Comments on: Another Lifetime Sub decision

By: xXJayeDuBXx

xXJayeDuBXx — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 01:54:25 +0000

I think it’s foolish of Cryptic to give a pre-launch deadline for purchasing a lifetime sub. It seems apparent to me that they did not learn from fiasco that happened with Champions Online. If STO is good, then great. But why not have a March deadline instead so that players can have a chance to play the game before making such a large monetary commitment.

Frankly I am not particularly fond of Cryptic these days.

By: Loredena

Loredena — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 23:59:13 +0000

I have lifetimes for LotRO and CO; I probably didn’t get full value for LotRO, yet I’m happy to have the lifetime subscription and feel confident that the game will stick around. I feel sufficiently burnt by CO that I’m unlikely to consider paying up for STO though, especially when it is even higher in cost and I am dubious about Cryptic’s ability to keep both games afloat.

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:47:44 +0000

Good point with Atari. Since I haven’t been tracking either of Cryptic’s games, I had it in my mind they’d managed to self-publish. After the tricks Atari pulled with DDO (plus rumors of going behind Turbine’s back and getting Cryptic to secretly work on a D&D Forgotten Realms MMO) it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if Atari was behind the cash-grab lifetime “deals.”

Then again, I’m rather biased against Atari these days…

By: Blue Kae

Blue Kae — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:14:23 +0000

I never bought a lifetime for Hellgate, but I do have both LotRO and Champions lifetime subs. I’m struggling with the same pros/cons you are. Only rationalization I can come up with the the extra $40 is because Cryptic doesn’t own the Trek IP so there’s some additional costs, of course in that case you’d think the monthly would be higher but I imagine there’s too much market pressure for them to try changing that. I’m not as worried about the longevity of the game, the website is already hinting at Cardassians and Romulans as new factions (one wonders if they’ll be PvP only). My biggest gripe is not seeing a loyalty discount for Champs lifers.

I am curious how much of the pricing and special deals is set by Cryptic and how much of this is coming from Atari. Just like the set-in-stone deadline, this may be an instance of the development studio taking it on the chin for the publisher’s decisions.

By: Pete

Pete — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:05:39 +0000

Yeah, if this was a Turbine game, changing nothing else about it, I’d be apt to spring for the Lifetime. I just ‘trust’ Turbine in ways that Crypic never inspires.

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:38:40 +0000

Other than your cons list being longer, it sounds like you’re not really sold on the game. To be fair, neither am I and I’m not even in the beta. To me it sounds like a fun — for short periods of time (everyone gets to decide on their own what “short” is) — space game and a bland same ol’ same ol’ (MMO-wise) ground game.

I agree on the “security blanket” feeling though. I love having the Lifetime to LOTRO and can take guilt-free breaks whenever I want with no hassles of doing the unsub/resub dance either. Even with my breaks, I’ve more than gotten my money’s worth out of LOTRO compared to what I’d have spent every month. But I had faith that LOTRO would be around awhile. Can’t say that faith is there for Cryptic’s new games. I know Roper isn’t The Man at Cryptic but still, compared to how Turbine handles their Lifetime promotions, Cryptic’s up-front-or-nothing scheme seems like a bit of a Hellgate cash-grab.

By: Werit

Werit — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:19:03 +0000

I like it, but no way I am doing a lifetime sub.

The Borg seems like it will imbalance PvP.

By: Grid

Grid — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:10:17 +0000

If one opts for a lifetime subscription then they should give a 14.95 rebate on the game purchase itself. You see, your 50 dollar purchase gives you one month free ala a $14.95 value. If one needs to buy the lifetime subscription BEFORE your get to play your one free month, you have lost out of the $14.95 value. Seems a way to screw people.

By: Longasc

Longasc — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:55:30 +0000

I am not sure if LOTRO was worth the lifetime. But okay, your habit of logging in for 15 minutes every week or so (I might exaggerate, but you told me you have a rather irregular playing pattern) might have saved you money in the long run.

CO, now STO, a third MMO apparently in the making… and they always offer the “pay up front for 9 months” plans. Let me explain, Turbine and other companies once stated around 9 months is the time a player plays a particular MMO before he gets bored. Cryptic seems to be hungry for money before the game is actually finished – STO has a lot of things that could and should be added.

My main gripe is their business plan being the same as for CO. I believe STO is even better than CO for a FREEMIUM F2P itemshop system. DDO really got re-animated through this system. Guild Wars is even better, it offers the most bang for the buck and, to be frankly, it is IMO a better game than both CO and STO together. So why must Cryptic go with such bait offers that appear to be quite fishy to me and always double or triple-dip their customers?

Compared to what I pay to a LOTRO 60 day timecard, (16,80 EUR~ 24,1 USD), I pay 12.99 EUR for one month STO, and the 3 month plan just saves roughly 3 bucks, 35.97. They are not on the cheap side.
I also believe a F2P with box sales game is ideal given the Star Trek Franchise. Cryptic is REALLY in dire need of money or what?

Frankly, “only” 240 USD for a lifetime membership if you “dip in” occasionally does not really sound like a good deal to me. So yeah, I agree to your assessment to pass this time. I also do not understand why they ask for more money than in CO. This is milking Trekkies, and IMO they are going the wrong way with their pricing. Again, make it a F2P freemium game for Trekkies, and the servers will explode. They just must create a fair item shop model that both makes them money but does not take advantage or piss off players and they have a Star Trek franchise based gold mine.