''City of Heroes'' (''CoH'') was a
massively multiplayer online role-playing game
A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game.
As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...
which was developed by
Cryptic Studios
Cryptic Studios is an American video game developer specializing in MMORPG, massively multiplayer online role-playing games. It is headquartered in Los Gatos, California and was a wholly owned Perfect World (company), Perfect World subsidiary, a ...
and published by
NCSOFT. The game was launched in North America on April 28, 2004, and in Europe by NCsoft Europe on February 4, 2005, with English, German and French servers. In the game, players created super-powered
player character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
s that could team up with others to complete missions and fight criminals belonging to various gangs and organizations in the fictional Paragon City.
Twenty-three free major updates for ''City of Heroes'' were released before its shutdown. The final live update, "Where Shadows Lie", was released on May 31, 2012. On August 31, 2012, NCsoft terminated its
Paragon Studios
Paragon Studios was a video game developer, and wholly owned subsidiary of NCsoft. Founded in November 2007 as NCsoft NorCal, the studio's remit was to further develop the ''City of Heroes'' and ''City of Villains'' franchises following the acq ...
development team, ending all production on ''City of Heroes''
with the last day of services on November 30, 2012.
In April 2019, source code capable of running a ''City of Heroes'' server was distributed widely. This made it possible to create ''City of Heroes'' servers outside the direct purview of NCSoft
and revived interest in the game, which by then had been out of development for more than six years. As of October 2022, NCSoft has not moved to have servers based on this source code shut down.
Production history
On October 31, 2005, the game's first sequel, ''City of Villains'' (''CoV''), was launched, allowing players to play as
supervillain
A supervillain or supercriminal is a variant of the villainous stock character that is commonly found in American comic books, usually possessing superhuman abilities. A supervillain is the antithesis of a superhero.
Supervillains are oft ...
s. The
stand-alone expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game or collectible card game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, characters, or an ...
did not require ''City of Heroes'' to run, but if the user had both games, content was added to the ''City of Heroes'' side of game play. On July 16, 2008, NCsoft merged the two games' content together. Thus, a player who only owned ''City of Heroes'' could now play ''City of Villains'', and vice versa. Prior to this, a purchase was required to access either game's content, but they were linked by one account and subscription fee.
On November 6, 2007, NCsoft announced their purchase of the ''City of Heroes''/''City of Villains''
intellectual property
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
and transitioned the staff from Cryptic Studios to a new location in Mountain View, California, to continue development of the game. The new studio on April 14, 2009, became
Paragon Studios
Paragon Studios was a video game developer, and wholly owned subsidiary of NCsoft. Founded in November 2007 as NCsoft NorCal, the studio's remit was to further develop the ''City of Heroes'' and ''City of Villains'' franchises following the acq ...
, which shared credit with Cryptic Studios for the development work. This then led to ''City of Heroes'' becoming available for download on
Steam
Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...
, along with other NCsoft titles, on April 22, 2009.
On October 30, 2008, NCsoft announced a partnership with
Transgaming Technologies
Findev Inc. (formerly TransGaming Inc.) is a Real estate investing company, with its head office in Toronto. It is involved in property development within the Greater Toronto area. The company is aligned with Plazacorp, a property development com ...
in order to bring both ''City of Heroes'' and ''City of Villains'' and all 13 expansions to
Mac OS X
macOS (; previously OS X and originally Mac OS X) is a Unix operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc. since 2001. It is the primary operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. Within the market of ...
.
The ''City of Heroes: Going Rogue'' expansion's release was announced on May 11, 2009. This part of the game centered on the alternate reality of Praetoria and featured a new alignment system allowing players characters to shift allegiances between Heroes and Villains, giving characters access to both Paragon City of ''City of Heroes'' and the Rogue Isles of ''City of Villains''. Paragon Studios described this as "
xploringthe shades of gray that lay between Heroes and Villains".
''Going Rogue'' was released on August 17, 2010, with pre-purchasers able to play on August 16.
On June 20, 2011, Paragon Studios announced that they were going to switch to a hybrid subscription model called ''City of Heroes: Freedom'', adding in a free-to-play game model. Special models for former subscribers would be termed Premium Players, and current subscribers would become VIP players, who would gain access to all the content in the various upcoming game updates.
On August 31, 2012, Paragon Studios announced that it was being closed, and ''City of Heroes'' would cease all billing immediately and begin the process of shutting down the service. The stated explanation for this move was a "realignment of company focus and publishing support". November 30, 2012, was listed as the official shutdown date of the game and the servers were turned off at midnight
PST. Many players arrived
en masse
Many words in the English vocabulary are of French origin, most coming from the Anglo-Norman spoken by the upper classes in England for several hundred years after the Norman Conquest, before the language settled into what became Modern Engli ...
to express their continued protest, support, and fond farewells, including messages of gratitude from the developers and moderators thanking their fans for their support and passion for the game.
A variety of efforts got underway, led by players of the game, to keep the game operating past the announced date of closure.
Ultimately, their efforts were unsuccessful, and the game shut down as scheduled.
Missing Worlds Media's president Nate Downes announced in September 2014 that he introduced an interest party who wanted to make a deal in reviving the game's intellectual property with NCSoft staff, which might enable the final version of the game to be released. No additional info was released as the involved parties were under an NDA. The effort did not succeed, due to reuse of Statesman and Ghost Widow in
Master X Master
''Master X Master'' (''MXM'') was a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed and published by NCsoft.
Gameplay
''MXM'' was a MOBA with third-person shooter characteristics. Each player controlled two playable characters k ...
.
On April 15, 2019, news broke that a private server based on ''City of Heroes'' at the time of its shutdown had been running in secret for years. Three days later, source code relating to the server had been widely distributed, and a publicly accessible server based on the code was quickly spun up. While perceived threats, legal or otherwise, saw this server shut down by April 22, multiple public servers by various teams have since been set up based on the leaked code. As of the end of December 2019, NCSoft has not made a move to terminate the operation of any of the servers. They have, however, objected to the distribution of ''City of Heroes'' content binaries themselves.
Gameplay
City of Heroes required the
creation of a character in order to enter the virtual world and progress through the game. After creating a character and selecting a name (the game would check if the name was already taken on the server), players could either begin play in an isolated
tutorial
A tutorial, in education, is a method of transferring knowledge and may be used as a part of a learning process. More interactive and specific than a book or a lecture, a tutorial seeks to teach by example and supply the information to complete ...
zone, or skip the tutorial and begin in an open low-level zone. A character's level increased by earning experience points from defeating foes, completing Missions, and exploring Zones, then returning to one of various named NPCs known as Trainers. Benefits for rising in level included more Health, more Powers to choose for the character, more slots to allocate Enhancements to Powers, and larger inventories for Inspirations (quick use items) and Salvage (crafting materials). If a player lost all of their Health they were temporarily considered defeated, at which point they could be revived through use of an item, by an ally's powers, or by instant teleportation to Hospitals on the map. After reaching character level 10, a player defeat would accrue Experience Debt which temporarily made gaining additional experience more difficult.
The setting of the game, Paragon City for Heroes and The Rogue Isles for Villains, was divided into different Zones accessed through in-game transportation systems. Especially dangerous zones called "Hazard" or "Trial" zones, which teemed with larger groups of enemies, were marked in red on the in-game map and were much more dangerous than normal zones. The Villains' setting, the Rogue Isles, consisted of islands connected by a network of ferries and helicopters while the Heroes' setting, Paragon City consisted of regions separated by giant energy "War Walls" (which were justified in the back story) and were connected by direct access points and a Metropolitan Transport system styled on a
light rail. A few zones were accessible to both heroes and villains; some were cooperative zones, while others were player versus player (PvP) zones. Praetoria, for characters created in the ''Going Rogue'' update, lacked War Walls, allowing more or less free movement between areas.
Players initially moved around the zones by jogging or using a minor speed-increasing power such as "Sprint". As heroes grew in level and accumulated more powers, they could choose among four higher speed traveling powers: Teleportation, Super Speed, Super Jumping, and Flight.
As characters leveled-up, players could choose new powers from the character's primary and secondary power sets, as set during creation, or from shared power pools. The power pools contained the four travel powers and other generic, usually utilitarian, powers that fell under categories such as Fitness, Concealment, and Leadership. In addition, as characters leveled up, they gained access to new costume features, including the ability to change between up to five costumes and unlockable costume parts such as capes and auras (unlocked after missions).
Quests
A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of ever ...
in the game were known as missions, and were obtained through various channels, generally from various NPCs the player met in the game. Although missions could be completed alone, the player had the option to form Teams with other player characters to play off of each other's characters' strengths and abilities. The level of the characters used, size of the team, and a separate difficulty scale chosen by the player called Notoriety, all affected the difficulty of the mission. Missions could take the form of an
instanced area where the player(s) must defeat a
boss
Boss may refer to:
Occupations
* Supervisor, often referred to as boss
* Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier
* Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization
* Fire boss, a ...
, save NPC characters held hostage (sometimes taking the form of
escort mission
A quest, or mission, is a task in video games that a player-controlled character, party, or group of characters may complete in order to gain a reward. Quests are most commonly seen in role-playing games and massively multiplayer online games. ...
s), or search the instance for a certain object or number of objects (such as clues or defusing bombs), while other Missions required that players defeat a certain number and type of
mobs, possibly in a defined area of the game. Some missions are part of
story arc
A story arc (also narrative arc) is the chronological construction of plot in a novel or story. It can also mean an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, board games, vide ...
s that involve the player in a larger narrative that tells some of the back story of the setting. Task Forces (''City of Heroes''), Strike Forces (''City of Villains''), and Trials (both) were particular missions that could be completed multiple times, but only as part of a team, and had to be completed in entirety to earn particular rewards for completion, such as the ability to
respec
This list includes terms used in video games and the video game industry, as well as slang used by players.
0–9
A
...
a character's chosen Powers and Enhancements.
Cooperative play also took the form of larger player-created
clans
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
called Supergroups, reminiscent of comic book groups such as the
Justice League
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...
, the
Avengers
Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to:
Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe
* Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes
**Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of ...
, or the
Brotherhood of Mutants
The Brotherhood of Mutants (originally called the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants, sometimes referred to as BoEM or B.O.E.M) is a fictional team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The characters are depicted as being devot ...
. Players part of Supergroups could team up together or convene in Bases (introduced with ''City of Villains''). Bases were used for social meeting or housing special items used in crafting Inventions, serving as a collective item vault, or to recover after losing all Health in the overworld. Supergroups in turn could form Coalitions with each other for increased collaborations. Coalitions were generally formed for the
raids featured in the game.
Another form of cooperative play was the Sidekick feature, which allowed for characters of disparate experience levels to participate in the game together. A Sidekick's experience level would be temporarily risen to be close to their partner's level, and their Health and strength would be scaled to their artificial level, while any experience or Influence they gained was scaled to their original level. A reverse feature known as Exemplar was added later, which artificially lowered the level of a higher level character (also removing access to powers unavailable at their new level), but they earn experience at their original level, which is useful in removing Debt, or gains Influence rather than Experience. For the release of ''City of Villains'', these features are Lackey and Malefactor. Issue 16 overhauled the system such that it was automatically scaled to the "Anchor", which was either the player on the team whose mission the team was set to perform or the team's leader.
Players could also set "leveling pacts" which allowed two players to sync up the experience their characters gained, although this was disabled in a later update.
Other game features included auction houses and crafting inventions to make characters more powerful or unlock further costume options. The Architect release gave players the ability to construct custom mission arcs, with customized enemies and layouts that could then be played by all other players. The ''Going Rogue'' expansion allowed players to switch their alignment using Tip Missions collected from defeated enemies.
Character creation
In character creation, the player first selected a character's origin and archetype, then primary and secondary power sets. Next, the actual avatar with its costume was created. Then the player had a choice of customizing the colors of his/her powers. Lastly, the player chose a name and could optionally write a background story to add some flavor to the character, as well as creating an individual battle cry.
There were five origins a player could choose for his/her character that dictated what type of enhancements the character may use, affected which single short-ranged power they begin with (in addition to powers obtained from their primary and secondary power sets), and influenced the various enemy groups that the character went up against. These origins were as follows:
*Natural: Powers obtained through training the body, weapons, or inherent abilities if the character is not human
*Magic: Powers obtained through a magic item, magical spells, or a mystical being
*Science: Powers obtained through some sort of scientific means, whether intentionally or accidentally
*Mutation: Powers obtained through a change in genetics, manifesting at any point in their life
*Technology: Powers obtained through highly advanced technology
A special "Incarnate" origin was programmed for various NPCs in the game who obtained powers from the fictional Well of the Furies. The "Incarnate System" added additional powers for the player to choose from after completing difficult missions.
There were five basic hero archetypes, which affected a character's power choices and team role throughout the game. Blasters were versatile damage dealers, capable of fighting at short or long range against one or many opponents, but had relatively little health. Controllers were adept at preventing enemies from moving or acting through inducing status effects, as well as possessing pet summons. Defenders turned the tide of battle with weakening enemy attacks (
debuff
In role-playing games, a status effect is a temporary modification to a game character’s original set of stats that usually comes into play when special powers and abilities (such as spells) are used, often during combat. It appears in nume ...
s) and ally-strengthening (
buff
Buff or BUFF may refer to:
People
* Buff (surname), a list of people
* Buff (nickname), a list of people
* Johnny Buff, ring name of American world champion boxer John Lisky (1888–1955)
* Buff Bagwell, a ring name of American professional wr ...
s). Scrappers were melee fighters with a greater chance of critical hits against tough opponents such as bosses. Tankers possessed great defenses and the ability to take hits for the team, as well as powers to adjust
aggro towards them.
There were also five basic villain archetypes. Brutes dealt increasing damage as they attacked or were themselves attacked. Corruptors could cause damage at range, with high chance for critical hits against wounded targets. Dominators assailed enemies with status effects and direct damage. Masterminds summoned, upgraded, and controlled combat pets. Stalkers were stealthy fighters, dealing critical hits when hidden or when accompanied by a team.
There were also two epic hero archetypes which were unlocked after reaching level 20 (level 50 prior to Issue 17) with another hero character. Peacebringers were peaceful symbiotic aliens that had light based powers. Warshades were war-like symbiotes that were normally enemies to the Peacebringers but had reformed their evil ways. Both archetypes were capable of shapeshifting into a more offensive or more defensive form. The villain side mirrored this, with two branching villain archetypes which were unlocked after reaching level 20 (also level 50 prior to Issue 17) with another villain character. Both are rank-and-file soldiers for the villainous group Arachnos (Soldiers and Widows) attempting to make a name for themselves, each with two distinct specializations.
With Issue 21, players could now create a character and go through a tutorial involving the destruction of Galaxy City by Shivans that allowed them to choose their alignment, such as a heroic Corruptor or a villainous Blaster. Heroes went to Paragon City, and Villains went to the Rogue Isles. Characters created with ''Going Rogue'' started the game in Praetoria, and chose whether to be a Loyalist, who followed Emperor Cole, or to be in the Resistance, who opposed him. In Praetoria, however, things were not so black and white. There were good and evil people on both sides, and, when leaving Praetoria at level 20, players could choose their character to be either a Hero or a Villain. The alignment could also be changed later on, allowing for Heroes to go Vigilante before becoming Villains or Villains to become Rogues before being redeemed as Heroes.
Virtual rewards
Similarly to other MMORPGs, ''City of Heroes/Villains'' had various items that were rewarded within the game. However, many of these items were described as intangible or other-worldly; such as "inspirations" (temporary power-ups) or "inf" (an abbreviation of "influence," "infamy," or "information," for Heroes, Villains, and Praetorians, respectively, which was used instead of money), which were abstract ideas in the real world. "Enhancements" — slottable attribute boosts — also covered a range of ideas and items from magic enchantments to technological gadgets to training techniques. With the release of Issue 6, while in supergroup mode, a setting that could be toggled on and off, players accumulated prestige points which were used to improve the supergroup base.
Issue 9 brought the Invention system to the game, which allowed characters to combine other dropped items they salvaged and recipes to create various goods. Invented enhancements could provide better bonuses than normal enhancements, including set bonuses for slotting invented enhancements from the same set into the same power. Costume pieces and limited-use temporary powers could also be invented.
In addition to these, there were also collectible badges for players to earn. Gained for performing various actions in game (such as moving over specific places in each zone, defeating certain numbers of enemies, healing allies, and taking damage) most served no functional purpose for players, except to provide characters with tag lines under their character names. However, a few, called "Accolades" gave players access to temporary powers and permanent bonuses to health and endurance (the game's equivalent to mana or magic points) and were gained by collecting other badges.
Players also had the option of purchasing a vast array items on the Paragon Market. Introduced with ''City of Heroes: Freedom'', the Paragon Market was a cash shop wherein players could purchase, for example, power sets, costume sets, temporary powers and boosts, character renames and respecs, extra costume slots, and access to game content that to which they might not normally have access. The currency used on the Paragon Market was Paragon Points, which were either purchased with real money through the Market or awarded as bonuses for VIP subscribers.
Enemies
In ''City of Heroes'' there were multiple NPC groups that players fought as part of random encounters. Many enemies were found on the streets of Paragon City and the Rogue Isles, whereas others were found in specific instances or areas. There were also Giant Monsters and zone events that took place in parts of the city that were even more uncommon, such as Lusca the giant octopus in the waters of the Independence Port zone or the Ghost of Scrapyard that wanders through Sharkhead Isle. Enemies in instances were also graded with easier NPC's at the start of the map and more difficult enemies towards the end of the instance.
Setting
The setting of ''City of Heroes'' was the fictional Paragon City, located in
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. The city was divided into several smaller neighborhoods that had varying enemies and progressively higher levels of enemies within them. The arbitrary divisions between zones are explained in game by the presence of "War Walls", powerful force fields derived from alien technology which were used to defend various areas of the city. Heroes set out by dealing with low-powered street gangs in the initial zones, working their way up to fighting increasingly dangerous threats — such as organized crime, corrupt corporations, hostile aliens, and supernatural terrors — even eventually entering other dimensions to fight supremely powerful enemies.
The setting of ''City of Villains'' was the Rogue Isles, a fictitious group of islands off the eastern coast of the United States. There, under the watchful gaze of Lord Recluse and the Arachnos organization, prospective villains fought to make a name for themselves, seizing any opportunity that presented itself.
The setting of the ''Going Rogue'' expansion was Praetoria, a parallel dimension version of Paragon City where the world was ravaged by Hamidon and his Devouring Earth legions and only Emperor Marcus Cole managed to bring stability to a world ravaged by the Hamidon Wars. Superpowered individuals living in Praetoria begin as Praetors, working for Emperor Cole, but decide to either join the Loyalist faction and remain a member of the Praetorian armed police force or join the Resistance and attempt to reveal the corruption of Emperor Cole (otherwise known as Tyrant) and free humanity from his rule.
Updates and history
The Development Team continually expanded ''City of Heroes'' with free downloadable patches/updates as well as free game expansions dubbed "Issues". All Issues were made available to both ''City of Heroes'' and (as of Issue 6) ''City of Villains'' titles throughout the lifespan of the game, improving features in both games with each release.
Issues (free updates)
Expansions (paid updates)
''City of Villains''
''City of Villains'' was released in 2005 as a stand-alone expansion, an expansion that did not require the original ''City of Heroes'' purchase to work. It offered five new character archetypes that were, at the time, exclusive to Villain characters, new maps, and began the first PvP Zones (versus the Arena, which were instanced maps made for PvP fighting) of the game. ''City of Villains'' also was playable with the same subscription fee that paid for ''City of Heroes'' access after buying ''City of Villains''. The retail box included four
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
s for installation current to Issue 6, one of four limited edition
HeroClix
HeroClix is a collectible miniatures game that uses the Clix system that centers on the world of superhero comic books, especially the DC Comics and Marvel universes like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, ...
figures of the game's villains, a poster of a map of the Rogue Isles, and a serial code that gave access to the game and one month of game play. Also included was a code for a 30-day trial for ''City of Heroes'', as both games were currently separate. Since 2008, after the NCSoft acquisition of the intellectual properties, owning either ''City of Heroes'' or ''City of Villains'' unlocked both titles at no additional cost.
''Going Rogue''
''City of Heroes: Going Rogue'' was released in 2010. Unlike ''City of Villains'', ''Going Rogue'' was an expansion rather than a stand-alone expansion and required the original game to play. ''Going Rogue'' added an Alignment system, which allowed players to switch from Hero to Villain and added two intermediate Alignments: Vigilante, as a player progresses from Hero to Villain, and Rogue, as a player progresses from Villain to Hero. Players with Vigilante or Rogue characters had access to both ''City of Heroes''s Paragon City and ''City of Villains''s Rogue Isles until they change to Hero or Villain. The expansion also added the Praetorian Earth dimension where players could start out as neutrally-aligned Praetorians (choosing any of the ten basic Archetypes available to Heroes or Villains), either deciding to side with Emperor Cole's ruling faction and become a Loyalist or side with the Resistance; the allegiance could change as the player chose and completed missions. Praetorian players could also attack new Neutral
mobs and would eventually be able to play a mission that allowed them to choose to be a Hero or Villain and complete gameplay in the original games. ''Going Rogue'' also granted access to four new power sets, new costume sets and auras, and introduced missions that started after defeating mobs that affected the player's Alignment.
Retail releases and special editions
*''City of Heroes: Collector's Edition'': Sold through stores in 2005, this included an installation
DVD-ROM
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
that had game content up to Issue 4, a poster of a map of Paragon City, a ''CoH/
PvP'' comic book, a Statesman
HeroClix
HeroClix is a collectible miniatures game that uses the Clix system that centers on the world of superhero comic books, especially the DC Comics and Marvel universes like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, ...
figure, and a serial code that added access to a special movement power, badge, and cape, in addition to access to the game and one month of game play. A special Hero Kit was later sold that allowed people to get all of the physical and digital content included in the ''Collector's Edition'' aside from the game installation disc.
*''City of Villains: Collector's Edition'': Sold in stores alongside the standard game edition, this pack included an installation DVD-ROM current through Issue 6, seven exclusive HeroClix figures of characters from both games, a book featuring
concept art
Concept art is a form of visual art used to convey an idea for use in films, video games, animation, comic books, or other media before it is put into the final product. Concept art usually refers to world-building artwork used to inspire the ...
for both games, a promotional card for the
City of Heroes Collectible Card Game
The ''City of Heroes Collectible Card Game'' is an out-of-print trading card game based on the discontinued NCSoft MMORPG, City of Heroes. The card game was designed by David Williams, the designer responsible for other games such as Legend of ...
, one of five preview decks for the CCG, a two-sided poster of the game map from the standard edition and a Heroes vs. Villains fight scene, a ''CoH'' trial serial code, and a serial code that allowed access to a special costume icon and cape, in addition to access to ''CoV'' and one month of game play.
*''City of Heroes: Bootleg Edition'': A trial copy of ''City of Heroes'' released free of charge as a promotional copy during City of Villains. The Bootleg Edition came with no special features, a 10-day demo key, and required a player to purchase a digital key for the ''City of Heroes'' or ''City of Villains'' game in order to play after the demo. Released during Issue 6, the disc allowed players to try either Heroes or Villains.
*''City of Heroes & City of Villains: Good Versus Evil Edition'': This retail box included an installation DVD-ROM current to Issue 7, a two-sided map of Paragon City and the Rogue Isles, digital copies of issues 1 through 6 of
Top Cow
Top Cow Productions is an American comics publisher, an imprint of Image Comics founded by Marc Silvestri in 1992.
History
During the early years of Image Comics, which was founded in 1992, co-founder Marc Silvestri shared a studio with Jim Le ...
's ''CoH'' comic book, and a "Pocket D VIP Pass" that had the serial code for access to both games, a month of free game play, special costume pieces for both Heroes and Villains, a special badge, and two special powers. This serial code was later made available digitally.
*''City of Heroes: Architect Edition'': This edition of the game included an installation DVD-ROM current to Issue 14 for both PC and Mac, a quick-start guide, the map from the ''Good Versus Evil Edition'', and an activation code for the unified games, one month of free game play, and access to one of the first two Super Booster packs. A digital-only purchase later was made available for the same content.
*''City of Heroes Going Rogue: Complete Collection'': Released in 2010 alongside the standard version of the game, this edition includes ''City of Heroes'', ''City of Villains'', and adds access to unique in-game costume pieces, auras, emotes, and a unique invisibility power in addition to access to all of the content available with the standard ''Going Rogue'' game. Ordering this from GameStop included exclusive power enhancements.
Booster packs
Starting in 2008, "Booster Packs" were also released sporadically around Issue updates. Booster Packs did not function like expansions (adding content to the game), but rather added optional costume sets to the game's character creator and user interface, and were available on the NCsoft Store for a one-time fee. Although each of these packs were themed after their similarly named character option in the game (so far character origins and power sets), their features could be applied to any or all the characters in a player's account regardless of their actual origin, archetype or powers.
There was also a "Mini-Booster" pack for the purchase of an in-game jetpack for 30 days of real time. As of August 30, 2011, Booster Packs were no longer available for sale on the NCSoft website. While costume pieces were still available in the Paragon Market under the Booster Pack names for one price, the prestige powers and emotes had been separated from the packs as an additional purchase.
Super Packs
On February 24, 2012, Heroes and Villains Super Packs were introduced to the Paragon Market after feedback from the beta release of the program was made known by the players. Super Packs contained five cards which were turned over (upon opening of the pack) to reveal random items given to the player's account as a Character Item (one character per account receives the item), or, in the case of costume parts or prestige powers, the reward is applied account-wide.
Super Packs functioned much like a lottery mini-game, which offered two cards that give common rewards, and one card each that offered an uncommon, rare and ultra rare reward per reveal. There were 205 possible rewards in the entire pack, of which 92% were repeatable (Costume Parts and Temp Powers only granted once per account.)
Super Packs were sold in quantities of 1, 12 or 24 uses each on the Paragon Market. Super Packs were not available through in-game play (Free players could not receive or use them), and as a Premium Player, a Super Pack may have granted rewards that you could keep but were unable to claim or use until you unlocked it in the Paragon Market or through the Paragon Rewards program.
Virtual item packs
A few in-game item packs were released to allow players to gain in-game items from select box releases of the game at a lower cost than repurchasing the title at retail price. Item packs only contained the items in an Edition release, and did not come with free playtime or (in the case of expansions) the added game content that require an expansion purchase in order to use.
*''Good versus Evil Edition Item Pack'' which included a Jump Jet Travel Power, Pocket D Teleport power and special Hero/Villain-themed costume sets.
*''Mac Special Edition Item Pack'', which included all of the costume pieces from the Valkyrie set and the Mission Transporter power.
*''Going Rogue Item Pack'', which included the Alpha and Omega costume sets and the Shadowy Presence power.
*''Wedding Pack'': A serial code first sold on
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...
, 2008, added special wedding-themed costume pieces and emotes to the game.
*''Party Pack'': Released in late September, 2010, which included party themed character emotes.
As of August 30, 2011 virtual item packs were no longer available for sale on the NCSoft website. The individual costume pieces and powers were available through the in-game store.
Holiday events
The ''City of Heroes'' development team also initiated events based on
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
n and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
an holidays and observances, starting with
Halloween
Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...
in 2004, followed by a
Winter
Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring. The tilt of Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a hemisphere is oriented away from the Sun. Different cultures ...
Event (eventually becoming a primarily
Christmas
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...
-themed event), and the newest holiday observance, a
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...
event. Eventual changes to holiday events included the addition of a Zombie Apocalypse world event during Halloween, and a
ski slope
A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than wide and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partial ...
inside of Pocket D during the holidays. Holiday events granted commemorative badges upon signing in during the event, and had earnable themed badges by participating in the in-game events.
Anniversary
''City of Heroes'' granted a commemorative badge during its anniversary month of May and often scheduled special events and surprises during May. On the game's fifth anniversary on April 28, 2009, and on the same day during the sixth anniversary for 2010, an outbreak of Giant Monsters of every type was released throughout the game in all zones for players to defeat within a 24-hour span.
''City of Hero''
A
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
n open beta of ''City of Heroes'', entitled ''City of Hero'' (, ''Siti Obeu Hieoro''), was launched on January 18, 2006. However, the game's official release was cancelled. The Korean ''CoH'' team directed its players to a coupon for an account on the US servers as compensation.
Servers
''City of Heroes'' and ''City of Villains'' employed several servers. The servers were divided between the North American and European markets, with separate European servers with language localization for German and French speakers. The North American servers were based in Dallas, Texas, while the European servers were moved from Germany to a new site in the US in November, 2010.
Reception
In the United States, ''City of Heroes'' sold 330,000 copies ($13.8 million) by August 2006, after its release in April 2004. It was the country's 53rd best-selling computer game between January 2000 and August 2006.
In 2004,
Computer Gaming World
''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...
hailed the game, saying, "''City of Heroes'' blows a superpowered gust of fresh air into an increasingly stale sword-and-sorcery MMO world."
[ ] PC Gamer,
Game Informer,
GameSpy
GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
and several other industry magazines lauded City of Heroes for its foray into the superhero genre and gave the game top or near top scores across the board.
In 2009,
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
,
The Escapist, and
Allakhazam praised "City of Heroes: Architect Edition," which added the ability to create missions.
The game received additional praise because the characters of inactive players were not deleted, even if the player's subscription had been canceled or inactive for an extended period of time. In anticipation of the release of ''City of Villains'', Cryptic announced on October 10, 2005, that effective October 24, 2005, characters below level 35 on accounts that had been unpaid and inactive for more than ninety days would have their names flagged as unreserved allowing new users to take the name. The character itself was left untouched, and a player who lost his character's name was given the option to choose a new one. This policy was suspended on May 4, 2006, because Cryptic's data-mining had shown that very few names were being taken in this fashion anymore; Cryptic said thirty days' notice would be given prior to future changes to the name policy. On July 31, 2007, Cryptic announced that the name policy would go back into effect as of August 29, 2007, but would apply only to characters under level 6.
Awards
''
Computer Games Magazine
''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...
'' named ''City of Heroes'' the ninth-best computer game of 2004. The editors wrote, "In a genre dominated by games that try to be all things to all people and end up doing nothing particularly well, it's particularly refreshing."
It received runner-up placements in ''GameSpot''s 2004 "Best Massively Multiplayer Online Game" and "Most Surprisingly Good Game" award categories.
* Ten Ton Hammer: Best Community of 2012
*
Beckett Massive Online Gamer: Best Sci-Fi/Superhero Game of 2009
*
Massively.com: Most Improved Game of 2008
*
Computer Gaming World
''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...
: MMORPG Game of the Year 2004
*
Spike TV
Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles.
The channel was o ...
2004 Video Game Awards: MMORPG Game of the Year
*
GameSpy
GameSpy was an American provider of online multiplayer and matchmaking middleware for video games founded in 1996 by Mark Surfas. After the release of a multiplayer server browser for the game, QSpy, Surfas licensed the software under the GameS ...
: Game of the Month—May 2004, Editor's Choice—May 2004
*
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
2004 Digital Entertainment Conference & Awards: PC or Console Game of the Year, Multiplayer Game of the Year
* Wargamer: Award for Excellence
*
Games Magazine
''GAMES World of Puzzles'' is a puzzle magazine formed from the merger of Games and World of Puzzles in October 2014.
The entire magazine interior is now newsprint (as opposed to the part-glossy/part-newsprint format of the original ''Games'') an ...
: Game of the Year 2004
*
Computer Games Magazine
''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 1 ...
: Editor's Choice—August 2004 Issue
*
Computer Gaming World
''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...
: Editor's Choice—August 2004
*
Game Informer
''Game Informer'' (''GI'', most often stylized ''gameinformer'' from the 2010s onward) is an American monthly video game magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of video games and associated consoles. It debuted in August 1991 w ...
: PC Game of the Month—July 2004 Issue
* Loadedinc, Hot Property Award
* Actiontrip: Editor's Choice
* Warcry: Best Expansion—City of Villains—E3 2004
*
IGN
''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
: Editor's Choice
*
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
: PC Game of the Month—May 2004
* GameSpy: Game of the Month—May 2004
* GameSpy: Editor's Choice
*
E3 2003
Game Critics Awards
The Game Critics Awards are a set of annual awards held after the Electronic Entertainment Expo, E3 video game conference since 1998. The awards are given to products displayed at E3 with the title Best of E3 of their category.
Format
The nomine ...
: Best Online Multiplayer
* Game Revolution Best of E3 2003: Best Online Game
Subscription
As in most other
MMORPG
A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game.
As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...
s at the time, players were required to subscribe to ''City of Heroes'' by paying the publisher (NCsoft) a monthly fee to continue playing ''City of Heroes''. Portions of the subscription costs went to supporting a full-time "live" team, which developed additional content for the game; other portions supported the significant server maintenance and bandwidth costs. The subscription fee after Issue 6 covered play in either of the games in the "City of" franchise or both of them at once for the same cost. However, since merging the titles in 2008, this became a moot point as any player of one of the games could access the opposite game without purchasing it.
Continuing active subscriptions were also entitled to "Veteran Rewards". The system rewarded players with costume pieces, extra powers, supergroup base items, respec opportunities, and other minor in-game perks to all characters (both hero and villain characters) on any server tied to the active subscription. Inactive accounts did not accrue time for Veteran Rewards.
Since 2009, players considering ''City of Heroes'' could sign up for a 14-day trial key without subscribing to the game, without receiving an in-game referral or using a credit card. Certain features, such as chat, trade, membership in groups, and leveling up were restricted to prevent exploitative players/groups from using trial accounts to further
Real Money Trade
A virtual economy (or sometimes synthetic economy) is an emergence, emergent economics, economy existing in a virtual world, usually exchanging virtual goods in the context of an online game, particularly in massively multiplayer online games (M ...
activities that NCSoft prohibited in-game. After 14 days expire, a trial player would need to buy the game and subscribe for further months to continue their play.
As of September, 2008, ''City of Heroes'' had around 124,939 subscribers in the US & Europe, according to financial reports released by NCsoft in November 2008.
On June 20, 2011, ''City of Heroes'' announced the ''City of Heroes: Freedom'' subscription model, which was implemented in September, 2011. The servers were free-to-play, with limitations on what Free players could access. Players who had their subscriptions lapse would become Premium players, and would have access to everything they used to have, but would be limited to what they would be able to access in the game's future updates unless they signed up for a VIP subscription. The VIP subscription added free access to the ''Going Rogue'' game content, and a monthly VIP Rewards system (as opposed to the quarterly releases of the Veteran Rewards). There was also an in-game market where all players could purchase points to purchase expansions to the game; VIP subscribers were given a monthly stipend of these points at no extra charge.
Other media
Novels
The first ''City of Heroes'' novel, ''The Web of Arachnos'', by
Robert Weinberg, was published by CDS Books (an imprint of the Perseus Publishing Group) in October, 2005. The novel chronicles the back stories of the Statesman and Lord Recluse, the central iconic characters in the ''City of Heroes'' and ''City of Villains'' franchises. A second novel, ''The Freedom Phalanx'', written by
Robin Laws
Robin D. Laws (born October 14, 1964 in Orillia, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian writer and game designer who lives in Toronto, Canada. He is the author of a number of novels and role-playing games as well as an anthologist.
Career
Robin D. Laws ...
, was released in May, 2006, and detailed the re-formation of the hero team the Freedom Phalanx in the 1980s. The story centers on the fledgling heroes Positron and Synapse, but also includes Manticore, Sister Psyche, and Statesman. The book's villains include Lord Recluse, Doctor Null, Shadow Queen, and Revenant. Artist
George Pérez
George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' and ''The Avengers (co ...
provided the covers for the first two novels, as well as lending his name to one of the early areas of the game itself, Perez Park. A third novel titled ''The Rikti War'' was announced by CDS at the time the first novel was published, with an August 2006, scheduled release date. The book was reportedly going to cover the epic trans-dimensional war between Earth and the Rikti home world, however the book was later cancelled.
James Lowder
James Daniel Lowder (born January 2, 1963 in Quincy, Massachusetts) is an American author and editor, working regularly within the fantasy, dark fantasy, and horror genres, and on tabletop role-playing games and critical works exploring popular ...
served as editor and packager of the City of Heroes novels for CDS.
Comic books
To tie in with the game, NCsoft released two original comic book series that featured various characters from within the games themselves. The original series by publisher Blue King featured the heroes/roommates Apex and War Witch with their neighbor Horus. The later series from publisher Top Cow featured signature heroes and villains from both ''City of Heroes'' and ''City of Villains'' such as Statesman, Positron, Lord Recluse, and Ghost Widow, along with scripts by well-known comic book creators Mark Waid, Troy Hickman, and Dan Jurgens. Both series were originally free for subscribers to the games, but later they were provided for an extra subscription fee with the game and for free in digital format afterwards on the official ''City of Heroes'' website. The Blue King series ran for 12 issues, after which the Top Cow series ran for an additional 20 issues, ending in July 2007.
Collectible card game
Alderac Entertainment Group
Alderac Entertainment Group, or AEG, is a publisher of role-playing game, board game, and collectible card game products. AEG was formed by Jolly Blackburn in 1993 and is based in the city of Ontario, California. Prior to getting into their cur ...
also worked with ''CoH'' to create a
collectible card game
A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategy game, strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in ...
featuring characters from the game, as well as several original characters. The game's website also allowed players to create a game-compliant card for their own online character.
Role-playing game
The ''City of Heroes'' team worked with
Eden Studios, Inc.
Eden Studios, Inc. is an American role-playing game publisher founded in 1996 by George Vasilakos, M. Alexander Jurkat, and Ed Healy. Currently run by Mr. Vasilakos, Eden Studios is best known for ''Conspiracy X'', the '' Buffyverse role-playi ...
to create a
tabletop role-playing game
A tabletop role-playing game (typically abbreviated as TRPG or TTRPG), also known as a pen-and-paper role-playing game, is a form of role-playing game (RPG) in which the participants describe their characters' actions through speech. Participa ...
based on the game. While a free preview version of the game was released, the game was
indefinitely delayed due to the cancellation license with
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
on their ''
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...
'' and ''
Angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include ...
'' role-playing games. Eden owner
George Vasilakos
George Vasilakos is President and art director of Eden Studios, Inc., and handles the majority of the day-to-day business of the company.
Career
George Vasilakos founded Imagination Games & Comics, a New York game store, in 1992, after he finishe ...
later made a statement in 2008 that they were waiting on information from the copyright holders, but no news arose after this date.
Heroclix
The various collector's editions of ''City of Heroes'' and ''City of Villains'' included exclusive
HeroClix
HeroClix is a collectible miniatures game that uses the Clix system that centers on the world of superhero comic books, especially the DC Comics and Marvel universes like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, ...
figures of signature characters from the game. These included Statesman (without a cape), Manticore, Ghost Widow, Lord Recluse, Positron, Black Scorpion and Mako. There was also a separate, Limited Edition version of Statesman wearing a cape.
Film and television
In June 2007, it was announced that the producer for the ''
Transformers
''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...
'' film,
Tom DeSanto
Tom DeSanto (born January 1, 1968) is an American film producer and screenwriter.
Career
DeSanto is a founding writer/producer behind several of the biggest franchises in movie history (''X-Men'', ''Transformers''). DeSanto's films have gross ...
, had acquired the option to make movies and television shows based on the ''City of Heroes'' franchise. In February 2008, it was announced that DeSanto had indeed begun preparations for the film. A plot summary had been released detailing that the movie itself takes place during the first Rikti War.
Lawsuit
In November, 2004,
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
filed a
lawsuit
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
against ''City of Heroes'' developer Cryptic Studios, publisher NCsoft, and game administrator NC Interactive (NCI), alleging that the game not only allowed, but actively promoted, the creation of characters who infringe copyrights and trademarks owned by Marvel. The suit sought unspecified damages and an injunction halting further sales and shutting down the game.
The game included in its
user agreement strong language against such activity, however. It forbade the creation of potentially infringing characters, and NCI had been known to rename or "genericize" such characters. The User Agreement additionally held players accountable to indemnify (reimburse) NCI and its affiliates against third-party infringement claims, and demanded either a granting of sole ownership in player created content, including characters, to NCI, or a warranty that a third party owner of the rights in player created content had made such a grant. It was unclear whether this grant was an exclusive
assignment
Assignment, assign or The Assignment may refer to:
* Homework
* Sex assignment
* The process of sending National Basketball Association players to its development league; see
Computing
* Assignment (computer science), a type of modification to ...
or a non-exclusive
license
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
, however.
The defendants replied that the lawsuit was frivolous, and while many
intellectual property
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
analysts agreed, others noted that trademark law is structured such that, if Marvel believed their marks were being infringed upon, they had little choice but to file a lawsuit, regardless of its outcome, to preserve the strength of the marks. At least one noted similarities to ''Fonovisa, Inc. v. Cherry Auction, Inc.'', a case in which a company that ran a
flea market
A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...
was successfully sued over
intellectual property infringement
An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or a ...
because a vendor had been selling
bootlegged records at that flea market. Although Cherry Auction had not been directly selling the infringing items, the court found that it was vicariously or contributorially liable for the infringement.
Marvel subsequently admitted that some of the allegedly infringing characters cited in the
complaint
In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party ...
had been created by Marvel's own investigators. In March 2005, the court struck those exhibits from the complaint. The court also dismissed with prejudice some of Marvel's claims. The dismissed claims included all indirect
trademark infringement
Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may o ...
counts, because Marvel had not
pleaded commercial use of Marvel's marks by the game's players. Commercial use is a required element of infringement under American trademark statutes.
On December 12, 2005, all remaining claims were settled under undisclosed terms. The game's operators asserted that the settlement did not require changes to the character creation engine.
Despite the litigation, in October 2006,
Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...
selected Cryptic Studios to develop its own superhero MMORPG for
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was the direct successor to Windows XP, which was released five years before, at the time being the longest time span between successive releases of ...
and
Xbox Live
The Xbox network, formerly and still sometimes branded as Xbox Live, is an Internet, online multiplayer video game, multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox ...
, titled ''
Marvel Universe Online
''Marvel Heroes'', also known as ''Marvel Heroes 2015'', ''Marvel Heroes 2016'' and ''Marvel Heroes Omega'', was a free-to-play massively multiplayer online action role-playing video game developed by Gazillion Entertainment and Secret Identity Stu ...
''. The alliance surprised players, but developer Matt "Positron" Miller assured fans on Cryptic's official website that development and maintenance would continue separately on both games, proved later by the complete split between ''City of Heroes'' and Cryptic Studios. Marvel Universe Online was eventually cancelled by Microsoft.
Acquisition and new studio
On November 6, 2007, NCsoft announced that it would assume ownership of both ''City of Heroes'' and ''City of Villains''. As part of a push to further develop ''City of Heroes'', the company also announced the formation of a new development studio dedicated to new titles as well as their interest in distributing and administering their future works once launched. This new team was centered on key members of the Cryptic and NCsoft ''City of Heroes/Villains'' teams who accepted the NCsoft offer to join their new studio in Northern California. The sale of the City of Heroes IP granted Cryptic Studios the freedom to work on its new superhero MMORPG (at this time, an RPG/Action hybrid) ''
Champions Online
''Champions Online'' is a free-to-play superhero-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game ( MMORPG) developed by Cryptic Studios. The game is based on the ''Champions'' license and its rules and setting are loosely based on the HERO ...
'' without concerns of conflict of interest.
Shortly after having acquired full ownership of the property, NCsoft granted all existing and former ''City of Heroes'' account holders access to both games (''City of Heroes'' and ''City of Villains'').
City of Heroes Community Site
This allowed all Hero players access to Superbases, which initially required a ''CoV'' purchase from its release in Issue 7 until Issue 10, and was no longer required as of Issue 11. Before the purchase, NCsoft allowed players with a subscription or a time card for ''City of Heroes'' to have the same access to ''City of Villains'' as well (at its lowest price point, $14.99 covered access to both titles for a month), whether or not they had purchased the other title. This was still being honored after all accounts who had only ''City of Heroes'' received access to ''City of Villains'' for free. In a July 2008 press release, NCsoft announced the successful completion of allowing all copies of ''City of Heroes'' or ''City of Villains'' to access the other game (it claimed that Single Title Retail Boxes recently purchased did not successfully unlock the other game when activated).
On April 14, 2009, NCsoft NorCal formally changed its name to Paragon Studios
Paragon Studios was a video game developer, and wholly owned subsidiary of NCsoft. Founded in November 2007 as NCsoft NorCal, the studio's remit was to further develop the ''City of Heroes'' and ''City of Villains'' franchises following the acq ...
to become a fully owned developer subsidiary of NCsoft (similar to Destination Games
Destination Games was an American computer game development company created in April 2000 by Richard Garriott, Robert Garriott and Starr Long, following their departure from Origin Systems. ("Destination" is a play on "Origin", the company the G ...
and ArenaNet
ArenaNet, LLC is an American video game developer and subsidiary of NCsoft, founded in 2000 by Mike O'Brien, Patrick Wyatt and Jeff Strain and located in Bellevue, Washington. They are most notable as developers of the online role-playing ga ...
) dedicated to ''City of Heroes''. Paragon Studios was credited alongside Cryptic Studios on the website and NCsoft websites for development of the game.
References
General references
*''City of Heroes, PRIMA Official Game Guide'', Chris McCubbin and Christopher Pinckard, Prima Games (2004).
*''City of Heroes Binder, PRIMA Official Game Guide'', Eric Mylonis, Prima Games (2005),
*''City of Heroes/City of Villains Bind, Macro & Emote Guide'', "Shenanigunner" (2006–2009, updated regularly)
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:City Of Heroes
2004 video games
Massively multiplayer online role-playing games
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NCSoft games
Software that uses Qt
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Video games scored by Kevin Manthei
Video game franchises introduced in 2004
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