TerraDraconis

Doc V has gone into home care.

Morgan your argument doesn't hold up under examination.

If. And I say if you could play the game without subscribing to it after you bought the box you would have a case. But that doesn't work. Just try to play beyond your 30 free days after buying a boxed online game.

Now after the game goes Free to play/VIP they won't sell the boxes anymore and that clearly supports the entire negation of your point.

All you buy when you buy the box is the device needed to access the game. Your monthly subscription is what gives you access.

If books were only limited time, ie you go to the store and buy them and the store comes and collects them after 30 days if you don't keep paying a fee, or if you bought a CD and the store came and collected it after 30 days if you didn't pay a continueing fee you might have an apples and apples comparison.

But because you buy a book and take it home you now have full permanent access to that book so long as you retain possession of it. The same applies to CD's and your other examples.

In none of the examples you use do you have to pay a continuing fee to actually use the item in question. That is why you have a good argument that you own the item in question. With COX all you own is the software on your computer. You don't own any of the access to the game, you rent that access and that is it. IT IS NOT THE SAME THING.

Yes you assumed.

Right now there are powersets you can't use if you don't own the correct expansion. Think of this as the same sort of thing. Only unlike now you can save your paragon points and spend them only on things like the new powersets etc. No one will be forcing you to buy the 10 extra enhancements slots, extra costume slots, extra costumes, permanent costume powers and the like. Those kinds of things are purely optional for your enjoyment and enhancement.

It seems quite reasonable that if you save your 400 - 550 paragon points a month and only spend them on the costume set expansions and powersets as they come along you are unlikely ever to have to spend any money beyond your base subscription.

If you go wild and buy all of the extra's you can then you will spend money.

Guess what? I regularly buy the costume packs and the like so figure every 3 - 4 months I'll be spending an extra 10 - 20 dollars on my COX account. I don't figure my habits will change with Freedom. Only now I'll have extra toys to buy and spend money on and you know what? I likely be doing just that.

Yet right now there are people who have the bare minimum they can buy on their account with no optional things anywhere, or maybe 1 or 2. And they will continue to play the game exactly the same. So they will do even better and likely be piling up their Paragon Points over time as they won't be spending much of them. Unless the devs can find the right bait to tease them into spending.

Remember one of the devs goals for some time now has been to dangle new toys out in front of people to lure them into spending money. You didn't think that was going to change?

My first reaction is "pretty". Now to go watch it again a few times.

I must now login to the game to facepalm.

I generally like the new splash screen. Though I admit it does look more like they are going to slam together in a hug rather than hit each other.

Hmm, Ok, interesting and that was a nasty thing to do to Alison.

I wonder how long they will run with the 3 teams, I'm not certain why but I'm expecting the new guy to get it. Probably because the opening credits don't have him in that shot of everyone standing outside the office in the Warehouse.

And last but DAMN did the second episode of Alpha's rocket off. The character ticks I was worrying about have been toned down. They are still there but not nearly so annoying or a problem and the entire case they pursued was fascinating. Ok a show of hands on how many people are certain that he survived the end of the episode? ::raises hand::