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12 Days of Winter Veil Giveaway: 60-day prepaid game cards
12 Days of Winter Veil is under way here at WoW Insider. That means 12 days of giveaways, 12 chances for you to win some of the awesome swag we've accumulated over the year. Whether you've been a good goblin or a naughty night elf, there's a chance that WoW Insider has a holiday gift for you this season. Today, we're keeping it simple. If you're here, we're going to assume you like World of Warcraft. We're also going to assume you'd like to continue playing World of Warcraft. Therefore, we're giving you a chance to win one of two 60-day prepaid game cards valid on North American realms. To enter for a chance to win, leave a comment on this post before 11:59 p.m. ET, Monday, December 31, 2012. You must be 18 years of age or older and a legal resident of the United States or Canada (excluding Quebec). You may only enter once. Two winners will be chosen at random and we will contact you via whichever method you've used to comment. Official rules here.
MMO Family: Are virtual presents a worthy holiday gift?
When it comes to picking out holiday gifts for younger family members, it's amazing how quickly it can escalate to the equivalent of organizing Operation Overlord. As I wandered around Toys "R" Us yesterday, I watched two mothers trying to make sense of Skylanders and figure out how to coordinate and buy the right packages. (At one point, one was having trouble understanding that the "Giants" weren't really that giant.) Picking out a gift for a kid might sound simple, but to the adults who aren't up to speed on the latest craze, it's not only complicated -- it's a potential nightmare. Virtual presents and currency cards are two gift ideas that are growing in popularity. Young gamers are comfortable with the notion of in-game goods, but while the in-game MMO community has begun to accept it, it's not quite accepted by the mainstream as a valid gift option. I think there's good reason that it should be, though. In this week's MMO Family, let's take a look at why virtual presents still aren't seen as valid gifts and examine why that's worth reconsidering.
Wizard101 partners with GameStop for Epic Bundle game card package
KingsIsle Entertainment, makers of the hit kid-friendly MMO Wizard101, have partnered with GameStop to offer players and parents an exclusive retail-only Epic Bundle just in time for the holiday gift-giving season. The package is priced at $39 USD and features a large amount of in-game extras including a flying gryphon mount, a fantasy palace complete with personal dueling arena and a minigame kiosk, decorative clothing, one month of premium content access, and an additional housing slot. Wizard101 is a free-to-play MMO that lets kids and parents create student Wizards that inhabit Wizard City as well as hone their magical skills and fight the forces of evil. Access to the game's premium content can be obtained via game cards, subscription fees, or the purchase of crowns. You can find more information about the game card bundle at the official website.
Nintendo 3DS game cart pictured, wireless ebook reader on tap?
It was easy to get lost amidst all the attention surrounding the 3DS itself, but Nintendo also had an actual 3DS game cart on hand at E3 and, well, it looks pretty much like a regular DS cart (probably a good thing, since the two are compatible). About the only difference, it seems, is that small extra tab on the corner, and a slightly slimmer case that they'll come packaged in. In other overshadowed-by-E3 news, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata has apparently told Nikkei that the 3DS' wireless connection could be used to automatically download newspaper and magazine articles (and books, presumably) which, when combined with the 3DS' ability to actively seek out and connect to any open WiFi network, could potentially turn into a Whispernet-like service from Nintendo -- something that Iwata has, incidentally, publicly mused about in the past.
The Daily Grind: Game card or credit card?
Yesterday we ran a story on this new game card hitting the market called the ONE game card, a card that you can pick up at your local store to redeem for a wide variety of games. That story got us thinking however, about game cards at large. How much do people use them? Are they widely accepted? And why use a game time card over a credit card?How many of you Massively readers prefer going out and purchasing a time card / points card for your favorite online game instead of paying for it with your credit card? Why do you fine readers prefer your chosen method of payment? Do you find yourself buying more point cards for games that use cash shops while you pay subscription fees with a credit card, or do you really enjoy picking up time cards for your subscription games?Drop us your comments and let us know how you feel about your payment plans!
Majority of buyers use game "gift cards" for themselves
PlaySpan, creators of the Ultimate Game Card, released findings on March 20 that nearly 80 percent of those purchasing the gift cards are using them for themselves. The UGC, which sells alongside other gift cards on store shelves, has a special code redeemable online at the company's website that can be applied toward over 200 online games. The games supported range from triple-A MMOGs to casual, browser-based games. PlaySpan's research notes that nearly 50 percent of their customers are age 14-18, and they likely purchase the cards because they're too young to have credit cards of their own. Virtual Goods News has crunched the numbers further.
PayByCash brings game cards to India
As real money transactions grow in popularity, the worldwide demand will inevitably increase. The obstacles that previously hindered global saturation in the less-developed countries will no longer be a problem as companies are finding more ways to allow gamers to pay for their services. A perfect example of this is the recent announcement by PayByCash about their recent availability in India.India is a country where the majority of its citizens don't have access to a credit card. This is where PayByCash hopes to help, by providing game time cards for a country whose gaming industry exceeds $212 million and is expected to reach $1 billion by 2012. It's much more than simple RMT though, as explained by Kevin Higgins, President of PayByCash: "Our expansion into India enables its millions of consumers to experience and purchase the over 300 games, virtual worlds, and premium content of our PayByCash publishers as well as providing other types of merchants with a new revenue stream."
The ultimate game card covers every game you play
PayByCash have been more and more in the news lately, especially with their recent acquisition by Arjun Metha's Playspan in-game commerce network. Despite being only in sixth grade last year (no, you read that correctly), Metha's Playspan business pulled in over six million in series-A funding last September. The acquisition of PayByCash seems to close the circle nicely on their revenue streams, as PayByCash acts as a payments broker for those without credit cards, currently servicing more than 150 games. Now those payments are going to be even easier, as PayByCash's Ultimate Game Card pre-paid cards are launching in 7-Eleven stores throughout the USA. Want to burn some time in Age of Conan's hyborean lands or delve D&D Online: Stormreach's dungeons, but don't have the credit-card to support your epic adventures? Want to give your favorite MMO gamer a gift? It looks like these colorful cards are the loot you've been looking for. One of the biggest advantages of game cards like this is that they let you pay for your MMO when you've got the cash, rather than being enslaved to the MMO operator's billing cycle. Buy them when you've got the cash free (and hey, it's a 7-Eleven! Grab some Cheetos and soda!) and redeem them when and where you need to. No word yet on whether PayByCash can do the deals to get these into stores elsewhere in the world, but if they can swing it, it will be a big deal for gamers everywhere -- especially in many countries where credit cards are quite rare.
The PotBS "Great Testbed Screenshot Hunt" is on
Pirates of the Burning Sea players now have another contest to take a crack at if the video competitions don't strike their fancy. Flying Lab Software has announced the "Great Testbed Screenshot Hunt", which involves players logging on to the Testbed server, performing particular tasks and then screenshotting them.The ultimate goal of this is to make the testing process a little more fun, but there are tangible rewards as well to spice things up a bit. After you've emailed your batch of eligible screenshots to FLS, you'll be in the draw to win one of 10 game-cards granting 30 days play time, or one of two PotBS t-shirts. Head over to the contest page to see what you need to snap to be in with a chance -- and make sure your character name is visible on each shot!
GamerDNA offers Frostmourne replica contest
GamerDNA, the GuildCafe offshoot, has opened up a new contest to World of Warcraft players. Send in a screenshot of your character -- armored, naked, alive, dead, it doesn't matter -- and you stand a chance to win a replica of Frostmourne, Arthas' evil runeblade from Epic Weapons. The sword itself is a $379 value, but of nearly equal worth to many players is the $20 game card that five players could win by entering a picture they've created themselves, either traditionally or digitally. These hand-done portraits are also eligible for the Frostmourne prize. To enter, simply register for GamerDNA through GuildCafe and send in your favorite character's picture. The deadline is June 30th, so get snapping![Thanks, Sam!]
Reminder: guess when patch 2.4 will hit the live realms
Don't forget that our contest to guess the patch 2.4 release date ends Monday, so this weekend is your last chance to leave your guess for when the patch on the PTR will go on the live realms (in American date format: DD/MM) on our contest post (not on this post). We've got a ton of guesses so far, and definitely enough to cover all the days in between now and next year (although the patch is probably dropping sometime in March), so what we'll do is pick randomly from the people who guess on the correct day to give out the game cards. And if you are super bored this weekend and want to take all the data from that post and plot us a graph of where all the guesses land (so we can come up with fun stuff like an average guess), we could probably think of something nice to do for you too.Anyway, yes, follow the rules (must be a US resident and over the age of 18, must only enter once), and if you haven't yet, leave your guess on our contest post now. The polls will close, so to speak, on Monday, and of course we'll pick the winners when the patch drops.
30-day game cards available for Pirates of the Burning Sea
A lot of people out there prefer not to have an ongoing direct debit from their bank accounts for game subscriptions, and this crowd will be pleased to know that there are now 30-day game cards available for Pirates of the Burning Sea. The cards can be used on a new or existing PotBS account, and this sort of thing is also a great gift for MMO-inclined friends -- or for convincing the reluctant ones to try the game out with you. 30-day game cards cost USD$14.99 and can be purchased from Sony's Station store.
Gifts for the City dwellers
Whatever you celebrate this time of year, December seems to be when the majority of gifts are exchanged among friends and family. Everyone has their own idea of what is and isn't appropriate in a gift-giving manner, and it's difficult to decide what's best to give, and what we most want to receive. Well, that's where we come in.We have the good fortune of having two of the fae here -- one from the Rogue Isles, and one from Paragon City -- to share with us their views of appropriate gifts for those of you who are playing in NCsoft's realms this holiday season. Their selections range from cost-free, in-game offerings up to something you can tuck under the tree ... or the computer desk, as the case may be.
WoW giveaways 2 1/2: moar game time plz
Yep, it's still WoW day here at Massively, and we're giving away the last of our 60-day game cards of the day right now so gather 'round! By now you should know the drill -- please be 18. Please live in the US. Please be aware of these official rules. We all set? Eggselent -- now quick, go comment in this thread! You have until 1pm EST tomorrow, Sunday November 4 to get your entry in. One lucky bastard winner will be chosen at random to take home this bee-yoo-tee-ful prize. Very nice! Oh, but the day is not yet over, my friends. You'll want to check back again for a special, uber-secret prize. You can scour the interwebs but you won't even find a shred nor scrap of evidence regarding what we're giving away. It's so secret, we won't even let ourselves know what it is until 3pm EST. Oops, did we let the kick-off time slip out?
WoW giveaways part deux: the revenge
So a few of you may have heard about this obscure little game. We hear it's all the rage in Tajikistan and all but surely you understand, we have bigger fish to fry here at Massively. Therefore, we're giving away a 60-day game time card to you kind folks in the hopes that one of you might just pick it up and play it for a bit and tell us what it's all about -- think of it as field reporting. In order to win, you must have existed in this universe for no less than 18 years, and reside currently in these here United States (official legalese here). So you say you want this World of Warcraft game card, do you? Leave a comment in this thread by 11am EST tomorrow, Sunday November 4, and we will choose one lucky winner at random to spend 60 free days in this strange little world... of Warcraft. Good luck!
Want to win a 60-day gamecard? Caption this!
WoW Insider is offering you a chance to win a 60-day gamecard or a Burning Crusade t-shirt from J!NX. All you have to do is submit a caption for the above picture in the comments on our contest announcement post -- later this week our readers will vote and pick the winners. Why am I telling you this? Because today is the last day to enter! Hop on over to the contest announcement and leave your cleverest caption idea in the comments before 11:59 PM EST tonight. And if you miss the deadline, that's okay -- because the Monday after next (that's June 11th) we'll be giving away another gamecard.Good luck!
Win a Free Year of Warcraft
MMO Portal is having a drawing to give away a free year's subscription to World of Warcraft (i.e. 12 months' worth of game cards). What do you need to do to qualify? Well, you need to be a member of MMO Portal, be at least 13 years old, have a physical mailing address for them to send the game cards to, and "do not live in a state or country in which contests of this nature are prohibited by law." (You're on your own on that last one.) If you can handle that, all you need to do is submit this form every day until August 30th for another chance to win.
WoW Pre-Paid Game Cards on Sale
For all of you who, like me, choose to subscribe to WoW via pre-paid time cards, Amazon.com currently has the best price on them that I've yet to come across. The cards are now on sale for $24.99 (several dollars less than my local retail outlet), and if you purchase anything else to push your total over the $25.00 mark, then shipping is free. Heck, just do what I did...buy 2 cards!No idea how long this price will last, so get 'em while they're hot...
