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City of Villains and Heroes Combine Monthly Fee

Posted by Zonk on from the more-cape-for-your-money dept.

JamesO writes "Massive game players will have lots of options. NCSoft has announced that City of Heroes and City of Villains will only require one fee to play both games." From the article: "We know that many City of Villains players will be existing City of Heroes players who are essentially playing in order to access another aspect of the universe they have grown to love ... We wanted to find a solution that would look after existing players, offer tremendous value for money and also encourage new players to investigate the world of City of Heroes. This is that solution."

67 comments

  1. Platforms by FirienFirien · · Score: 4, Interesting

    But are they intending to port it to new platforms? Nope. NCSoft has definitively said that they're not porting its current games to mac, even though the mac population of Lineage 1 was greater than proportional to (all mac users out of all computer users); Blizzard has gone the other way and actively ports all its titles to mac, and has done hugely well from it. Yes, they would have done hugely well anyway - but out of that 3 million, I bet there's a horde of mac users.

    I realise that as the number of major players increases, their individual share would go down - but NCSoft have some good content, and so would be able to draw in a fair market share. Now would be a good time, with the WoW demand finally slowing and people looking around for What's New. Don't let this turn into a mac vs PC thread. You know more players makes a better game, no matter what they're playing from!

    --
    Browsing with +2 to insightful posts and a higher threshold makes the average post seen seem a lot more ingenious
    1. Re:Platforms by Nodar · · Score: 0

      You knew damn well when you got a mac you wouldn't have a lot of choices for games. Why would you purchase a mac if you wanted to do gaming? Thats like complaining that there are no video editing programs for the PS2.

      --
      Don't Blame me if I seem bitter, I'm at work, and the TV only plays soap operas.
    2. Re:Platforms by Golias · · Score: 1

      Speaking as one who finally got bored with WoW content, I would probably go back to CoH if they did a Mac port. ... as long as it isn't a separate Mac Ghetto like Sony did with Everquest. If I can't play the MMORPG along with my Windows-owning friends, then no dice.

      CoH is a great game, but now that my Mac is running the media room (and I have no desire to keep a second computer hooked up to my projector), I've got pretty much zero interest in PC-only games. If it ain't on either the Mac or a console, I'll do without.

      Then again, when the Intel Macs start trickling out out next year, I might consider either dual-booting to Windows or going with some kind of WINE-like solution... for the sake of playing CoH and no other reason. :)

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

    3. Re:Platforms by sgant · · Score: 1

      I thought "City of Villains" was just an expansion to "City of Heroes"...you know, so you could play either good or bad and have great PvP battles between the two. Didn't know it was separate games.

      Sounds boring now.

      --

      "Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
    4. Re:Platforms by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1

      I was a die hard Mac-o-phile who died hard sometime in the mid '80's, with a IIci with a Radius Rocket 040 accelerator in it being my last, and a PII 266 being my first PC at home.

      Reason? I used it for 2 things at home: Surfing and gaming.

      Surfing they did equally well as Netscape (my browser at the time) was available on both. And gaming, there was no comparison.

      Only the biggest games were ported, and then only sometimes. Which was fine, since that was mostly what you wanted to play. But half the time you'd have to wait a year.

      So I stunned all my friends by going the PC route, but I haven't been sorry about it since.

      And now, I shall emulate the poor comedy of Adrian Kronaur's nemesis in "Good Morning, Vietnam!". "You might say I jumped platforms...because there were no platform jumpers!"

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
    5. Re:Platforms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Er, mid '90's. Well, I guess I should have previewed! Or they should have included an edit button like all other board systems.

    6. Re:Platforms by tuzzyfoad · · Score: 1

      It's a seperate game *and* and expansion.

      you don't need CoH to play CoV or to participate in PvP against other players in the PvP zones.

    7. Re:Platforms by X-Navy · · Score: 1

      CoV is more of an expansion than a separate game. You can either play it standalone with only the new villian content (new zones, bases, etc.), or you can add it to your existing CoH account and play both games. PvP takes place in special zones and even if you dont have CoH, you can still PvP against heroes with just CoV.

      Still sound boring?

      All of this is in the FAQ: http://cityofvillains.com/faq/faq.html

    8. Re:Platforms by Sinister+Stairs · · Score: 2, Informative

      I thought "City of Villains" was just an expansion to "City of Heroes"

      If you're already a CoH subscriber, then yes, CoV is like an expansion. But if you don't already have CoH, that's fine -- you don't need CoH to play CoV. So in that sense, it's a separate game.

      I thought...you could play either good or bad and have great PvP battles between the two.

      Yes, you can. PvP battles will be quite prominent (if you choose to participate).

      Didn't know it was separate games.

      Think of it like comic book crossovers: They're separate titles, but the characters can interact with one another.

    9. Re:Platforms by sgant · · Score: 1

      Ah, that's cool. It also makes sense.

      Thanks for clearing all that up.

      --

      "Leo Fender was in a 'state of grace' when he designed the Stratocaster." -- Paul Reed Smith
    10. Re:Platforms by Pxtl · · Score: 1

      So really, it's two games with one universe - well not a single shared universe, as I'm sure there will be CoH-only areas and CoV-only areas.

      That's kinda cool.

    11. Re:Platforms by Weird_one · · Score: 1

      it's both, and expansion and a seperate game.

      --
      "Secrecy is the keystone of all tyranny. Not force, but secrecy ... [sic] censorship.
    12. Re:Platforms by overbom · · Score: 1

      one thing the mono platform mmo games don't get -- my circle of friends is fairly well split between mac and windows users. we can't all play together if the game is just for windows. so what do we do? play world of warcraft. no one in my group wants to shell $500 for a PC that can barely play modern games.

      In other words, they miss out on a network effect. I don't know how much of one but they lost 5+ sales within my circle of friends.

    13. Re:Platforms by GJSchaller · · Score: 1

      I bet there's a horde of mac users.

      Gives a whole new meaning to "For the Horde!". As if Mac / PC wars weren't enough, now we can add Horde / Alliance to it...

      And of course the Horde uses Macs - Alliance has all the Gnomes for Tech Support, and do you really expect a Tauren to use a mouse with more than one button?

    14. Re:Platforms by KillShill · · Score: 1

      funny that people still support blizzard after their DMCA takedown of the bnetd project.

      seems the users of any platform are still the suckers.

      equating bnetd with "piracy" = equating region-free devices to "piracy".

      artificial restrictions come from the colon of satan.

      --
      Science : Proprietary , Knowledge : Open Source
    15. Re:Platforms by DrEldarion · · Score: 1

      $500 for "barely" being able to play modern games? You can get an Athlon 64 3700+ / 1GB RAM / 300GB SATA / 6600GT computer for a little above $500, and that should last quite a while.

    16. Re:Platforms by brkello · · Score: 1

      If you want all the games, you play on Windows. This isn't a Windows vs Mac thing, they are both fine OSs. But the number of gamers on Macs often does not justify the costs to port and support another OS. You have no idea how many Mac users it would pull in. They have people to crunch those numbers and if they could make some huge profit (like you seem to think) they would already have a Mac port. If you are a gamer, get a PC...otherwise, don't be surprised if most companies don't port games for you. It's like going to a $.99 store and being pissed off that every is more expensive that a quarter...you knew what you were getting in to.

      --
      Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
    17. Re:Platforms by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      nice shill for your website

    18. Re:Platforms by DrEldarion · · Score: 1

      Yes, the reason I know you can do that is because of running the site. So? Does that make the statement any less true?

    19. Re:Platforms by Snaller · · Score: 1

      But are they intending to port it to new platforms?

      You gotta be kidding - with the speed they are fixing bugs and adding content, they have one person doing the programmer - he wouldn't have time to port anything.

      --
      If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
    20. Re:Platforms by Golias · · Score: 1

      They have people to crunch those numbers and if they could make some huge profit (like you seem to think) they would already have a Mac port.

      Blizzard also has people who crunch numbers, and they concluded that cross-platform development is worth the money. Seeing how pretty much every damn thing they make becomes a #1 title, maybe some of those other companies should get their people to take a close look at what Blizzard is doing right.

      --

      Information wants to be anthropomorphized.

  2. What a great gaming company by bassgoonist · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I may not be a big fan of mmorpgs, but I've seen ncsofts work, I like a lot of it. And now creating new content and 'giving it away' to people who already pay. Its so refreshing compared to the companies that release expansion packs you have to buy for mmorpgs.

    --
    You can tell I'm an aries because of my ram.
    1. Re:What a great gaming company by bassgoonist · · Score: 1

      eer, on a reread I guess you do have to buy it? Odd, I played lineage II on a free server without having to buy the client, oh well. Silly me :-p

      --
      You can tell I'm an aries because of my ram.
    2. Re:What a great gaming company by Solikawa · · Score: 1

      You have to buy the expansion, but your subsciption stays the same. This is nothing new to this business...

    3. Re:What a great gaming company by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It should be free, its the same damn game with a red interface. sure some new maps and slightly different look, but it is not a "new" game.

      Wouldnt surprise me though if that one fee for both games is higher then the one fee your paying now for just COH.

      This isnt the first time though, new content in a lot of MMO's is free, AC had new content every month for free, Earth and Beyonds content add ons were free, new stuff in WoW is free.

      Only time they charged was for large expansion packs and that was just a rip off.

      Its not a new concept. Being able to play the game for free after you have already spent 59.95 for the game is a much more novel idea, ala guild wars.

    4. Re:What a great gaming company by KingSkippus · · Score: 1
      It should be free, its the same damn game with a red interface

      No, it's not. There are a bunch of differences between City of Heroes and City of Villains. Sure, they share the same concept and a lot of the same game mechanics, but this is a LOT more than just an upgrade to City of Heroes. If nothing else, the content alone is as big as City of Heroes is, and that doesn't even take into account that a lot of features will be added for existing City of Heroes players.

      If you're in the beta, you know that already. If you're not, well, I'd love to expound upon the differences, but I can't. Here are some that are already public knowledge:

      • Bases (for villains and heroes)
      • PvP "Crossover" zones
      • Many new zones, not just the one-off that comes with a game update
      • All new graphics (already pointed out) and animations
      • Many new villains in addition to (not instead of) the old ones
      • New mission types

      ...plus, a bunch of other stuff you can read just as well from the press releases (flash site). I'll stop now because this is starting to sound more like an ad than a comment.

      Anyway, the point is that this game is much more that just an update, and NCsoft is reasonable in expecting people to go out and buy it, and I think it's pretty nice of 'em to not ding existing subscribers with an extra service fee for playing it, because now we don't have to choose which one we want to play or go broke playing both.

  3. Wow... by Solikawa · · Score: 0, Troll

    This is stupid.... Nobody that I can think of off the top of my head has ever charged another subscription for their expansion as well as their old version of the game. Of course its going to be combined, why are they annoucing it like its new stuff! New ideas! Fresh thinking! This is idiotic press propaganda to make themselves look better.

    1. Re:Wow... by FirienFirien · · Score: 1

      This is stupid.... Nobody that I can think of off the top of my head has ever charged another subscription for their expansion as well as their old version of the game.

      If you actually RTFA, or even the slashdot version, you'll see that it's not. NC are combining the subscription for the two parts into the same one for the same price as the original subscription. The only cost is buying the expansion pack from the store.

      What this actually means that if you don't want to play CoH any more and try out CoV instead, your CoH chars are still active for the entire duraction of your CoV play. Your payment scheme doesn't change; you can play both sides at once.

      --
      Browsing with +2 to insightful posts and a higher threshold makes the average post seen seem a lot more ingenious
    2. Re:Wow... by WankersRevenge · · Score: 1

      of course, the only caveat being that this expansion doesn't require the original game in order to play ... really a moot point being that the developers of the game are really marketing this product to the current players. I view this as an expansion on steroids and when its price drops to the sub-thirty dollar level, then I will purchase it. I think we can all agree that selling a "expansion" - whether it be on steroids or not - for $50+ is a nasty precedent and it should not be supported.

    3. Re:Wow... by -pms-mistletoe · · Score: 1

      Indeed, RTFA, who on earth modded this as Interesting?

      NC are doing a great thing for MMO billing here.

      --
      "Frag the weak, hurdle the dead, and assassinate those cursed snipers."
    4. Re:Wow... by Gojira+Shipi-Taro · · Score: 4, Informative

      The point being that unlike "expansions" a new player can purchase City of Villians and play JUST that side of the game without ever buying City of Heroes. Back when Ruins of Kunark was released, new players still had to buy the original EQ to play...

      --
      "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
    5. Re:Wow... by say__10 · · Score: 1

      Or perhaps if you read the article or knew something of the games, they are seperate. Its not an actual expansion like their "Issues" they release every few months. New engine, new playability, new game. Mighty white of them not to charge for each of them.

      --
      Home of the midwest loser - www.say-10.net
    6. Re:Wow... by @madeus · · Score: 2, Informative

      What this actually means that if you don't want to play CoH any more and try out CoV instead, your CoH chars are still active for the entire duraction of your CoV play. Your payment scheme doesn't change; you can play both sides at once.

      The OP is correct. CoV is really just an expansion in every sense (NC Soft have even explicitly referred to it an expansion), other than apparently it doesn't require the original title if you only want to play the CoV elements. I'm sure the two will be bundled for the original RRP or less within 12 months.

      It's not 'news' as they were clearly going to do this all along, it's not like your average user would actually be willing to pay for a separate monthly subscription for both. Did you really expect that they would ask for a separate additional monthly fee for CoV?

      I've been looking forward to this expansion, and I don't begrudge them the money. I appreciate they are a relatively small developer, and it's a solid and well built title to which CoV will add some much needed value. Beyond the initial fun of creating and being your own super-hero, while is awesomely done, CoH is underneath is pretty dull in single player (depending on how much you like being a super-hero, if your really keen and play with a bunch of RL friends all the time I'm sure it's a lot more entertaining).

      However, it's not like other RPG's like WoW or EQ2 charge extra to allow people to play 'evil' Horde or Freeport citizens. Though EQ2 does have the cheek to charge people to PvP via the expansion, the monthly cost of course remains the same. The main reason why I'm not playing EQ2 any more as it's not even a very good implementation of PvP and more a sort of throwaway implimentation. Though I really like the game itself and think EQ2 is a solid title that is great for grouping (more so that WoW), there are not that many players on the Europe servers there is no PvP server as there was with the original EQ.

      Once it's been out a bit (so I can see what people think of it) I'll probably get it and try out CoV, hopefully there will be some new contested zones and battling won't be restricted to some lame arena areas.

      PS: WoW RPPVP servers rock! Maximum PvP taste, Minimum jerk content!

    7. Re:Wow... by Impy+the+Impiuos+Imp · · Score: 1
      This is stupid.... Nobody that I can think of off the top of my head has ever charged another subscription for their expansion as well as their old version of the game.


      If you actually RTFA, or even the slashdot version, you'll see that it's not.


      I don't see him as claiming he thinks that, necessarily. That NC-Soft seemed to be toying with considering it a separate game rather than just a giant expansion pack, is what is "stupid".

      If anything, payment consolidation seems to be the wave of the future, with the giants slowly emerging: Sony, which now has EQ, EQ2, Star Wars: Galaxies, and now Matrix Online, all on one monthly fee, and NC-Soft, which is CoH, CoV, and partnered with Lineage and Lineage II (tho I don't know if you can get a general account to cover both City and Lineage). WoW is a newcomer that is hugely successful (tho why I don't know) but is still just one title, we'll see in a few years if this spawns any successful remakes or brothers.

      --
      (-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
    8. Re:Wow... by tuzzyfoad · · Score: 1
      That NC-Soft seemed to be toying with considering it a separate game rather than just a giant expansion pack, is what is "stupid".

      It is a separate game. You don't need CoH in order to play CoV. Calling it an expansion would imply that in order to even think about purchasing and playing CoV, you must first purchase CoH.

    9. Re:Wow... by Mondoz · · Score: 1
      I think we can all agree that selling a "expansion" - whether it be on steroids or not - for $50+ is a nasty precedent and it should not be supported.

      I have a CoH account that I haven't played in a very long time, probably since WoW came out. I don't have it installed anymore, and I probably won't play it again.
      For me, and my friends that have never played CoH, getting CoV isn't really an expansion. If it's a full stand-alone game, why aren't they entitled to charge the full $50 for it?

      I think they could give a discount to existing CoH players, but if buying CoV activates my old CoH account, that's a pretty good deal, IMO.

      --
      /sig
    10. Re:Wow... by CoffeeJedi · · Score: 1

      so you can't get a raid party of villians gathered up and have a huge super-battle against a bunch of hero characters ala Horde vs Alliance?

      that's lame, what's the point of the game then?

      --
      May you be touched by His Noodly Appendage. RAmen.
    11. Re:Wow... by drspooky · · Score: 1

      CoV is not an expansion. It is a stand alone game with an equal amount of content that can be played without owning CoH. It is more like a sequel than an expansion.

    12. Re:Wow... by Pxtl · · Score: 1

      Lots of games do the expansion-on-steroids-as-standalone approach. It's better to think of them as a new game with backwards compatibility.

      Look at UT2k4. The game was basically a massive content upgrade for UT2k3 - same game, same models, but new modes, new maps, and the game added vehicles. Nobody complained about UT2k4 being an expensive standalone because it was an e-freain'-normous game.

      Imho, the best approach is to offer a small rebate for people who already own the old title... but that's only if the new game is a superset of the old. Since I don't think CoV players have full acces to CoH content and vice versa, they might have a good trick there to get people to pay full price for both, but still want one only if the feel like it.

    13. Re:Wow... by Sinister+Stairs · · Score: 2, Informative
      Heroes & villains can duke it out. Here's my previous explanation.

      The are separate games in the sense that if you're only interested in playing a villain, you don't have to purchase CoH as well.

    14. Re:Wow... by Bellum+Aeternus · · Score: 1
      Your post is some what misleading. City of Villains has completely new 1-50 content, and allows for PvP if you have both games. The only shared element is the backstory and the game engine (and the engine has recieved a major overhaul).

      CoV has all new ATs (character classes), mostly new powersets, all new art, storyline, setting, and mission types. In addition, it introduces real PvP into the game. Also, once CoV is launched the code for crafting will be integrated into CoH. Though, the developers have said that the final touches to the crafting system are 3-6 months off - so I'm not holding my breath.

      Cryptic/NCsoft has always said the fee for playing both would little to nothing extra, but that you'd have to buy the second boxset. Guess they learned something from Guild Wars.

      Anyways, I've been an avid fan since 18 months before the release of City of Heroes and I've been playing close attention ever since. CoV is not just an expansion - it's a second game that upgrades the original if you it to.

      --
      - I voted for Nintendo and against Bush
    15. Re:Wow... by Jaeph · · Score: 2, Informative

      Yes, you can fight hero vs villain. They have an arena and a frontier area where heroes and villains can fight. Check out:

      http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/cityofvillains/news .html?sid=6133023&page=1

      "Of course, Bloody Bay has a secondary hospital area (the area in which fallen characters are revived) that's reserved for superheroes, because City of Villains will let players that own each game square off against one another in hero-versus-villain battles, which can be entered into for bragging rights (for now, anyway). Interestingly, the Bay also contains its own built-in monsters to fight, as well as missions to undertake, such as one that requires you to capture samples from scattered meteorites (while evading radioactive ghouls at the same time). However, in this mission, you'll be vulnerable to attack from ghouls and from other players, too."

      -Jeff

      --
      Please learn the difference between a dissenting opinion and a troll before you moderate.
    16. Re:Wow... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They've stated that the free month that comes with the purchase of City of Villains can be added to your already existing account. So, really, you're getting a free month of both games with the purchase of CoV.

    17. Re:Wow... by wolfmanXUG · · Score: 1

      [i]o you can't get a raid party of villians gathered up and have a huge super-battle against a bunch of hero characters ala Horde vs Alliance? that's lame, what's the point of the game then?[/i] The point is not having to be forced to do PvP

    18. Re:Wow... by deinol · · Score: 2, Informative

      if you can't get a raid party of villians gathered up and have a huge super-battle against a bunch of hero characters ala Horde vs Alliance? that's lame, what's the point of the game then?

      Actually, you can. You can build bases, and do base raids. You just have to agree to it. Or you can get your team together and go into the no-man's land, which is going to be a hot zone full of untimely death I bet.

      I like the way they are doing it because not only do you have the option of doing PvP, but you don't have to go to a seperate server for it. By having different zones all on the same server, you can do what you want, when you want it.

      --
      Got Apathy?
    19. Re:Wow... by esampson · · Score: 1

      Actually, I'm pretty sure Ruins of Kunark contained the entire game, because this is what I purchased when I started playing.

  4. This is only... by Shads · · Score: 2, Insightful

    ... sane, as COV may be a different game, but in reality it's a significant expansion to COH. They interact.

    --
    Shadus
  5. Kudos. by kinglink · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If they are completely seperate games (where you interact on the servers) kudos.

    When everquest did this they started charging 150% (I think) rather than the same price. It was kinda crap but also understandable, but here there's two things to realize,

    A. The only change is storage space.

    b. If the world is always the same for both games and you only log on one game at a time, there's no extra load by doing this.

    Overall I'm happy they did this, but it's not going to change anything for me. (The plague in WoW got me into that though so we'll see)

    1. Re:Kudos. by EvilMagnus · · Score: 1

      CoV is the same codebase and basic system of CoH (it has new features, but it's the same basic engine and gameplay). It is, essentially, a big honkin' upgrade. So they're doing the only sane thing and charging big honkin' upgrade prices but not touching the fee.

      This could work - it might encourage me to put down $50 on it.

      --
      -EvilMagnus
    2. Re:Kudos. by snuf23 · · Score: 1

      This is the only way they really CAN do it. I'm kind of figuring that at launch there are going to be a LOT less heroes in the game while everyone levels up their villains. CoV adds PVP zones and high end super base raids which pretty much require an active population of both. Being able to play both sides will be beneficial for the game overall.
      I quite like a lot of the features they are putting into CoV. I think it will be a much needed injection of new content into the game.

      --
      Sometimes my arms bend back.
    3. Re:Kudos. by esampson · · Score: 1
      Sony's station pass is 150% of the cost of a regular subscription, but it allows you to play -all- premium titles that you've purchased, not just a second.

      While players can still only play one game at a time, which means no extra bandwidth, their characters will be on completely different systems, unlike CoV where your villian character will using the same group of machines as your hero character.

      Really, as several others have said this is more of an upgrade than a whole new game. The difference is that unlike traditional upgrades with CoV you don't need to purchase the original game, though you will be unable to access much (possibly all) of the original game content.

  6. Wave of the future by sdhankin · · Score: 1, Insightful

    As MMORPGs become more mainstream, and there are more and more games competing for the same players, I think you're going to see the big guys doing more of this. After all, it's kind of a no-brainer if one company charges $20/month for their game, and another charges $20/month for their stable of 10 games.

    I'm kind of surprised SOE hasn't gone this route. If they undercut all the competition (I believe right now they charge more than the average monthly fee for a group of games), they could likely force smaller operators out of business. If their business model just counted subscribers (rather than subscribers to a particular game) they could just figure out what they needed to support an individual (server load, lines, etc.) and just skip the rest of the equation. The same servers can support a variety of games. It's just a matter of balancing out the load.

    Who wouldn't see this as a better deal?

    1. Re:Wave of the future by j-joshers · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's a matter of game quality, though. SOE's games aren't that good IMO and the subscriber numbers kinda reflect that (probably the best data is here. I'd rather pay $20 a month for one really good game than $20 a month for 4 bad games, 5 mediocre ones, and 1 sorta-good one. If the small operator has a better game than it already has SOE (or whoever) beat. And even if there were 10 really good games on one bill, who would find time to play any more than one of them in this world of 800-hour MMORPGs? Seems more like a bullet point to get quick sales than an actual legitimate good deal - and as I said the smaller operator will be fine as long as the game is good.

    2. Re:Wave of the future by Durinthal · · Score: 1

      I'm kind of surprised SOE hasn't gone this route.

      They actually have.

    3. Re:Wave of the future by sdhankin · · Score: 1

      Well, yes, as I mentioned in my original post, but they're asking $22 compared with the $13-15 WoW charges, for example. It would be interesting to see what would happen if they charged $15 for the whole bunch.

    4. Re:Wave of the future by sdhankin · · Score: 1

      I agree completely. It doesn't matter how much they charge for the lot, if none are any good. And there are certainly individual games out there that outshine SOE's whole pack. However, over time that might change, either because SOE adds new games, or because the stablemaster in question is someone other than SOE. The idea is general - SOE was just the example that came to mind. If someone managed to get just 2 top-notch games into a group of several, for the same price everyone else was charging for a single game, the picture could be very different.

      I think the appeal of having a bunch of games to the consumer is that they can try them all. Clearly these games are incredible time-sinks, and no one could play them all simultaneously. However, there is that reassurance that if they decided to switch to one of the others for a bit, they'd lose nothing (characters, etc.) and could come back without skipping a beat - even play the two on alternate days, if they liked.

      If SOE (or any future multi-game MMORPG vendor) were to throw in free download of the game to the mix, I think they'd have a marketing winner.

  7. Awesome. by say__10 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Just got my email from Cryptic stating those facts for the American release too, no price increase. Awesome company.

    --
    Home of the midwest loser - www.say-10.net
  8. Would people really pay double? by dommer2029 · · Score: 1
    A lot of people are really championing this move, while a few are panning it.

    I'm not an MMORPG player, but would someone explain to me what alternatives NCSoft had? Everyone's made it pretty clear that noone has time to play two MMOs simultaneously. So CoH players would have stopped playing CoH to play CoV? That would either cut into CoV sales, or limit the CoH population, neither of which is good for NCSoft.

    I see how this is a good thing for those people who want to play both games, but given that they both take place in the same universe, this seems like a no-brainer decision to me. Announcing it like it's a brilliant new idea seems more like a marketing ploy to get attention for their games than anything else.

    --
    VFX is more influential than you think.
    1. Re:Would people really pay double? by tuzzyfoad · · Score: 1

      They could have gone the SOE route: Continue to charge you a monthly fee for CoH, collect money on purchase of CoV plus a seperate monthly charge for that. Then when the player decides which one he/she likes more and tries to cancel one of the monthly subscriptions, continue to charge the player for both subscriptions for 6+ months while they continuously relocate the "cancel" link on the website, all the while sending misinformation to the player who they're ripping off.

      They already decided not to screw over customers with the current CoH upgrade schedule. SOE charges for extra zones, regular(minimal additions) "expansions", etc..(even charging an additional monthly fee for such "expansions"). NCSoft regularily adds brand new content(zones, character classes, etc.) and charges nothing more for them than what the players are already paying.

      What NCSoft has done here is tell the players that they understand we might not have time to play both games at once, or that we wouldn't feel the justification for paying double fees just to login to CoH a few times a month. Instead of creating a new sort of monthly package that includes multpile games at an increased monthly price and cramming the advertisement for it down your throat everytime you login to a game or to the official website, NCSoft rewarded those who have both titles at zero increase in costs(minus the $$ for the CoV Box).

      If it's a marketing ploy to grab the attention of people stupid enough to keep rewarding MMORPG companies that routinely screw over their playerbase, what's wrong with that?

    2. Re:Would people really pay double? by PhoenixOne · · Score: 2, Insightful
      I agree with you that this is the "right thing to do" but, as anybody who's dealt with SOE can tell you, game companies don't always do the "right thing".

      I think giving them credit for thinking in the long term and not squeezing every cent they can from their loyal users is worthy of praise. To me, praising companies that respect their clients is a no-brainer.

      --
      Spell cheek you've failed me four the last thyme!
    3. Re:Would people really pay double? by NBarnes · · Score: 1

      "expansions", etc..(even charging an additional monthly fee for such "expansions")

      Name the Everquest expansion that includes a separate monthly fee apart from the basic on.

      There isn't one. I'll never understand why people have to lie to themselves and others in order to justify their hate for a game they once loved. You moved on, it happens, get over it.

    4. Re:Would people really pay double? by KingSkippus · · Score: 1

      Well, I expected them to charge a slightly higher fee (not double) if you played both games. If you're paying $14.95 a month now (I actually subscribe six months at a time), then you'll pay $19.95 to play both games. They could have easily justified it by saying, "Even if you only play City of Heroes, you will have access to significant additional content and features by being a City of Villains member, too."

      However, it looks like they're thinking along the same lines that you are: if they had charged a higher fee for both, then they would have more players playing either/or, and fewer players buying City of Villains (or new copies of City of Heroes).

      I say kudos to NCsoft for actually using their heads in figuring this out instead of taking the typical corporate knee-jerk reaction of, "Players get more stuff, let's charge 'em extra for it!" I think in the long run, what they're doing is a smarter move and will earn them more marketshare and profit, so everyone wins.

      My only concern is that they might have a tough time maintaining any kind of reasonable release schedule for new content now that they'll have to do it for two games. I hope that all the hoopla surrounding City of Villains doesn't cut into releasing new stuff for City of Heroes. I guess we'll see!

  9. Christ people by Dixie+Flatliner · · Score: 1

    NCSoft didn't make the game, they distribute the little boxes. Give credit where credit is due. (Cryptic Software)

    1. Re:Christ people by tuzzyfoad · · Score: 3, Informative

      No, NCSoft didn't create the game, Cryptic Studios created it. However, we aren't talking about how wonderful the game itself is, we're talking about the account management side of it, cost of subscriptions, etc..

      things which are controlled by NCSoft. Everything related to your Account(s) in CoH, CoV, Lineage and Guildwars is controlled through PlayNC.com

  10. Press Release by Franklinstein · · Score: 1
    This is nothing more than an attempt to churn up buzz for this game. This question has been asked and answered MILLIONS of times since the game was first announced.

    This isn't current news, this isn't really even news at all.

    1. Re:Press Release by Shipwack · · Score: 1

      Actually, no, the question has specifically -not- been answered until now. It has been asked and speculated, but nothing has been said until the press releases started going out. It was just announced, which makes it current, it wasn't known before, so it's "news"...

      I was hoping for a small bump in price and access to all the NCSoft games, but this isn't too bad a deal.