Champions Online expansion is now free

Talking with your Wallet. It worked. Hell yes. Now, I hope Cryptic learns a lesson from this. Fat Chance.

They have been doing a decent job of listening to their fans. Maybe not always following through but definately listening and acknowledging. I suspect that part of the reson they are making this free is they are worried about losing players, but I don't think that is a very large part.

It was a stupid idea that should of never left the board room to begin with...let alone anyone having to announce it. There's no way of breaking stupidity gently.

Classic case of shooting the messenger. This would have been a decision made way above Daeke's head and maybe he stated it so bluntly on purpose to ensure the decision got reversed and this whistle blowing subsequently cost him his job.

Problem here is PR is not a messenger, but much much more.

he should have let it evolve and report back the feedback and not make it evolve in a PR disaster.

Jesus, that made me sound like a Cryptic fanboy. Better qualify that I'm not really for or against them, and what I'm saying is just that the less angst that their (or any other) player community has to put up with, the better.

Yeah, I'm sure those waves make him feel fucking great in the face of losing his job.

Yeah, I bet he can add that to his resume:

"-Spearheaded a change in the corporate and development structure within the offices of a second-rate game development company.

-Upon my departure they changed the fundamentals of how they do business, their interactions with players and quality assurance. Cryptic Studios, upon my departure, made a commitment to the players that this time they'd listen to player input and be much more in touch with the player base as a whole. This is not to be confused with the other times they have promised this, including before and up to the launch of Champions Online and on several more occasions during their time developing City of Heroes.

-In the time since these events, which are now legend, every copy of Champions Online now comes with real unicorn poop, a puppy, a finished product and the home telephone number of Jack Emmert.

-In closing, my time at Champions Online transformed Cryptic Studios from a place that would shitcan someone because they needed a scapegoat to a place that will now offer an 'expansion' for free when that is what they should have done in the first place".


Yeah, his resume would look great with that. Rather than offer the content for free like they should have in the first place, Cryptic had to instead fire someone and look like even greedier jackasses than they did before. Oh, and if you really believe them when they talk about increased developer presence and the developers will really listen this time!...well, good luck with that. They've been going back to that well for awhile now, and you can see how far that has gotten everyone.

Agreed

Agree, It's a start.

But I want to see them moving in a clear direction away from their C-Store model before I start getting interested in that game again.

Cryptic: the coming update will be a paid expansion to the game

Players: paid?! it should be free!

Cryptic: the coming update is now free

Players: free?! it must be crap!

:)