Hmmm... I really don't know if I would say CoX is going strong? More like after the release of CO it is clear that CoX is still going.

A lot of people seemed to assume CO would shut down CoX, which is a pretty overzelous and dramatic claim. Has any MMO ever "shut down" another MMO in the history of the genre? I doubt it. I believe that the impact of CO on CoX rather, has been over stated by CoX naysayers and CO fanboys. Now lets not suggest that CO wont have 'some' impact on CoX. Positive and negative I would suggest. Many CoX players might try CO and decide they prefer the game they know and thus return to CoX with renewed vigor. More may play CO and enjoy it, but like any semi-intelligent person, they will understand that any new MMO is an unfinished MMO. Thus they may retain CoX as a fall back.

There are no doubt those who have made the switch, but they can -and will- return to CoX if and when it suits them.

I have heard many negative comments about the architect expansion from non-guild (supergroup) players who say as a result of the architect expansion most of the city maps are devoid of players. But those in guilds are happy as it directly benefits them.

Personally, I believe it will take more than a graphical upgrade to gain the response NCsoft need/wants. Current subscribers will be most pleased with the upgrade as the maps in CoX are very tired and show their age. Will this will be enough to boost the games profile and bring in new subscribers? I suspect it will, but not to the desired numbers NCsoft are hoping for. I for one will dust off my toons and take a look at it when the time comes. In the mean time I expect CO will also be busy filling out content.

I will agree with Bezza CO or any other MMO cannot kill any other MMO and so on, if nothing else on the same merit that people were crying that Aion would kill CO why not kill CoH instead or together with CO? because its under the same company? laughable excuse.

I believe the impact CO had in CoH is the intresting additions the later had the past months, they might have been scheduled for months, but their release days is strangely tied up with CO, so it should be classified as a positive impact, it makes CoH to act, same thing I am expecting from CO, as long as there are competitors there will be action, as they say, competition makes progression possible.

The fact that a company hasn't shut down servers doesn't necessarily mean they shouldn't be shut down for the good of the playerbase; and the fact that a company has offered free transfers off of servers doesn't necessarily mean it's doing poorly. In fact, last year there was a lot of talk from the CoH devs about shutting down servers and/or setting up a Guild Wars-esque system for traveling between servers. Ultimately all of that was scrapped, in favor of cheap paid transfers and fast leveling. Why transfer when you can reroll pretty painlessly, and even sneak your money to a new server through Went's or the BM? And that's exactly what people do, and why only two CoH servers are highly populated these days.

I love CoH, but I won't pretend that they haven't had population problems for years, just because their devs refuse to address those problems, as Sony did with SWG, or EA did with WAR. It takes a lot more gumption and care to save a game even at the risk of bad press than it does to neglect it.