're still a little unsure whether many other industries could manage to charge upfront for its consumers to pay to test the product they're going to buy. We're sure its all about load balancing and suchlike.