[citation][nom]hasten[/nom]Didn't this go free to play a long time ago?[/citation]
No, that was Champions Online.
CoX really did it right, for players, like myself, that have been playing since launch, we didn't get any penalization and actually get rewarded in the form that the 'free' points we get as part of the standard subscription can be used the purchase the mini-packs that we used to shell out $10 for in addition to monthly subscription (issues, the major updates, were always free). Also, there's no crippling limits on F2P players, they can do the vast majority of the 1-50 content right alongside the paying players (unlike LOTRO, for example, which pretty much hamstrings you at 30). F2P can't do everything of course, they can't do the incarnate content, play controllers/masterminds, mission architect and don't have access to the brand new powersets, but these are pretty minor in all honesty. It's also very friendly to returning players.
So, as a longtime CoX player, I'm actually pretty pleased with the change at this point. We'll see if I feel the same in a year or so, but other than the minor irritation of there being like 6 instances of Atlas Park, I haven't been negatively affected by the change yet.