User blog comment:True Aranel/Dark Souls 2 North American Network Test Cancelled/Re-Scheduled/@comment-24263148-20131027212345/@comment-5337347-20131029125719

It's not even meant to be a true beta, it's a network test, and this round was actually devoted specifically to testing the server load, so the fact that they're rescheduling it just for the people who missed out should say something. The previous rounds were for testing multiplayer aspects of the game like invasions and signs. It's not actually meant to be a "come see the game and get a taste of it", it's entirely for technical purposes so they can tweak/improve the game for release.