Now I'm curious, given the hostility many here bare for the company would you play a new game set in Paragon if they were running it? For me the answer is a resounding 'hell yes' but I want to know what others think.
In answer to the OP's question, for me, there is an absolutely "no grey", pure black and white answer.
NO. If NCsoft has *any* stake, interest, or claim to a product, in any way shape or form, I will not give it a second glance. That includes running the former game in maintenance mode, in addition to *any* product they ever market now or in the future. YMMV.
My question would be simple. "Is NCsoft involved with this product in any form whatsoever?" If the answer to that question is "Yes", then they can go "pancake" themselves.
After CoH, and Tabula Rasa, the way they treat their partners and customers, and now with MXM, NCsoft does not, and will not *ever* deserve more than an "F U" from me. Again, YMMV.
The only way I would ever even consider the thought of getting involved in one of their products is if they entirely divest themselves of it, 100%. As long as they're involved, at all, I won't be.... No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
Life is too short to put up with their brand of crap, especially when it comes to my personal, leisure-time, voluntary entertainment choices...
Now, if for example, some unaffiliated group were to pick up CoH, and demonstrably shows that NCsoft is not in any way affiliated or involved with it anymore (including royalties, ongoing licensing fees, etc.), I'd be on-board in a heart beat.
Of course, that was always little more than a feeble hope, and at this point, with the re-use of their IP, it is now pretty much an impossibility. Humanity will colonize Mars, and Pete Rose will be reinstated by Major League Baseball
long before that game ever sees the light of day again (in someone else's hands).
As for the successor projects, I wish them all the best. When they finally emerge, I'll give them a look (on their own merits - not as a CoH replacement).
Regards,
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