So I slid in under the line and bought a lifetime sub to Champions Online (ChampO). Although currently feeling a bit fooling following the announcement of a kick-to-the-balls untested, nerf-heavy launch day patch, I still think it makes sense in the long run.
Having played City of Heroes / Villains for 5 years and at least 63 months of that, I’ve kicked about $945 their way in sub fees alone. Given that I also bought City of Villains when it launched (twice, given that the Collector’s Edition was grabbed from a discount bin sale many months post-launch) plus booster packs plus the original City of Heroes box, I’ve spent more than that, but seeing something just south of a grand being spent on sub fees alone is an eye-opener.
On top of this, I’m an Australian on a US server, so my sub fee has to be converted, so I’ve easily spent more than AUS $1000 over 5 years on CoH/V. Right now the Australian dollar is pretty high versus the US dollar so even though I spent US $200 on a lifetime sub, it’s a good deal. Should the Australian dollar drop during the lifetime of ChampO, I’m still covered for sub fee costs.
Assuming ChampO lasts for more than a year, my lifetime sub makes economic sense. How much I’ll actually play ChampO during that time depends on the content Cryptic produces for it. Right now there isn’t enough for long term, but probably enough to get one or two characters to max level without too much repetition. Depending on nerfs, of course.
Of course the risk is that ChampO doesn’t survive for 12 months. Such is the nature of an investment in my fun. I don’t think its death is imminent (despite the jeers and cat calls from certain forums) and believe that ChampO will improve, but time will tell.
World Class Villains 