Monopolies are maligned because they enable certain bad business practices, centered around having no competition and thus being able to set the price as high as they think they can force people to play.
When the means of entry are inexpensive enough, and the laws against using violence to prevent entry are properly enforced, a "monopoly" really just means "the biggest guy out there, because he consistently delivers the best product for the lowest price."
Because of the internet, entry into the entertainment industry is pretty cheap. Consider things like Channel Awesome (home of the Nostalgia Critic), Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, and all the myriad free entertainment produced by amateurs on YouTube. Then recall that there ARE competitors in all fields Disney participates in; they're just one of the biggest.
Disney, like CostCo and Wal*Mart, may seem "monopolistic" in that they often drive competitors out of business due to having a better product at a lower price, but the real measure is in whether they then hike prices and lower quality because "why not?"
They don't, because doing so would open the door for those competitors to come back in. The "evil" of the monopoly isn't in the putting of competitors out of business, but in the abuse of their position to force people to do business with them no matter how overpriced and poor quality their products are. The former is just competition working as designed.
And, in the entertainment industry, where purchases are totally optional (as nobody needs to play CoH to survive, much as they'd be sad to lose the quality product they love), failing to produce good enough products at low enough prices is going to put even the monopoly out of business. After all, they still have to compete with other optional purchases that are not their kind of entertainment product. Like hobbies.
I think this is well stated, and I agree. Just because some monopolies are bad and abuse their power, does not mean that ANY monopoly is by default bad and abusive. But that is neither here nor there.
I am not the biggest fan of Disney as a company. But then again I don't run companies so I don't have the appropriate knowledge base to determine their social value. I can say this though: Disney is an American staple, and a large reason why I am who I am today, and I am sure same goes for many of you, like it or not. Before my mind became infected with the knowledge of corruption of human nature and greed, as a kid my imagination was continuously fueled by the magic of Disney. Without Disney, the last 30 years would have been VERY different and probably very boring. I remember where I was the first time I saw Aladdin in theaters as a kid, just as I remember where I was when I saw Wreck-It Ralph as a 30 year old. You may not agree with their corporate practices, but you have to agree that their ability to create decent entertainment has made the world a little more entertaining for many years.
CoH is dying.
I want you to think back on your childhood, before you cared about corporate commerce. Think back to Mary Poppins, Aladdin, 101 Dalmatians, The Rescuers Down Under, American Tail, Toy Story, Monsters Inc, Newsies, Bambi, Pinocchio, Goofy Movie, remember Mickey and the Gang, remember how you felt the moment Wall-E woke up, remember...
CoH is dying.
Would you rather sit there and watch it die, than at least give Disney the chance to give it CPR? They may not want to, it might not work, or CoH could come back horribly changed. But after the last 8 years of life it has so graciously given to all of us, would you really sit there and not at least let Disney try to revive it? I feel we owe Paragon at least that much. 80+ people lost their jobs, 1000s lost their sanctuaries from the everyday grind of real life. If Disney is even remotely interested in breathing life back in the lips, I will gladly pump the chest. I owe Paragon that much, and for the last 30 years of entertainment, I owe Disney that much as well.
This isn't about money anymore. Until you can show me ONE, just ONE, game that is even CLOSE to the experiences we all had in Paragon, our options are extremely limited and we have to act on each one we come across.
Hell, I swore I would never join Twitter but I broke that simply so I could continue to follow and support the P. Studio devs after the sunset.
It is the least I can do. Also, I have been doing some Demo Record videos of fly-throughs of zones and other goodies, to share and play once the servers are down. (Anyone wants them, hit me up: PrinceRecluse@gmail.com)
For all that Paragon (City and Studios), Cryptic, and yes even NCsoft, have done to help us become the Heroes and Villains we have enjoyed being, I think the least we can do is try to save it. CoH is dying. What's the worse that can happen if we fail? It dies? That was gonna happen anyway.
(sorry for the rant, it's a slow day at work
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