I think a lot of it is a reflection of how MMOs just aren't satisfying people who used to be extremely passionate about them due to the industry moving to capture a different audience -while seeming goddamnterrifiedto deviate very far from the wow success formula. People having disposable income and salivating for something different in a genre that's stagnated for the better part of a decade are jumping on hopes that something will have the new car smell again. It doesn't seem terribly unreasonable: I mean, it's not like people are jumping on the newest cod, madden, or other predictable yearly release. It might be a horrible disappointment but it is teasing something new, and could possibly be a next big thing for some people. I sold my wow beta key for $450 so it's nothing new, except the devs finally caught on that they could get people to pay for betas.