And if you think NCSoft would "settle" and give up an IP worth millions you are sadly mistaken. The most an individual could sue for is the amount they are out; with an upwards limit of $100 (Read the User Agreement people).
...
Realistically let's look at this:
The absolute MOST a person could claim would be 9 months IF they completed a 12 month sub on 8/30/2012 since the game is open until 11/30/2012 (3 months). 9 months @ $15 = $135. How many people did that... a handful maybe. Most people will have 2-6 months left if they bought in bulk once 11/30/2012.
Not to be a Puppy Upper, and my
strong disclaimer is that I am most emphatically
not a lawyer, all of this is
hypothetical, and I am
really hoping that it doesn't come to that, but there are a few things that I think makes this case unique.
First, as was pointed out in the top post, NCsoft was actively taking money from people for a service and virtual items that they knew would be worthless in three months. Yes, the Terms of Service say that they have the right to cancel the service at any time, but there's just something skeevy about taking money from people--in some cases, $100+--for something that you know is going to be completely worthless after November. It's a little like selling someone a car "AS IS" that
you know has a bum engine in it that will give out in three months and not disclosing that fact. Based on financial reports, the active development team, posts regarding future content (which I am not blaming Paragon Studios for--they were misled as well), it was a reasonable expectation for the people plopping down money that the service would last more than three months. And if, for example, I had just re-upped for a year or plopped down $100 in the store for a block of Paragon points, I would feel strongly that I'd been ripped off--effectively sold a car with a bum engine that NCsoft knew would stop working November 30 without that being disclosed.
Second, while class action lawsuits rarely recompense the class in any meaningful manner, they are expensive to defend. If there were such a lawsuit, it would cost NCsoft a lot of money and other resources, money and resources they undoubtedly don't want to spend. Even if there were no class action lawsuit but people started filing mass numbers of small claims cases all around the United States, it would cost even more money and other resources. My point is that even if there is little to nothing for any individual person to gain from doing this, the sheer hassle of it might entice NCsoft to seek to transfer the property--including any potential legal liability--to someone else so that they don't have to deal with it. (And if it happens to be someone who keeps the game up and running, it would be highly likely that the legal liability goes away since the service will remain intact.)
Having said all of that, while I understand how you feel, I'm not suggesting any specific course of action one way or another. And I must reiterate, I am not a lawyer. If you want to follow this course of action, I'd suggest retaining the services of one. If someone reading this is a lawyer, under the understanding that you're not providing legal advice, feel free to chime in.