Recently, game publisher Ubisoft struck a deal with Fileplanet to release an “open beta” of the new Heroes of Might and Magic game to its subscribers. Outsourced to an Eastern European developer, it wasn’t really a surprise to the non-fanboys that the beta sucked, and the rest of us went back to happily playing Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic. However, a gelid conglomeration of HoMM fans referring to themselves as the “leaders of the community” were so incensed by the lack of quality that they look it upon themselves to launch a maudlin crusade to convince 3D0 to hold off on releasing the game until its ready.

From the website, SaveHeroes.org:

The mission of SaveHeroes.Org are pretty simple. To force Ubisoft to allow more time to Nival so that Heroes 5 is released fully, and not in a half-baked manner…

If Heroes 5 bombs like Heroes 4 did, then Heroes of Might and Magic is dead. The fans and the HoMMunity will not stand for another Heroes 4 debacle. Heroes 5 is the rebirth of the series, and its success is paramount to the longevity of the Heroes of Might and Magic series.

Our wish is to have a Heroes 6, 7, 8 and beyond, each with expansion packs. Also, with the success of Heroes of Might and Magic 5, it is to be expected that a new series of Might and Magic RPG
s will be in production, if they are not already.

The success of any additional Might and Magic titles hinges almost entirely on the success of Heroes 5.

The entire campaign is a bit like pulling your genitals out on the first date and having your date tell you that yes, she’ll put her mouth on it, but she’d sure appreciate it if you washed it first, but don’t get her wrong, she’ll pay you fifty dollars for the honor of doing it anyway. But it’s still kind of nice to see a fan community actually try to get a united consumerist message across to a corporation, as wishy-washy as that message may be.

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