This weekend is fast approaching and Arenanet is now allowing people to do some free World (server) transfers so you can get and play with friends that might be joining the BWEs for the first time.

If you played in our first Beta Weekend Event, you will already have an existing home world. We’ll have a lot more players participating in this second beta, so you may want to change your home world so you can play together with your friends. Good news, everyone! World transfers will be free of charge on June 8 from Noon PDT (GMT -7) until 6PM PDT (GMT -7) on June 9. After this point, a world transfer will cost 1800 gems with a limit of one transfer every 7 days.

What if you need a server transfer after the free grace period expires?
Every beta player will get 500 free gems automatically, and you can get 2000 free gems by entering a valid credit card in the Gem Store. You will not be charged, but your credit card company might place a $1 hold charge on your account. Don’t worry; it’s not an actual charge!

Not only will you be able to transfer, but you get to help Arenanet test out their RMT/Cashshop system. If you wish to read the full blog and get a list of all available servers, follow this link to Arenanet’s homepage.

Recently published today, Venturebeat discusses the monetization of Guild Wars 2 in an interview with studio president Mike O’Brien. Here are a few things we found interesting:

GB: What are the key features that set Guild Wars 2 apart from free-to-play MMORPGs and simultaneously justify a $60 purchase?

O’Brien: [...]I think Guild Wars 2 is one of the best values in gaming, period. Where else can you get this many hours of enjoyment, of content, of polish, of replayability for $60?

I’ll give a direct comparison. Guild Wars 2 is both a great MMO and a great RPG, so anyone who plays offline RPGs like Skyrim or online RPGs like Diablo III is going to love Guild Wars 2. Those games cost $60. Compared to them, Guild Wars 2 has at least as much content, world exploration, personal storylines, and replayability. And then for no additional charge, Guild Wars 2 gives you a fully persistent world where you can hang out with your friends online, lots of social features, a live team dedicated to introducing lots of new content into the game, and two integrated forms of [player-versus-player].
…
Once you get in that mindset, microtransactions in Guild Wars 2 are pretty straightforward, and it’s not as controversial as you’d think. If players need something to play the game, it’s part of the game. If something is a fun add-on or service, it can be a microtransaction.

Keep reading for more.

Today Mike O’Brien, president of ArenaNet, wrote a blog giving us our first glimpse to what kind of Microtransactions we’ll see in Guild Wars 2.

We think players should have the opportunity to spend money on items that provide visual distinction and offer more ways to express themselves. They should also be able to spend money on account services and on time-saving convenience items. But it’s never OK for players to buy a game and not be able to enjoy what they paid for without additional purchases, and it’s never OK for players who spend money to have an unfair advantage over players who spend time.

One other interesting phrase we saw was Mike O’Brien likening their system to EVE’s; where you can buy in game currency with “gems” or GW2′s pay-for currency.

MMO veterans will note the similarities of our system to EVE Online’s PLEX system. As in that case, our system takes gold trading out of the hands of real-money trading (RMT) companies and puts it directly in the hands of players.

Stay tuned after this weekend’s beta test as they will begin showing what the store will look.