One reason I could see for doing this is to head off third parties who sell accounts (i.e. via e-Bay or some other auction site). They're going to have to cut their prices to compete. The other reason I see is that NCSoft/ArenaNet need the cash flow. As you pointed out earlier, the pricing model established by ArenaNet doesn't bring in nearly as much revenue as a traditional MMORPG pricing model. They have to make up the difference somehow. That being said, I'm not particularly enthusiastic about the fact that all the skills I earned over the course of the past year and a half can be purchased for a mere $40.