Call me what you will, but I believe that this isn't a good thing, as a principle and for this specific game. Cheating will be attempted, and possibly successful.
matchplay is empty 99% of the time, do you not think that this is a little push to get some more guys in there either practising/fighting?
I agree there could potentially be more risk involved with players attempting to cheat however HTC systems have always been top notch at detecting that sort of thing and with the arena being separate from the MA I don't see how it could interfere with normal play.
Anything that gets players more interested in "How did he do that?" rather than "let me extend for 5 minutes and turn back in with friends" has to improve MA game play right? If A little money has to be the kickstarter then so be it but even free tournys will be cool!
I think this will be my last post on the subject (hey I got excited) don't want this to turn into a flamefest versus any particular players or groups in the hope it is successful in bringing new and old players back and playing. If HTC need any input on configuration or setups then by all means contact me directly.