Originally posted by Wizardry

Originally posted by kilun

Originally posted by banzai014

So Funcom is laughing all the way to the bank with lifetimers' money. We haven't even seen a return on our investment (12+ months sub time) and TSW has already gone F2P. Instead, we are being given a sop for wanting to support Funcom and trusting their "we won't go F2P anytime, cash shop is cosmetics-only" promise - for a $15 month's sub, players now get $10 in Funcom fake monies that expire after 6 months and 20% discount on all per-character (not even account!) clothing/pets (non-DLC items) bought from the cash shop.  It would be cheaper to buy the $5-10 monthly DLC from the store than sub in this game. 

Of course we can't vote with our wallets, Funcom already has our money. Rather than listening to our complaints, Funcom would be more apt to ban us for being disruptive in chat / forums since they've already milked us cash-wise and we're now just a drain on server resources.

So how can lifetimers protest? We have to do it through word of mouth. It's our duty to warn players from this game. We must warn our friends, our family, warn people in the forums we frequent. Let our cautionary tale make it known that only fools part money with Funcom.

So what your saying is you believed that Funcom who's all other titles have gone to a freemium type model would not have this go freemium until at least your roughly a year has passed so the pre-paid time (roughly 1 year sub) was all used up?

You bought the game knowing that it could close down or go to a freemium soon after release, if you bought it without expecting any worst case scenario that is you own fault.

They gave you the same thing  Sorry but free subscription and a paid one is not the same thing.The bonuses are worth ZERO as far as monetary value goes.and added a few bonuses each month.  A cautionary tell was set years ago with Hellgate London's failure.  Everyone knows buying a new game and doing anything more than month sub at a time is a risk.

(I do have a liftetime subscription and am actually happy about this change, as it looks even a better deal than before)

They represented their product as a LIFETIME membership.That is NOT implying the game will shut down soon after OR become a free to play soon after.

That is MISREPRESENTATION of the product and is illegal.It does of course usually involve a lawyer who can retrieve documents and stuff to prove the point.Timing is key,a business decision of this magnitude does NOT happen over night,it takes time to organize it as PROVEN by many other developers.So this means the decision would have been made most likely 2 months prior maybe even earlier.

Your consumer rights also are that a SALES pitch ,example a lifetime sub at a discount,cannot be misleading or deceptive.This is the hard point to prove.

Keeping that decision a secret just to get undue money from a customer is again illegal.The problem is proof and most likely takes a good lawyer that can force documents out to prove the point.

You can however contact your local consumer rights division.Laws on gaming are so weak,they most likely have nothing concrete to draw on.

BTW...many terms in TOS that you virtually sign are not legal and you are not upheld by them.Law ALWAYS precedes anything some big shot lawyer writes up.You cannot make a TOS that excuses from the law.

What they have offered is totally worthless,it has a value of ZERO,because you NEVER own virtual items or goods.That money you put up front was NOT intended for cash shop use,it was intended for a game that was represented in a certain mannerism which was not upheld.

You can search around and find media outlets who will make phone calls and go after them.They won't like bad media coverage.Crikey maybe?Keywords >>>>misrepresentation ,misleading and deceiving all illegal.

 

 

 

Lifetime = lifetime of the product.

not your lifetime.

I am very happy with the way I was treated by Funcom.  I am a lifetimer and founder guild leader in Secret World.

I get a bunch of bonuses and every month more points then i'll ever need to buy the new content coming up.

How is that now awesome ?

As a lifer, I am overall happy with what is being offered however...  As a person who understands money, I also see that the value of a month of game time has been drastically reduced.  Even cars dont depreciate this fast.  My friend who did not want to sub can buy the game for $15 and play for free.  He can also buy the new DLC's for $5 every 6 weeks.  He gets everything I do except the cosmetic items I can buy for which neither of us care for.  In short, my friend can play all the content I can for $60 his first year and $45 each year after that.  We would both have to play for 5 years in order for me to pass him in value.  If this game could not keep subbers for a few months, why would you expect us to play for 5 years?

Again, I think FunCom did the best they could and overall I am happy with the result.  I am just saying I understand how some people feel about losing value with their sub.  Sadly, the MMO market is changing.  WoW is just an anomaly and with all the F2P and clones out there, most MMO's just are not worth $15 a month for very long.

Stop giving them money and post how they promise and then not deliver. Seems simple to me this is a company who's only interest is money.

Originally posted by banzai014

So Funcom is laughing all the way to the bank with lifetimers' money. We haven't even seen a return on our investment (12+ months sub time) and TSW has already gone F2P. Instead, we are being given a sop for wanting to support Funcom and trusting their "we won't go F2P anytime, cash shop is cosmetics-only" promise - for a $15 month's sub, players now get $10 in Funcom fake monies that expire after 6 months and 20% discount on all per-character (not even account!) clothing/pets (non-DLC items) bought from the cash shop.  It would be cheaper to buy the $5-10 monthly DLC from the store than sub in this game. 

Of course we can't vote with our wallets, Funcom already has our money. Rather than listening to our complaints, Funcom would be more apt to ban us for being disruptive in chat / forums since they've already milked us cash-wise and we're now just a drain on server resources.

So how can lifetimers protest? We have to do it through word of mouth. It's our duty to warn players from this game. We must warn our friends, our family, warn people in the forums we frequent. Let our cautionary tale make it known that only fools part money with Funcom.

---------------------------

UPDATE:  I have contacted Massively and MMORPG.com awaiting reply suggesting they write an article investigating the legal implications of TSW's B2P change or otherwise recommend me a lawyer specializing in this area that I could talk to. I hope this way we the community can get something started moving forward and clarify exactly  what legal recourse existing subscribers have. I only ask that players get the option of having their extant subscription time refunded, since the subscription service has so wholly changed from what they originally intended to pay for (i.e. it has lost a lot of its value, which is paying for access to the game).

QQ more please, the game is B2P not F2P, be glad you didn't get the same amount of shaft as the lifers over on STO and learn that P2P is mostly dead, the future is F2P/B2P

They laughed all the way to the bank with lifetimer money over 4  months ago. When you pay for something like this up front you are always at risk of becoming unhappy with future changes. Just the way it goes.This isnt the first MMO with a lifetime sub that generated discontent after the payment model changed. STO..Champions...LOTRO..DDO(?). Not to mention that Funcom already had a similar experience with Age of Conan Lifetimers after it went Freemium.

Meanwhile... If you'd subbed this would have been a pleasant surprise.

Originally posted by banzai014

So Funcom is laughing all the way to the bank with lifetimers' money. We haven't even seen a return on our investment (12+ months sub time) and TSW has already gone F2P. Instead, we are being given a sop for wanting to support Funcom and trusting their "we won't go F2P anytime, cash shop is cosmetics-only" promise - for a $15 month's sub, players now get $10 in Funcom fake monies that expire after 6 months and 20% discount on all per-character (not even account!) clothing/pets (non-DLC items) bought from the cash shop.  It would be cheaper to buy the $5-10 monthly DLC from the store than sub in this game. 

Of course we can't vote with our wallets, Funcom already has our money. Rather than listening to our complaints, Funcom would be more apt to ban us for being disruptive in chat / forums since they've already milked us cash-wise and we're now just a drain on server resources.

So how can lifetimers protest? We have to do it through word of mouth. It's our duty to warn players from this game. We must warn our friends, our family, warn people in the forums we frequent. Let our cautionary tale make it known that only fools part money with Funcom.

---------------------------

UPDATE:  I have contacted Massively and MMORPG.com awaiting reply suggesting they write an article investigating the legal implications of TSW's B2P change or otherwise recommend me a lawyer specializing in this area that I could talk to. I hope this way we the community can get something started moving forward and clarify exactly  what legal recourse existing subscribers have. I only ask that players get the option of having their extant subscription time refunded, since the subscription service has so wholly changed from what they originally intended to pay for (i.e. it has lost a lot of its value, which is paying for access to the game).

You are acting as if this wasnt a possibility when you purchased the lifetime subscription. Well, that is your fault for not doing your research. Funcom did this EXACT same thing in their last MMO. They sold year susbscrptions in AOC up until the very day they went F2P, and they gave in game items for doing it. Items that were better than anything you could get via play(Tiger mounts anyone?)  They also swore the shop wasnt going to offer anything but "cosmetic" items. A mount that can run faster than all the other mounts AND that can steath while ysou ride it, yea, thats just cosmetic....

Its not like this happened YEARS ago either. You just didnt bother to do your due dilligence. You entered into a contract with a scoundrel when it was public knowledge that Funcom is a scoundrel. Tell me, if you invested your money with Bernie Madoff tomorrow, knowing his history,  would you complain when he blew it all the next day? Because that is effectively what you did. It doesnt excuse them, but it also doesnt excusse you. 

Consider this a lesson learned, or perhaps a dumbass tax. 

Originally posted by Consequence

Originally posted by banzai014

So Funcom is laughing all the way to the bank with lifetimers' money. We haven't even seen a return on our investment (12+ months sub time) and TSW has already gone F2P. Instead, we are being given a sop for wanting to support Funcom and trusting their "we won't go F2P anytime, cash shop is cosmetics-only" promise - for a $15 month's sub, players now get $10 in Funcom fake monies that expire after 6 months and 20% discount on all per-character (not even account!) clothing/pets (non-DLC items) bought from the cash shop.  It would be cheaper to buy the $5-10 monthly DLC from the store than sub in this game. 

Of course we can't vote with our wallets, Funcom already has our money. Rather than listening to our complaints, Funcom would be more apt to ban us for being disruptive in chat / forums since they've already milked us cash-wise and we're now just a drain on server resources.

So how can lifetimers protest? We have to do it through word of mouth. It's our duty to warn players from this game. We must warn our friends, our family, warn people in the forums we frequent. Let our cautionary tale make it known that only fools part money with Funcom.

---------------------------

UPDATE:  I have contacted Massively and MMORPG.com awaiting reply suggesting they write an article investigating the legal implications of TSW's B2P change or otherwise recommend me a lawyer specializing in this area that I could talk to. I hope this way we the community can get something started moving forward and clarify exactly  what legal recourse existing subscribers have. I only ask that players get the option of having their extant subscription time refunded, since the subscription service has so wholly changed from what they originally intended to pay for (i.e. it has lost a lot of its value, which is paying for access to the game).

You are acting as if this wasnt a possibility when you purchased the lifetime subscription. Well, that is your fault for not doing your research. Funcom did this EXACT same thing in their last MMO. They sold year susbscrptions in AOC up until the very day they went F2P, and they gaves in game items for doing it. Items that were better than anything you could get via play(Tiger mounts anyone?)

Its not like this happened YEARS ago either. You just didnt bother to do your due dilligence. You entered into a contract with a scoundrel when it was public knowledge that Funcom is a scoundrel. Tell me, if you invested your money with Bernie Madoff tomorrow, knowing his history,  would you complain when he blew it all the next day? Because that is effectively what you did. It doesnt excuse them, but it also doesnt excusse you. 

Consider this a lesson learned, or perhaps a dumbass tax. 

 

Why would you support a company like this? I just do not understand.

Originally posted by UNH0LYEV1L
I'm a life timer and I love the changes.  Can't wait.  Get some more people to this fantastic game!

This ^^

What the OP fails to realize is that a lifetime sub refers to the lifetime of the game -- not of the user.  With that in mind, the lifetimers were on the verge of not getting to play anymore.  Furthermore, Funcom is giving plenty of love to the lifetimers, such as myself.