Assuming (dangerous to assume, I know) GW2 is also a skills-based game, having no level cap is still going to be confusing to levels-minded players, where they think they have to grind to level 1,000,000.

I can’t help but think GW, and GW2, would be better served by simply not having levels at all, so the “point” of being skills-based is driven home without the distraction of the (meaningless) ding.

As for the business model, I believe they said they were planning on episodic content, an evolution of their GW1 model. They grew tired of having to develop campaigns where, essentially, they are re-creating the entire game on a new continent with new classes and skills. I think they’re planning on taking an EQ2 approach of selling “expansion” boxes that will open the world gradually as their business model, rather than new chapters where we have to start fresh and do it all over.

I’m sure there will be plenty of GW1 players who won’t make the jump because GW2 looks to be such a departure from the GW1 model. Sequels are dicey in this genre. AC2 failed largely because it was so different from AC1 and players wouldn’t adopt the new way. (Yes, it was buggy, and word of mouth killed it but at the end it was a solid product, but the damage had been irreversibly done) EQ2 was also quite different from EQ1, and is just recently really coming into its own. I’m not an EQ1/2 player, but one interesting thing Arena.net is doing is allowing players who achieve certain things in GW1 to carry those titles, etc. over to GW2 through the Hall of Monuments. That may actually prompt GW2 players to pick up GW1 and play that to gain those achievements.