The Online Pass was implemented last year as a method for publishers to generate income from used game sales. The pass usually costs the second hand purchaser approximately £8-£10 for access to the game’s online features, which new purchasers would have “free” access to upon their initial purchase.
Today two major publishers announced new twists on the online pass scheme, EA for SSX and Activision for Prototype 2. Both are steps in very different directions but could help shape the future of online passes especially because the current method is still fairly new.
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.
1) Torrent website Pirate Bay has listed a new category on their website entitled Physibles. The new category encompasses and promotes the next stage in the evolution of printing. It offers you designs to download for a 3D printer. The site administrators believe in the concept of sharing these designs as indicated by their statement below.
“We believe that things like three-dimensional printers, scanners and such are just the first step. We believe that in the nearby future you will print your spare parts for your vehicles. You will download your sneakers within 20 years.”
The current list is fairly small. If this is your kind of thing then Shapeways and Thingiverse are two websites which contain hundreds of designs and can get them delivered to your door for a price. Both sites also accept custom designs which you may want printed. Most designs are novelty at the moment although I do see Pirate Bay’s vision coming true in the near future.
2) Google + now allows users to add a nickname to their profile if they do not wish to display their full name. On the contrary it may be Google’s way of getting you to expose your online alias to locate more information about you. The giant corporation also announced an updated privacy policy yesterday which aims to unify your experience across all their offerings. Judge for yourself whether that is a good thing from their official video below.
3) Transport For London are rolling out plans to place WiFi hotspots within 120 of 270 London Underground Train Stations before the start of the Olympics in spring. The WiFi hotspots will give users free access to live travel updates, entertainment, news and sport portals but will charge for full web browsing. Unfortunately plans for mobile network reception on trains were scrapped late last year and have no plans to return anytime soon.
4) Hackers have started banning innocent PC Battlefield 3 players playing on PunkBuster servers. The attack is retaliation for PunkBuster’s hack detection service which is successfully banning game cheaters running unsolicited scripts. To avoid the issue PC players can filter out PunkBuster servers in the lobby to avoid playing on them and being falsely accused.
5) The UKIE has announced that from February, they will start announcing weekly PC digital download charts for the games industry. The move comes as physical boxed sales are no longer an accurate representation of sales by themselves with many PC gamers purchasing products via services such as Steam and Origin. Of course digital downloads are not only limited to PCs and the UKIE are working with console manufacturers to launch a similar chart for downloads via PSN and Xbox Live.
6) The London Toy Fair has revealed some new game related merchandise. Lego have accepted a 10,000 signature strong petition from the community and will launch an official line of Minecraft Lego sets. Popular metal construction set manufacturer Meccano have also unveiled a line up of Gears Of War vehicles which should go on sale in August after approval from Epic Games.
7) UK mobile phone network Orange have announced a partnership with Wikipedia. The network provider will allow free access to the “educational” website for Orange customers in 20 African and Middle Eastern countries allowing them access to a wealth of information that they may be completely unaware off and encourage self-learning. It is a great move although I feel that Orange should come up with a solution for residents of those countries who do not own a phone at all.
8) After Activision’s recent marketing campaign advertising a large DLC offering every month for the remainder of the year, they have now uploaded a more detailed schedule of what you can expect as an Elite customer. The schedule is based on you being an Xbox Live Elite member. If you are not, then I would assume you could postpone each item by a month.
9) Square Enix have registered a website domain for Hitman Sniper Challenge. The registration implies a micro game possibly for browsers or smart phones.
10) SuperMassive Games have announced that the new Doctor Who game, The Eternity Clock will be exclusive to the PS3.
11) After the recent success of Saints Row The Third, THQ have decided to alter their business strategy. The new strategy will discard the creation of licensed kid games and focus more on AAA big budget titles.
12) In an applauding move by the European Commission and the outrage caused by the American SOPA act, Europe may soon be faced with better consumer privacy laws. The new regulations could result in companies being fined 2% of their annual earnings if they do not comply. The Data Protection Act last revised in 1998 may be updated to better handle the expansion and dominance of web culture.
Activision have announced the day one sales for their latest mega hit Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3. 6.5 million copies were sold across the UK and North America with sales exceeding $400 Million. It makes it the second biggest entertainment launch in history with Harry Potter Deathly Hallows Part 2 raking in $480 Million and holding the number one spot. That could be set to change once Activision reveal worldwide figures as the Harry Potter figure is for two days and wordwide ticket sales.
To put the numbers into context (Day one sales):
Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 – 4.7 Million Units – $310 Million
Call Of Duty Black Ops – 5.6 Million Units – $360 Million
Battlefield 3 – 5 Million Units (Worldwide – First Week)
Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 3 – 6.5 Million Units – $400 Million
What is quite interesting is that the leap between Black Ops and MW3 is the same amount as between MW2 to Black Ops at 0.9 Million Units. We can probably assume that the number of consumers who bought Battlefield 3 will probably be just over half of the number who purchase MW3 by the end of the first week. It also doesn’t seem as though any less people are buying Call Of Duty games and most likely Battlefield fans also purchased MW3.
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