I will always support developers that try to do something 'new' however (I too was present at the demise of NcSofts AA) heres to hoping lessons are being learnt regarding a 'last resort' plan if all goes wrong.

Develop games that can be played 'standalone' (ie not online) aswell as online. This way if all else fails the player hasn't totally wasted their money on a product that is no longer playable.
Even a LAN option shouldn't be too hard to implement surely.
One last thing. Games like this need time to develop a fanbase (niche market). Over time, once the "..this isn't as good as 'insert overhyped game title here'.." tongue waggers have dispersed, the community no matter how small will continue to develop as seen in both cases of Auto Assault and Fury. They both had hardcore communities that would have continued to play & grow regardless of initial population size.