You guys are insufficiently cynical. I'm not angry about this, and this is coming from someone who has played Champions.
I'm not angry. Because I expected this months ago. I got all my disappointment out of the way ages ago. I didn't want to say it at the time - but, Logan, you were wondering why I let my Champions subscription lapse a couple weeks before this came out?
Yeah. I wanted to see how this announcement would turn out. And I expected this outcome. See...
Cryptic never said the big content update to Champions Online would be free. The fact that they're billing this as a paid expansion isn't a surprise to me, because I read between the lines. I suppose this is in part because I've worked in media and marketing. But let me break it down:
They said they would have a big content update in first quarter 2010. This was generally talked about in context of other additions they'd made to the game, like the Celestial powerset and the Nemesis Confrontation lair, which were free. Therefore the quite logical conclusion most people made - and indeed, I suspect, the impression they wanted to give, is that...hey, we're cool and we give you all this stuff.
Thing is, they never said the 2010 content update would be free. They never did. Look carefully. What they did say was that they'd announce their free update and paid expansion plans in 2010. Which again is worded in a way that can suggest a significant amount of stuff will be added for free.
Nowhere did they actually say the lion's share of stuff would be free.
This is, consistently, what they do. Take the lifetime subscriptions for Star Trek Online. There was a live chat shortly before STO was released, where someone asked Jack Emmert...whether they could still buy a lifetime sub for STO after launch, because they have trouble getting the money together now.
Emmert's response was that the special lifetime subscription offer expires on launch date.
Which is completely true, but also completely misleading. The truth is the lifetime subscription offer did expire on launch. You can still buy a lifetime now, at a higher price and without the package perks.
But they didn't actually lie. They never actually lie. This is important.
Now. I'm playing Star Trek Online. But I'm a Trekkie. I'd play Star Trek Online if the collective dev team took a crap in a cardboard box and called it a video game. I fully admit that. I happen to think it's a good game, and a damn sight better than Champions.
I also know this, though: when you look at what Cryptic says, expect exactly what they say, and nothing more. Don't read anything into what they say. Take it at literal face value.
-- Acyl
I'm not angry. Because I expected this months ago. I got all my disappointment out of the way ages ago. I didn't want to say it at the time - but, Logan, you were wondering why I let my Champions subscription lapse a couple weeks before this came out?
Yeah. I wanted to see how this announcement would turn out. And I expected this outcome. See...
Cryptic never said the big content update to Champions Online would be free. The fact that they're billing this as a paid expansion isn't a surprise to me, because I read between the lines. I suppose this is in part because I've worked in media and marketing. But let me break it down:
They said they would have a big content update in first quarter 2010. This was generally talked about in context of other additions they'd made to the game, like the Celestial powerset and the Nemesis Confrontation lair, which were free. Therefore the quite logical conclusion most people made - and indeed, I suspect, the impression they wanted to give, is that...hey, we're cool and we give you all this stuff.
Thing is, they never said the 2010 content update would be free. They never did. Look carefully. What they did say was that they'd announce their free update and paid expansion plans in 2010. Which again is worded in a way that can suggest a significant amount of stuff will be added for free.
Nowhere did they actually say the lion's share of stuff would be free.
This is, consistently, what they do. Take the lifetime subscriptions for Star Trek Online. There was a live chat shortly before STO was released, where someone asked Jack Emmert...whether they could still buy a lifetime sub for STO after launch, because they have trouble getting the money together now.
Emmert's response was that the special lifetime subscription offer expires on launch date.
Which is completely true, but also completely misleading. The truth is the lifetime subscription offer did expire on launch. You can still buy a lifetime now, at a higher price and without the package perks.
But they didn't actually lie. They never actually lie. This is important.
Now. I'm playing Star Trek Online. But I'm a Trekkie. I'd play Star Trek Online if the collective dev team took a crap in a cardboard box and called it a video game. I fully admit that. I happen to think it's a good game, and a damn sight better than Champions.
I also know this, though: when you look at what Cryptic says, expect exactly what they say, and nothing more. Don't read anything into what they say. Take it at literal face value.
-- Acyl