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Champions Online offering lifetime, six-month subscription perks

By philonious_matt, GameSpotPosted Aug 4, 2009 1:56 pm PT

Atari could certainly use a hero to help it rebound from the $319 million loss it suffered during its previous fiscal year. And luckily for the publisher, that hero may be on the way in the form of Champions Online, a superhero-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game from its...

Atari could certainly use a hero to help it rebound from the $319 million loss it suffered during its previous fiscal year. And luckily for the publisher, that hero may be on the way in the form of Champions Online, a superhero-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game from its subsidiary, Cryptic Studios. With the PC installment of Champions Online due September 1, Cryptic announced this week a number of incentives for early subscribers.

With the lifetime subscription ($200 in the US, €147.99 in the eurozone and £119.99 in the UK), players receive a Retro Future costume set, an in-game Foxbat action figure, and an art deco outfit set for Champions Online. Additionally, the plan includes access to Star Trek Online's closed beta testing and an in-game Star Trek mirror universe outfit for the interstellar MMOG. Cryptic Studios expects to begin closed-beta testing for Star Trek Online next year, with the game's full launch due before April 2010.

Champions Online's six-month subscription ($60, €44.99, £35.99) also includes the art deco costume set and beta access to Star Trek Online, though the plan lacks some of the other exclusive items from the indefinite subscription model. Both packages will only be offered until Champions Online's release on September 1 for the PC. Cryptic also expects to launch an Xbox 360 edition of the game later this year.

For more information, check out GameSpot's previous coverage of Champions Online.

62 Comments

  • nd4spdr

    Posted Dec 13, 2009 12:56 pm PT

    Hmm... You pay $50 a year to play games online? I pay $0 for online gaming on my PS3 and PC...

  • punkdsk8erdude

    Posted Aug 29, 2009 9:57 pm PT

    this worries me. i would love to play both this and star trek online, but i'm already paying 50 dollars a year for XBL, I don't want to be paying an additional 120 a year just to play ONE game. To be honest, unless these games are free, it's not worth it, and it's a total ripoff. 50 a year for XBL, 120 a year for this game, plus 60 bucks for the disc, what a ripoff!

  • h3rb

    Posted Aug 16, 2009 5:13 pm PT

    There are a lot of interesting points you guys have been bringing up. I'm really banking (quite literally) on the fact that this will see the success that CoH had, and not be another gateway to hell. I do think it is fair to assume this game will see more success than Hellgate London based on a couple things. 1) Cryptic Studios has already been successful (while obviously not as successful as Blizzard) with their MMO development. 2) A lot of success that Cryptic has seen has come from CoH, and this game clearly does not steer to far away from that in concept. That is good. I wonder however, how many subscribers are still present in CoH now? Will NCSoft be closing it down when 99% of those players make the switch? And will Cryptic be content to capture the current CoH market with this "CoH 2.0" release as their sustaining income? Who knows? But for Roper's sake, I surely hope this game turns out to be a hit.

  • Absolutezerr

    Posted Aug 14, 2009 5:16 pm PT

    What worries me is city of heroes/ villains. That was the only MMO I have ever enjoyed playing because it was fun beyond the goal of just leveling your characters, and the people playing weren't all idiot kids. I hope support for CoH doesn't stop, and I also hope if I shell out for the CO lifetime package, that will keep going. Otherwise I will stick with renewing my coh account every couple months in the lull between beating xbox games.

  • Ychi

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 9:03 pm PT

    @ sircyrus
    I fully agree. I just can't get Roper and all those beloved promises he made with Hellgate out of my mind. So where are all those life time members now!?! Did they get a refund, maybe a letter of apology and a coupon to Subway for 1 $5 sub?

    The MMO market is getting packed out there and making an offer like this to me says they do not have confidence in their game. $15/mo @ 12 months $180 so roughly 1 year subscription. Looks like a good deal at first but with what happened with Hellgate that looked like a good deal as well right?

    With DC Online, Star Wars The Old Republic, and others quickly coming up, I think I would be keeping one subscription as I do not have enough time for more than one MMO and maybe a good console game here or there to spice things up.

    Hmm if this one tanks then will Roper be wearing the Capatin's hat for the SS Failboat?

  • Knoar

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 12:36 pm PT

    Sigh...
    I was excited for this game until the news of lifetime and 6-month deals.
    Whenever a company does this it means they are very uncertain about how long the game will attract paying subscriptions. I have a feeling this game will be like AoC, with hardcore gamers beating it in a month or under and then having nothing to do. I'm guessing the end-game content will suck in this game, which is why I've seen them offering extra character slots. Then again, maybe the game is as solid as can be, and they're simply worried about DC Universe stealing their members.

  • CthulhuFhtagn0

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 6:03 am PT

    I'm just hoping that there is no monthly subscription cost for 360 users since we already pay for Xbox Live. If there is a fee, it should at least be less than what PC users pay. I already pay $30 a month for two WoW subscriptions, and I'd rather not cancel those for this game until I know it will keep me as entertained as WoW has.

  • leoleez

    Posted Aug 10, 2009 11:07 pm PT

    its this kinda stuff that tears me up... buying a forever subscription means I don't need to pay with my credit card too much, which is a great deal for me, but 200 dollars upfront is a lot of money...
    In beta and love the game... but forking 200 is the thing that kills me.

  • T_isj

    Posted Aug 10, 2009 5:05 pm PT

    hope this helps with the thoughts on CO being a micro transaction game, and if the lifetime subs worth it for some... found this interview with bill roper from ten ton...

    read it all:
    http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/71536

  • Donnyp

    Posted Aug 10, 2009 11:48 am PT

    I don't care about customization. Seriously i want a game that i can play and has many great things to offer alongside something thats not ridiculous to level in. I played CoH and that was stupid. Had to be in a team to level. buddy of mine spent like 10 hours a day to get to level 40 after like 4 months. I played WoW......it bores me. Not looking for a flame war just my opinion. But if they pull this off right then it could be a fun game.

  • Thunderstarter

    Posted Aug 10, 2009 1:38 am PT

    @NReisdorff: They're closing the lifetime plan when the game is released, so obviously they thought about that.

  • berak

    Posted Aug 9, 2009 1:39 pm PT

    Actually, Khasym, it is not an unusual offer. Lord of the Rings Online, and other games, have offered similar deals. Usually, and I am not sure it may apply here, folks who pre-ordered, or were Beta testers (and pre-ordered or signed up for a subscription during a 30 day post-launch period) have the option of buying into a lifetime subscription as long as their original account remains active.

  • Khasym

    Posted Aug 6, 2009 4:14 pm PT

    I agree Majere613. The thing that's particularly suspect, is how the lifetime offer only applies to pre-orders. If Champions Online is so great, why discontinue the lifetime plan once the game launches?

  • poetdead

    Posted Aug 6, 2009 10:19 am PT

    bah. watever, they r good games out there which are FREE. -.- but if this game glues u to the seat 24/7, paying lifetime or even 1k is nothing compare to forever fun. hell, they need money ofcuz, look at their fiscal year. enuff said.

  • 01-cannon-mpc

    Posted Aug 6, 2009 6:22 am PT

    But then again you will unlock more costume parts as you complete missions and thay will most likle add more costume parts as the time go on with the game. But CoH/CoV felt to mutch grinding.

  • 01-cannon-mpc

    Posted Aug 6, 2009 6:18 am PT

    @ arc_salvo:

    I agree. The CoH/CoV costume creator and the game it self felt flat like it was a 2D like Mario for Gameboy. But im very tempted to buy the lifetime subscription. If i did know for fact that i will be able to use it for the Xbox 360 version. Otherwise its a definetly no. But how the hell do i preorder it? Do i do that on there website or go to the store and preorder it? =S

  • majere613

    Posted Aug 6, 2009 3:15 am PT

    Ooh, a lifetime subscription, eh? Two words: Hellgate London.

  • arc_salvo

    Posted Aug 6, 2009 12:07 am PT

    Having played City of Heroes/Villains for a long time and having been in the Champions Online Beta for a while too, I have to briefly say that the two Costume Creators aren't that similar at all. Basically, City of ____ has a large quantity of parts, but a surprising amount of them look mediocre or flat out ugly, whereas Champions Online (being new) has fewer parts, but they almost all look spectacular.

    Plus, Champions online has a greater degree of customizability and better colors, imho. Well that's to be expected because it is newer and running on a newer engine, but I still like CO's costume creator much better. With City of ____'s creator, I felt like I had to fight the costume creator to get the look that I wanted. With Champions Online, I have no such problems. The only problem I have is that there are so many great parts, that I end up being really indecisive about what to choose.

  • 01-cannon-mpc

    Posted Aug 5, 2009 6:18 pm PT

    I sent a e-mail to Cryptic Studios asking about the subscription and other qestions. This is what thay sed...

    So the way it works is that if you get a lifetime subscription or a 6 mo.
    subscription, you will get a Closed beta key for STO. This is only for the beta
    of STO and not the game itself. Beta is not going to be offered for the Xbox
    360 yet.

    And finally to answer your question, if you do in fact want to make a chimp,
    you can make a chimp superhero.

    Im SO making a Chimp Superhero. And a guild caled Chimps Online! =D Im going to name him Chimpules! LOL! But i hope you all or some of you find this helpful. But i gues the offer is what you get if you buy the CO game. Still prety good deal considering its for the rest of your life

  • 01-cannon-mpc

    Posted Aug 5, 2009 6:08 pm PT

    @ N0tYrBeezin:

    There is everythin from A - Z and every type of clothin, armor and other types. There will even be lots of custume parts and maby other parts you can unlock as you finish quests acording to the video above. I gues you could get a trial on City of Heros/City of Villans to se what it will be like. Sins thay are simular but there will be more stuff to customize on your character and his/hers powers and other stuff i dont know.

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