Well so far I don't think the open beta will be coming anytime soon (by that I mean in the next couple of months) and there is already server switching (ie. You can jump into a EUR/US/ASIA servers).
Game Launching *kinda* works, you all launch into the game together and you all come back to Home after quitting the game, but you don't *currently* stay in 1 party in the game... it *the beta* crashes a few times and brings up some weird errors...
Don't worry, as soon as I hear ANYTHING about the Open Beta, you will ALL hear about it! So far, its pretty basic, but the game space, home theatre, private home spaces, home square and the marketplace seem to work pretty well!
I can't say too much as I am under an NDA, but if you do a bit of searching online, you can already find some vids and screenies of the latest Beta...