The Daily Grind: Should MMO companies offer severance packages?
As we're now aware, NCsoft has recently made the decision to shut down Tabula Rasa after the first of the year. As an attempt at goodwill - or more likely retaining at least some of the departing Tabula Rasa player-base - they've offered a 'severance package' of sorts to the players. This package includes two months of City of Heroes/City of Villains and two free months of Aion among other things. It's certainly causing some discussion here at the Massively virtual offices, to be sure.
This morning we thought we'd come to you with the question we've been batting around behind the scenes recently. When a company decides to sunset an MMO, do you think it's a nice gesture for them to offer a package of free time in their other MMOs? Or do you think it seems more like an obvious grab, offering players of one sub-type of MMO (in this case an FPS sci-fi game) a completely different sub-type (super hero and fantasy)? If you're a Tabula Rasa player, will the offer they made entice you to at least try out City of Heroes or Aion, or have you decided to cut ties with NCsoft and head for other gaming pastures?
