If the game is somehow saved...

As someone who loves to support a game he loves, I have mixed feelings about a question like this. To qualify what I'm about to say, I do think $500 is a fair price for a lifetime sub. Lifetime subs for other MMOs generally shoot below this mark and probably shoot themselves in their feet by doing so. A $1,000 price tag would probably net a studio far more bad press than it would money.

But when I typed "fair price" above, I was speaking from a customer's perspective--or at least many customers. I don't think it's fair to a publisher or studio. It's a steal, and that's what's wrong with it to me personally. If I paid that $500 fee, then after I had essentially "used up the time" that $500 would have paid for, I'd have no option besides market purchases if I wanted to continue to support the game.

In City of Heroes, I was paying about $30 to $40 monthly to play (VIP subscription, one extra token, and various market purchases). But that was also because I was a (almost) three-year veteran trying to buy my way quickly to tier 9 (which I finally did, one week before the bad news broke). After that, my funding of City of Heroes would have been cut down to half of what I had been paying since Freedom launched (accounting for the 550 Paragon Points I'm now getting as a higher tier). I have built a very diverse roster of heroes that I love to play, and have increasingly focused on developing them rather than purchasing new power sets and whole costume bundles for new characters.

See what I'm getting at here? The first time a month went by where I didn't have to pay anything at all to support City of Heroes, I wouldn't feel good about it at all. Because I know full well that lifetime subs are quick cash grabs that hurt studios in the long run.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Angry_Citizen Doesn't really matter, now does it? The CoH campaign is breaking new ground in gamer activism. We're already far beyond unprecedented.

You mean the campaign that you keep trash-talking and putting people down for in every thread? After reading your comments in this thread, I get that you're just as disappointed by this as the rest of us. I get it. But taking your anger and misdirecting it at the people who are trying to do something about it is just not right. If you truly want to live up to your forum name, think about this (<-- link).

What we're doing here isn't anything different from what we've always done: demanding what we want as players and as customers. We're just doing it on a much larger (and crazier) scale--a scale that fits the circumstances. If what we're doing was that stupid, then we wouldn't have garnered all the media sympathy we've got. In case you didn't know or haven't been reading gaming news in the past 30 years, the gaming press LOVES to tell people when their ideas are stupid. Our idea isn't stupid. So stop knocking it and maybe think about making some noise alongside us.

You don't come off like an "angry citizen" at all. You just come off like an apathetic one.

To be fair, if the players were *this* motivated pre August 31st, to get people to notice the game, to spread news, to promote it to their circle of friends *via any means legal*, get old players and new prospective players interested in the game, i honestly doubt that NCsoft would have pulled the plug (especially if the revenue had increased enough).

It is amazing what happens when the fit hits the shan...

I meant to mention it in my original reply, and forgot. I'm with the folks who really don't think that much of lifetime subscriptions.

On the somewhat negative side of things, paying that way amounts relinquishing the ability to vote with my wallet by going else where. In a sense, you're saying "here, have a bunch of money, and you basically get to not care about my opinion from here on out".

On a more positive outlook, I'd rather pay in an ongoing way so that if I do like a game, and if it does last a long time, my payments continue to support it.

I think most of us are inferring a special case scenario attached to the question in the OP poll that affects how folks would answer. I know I'm assuming that a "saved" CoH would benefit from a cash infusion to use as start-up funds. Given no other option, I would strongly consider buying a lifetime sub to enable that. However, I would much rather have some other mechanism to provide such a boost, plus the option to pay a subscription and/or buy things in an in-game store to provide the ongoing income.

I am not going to post in the poll.

I think 500 or 1000 is too much for a lifetime sub alone.

If they come back, I think 200 for the equivalent of a lifetime sub would be a good idea, perhap minus ongoing point rewards (maybe it could come with a smaller sum (~$50) of points right away instead).

I think larger purchases could be possible. It would be cool if larger sums (500, 1000) came with bonuses like you see in Kickstarter programs. Maybe they could get a costume featured in icon, for example. Or have a custom advertisement on a billboard.

Anyways, this is all speculation at the moment. I definitely think they could get a massive influx of money immediately if they get the rights to the game. I will pay even for promises God speed.

Now if we was say to invest $1000 or more to get this thing going, what are the perks and or returns?

Quote:

Originally Posted by mauk2 Evil_Legacy became one of my favorite posters with two words. "Kick Rocks." I laffed so hard. Never change, E_L!

Before I commit to a "lifetime" subscription, any company holding CoH would have to outline a commitment to perpetuate the game for certain amount of time.

When Mercedes Lackey was "paid" for her AE work, she was given a "lifetime" subscription, with "lifetime" being outlined as "5 years".

I know CoH can't go on "forever". But I'd REALLY like to see a nice LONG commitment to the property.

If some of that involves an upgrade path to "CoH2", great, fine and wonderful.

I could easily squeeze out $500, but I'd probably want to see a minimum commitment of 5-8 years for that.

Depending on time of year and my cash flow, I could probably spring for $1000, but I'd want to see at LEAST a 10 year commitment to the property with active development throughout.

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

I'm going to say stick with the subscription fee given the lack of information on who was to take over. If the right company took over then I might consider the $500 option. I'd certainly expect something to make me believe they could and would continue to run the game for at least another 5 years for that sort of cash.
For $1000 or more I'd expect shares in the company.