I would instantly buy a Lifetime subscription to City of Heroes

I'm not sure if this is the forum to make billing suggestions, after all I believe NCSoft handles that, but here I go anyway.

That Other MMO Company has two new games under thier belts, and they offer lifetime subscription options for both those games. Now, I personally think these lifetime subscriptions are a cynical cash grab meant to raise a lot of money very fast for unfinished and content lacking games, cashing in on very popular IPs in the process. These lifetime subscriptions are a waste of money for the customer because these "MMO" games only offer maybe a month or two of content, after which the customer can't cancel their subscription and get their money back, or cut their losses (i.e. paying only $65 for the game they played for two moths rather than $350.)

Now, I personally LOVE City of Heroes/Villains. It is the only MMO I return to on a regular basis, the only MMO I subscribe to. I think Paragon Studios is a good company that has done some amazing things with this game (I'd even say they've vastly improved this game from where that Other MMO Company left it once upon a time,) and I want to play this game far into the future.

I would be fully willing to pay for a lifetime subscription to City of Heroes/Villains. It would be worth every single penny in my opinion. I am confident that unlike that Other MMO Company, Paragon Studios/NCSoft won't try to nickel and dime me out of my money, that they won't release a new zone for Going Rogue (for example) and expect me to pay for it, that Going Rogue will be an amazing expansion that will add lots and lots to this game. I trust that we'll recieve free issues from now until the servers shut down for the last time (I hope that's in 100 years or so.) So I want to be able to commit to this game in the long haul.

In other words, City of Heroes, will you marry me? Hehehe, kidding.

Please offer me a lifetime subscription to a game that's actually good and that I can actually care about!

No. You get what you pay for. CoH expects to be around for years and has already established it can survive. A lifetime sub... and I'm throwing this number out there ... may be another 5 to 10 years of play in CoH (who knows what form it would be in by 2020 and if any of the current devs would still be here).

Any number you'd be willing to pay wouldn't be enough to keep things running. $500? $1000? A number like CO asked for ($200, yes I paid it... and would likely do it again) seems to be a gateway to just paying more through microtransactions. CO doesn't have CoH's track record of survival (yet... stop snickering!).

Golden already cracked on me for mocking CoH's pay for 12 months ($144) and get 14 months deal... for which I'll admit I should have just walked away and come back for Going Rogue and not mocked it in the first place, lol.

I'll say no, again.

100% /unsigned to this idea absolutely eveytime it comes up.

On the whole, I'd buy one too, but I don't see the offer happening. Lifetime subscriptions are for the early stages, when the company needs to quickly raise some cash to offset the development costs, but it's a mid-to-long-term loss compared to the subscription model.

An open letter to NCsoft

I'm all about it

On the one hand, I'd love such an option as it would save me a lot of money. On the other hand, such an option is bad business for Paragon Studios because it would save me money I'd otherwise pay them, so I don't see them offering it. And I don't believe that's the wrong call to make.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arcanaville Samuel_Tow is the only poster that makes me want to punch him in the head more often when I'm agreeing with him than when I'm disagreeing with him.

Idea sounds good but it causes eventually nasty things. Microtransactions have almost ruined Lotro and CO already. There's too much microtransactions in cox already. So no thanks.

Maybe broken is too strong word. Let say make uneasy feeling then Those games are not entirely broken, but that kind of paying politicks makes me choose not playing them. I would gladly pay two euros more per month if all new content includes into that sum.

edit. Littlebit editing.

Im sorry about small offtopic but I'm so curious. Where did you get those GR characters what you have in your signature?

I hope City of Heroes never does this. Most of us would love it, but it takes away the developers' incentive to keep people playing for longer. In my opinion, it only makes sense to offer lifetime subscriptions if you:

1. Don't expect the game to last much longer (otherwise you lose money in projected monthly revenue).

2. Don't plan on making any more free updates (NCSoft still has to make money, so if they aren't getting monthly subscription fees, they'll need to make you pay for EVERY. SINGLE. EXPANSION in order to keep afloat)

3. Got waaaaaaay over your head in costs and you need a lot of money RIGHT NOW. This also doesn't bode well for the future of the company.

From a player's perspective of COURSE lifetime subscriptions for this game sounds like a good idea. You would be saving a great deal of money. Unfortunately, that's the money that keeps NCSoft in business and encourages them to make CoH improve and evolve over time.

Okay, to be honest, I'd pay for a lifetime sub too. But then, I'm a cheap *AHEM* too. It's not going to happen though.

However, lifetime subs are what some games do right at release to build up cash so they can repay their startup expenditures or replenish their coffers so the game can keep running. It's also used by outfits that don't plan on being around long.

And while they may be a good deal for those who play longer than a year or so, they're a TERRIBLE loss for the company if the game survives. Essentially every month beyond (Lifetime Sub Amount divided by monthly sub amount = #) is lost revenue. What they (or at least Cryptic) is counting on is the same thing gyms count on. You lay out all this cash, play for a short time, then don't come back again. Except that, with a lifetime membership, if someone comes back in 2 years and plays again, that's money lost, since they can't charge these people.

1. The game isn't new. Development costs have been sunk and amortized into oblivion for some time now.
2. Neither Paragon or NCSoft are hurting for cash so bad that this would make sense.
3. Doing so now would send a message that there was massive trouble with the game, which would probably trigger an exodus, offsetting any big-budget windfall.
4. It'd probably raise all sorts of other problems (social issues, not technical) that would also probably trigger groups of people to leave the game.

Clicking on the linked image above will take you off the City of Heroes site. However, the guides will be linked back here.

OK, OK, a lot of people made some very good points as to why there won't be lifetime subscriptions. I agree heartily with all those points.

I guess this thread was just an out-letting of my frustration over the Other MMO Company's practices of nickel and diming. I can't even play the game based on one of my favourite TV shows for fear of having my pocket picked every time I turn around...

Maybe I'm just crazy but even if they offered a lifetime sub and I had the cash I wouldn't buy it. Maybe for a game I like but didn't really care about, but not this one. Would rather stick to paying by the month or the year.

A lifetime sub to this game would cost like 900 bucks or more >.>
I dont have that much just layin around