Promotions
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Facebook opens up Messenger to ad bots
Right now, Facebook lets Messenger bots from brands like Expedia and HP help you make a purchase, but they can't try to sell you a new product. However, a policy change means those automated assistants will soon be able to send subscription messages, ads and promotions for services like makeup consultations. If you're worried about spam, Facebook emphasized that the user is in control. "All conversations between businesses and people must be initiated by the person receiving the messages, who can then mute or block the business at any time," wrote Product Manager Seth Rosenberg.
Google lists Android Pay promotions in one page
Google has made it simpler to keep track of all available Android Pay discounts: The big G has launched a promotions page for the service, similar to the one for Chromecast. It details all the promos you can take advantage of for the current crop of Android Pay-compatible apps. For instance, the page lists Uber's offer, which gives you $10 off for your next ride, and explains that you'll have to type the code ANDROIDPAY in the ride-sharing app's promo section to claim it. On the other hand, some applications automatically apply discounts if you choose the mobile wallet as your payment option upon checking out. If you regularly use an app that's compatible with the service, you may want to check the portal every once in a while to make sure you're not missing out on a great deal.
T-Mobile will give Verizon customers a year of Hulu to switch
T-Mobile announced a new phase of its Un-carrier Unwrapped holiday promotion on Thursday. The company already offered Sprint customers $200 to change carriers and tempted AT&T subscribers with a steeply discounted 128GB iPhone 6s. Now, Verizon customers who switch to T-Mobile's Simple Choice postpaid plan will receive a year-long Hulu subscription (with limited commercials, valued at $100). Additionally, switchers will receive up to a 50 percent discount on all in-store accessories. The promotion runs until Sunday, December 13th. You can find full details, rules and restrictions over at T-Mobile.
HTC is testing ads in its BlinkFeed app
HTC opened up its BlinkFeed stream of info to more apps and to other Android devices last year. Now, it's getting a new form of content: ads. In a blog post, the company announced that it's testing "a limited number of promotions" to folks "in a limited number of markets." Specifically, users in the US, UK, Germany, Taiwan and China can expect to see the trial advertisements appear in the feed. Rather than a pop-up window or banner, the ads are displayed natively in a BlinkFeed post (see the example after the break). If that's sounds super annoying, don't worry, HTC will offer a way for you to opt out. But, of course, the company recommends that you leverage the promotions as a way to find new apps, goods and services.
Skyforge offers two contests for those who seek beta keys
Is the only thing you want for Christmas a nice shiny Skyforge beta key? If so... wow, you are aiming really low when it comes to gifts this year. We usually at least would ask for a game, not test access to a game. Besides, you could get one completely for free by taking part in one of two contests. The first is a straightforward raffle-style giveaway on Facebook: Just "like" the game's page and submit your account email, and 500 lucky entrants will get a beta key. But for those who want a key and prefer not to leave it up to chance, there's a forum thread asking players to name the critter they see in the header above. The five best entries will receive a beta key, followed by a vote-off of all the suggested names. So there's a chance at getting in just based on your creativity at naming things, which might be more your style. The name contest will run until December 22nd, while the Facebook entries are accepted until January 15th. [Thanks to Gabriel for the tip!]
Turbine's customer support department spreads holiday cheer
Working customer support for an MMO means that even the best times of your job are still spent dealing with upset players. Sure, the player might recognize that whatever went wrong was just an accident or a bug, but you've still got player issues to manage. It's the sort of work that can make you bitter or cynical, but not so with the customer support team at Turbine Entertainment, which decided to reach out to fans in a slightly happier fashion with holiday cards. Seriously. Real ones. Players on the Lord of the Rings Online forums have reported receiving physical holiday cards from the game's customer service department with hand-written messages and gift cards for 500 Turbine points inside. The community team has stated that this is exactly what it seems to be: a random gesture of kindness and appreciation for the game's playerbase. That message also reminded players to keep their mailing addresses up to date, as this is unlikely to be the only such event. [Thanks to Fredelas for the tip!]
Blizzard offering 7 days of game time to select accounts
If you haven't upgraded your account to Warlords of Draenor, you may want to check your email. In fact, even if you have upgraded your account, you may want to check your email. Blizzard has quietly released a promotion giving players 7 free days of game time for select accounts, randomly offered to both current and returning players. As with any promotion, scams are an inevitability, so if you do see one of these emails pop up in your inbox, don't click any links in the email itself, just to be on the safe side. Please note that this is a limited availability offer -- the promotion isn't being offered to all players. Community Manager Bashiok clarified the nature of the promotion on the official forums yesterday. Bashiok From time to time we run different promotional offers for a subset of players, but they're generally not something offered to everyone. Which is why this may work on the accounts that were offered the promotion, and not others. source However, players are reporting that they have received the promotion without the accompanying email, so you might just have a present waiting for you on your account. To check, log into your Battle.net account, click on your World of Warcraft license, and head to the Referrals & Rewards tab at the bottom of the page. If you have been offered free game time, a link will allow you to activate the game time and apply it to your account. According to the email, the offer expires on November 5 -- so make sure you redeem your game time now, before the offer disappears.
Guild Wars 2 launches new WvW meta-contests
Most PvP contests require you to actually be good at PvP. That seems fair, really, just as cooking contests generally work best when they feature people who are at least passingly familiar with cooking. But the two new Guild Wars 2 WvW contests don't actually require you to be any good at WvW, just good at showing the feature off. ArenaNet has partnered with Overwolf to kick off two WvW contests that are all about promoting and celebrating WvW, even if you aren't much of a player. The first contest is looking for the players who use the Overwolf application while streaming, aiming for the highest number of concurrent viewers on Twitch. Whoever wins gets some SteelSeries peripherals as well as 8,000 gems. Meanwhile, if that's not your thing, you can also create a WvW War Report, share it via YouTube, and be eligible to win 5,000 gems if your offering is the best. So it's not about your PvP skill here, just about your ability to entertain people via that skill (or lack thereof).
Final Fantasy XI welcomes back old players with a free week
If you once walked the fields of Vana'diel in Final Fantasy XI but haven't been back in some time, you've missed a lot of updates. The game's run for 13 years now, after all; whenever you stopped playing, it's likely a lot of new content awaits you. And if you've got the hankering to check back in and see if it's how you remember, you can do so for a week. Completely free. Until September 17th, former players can log in for free and explore all of the content available in the game. Players will need to transfer their old PlayOnline IDs to Square-Enix IDs if they have not done so already. A promotional video has also been released, detailing some of the changes made to the game for its current incarnation. So if you've got a hankering to step back into the world of Vana'diel, now might be the time to do so.
Star Trek Online celebrates the end of summer with giveaways [Updated]
The days get shorter, the heat diminishes, and students collectively go back to actually studying things. Yes, summer is coming to a close, and the team behind Star Trek Online is pretty happy with how this past summer went. Sure, seasons are kind of a meaningless concept when you're talking about a setting that spans multiple planets with their own annual cycles, but the players are still here on Earth, and they can celebrate the end of the season with free stuff. An as-of-yet undisclosed ship will be going live in the game's cash shop tomorrow, but that's not the really free part. From August 29th to September 1st, around 1:00 p.m. EDT, a new promotional item will be flagged in the store as free. These items are all account-wide unlocks so long as an eligible character is available to claim the item. Who wouldn't like some free stuff for the end of summer? [Update: The team has also today released more information about upgrading tier 5 ships.]
Star Trek Online sells costumes at a discount this weekend
They say that clothes make the man. Is that true? Who knows. But clothes certainly do make your Star Trek Online captains stand out, and wouldn't you like to look particularly pretty with a new expansion coming up? Of course you would. So pick up some costumes this weekend and do so at a steep discount. All costumes for sale in the game's microtransaction store are priced 20% off until Monday, August 18th, at 1 p.m. EDT. Whether you want to grab Seven of Nine's bodysuit for the upcoming Delta Rising content or just have your eye on a racing uniform, you can nab it now for less. Who wouldn't like that?
Path of Exile Supporter Packs are about to disappear
If you love Path of Exile but haven't converted that support into monetary form yet... well, that's fine, the game is free-to-play. But you're running out of time to take advantage of the Supporter Packs that were introduced as part of the game's launch. The packs will be officially discontinued very shortly, so if you haven't grabbed one yet, now's the time to do so. The official announcement notes that you will be able to arrange a payment plan and/or upgrade your pack, but you need to set that in motion before the packs are gone for good, not after. So if you've been loving the game and want to buy a little power boost... do it now. You're running out of time.
Massively Exclusive: Grand Chase goes live on Steam tomorrow
Grand Chase is pursuing its way onto Steam on Thursday, July 17th, and you know what that means: welcome events. After all, when a free-to-play game shows up on a popular digital service, there will be a lot of new arrivals. New players can look forward to the Welcome Heroes event, which provides a free bundle of prizes to any one character on a player's account. They can also take advantage of the Character Jumping event, which allows everyone to kick a character straight to level 70 (the current cap is 85). A Steam-specific stat-boosting title is also available to everyone, along with new item packages. These packages include a new set of equipment with stats and a new pet, both of which have never been available elsewhere. If you're a long-time Grand Chase player or just can't wait to get a free-to-play brawler on your hard drive, take heart because the game will be available tomorrow. [Source: KOG Games press release]
Wizard101 introduces Fishing
Fishing is the eternal side activity of MMOs, the reason for players to sit about and cast their line over and over in the hopes of receiving something worthwhile. Wizard101 joins the lineup of fantasy games offering a fishing option today with a new patch, although you will be fishing in an appropriately magical fashion. Rather than a mundane line and sinker, players summon magical orbs to help snare fish; the ones they catch can be sold, used for crafts, or displayed as trophies around your house. If this is the one thing you've been waiting for before you get into the game, you can also take advantage of the new promotional bundle on sale at Target. The Spiral Cup Gauntlet Bundle includes a new housing item, a new pet, new clothes, and a new mount for players, along with either a month's subscription or 5000 crowns. You can pick it up for $39 and then jump right back into casting orbs and looking for fish. Or doing other things, presumably. [Source: Kingsisle Entertainment press release]
Entropy discounts Founder's Packs for Steam Sale
The Steam Summer Sale is that glorious time of year when we drop money on games that we subsequently won't remember purchasing until months later, leaving us collectively scratching our heads and asking when we bought these titles. So how'd you like to add an early access MMO to that pile of games you won't remember you have? All three of the Entropy Founder's Packs are now available at a 33% discount until the end of the Summer Sale on June 30th. The sale coincides with a recent update to the game introducing the gladiatorial combat sport known as NOVA, a free-for-all brawl where five people enter and only one leaves. The smallest package available gives players access to two character slots as well as full game access, with higher tiers including a variety of extra ships, more character slots, and bonus character creator options. If it sounds like it's right at your speed, jump in on the deal before the end of the month. We've included the latest video interview with the devs after the break.
Apple helps T-Mobile Test Drive program
T-Mobile is launching a new initiative to introduce shoppers to its network with help from Apple, in the form of a free iPhone 5s. Called "Test Drive," the promotion is targeted at customers of rival US carriers who are considering switching. After signing up, participants will receive a free, no-strings-attached iPhone 5s with unlimited data, text and calls from T-Mobile (as long as the phone is used within the US). When the trial ends, users can keep the phone and sign up for a plan, or simply send it back and that's that. Back when I was a car salesman (true story), we called this "The Puppy Dog Close." Who doesn't want to keep a cute little puppy after bringing it home? Especially when that puppy is gold and features Touch ID. Don't be late, however. Those who miss their drop-off date will be charged US$700.00, plus tax.
Marvel Heroes kicks off Big Ten Week
Ten months ago, Marvel Heroes launched. Most games would save their big celebrations for a year or half a year or something else, but Marvel Heroes is celebrating the not-quite-a-year mark with the Big Ten Week. And what's coming back for this week? Well... everything. Every big holiday rush up to this point is coming back in one way or another, with the festivities lasting until Friday, May 2nd. Did you enjoy the whole bonus loot rotation from the Don't Fear the Reaper event? That's back. What about the St. Patrick's Day rewards? Yes, those too, with legendary recipes and the Luck of the Draw promotion (buy a hero and get another random hero for free, buy a costume and get another random costume for free). Winter holiday gifts, Lunar New Year gifts... it's an explosion of celebrations. If that's the sort of upgrade you like to see, you can check out the full list of repeats on the official announcement. And if you're looking for a free random hero this weekend, apply the code RNDMHRO to your account. More free things!
Age of Conan introduces new subscription benefits along with a new world boss
The latest of Age of Conan's monthly world bosses has arrived in the form of the Thrice Drowned queen. Emerging to terrorize the Thunder River, she will wreak havoc if left unchecked, since anyone who can be drowned three times and still come back for more is no one to be trifled with. Perhaps you'll be so enthusiastic about fighting her that you decide you simply can't miss out on any of the future bosses; if so, there's a subscription offer you might be interested in. Two new rewards are available to players who subscribe for six months or a year at a time; a ring that grants bonus alternate advancement XP and another ring that grants a bonus to PvP and Prowess XP gain. Subscribing for six months nets a version of these rings with a 25% bonus along with an extra two months of subscription time; subscribing for a year nets an extra four months and rings with a 50% bonus. In short, if you want to step up your subscription game, now is the time to do so.
Gmail experiment shows promotional messages as image-heavy cards
The promotions tab in Gmail is basically a glorified spam filter. Sure, it's not really spam, but you probably don't bother to read many emails in there. At best you give it a cursory glance to make sure Caskers wasn't offering "the bourbon that beat Pappy" again. But, more often than not, you probably just select all and delete without a second thought. Well, Google thinks that it might have a better chance at enticing you to click through on those deals if they were more visually appealing. Mountain View is trialing a feature that shows you promotional emails as cards with large images at the top and details of the deal on offer below. It's not unlike Pinterest (it even introduces infinite scrolling to your inbox), except when you click through on these boxes you'll be offered $10 off on a pair of Top-Siders. If you'd like to partake in Google's little experiment you can click on this link. Yes, this one right here.
Final Fantasy XIV opens up a free weekend for former subscribers
So you bought Final Fantasy XIV, and you subscribed for a while, but you stopped subscribing before the first major patch. Maybe you were tired of waiting for it, maybe you had other things to play, maybe you were hoping the game would go free-to-play by now. Whatever the case, you can pop back into the game for a weekend and play around with all of the patch's additions, assuming you can get all of that out of the way in 48 straight hours. Starting on Saturday, January 11th, at 3:00 a.m. EST, former players whose accounts are inactive will be able to log in and play the game absolutely free until Monday, January 13th, at 3:00 a.m. EST. Nothing special is required to try out the patch; just log in, download, and go to town. The patch features beast tribe daily quests, new endgame dungeons, the Crystal Tower, and additional main scenario quests following the conclusion of the story.
