I'm sorry if I ruffled feathers, but to be honest, its exactly the same question I ask when I buy a new car/TV etc - I don't want to buy something unless I know there is some element of future support offered. Sure, cars and TV's are a bad comparison as models change, but what interests me more is why they haven't suggested any titles!
No, I don't believe that's a bad comparison. Fact is, the games industry as a whole has been getting away with an anomalously poor service record for...well, ever really. And MMOs have been the absolute worst offenders.
Take patches - can you imagine buying a car, only to have an engineer come round a week after purchase to fit a component to it because "it wasn't quite ready at the time of the product's launch"?
Or how about a cable tv package that you're paying for monthly, then the service provider suddenly and inexplicably cancels half your favorite channels without even offering a hint of explanation?
Such things are ridiculously common in the games industry and for years we the customers have just sat back and accepted it because "well, it's always been that way" and "it's only games after all...it's not totally important like my fridge or car, is it?".
Yes, you do find companies discontinuing older models, but
never without having a sleeker/faster/fancier unit ready to roll to replace the old one. This is because most companies realise the value of 'customer loyalty' - i.e. keeping a customer you already have and persuading them to upgrade is far cheaper than trying to recruit an entirely new one.
But the way NCsoft are behaving is incredibly poor even in the gaming industry. They are insulting their customers - us - and trying to give the impression they're being generous while doing it. And then they turn round and pout and act all affronted like it's
us who've done
them the disservice!
Arrogance and ignorance hand in hand - on a global scale no less.