1) Spotify has announced it now has over 3 million paying premium subscribers. That accounts for slightly more than 20% of its userbase. The success can be attributed to the company’s recent expansion into the USA and integration with Facebook. It is also a great example of how consumers are willing to pay for music if the model is attractive. The success is having the opposite effect on some music labels who despite gaining income from the service, do not believe it is enough to sustain their companies and are greedy for a larger share of the profits. This has lead to various labels pulling out from the service. If the trend continues then it may destroy Spotify and take the whole music labels vs piracy debate back to square one.

2) Retailers have launched their promotion onslaught for the PS Vita. Today over 600 GAME and GameStation stores across the country received their display units of the new handheld to promote in store. You are welcome to go into any store and test the device out. If you want to go hands on with a range of titles make sure you check out PlayStation Access on Facebook to find out about their Vita Room events across the country. The deal with mobile network Vodafone has also been reiterated with Wipeout 2048 still being a free title if you register a data contract from the network. Prices are yet to be announced. The US PS Blog also announced a special edition bundle that would include an 8GB memory card for free. Amazon.de has a similar offer although Amazon UK have yet to advertise their incentive. Tesco are running a £10 off promotion with coupon but ToysRUs have the best deal currently. They are offering the PS Vita WiFi for £205 and WiFi/3G for £250 with a voucher code until the 31st January. More details here http://www.postabargain.co.uk/categories/psp/other-psp-games/015011

3) Activision blogger Dan Amrich has placed the blame on PS3 gamers for assuming that they would receive Elite content at the same time as Xbox Elite gamers. He suggests that Activision never explicitly stated that Elite bonuses would override the DLC exclusivity agreement the company has with Microsoft. The PS3 community is not happy with the circumstance as many assumed that they had to pay to receive the content at the same time as Xbox Elite members. In reality PS3 gamers will only receive the content before non Elite PS3 fans and will have to wait a yet undisclosed time period (most likely 1 month) for the content to appear on PSN.

4) The first three batches of DLC for Soul Caliber V will feature music from previous games and customization options for the game’s create a character mode. Unfortunately Namco has not realised that fighting game fans would much rather have new characters to download for DLC like Mortal Kombat did last year over cosmetic items of clothing.

5) Online news site PocketNow has apparently gone hands on with HTC’s new Sense 4.0 UI for it’s upcoming Android smart phones. Notable new elements include the addition of a landscape mode and a guest mode which can be useful for giving others access to limited parts of your phone when required. For the full debrief visit the following link. http://pocketnow.com/android/htc-sense-40-first-impressions

6) NBA 2K11 is one of the most played online games this week on Xbox Live according to community manager Major Nelson otherwise known as Larry Hyrb. The significance of the finding is that NBA 2K12 is the latest title on the market and it should be more played then last year’s game. A few reasons why it is not may be due to online issues that plagued NBA 2K12 on launch and the absence of Jordan mode which was present in 2K11. One of my friends who is a big fan of the franchise has also mentioned that the AI in 2K12 has taken a turn for the worse in the sense that they do not play realistically.

7) Is there any platform you cannot play Angry Birds on? The answer is surprisingly yes. Facebook has yet to obtain its own version of the addictive app and it is definitely ready to launch on Valentines day February 14th.

8) YouTube has made a few visual tweaks to the site today making browsing channels easier. More video editing functions are set to be rolled out over the next few days too.

9) BBC Question Time is a popular debate show that airs regularly in the UK. On February 20th a debate will take place analyzing the state of the Games Industry. Tickets are free for GamesIndustry.Biz readers and once they have all gone will cost £5. More information here. http://baftagamesqt1.eventbrite.com/

10) Finally to round off the news four new trailers released today each worth a look.