The Daily Grind: Should MMOs bestow account rewards based on character power?

A few months ago, we asked whether you prefer studios to assign vet rewards and similar bonuses to your accounts or your characters. But we've never asked whether you think games should grant out-of-game rewards to players whose accounts have characters of a certain level of power, and that's because it's so rare. In fact, I can't think of a game that's done so other than Star Wars: The Old Republic, which stunned just about everyone this week by announcing a free month of playtime to players who just so happened to have reached level 50, a plan amended yesterday to require instead a certain tier of legacy experience.

Cynical readers suggest that such a move panders to those most likely to leave (thus affecting subscription tallies) and betrays the loyalty of day-one veterans who play several lowbie characters rather than focus their attention on a single toon. After all, why should it matter how far your characters have progressed when you're paying the same monthly sub as everyone else?

What do you think -- do you want to see other studios dole out playtime and other rewards based on your character's level or gear or other arbitrary measurements of success and achievement?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!