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Amazon's Prime subscription is getting more expensive across Europe
After hiking US Prime prices earlier this year, Amazon is doing the same across Europe.
UK raises contactless payment limit to £45 amid coronavirus spread
The limit for contactless card payments in the UK will be increased to £45 from April 1st. According to UK Finance, the decision was already under consideration by those in the industry, but the process has been sped up to respond to the coronavirus outbreak, and to support consumers that would rather pay by contactless at this time. It's important to clarify, however, that the World Health Organization has not warned people against using paper money and coins, but it does advise thorough handwashing after handling it.
Netflix releases worldwide subscriber stats by region for the first time
For the first time, Netflix is reporting its international business operating results by region. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Netflix shared its streaming revenue and membership info for the US and Canada; Europe, Middle East and Africa; Asia-Pacific and Latin America. This change in how Netflix reports its earnings data highlights how important markets outside the US have become -- especially as Netflix faces new competition.
PlayStation Preview update brings 16-player parties and chat transcription
PlayStation 4 gamers could soon have access to bigger party sizes. In a blog post by Sony, the company announced it was testing a number of new updates to the Party function, including improved audio quality, better network connectivity and increased player party participants, jumping from eight to 16.
Business and gaming boost PC shipments for the first time since 2012
Supposing you've followed the PC's steady downward spiral over the last few years, the following news might surprise you: Between April and June worldwide PC shipments marked a 1.4 percent increase compared to the same timeframe last year. Market analysis firms Gartner and IDC agree that it's largely due to business customers upgrading to Windows 10 laptops, desktops and workstations. But the latter asserts that shipments totaled 62.3 million units (representing a 2.7 increase) while the former reports shipments jumped by 62.1 million units (a 1.4 percent increase). The biggest areas of growth? Premium models and entry-level machines.
PlayStation Plus fees increase in multiple regions
PlayStation Plus subscription fees are on the rise in various regions, Sony confirmed. "We slightly increased prices for PlayStation Plus in South Africa, Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and India regions due to various market conditions," a representative told Joystiq via email. "Currently, price adjustments are not being planned for PS Plus in the SCEA [North American] region." The confirmation follows a report from iAfrica that stated subscription costs were due to rise within 24 hours of email notifications sent to PS Plus subscribers. The emails reportedly stated that "the price of a three month subscription will rise from R145 to R219" as of today ($12.88 and $19.46). The change represents a 51 percent increase in the three-month PS Plus prices. Additionally, a second email seemingly noted a change in the annual PS Plus costs in South Africa from R489 to R749 ($43.45 to $66.55, a 53 percent increase). [Image: Sony]
Amazon: Wii U game pre-orders up following Gamescom
With all the news that surfaced last week during Gamescom, it makes sense that video game pre-orders would increase at retailers like Amazon. As it turns out, the biggest winner coming away from the show is Nintendo, as Wii U games saw the biggest boost in pre-orders on Amazon (8.67 percent). By comparison, pre-orders for PS4 games rose 5.16 percent and Xbox One games increased 2.81 percent. The largest increase for a single game was 42.3 percent for Slightly Mad Studios' Project Cars. Bandai Namco announced a limited edition version of the game last week, which likely spurred new pre-orders. Rounding out the top five are Rise of the Tomb Raider (30.25 percent), Bloodborne (16.08 percent), Hyrule Warriors (11.77 percent) and Quantum Break (10.77 percent). You'll find the full list of the top ten games whose pre-orders increased on Amazon after the break, courtesy of MCV.
Sky site suggests TV subscription prices could increase by up to 10 percent on September 1st
If you've been pondering a Sky TV subscription, then perhaps here's something that'll get you off the fence. The company's online store has a new section saying that prices could increase "by up to 10 percent" on September 1st, which would push the cost of the basic bundle up to £23.65 ($37). The move comes a week after BT upped its line rental fee from £129 to £141 in order to cover its "free" sports bonanza. Still, compared to the £9.99 you'll pay for 24 hours of Sky Sports on Now TV, even with a possible 10 percent price increase, it's still pretty reasonable.
Puzzle Craft goes on a 'Treasure Hunt' next week
Puzzle Craft was one of my favorite games last year on any platform, not even just Apple's App Store. But like a lot of the title's fans, I've been somewhat disappointed that developers Ars Thanea haven't followed it up with any new content. They and publisher Chillingo had quite a few golden opportunities to get the game back in the spotlight with a big update, and they just haven't supported the game like I believe they should have. But there's good news here -- Chillingo has finally sent word that Puzzle Craft is getting a nice update next week. It's called "Treasure Hunt," and while it's not exactly clear how it all will work, it sounds like the game will be hiding treasure items in among the other items you collect, which you'll then be able to organize and complete into sets. In addition to the new gameplay, there will also be new jobs for your villagers, new tools to find and use, a level cap increase to level 60 and a new endgame goal: To upgrade your castle into an Imperial Castle, beating the game yet again. Personally, I'm really excited for the update -- it's not exactly what I would have imagined from a Puzzle Craft update, but hopefully it'll be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, Chillingo didn't mention if the update will be paid or free, but given that the game is free right now, I'd expect it to be an in-app purchase. We'll check back with them, and keep an eye out for the new patch next week.
Namco Bandai profits up in Q3 2012, as are year-end projections
Namco Bandai's financial statement for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 has been released, and while the report contains a lot of tables and numbers and figures, it actually has very few pictures, which was a problem for our exceedingly limited attention spans. We did our best, though, and after concentrating really hard and taking our Adult ADD medication, we were able to produce actual, honest-to-goodness business information.For instance! For the 9 month period ending on December 31, 2011, Namco Bandai reports a net income (which is the amount of earned money left over after all operating expenses and taxes) of ¥16.3 billion, or about $210 million, which is a 34.3 percent increase over the same period last year.The company predicts an additional ¥2.19 billion ($28.3 million) in net income over the course of Q4, (which runs from January 1 to March 31, 2012), wrapping up fiscal 2012 to the tune of ¥18.5 billion ($238.4 million) in net profit over the course of the fiscal year. Provided these predictions stand the test of time, Namco Bandai's performance in fiscal 2012 will be a 90 percent increase over its performance in fiscal 2011.Whew! Now if you'll excuse us, we have cat videos to watch.
RuneScape increasing subscription prices on February 1st
In a new post on the official RuneScape site, the game's vice president Daniel Clough has announced that, beginning in February, RuneScape membership prices will be rising from $5.95 US per month to $7.95 US per month. If you're already a member, don't worry! Anyone who is a registered member prior to February 1st will still be able to subscribe to the game at the current fee of $5.95 US per month, and the rate will not rise as long as the subscription isn't cancelled. So if you were thinking about shelling out for a RuneScape membership, act before the end of the month in order to lock in the current, lower pricing model. For the full details, click on through the link below to the RuneScape official site. [Thanks to Sean for the tip!]
Gold Capped: Upcoming Volatile Fire shortages
Every week, WoW Insider brings you Gold Capped, in which Basil "Euripides" Berntsen and Fox Van Allen aim to show you how to make money on the Auction House. Email Basil with your questions, comments, or hate mail! Volatile Fire is quite cheap now but will not remain so after patch 4.3. Volatiles are a cornerstone of the crafting and economic design of WoW, as each one has several types of items that require it for production. When the prices of Volatiles increase, crafted goods go up in price and raw materials go down in price. Very few people farm exclusively for Volatiles, as they're usually given a small chance to drop off things that are worth considerably more than the Volatiles themselves (like ore veins and elementals). That's part of why the Volatiles market is exceptionally susceptible to changes that change the way a lot of people play and loot. In this case for Volatile Fire, right now a ton of Fires are coming from people continuing to do Fireland dailies. Patch 4.3 is around the corner and will likely have something cooler for people do with their time than grind for entry level raiding and PVP gear. What can you do to protect yourself and profit from these changes?
Virgin Mobile preparing to alter pricing, send love to BlackBerry users?
With price hikes trending as the mobile industry's latest fashion faux pas, it appears that Virgin Mobile is readying its latest summer styles -- and yes, it may cost you. Sir Branson's minute misers will pay an extra $10 each month ($35 total) for the same 300 minutes, and casual chatters will pay an additional $5 each month ($45 total) for their familiar 1,200 minutes. Fortunately, those with an unlimited voice plan will actually pay $5 less, thanks to the new $55 plan, and the company seems prepared to eliminate its $10 monthly tax on Blackberry users -- not a bad move, since they've got it hard enough already. Hey, at least a few will be thankful for the Rebel Billionaire's latest move.
Scientists improve blue OLED efficiency, don't promise everlasting light
Although this is not the first time we've seen an efficiency increase in blue OLEDs, it's worth noting that their proposed cap of productivity up to this point was a lowly five percent. It's exciting to learn, therefore, about a breakthrough by professor John Kieffer and graduate student Changgua Zhen from the University of Michigan, which has resulted in them successfully increasing azure diode power efficiency by 100 percent. The duo, accompanied by some bright minds in Singapore, manipulated performance controllers by rearranging OLED molecules in a computer model, improving material characteristics. In simple terms though, we're still looking at a measly ten percent efficiency, so we'll see where they take it from here.
Analysts: iMac to take over 25% of PC sales, Mac to see 31% growth
We're only days away from the release of the iPad, and that means analysts are doing crazy business -- they're laying out as many predictions as they can before theory becomes actual numbers. Our friend Gene Munster is first -- he says that despite the introduction of a brand new category, Mac sales will be even better than investors expect this quarter, with a whopping 26% to 31% year-over-year growth. Apparently retail data suggests that Macs are flying off of the shelves, and that Apple should end up with almost 3 million Macs sold in the March quarter. PC sales in general are also expected to increase, with the iMac carrying a whole quarter of all desktop growth this year. Desktop sales are finally headed upwards for the first time in a few years, and along with bigger sales numbers in terms of netbooks and notebooks, Apple's iMac platform is leading the charge. International sales are also expected to drive the PC market -- if the numbers are right, this will be the first time ever that sales internationally take up 50% of the desktop PC market. Interesting predictions, all. There's no question, I think, that Apple will make plenty of money this quarter. The question going forward will be whether the iPad steals sales that would have gone to the iPhone or to a MacBook. But if the past numbers with the iPhone are any indication, big interest in the portable devices actually drives Apple's desktop sales as well.
Developers on avoiding the 99 cent App Store price
I've become a big fan of game developer Capy (formerly Capybara) in the past few months -- their releases of Critter Crunch on iPhone [iTunes link] and Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes on the DS have won me over quickly. But I'm not sure I agree completely with their co-founder, Nathan Vella, about what he says in this Gamasutra interview. His opinion is that the push towards the 99 cent price on the App Store is "the single most frustrating and terrible thing about App Store pricing." He says the dollar price point is stifling, and he praises developers like Canabalt's Adam Saltsman for sticking with a higher price point even when their games are simple. I do agree with Vella on one thing: no developer should sell an app for less than it is worth, and dropping to 99 cents to increase sales doesn't work anyway. But certainly there's a place for 99 cent apps on the store, and I know personally that a 99 cent price point will open me up to try apps I'm not sure about, especially apps that I might be interested in but that don't offer a free trial. Clive Downie of ngmoco says as much later in the article: it's about the balance between providing choice for your customer and supporting yourself as a developer. In the end, Vella knows what he's doing: he doesn't say that 99 cents is always the wrong price, but that you should always stick to your guns and ask your customers to pay the right price. If a game is worth $4.99, or $6.99, or even $9.99, developers will find that customers who care about the quality are willing to pay for it. [via IGN]
Gameloft sales up 50% so far this year
Mobile games publisher Gameloft announced they posted €45.9 million ($62.9 million) in sales during the first half of their fiscal year. According to Gameloft, this is a 50% increase from last year, which means they are well on their way to hitting their €95 million ($130.3 million) objective when the games industry goes into overdrive sales for the end of Q3 and the Q4 holiday season.The sales come from standard issue back titles and, in the same way Activision pulled ahead in the first half of this year, Gameloft saw significant revenue from movie/TV licensed games like Shrek the Third, Desperate Housewives and Lost. Yes hardcore gamers, you may curse the heavens for that if you wish.
GameFly rate increasing by $1 due to mail and game cost
GameFly announced today that they'll be increasing their subscription fee by $1 across all plans. It was bound to happen, and after five years it isn't so bad. GameFly says the increase is due to the postal rate hike and higher cost of console games ... and we're sure the new distribution center had a little something to do with it.A $1 hike isn't really something we can complain about, considering the service saves us, at least, $120 to $200 in game purchases per month. They've even updated the GameQ to more efficiently order your games -- and if you want to just buy, their store deals are the best. There's also a silver lining in the understandable, but still bad, news. GameFly is offering loyal customers the option to lock in discounted rates at 3, 6 and 12 month increments. That way, if you pay upfront, you can get a subscription for cheaper than what it costs now. A good deal if you know you're gonna stick with the service.We've placed the new billing structure after the break.
Christmas sees first VC price increase
Wii owners waking up this Christmas morning expecting to download some classic space 'shmup goodness might be a little surprised at what they have to pay to get it. R-Type, released today on the Wii's virtual console, is the first TurboGrafx-16 game to be available for 800 VC points instead of the normal 600.This didn't come as a total surprise: Nintendo casually mentioned last month that virtual console games merely "start at" the now-standard point levels (NES: 500, TG16: 600, SNES/Genesis:800, N64:1000). They also mentioned the R-Type price specifically in a press release last week, but our eyes glazed over and we misreported it at 600 points. Silly us... we thought the price used in six other TurboGrafx-16 games so far would carry over to the seventh.While R-Type is a bit more popular than a similar game like Super Star Soldier, we can't help but wonder why Nintendo chose this game to break out the first price hike. While a 200 point increase isn't too outrageous, we can only hope this does not represent the start of a trend in ever-increasing virtual console prices.
