Cryptic Studios announced an enticing deal yesterday. The maker of Champions Online (Star Trek Online and another, undisclosed MMOG) revealed a pair of attractive plans for those looking to jump into the superhero MMORPG. Like many companies before it, Cryptic is now offering a Lifetime Subscription to the unreleased, not-even-open-beta-yet title for a hefty price of $200. If one breaks it down, you’d be “saving” money once your eleventh monthly fee of $15 hit your credit card.
Cryptic even includes the following exclusive items to sweeten the deal (emphasis in original):
- Access to the Star Trek Online Closed Beta, beginning later this year!
- Exclusive Art Deco costume set
- Exclusive Retro Future costume set, available only to lifetime subscribers
- Unique Mirror Universe outfit for Star Trek Online, available at the game’s release
- Exclusive in-game Foxbat action figure, available only to lifetime subscribers
- Eight additional character slots!
To be entirely honest, nothing outside of the Closed Beta access really entices me. Costumes and aesthetics bore me, and I am not much of an alter. The action figure tickles me a little, but $200 is no laughing matter. In fact it’s the going price of four video games for the PC. Since Cryptic is forcing perspective buyers to make the decision before September 1st (yes, before the game is launched) I’ll have to pass on the over-priced, over-valued lifetime subscription for the more reasonable 6-month subscription.
Aside from being a reasonably priced alternative ($59.99), the 6-month subscription plan contains the only sweetener of interest to me, the Closed Beta access (emphasis in original, again).
- Saves $29.95 USD (33% off!) over regular monthly subscription!
- Exclusive Art Deco costume set
- Access to the Star Trek Online Closed Beta, beginning later this year!
Let’s not forget that in addition to these deals we still need to purchase the actual game. So that $200 becomes $250 and the $60 mutates into $110. For an unlaunched product that is asking one hell of commitment. There is no way I am dropping a quarter grand without a test drive on the live servers.
If you are listening Cryptic, give me my first month to decide if I want to be a Lifetime member, not my Open Beta (read unfinished product) experience.
The Lifetime Subscription may save me money in the long run, but as Hellgate Londoners know, I may also lose out on the deal. Not only is the 6-month subscription far safer, but that’s also the limit of my attention span for most MMORPGs. That isn’t to say I won’t play past that point, but as long as Champions isn’t a total failure (and from my Closed Beta experience it doesn’t look to be) I should enjoy myself for at least half a year.
I still can’t bring myself to purchase either subscription plan at the moment though.
MMOs are too unpredictable. Theres not way in hell I’d even consider a deal like that before a game launched.
That’s quite a commitment. LOTRO offers lifetime memberships for $200. I can see that but also Hellgate: London offered the same type of deal and look what happened there.
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Granted, if the game lasts AT LEAST 13 months then you get your moneys worth and then some.
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Guaranteed Closed beta to Star Trek Online? Now even that has my attention, no closed for CO was a dealbreaker for me. It was too hit and miss in the videos to drop $50 (with time constraints) nevertheless $250.
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I’m going to ride this out. If things were different for me, I would play a few months on the regular sub and then see if this was going to be “the MMO for the rest of my life.”
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It’s like a marriage. LOL. Also keep in mind that there will be a cash shop implemented after launch. You don’t know how that’s going to effect the game.
Ink