While its great that UO is getting press, I honestly don't see this 'deal' as meaty enough to entice people to return.
We still have an awkward, over a year and still in beta *coughs* 'enhanced' client... two clients that are horribly outdated graphically... and tons of bugs and other things (Virtues?) that have been mishandled and laid by the road to just gather dust.
Two piddly arenas and stating we have EMs (which we've had for almost two years now) is not exactly newsworthy. A 'Return to Britannia' week would have been much more beneficial. I can't see someone wanting invest money without knowing more about UO when D&D, Runes of Magic and (soon) LotR are all F2P and MUCH better looking, not to mention handle better, client wise.
In other words, if Joe Schmoe who has never played UO before sees that he is expected to pay 29.99 for a game that looks like UO does... is he REALLY going to be tempted when there are nicer, sleeker, newer games that provide a more positive aesthetic feel for much cheaper? Or even free? Heck, I can't even convince my FRIENDS or BOYFRIEND to play UO, it is often referred to as 'that ugly game I play'. Even though I play (solely for rp, mind you), I would not in good conscience give this game as it stands good word of mouth... I could not recommend it to others. And that's sad, as I could other games very easily.
'Yeah, their customer service sucks.'
'Yeah, the art on the game sucks.'
'Yeah, the team releases stuff buggy and half done constantly.'
'Yeah, they often ignore their playerbase.'
Seriously. There is little to sell about this game.
