The latest figures for Aion have NCsoft declaring it the "biggest MMO launch of the year," with nearly 400,000 preorder customers waiting to become winged warriors upon next week's launch.
For an Eastern import, Aion has been making quite a lot of noise among MMO circles, taking the beauty of a Korean game and marrying it with a design meant to appeal to Western gamers. Judging from the preorder numbers NCsoft is definitely doing something right, though calling it the "biggest MMO launch of the year" isn't really saying much, considering the only real competition it has had is Champions Online, a superhero MMO from the same company that created the other superhero MMO currently on the market for NCsoft.
Each of the nearly 400,000 preorder customers gain access to server pre-selection tomorrow, as well as an early jump start that kicks off on Sunday, two days in advance of the official release. I have several different groups of friends who plan on playing, so I currently have no earthly clue which server or side I'll wind up on.