Yes, and speaking of EQ it also was one of the only 3D, graphically intense MMORPGs to hit the market at the time. And judging from experience, it's launch was anything but smooth. I believe there was a patch every other day for a month before things truly settled down. I'll go ahead and do the thing most people don't do and admit that my memory isn't perfect, however. It's been a long time since that dinosaur launched.

But Eve is launching into a crowded market. As did Shadowbane. As will WoW and SWG. Gone are the days where every Tom, Dick and Harry will log into ONE game. We're too jaded nowadays and competition is too prevelant in the market. Not that I am defending Eve - still on the fence about buying it after a decent Beta experience - but man the things people remember about other launches is funny.
Also, I take the patch on launch thing as a good sign, especially considering that some games (Like High Heat or Master of Orion) either never get patched or get patched months after hitting the shelves. Patches = admittance of a problem = trying to solve the problem.

Would we rather they didn't patch?

And before anyone flames me, I agree that the game needs more testing....but I didn't expect anything less than standard operating procedure for this market; release buggy and patch up. Besides, it isn't as bad as Anarchy Online was at launch, so it isn't the worst I've ever seen/heard of.

Just my 1.156 Euros.