Lockboxes are just a lazy-ass way to make money off of the client base. I mean, if they have anything really worthwhile, they'll show up in the C-store eventually, and anyone interested can buy it there. They troll out the lure of "early free stuff", and don't tell you how much you're actually paying for it.
It's the same marketing strategy behind any online social game. Micro-transactions work as a business model, because the average Joe won't think twice about charging their credit card for a couple bucks every time they see something they'd like. Thing is, over the course of a year, those transactions add up, until what you're paying is essentially full-price on a new game every year for the same old game.
I like the idea of DCUO providing free keys for subscribers. That shows that they understand the lockbox concept is only for casual gamers, but they don't want to alienate their regular subscribers with this concept, and so, provide them with a way around it. That shows they aren't trying to gouge the community. That little detail alone earned DCUO a lot of points in my book. I haven't loaded the game yet, so I don't know how it stacks with CoX or Champions, but it seems to be the least customizable of the three games, so far. Too bad, really. If it had a bit more customizability, it might be a better choice overall, especially with that "We're not gouging our customers" philosophy.
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Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do.
It's the same marketing strategy behind any online social game. Micro-transactions work as a business model, because the average Joe won't think twice about charging their credit card for a couple bucks every time they see something they'd like. Thing is, over the course of a year, those transactions add up, until what you're paying is essentially full-price on a new game every year for the same old game.
I like the idea of DCUO providing free keys for subscribers. That shows that they understand the lockbox concept is only for casual gamers, but they don't want to alienate their regular subscribers with this concept, and so, provide them with a way around it. That shows they aren't trying to gouge the community. That little detail alone earned DCUO a lot of points in my book. I haven't loaded the game yet, so I don't know how it stacks with CoX or Champions, but it seems to be the least customizable of the three games, so far. Too bad, really. If it had a bit more customizability, it might be a better choice overall, especially with that "We're not gouging our customers" philosophy.
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Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do.