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Free XBL Gold during E3 week
Verizon is sponsoring a full week of free Xbox Live Gold May 8-14, which just so happens coincide with E3. Wait a second—I thought Adidas was sponsoring the same week as part of their "Football Free For All?" Maybe that was meant for the UK. No matter. Free is free. [Thanks Chris]
Entire Pangea catalogue free for K-12 schools
Kudos to our buddies over at The Unofficial Apple Weblog for spotting this one: Pangea Software, the creators of Mac gaming classic like Nanosaur (I wasted my sister wasted so much time playing this) has enacted a free serial number policy for public schools to go alongside their free school site license policy. Now any public school in the U.S. can simply send off a letter to Pangea requesting free serial numbers for any of their games. It's even possible for an entire school district to apply for the free serial numbers.The motivation? Apparently Pangea receives quite a few inquiries about site licenses from schools so that kids can play during recess or as rewards for good work (in other words, we like your style Mr. Bored System Admin). Apparently Pangea doesn't "believe that schools should be spending education dollars on video games" so they decided to give 'em away! Now, EA, about those free Battlefield 2 licenses for Universities...[Via TUAW]
Pangea offers free games to schools
Here's a nice story. Pangea Software, creators of Bugdom, Nanosaur, Cro-Mag Rally and more, have offered free licenses to any school that makes a request. All you need to do is send a request on the school's official letterhead, signed by the principal, and the contact listed must use a ".k12" email address. Get the full scoop here. As a system administrator for a school, let me say, "Nice work, Pangea!"[Via MacMinute]
Lost, Desperate Houswives will be free on the web
Disney announced today that it will make episodes of both Lost and Desperate Housewives available for free via the web, starting in June. The files will feature "chapters" to let users quickly jump ahead in the episode, though not past the embedded commercials. The article merely says that the shows will be available "...on the internet," which sounds like they mean outside of the iTMS. Both Lost and Desperate Housewives have been big sellers for Apple, so this seems like an odd move for Disney (they are calling the project a two month experiment). I can't imagine that the shows will be available for free via the web while they're still $1.99US in the iTMS, so we'll see what happens. Thanks to everyone who sent this in.
More free XBLM points on the way?
The one million free Marketplace Points that Verizon was giving away went pretty damn quick, but now they've updated their "Sorry, fresh out" page with a teaser:We HAD a million points. Now we're broke, busted, cleaned out, knocked back. We knew you all loved the Xbox360 but geez! We'll know better for next time.....Wait--did we say next time? That's right boys and girls--we'll do it again. So keep an eye out and an ear open.Nothing wrong with more free points.How is the Free XBL Gold Weekend treating you so far? Any Ambassadors want to weigh in with heartwarming tales of newbs welcomed by sniper rifles?[Thanks PancakesHouse]
Free Xbox Live Gold Weekend is a-happenin' now
We're already nearly 24 hours into the 72 hour* "Free Xbox Live Gold Weekend" sponsored by the telco overlords at Verizon. This is a chance for all you 360 owners out there who managed to save up the $400 (or, more likely, $300) to get the thing--but didn't pitch in for a Gold account--to get a taste of what you're missing. I recommend you start by downloading some multiplayer demos, like GR:AW or Battlefield 2, and rocking them out multiplayer over Live.*It's notable that Verizon and Microsoft chose this weekend over all others; considering we're going to lose an hour due to Daylight Saving's Time "springing" forward, this is really a 71 hour "Free Xbox Live Gold Weekend." What are we not supposed to look in the mouth again?See also:Xbox Live Ambassadors announcedFree Xbox Live Gold weekend back with free points
Xbox Ambassadors share the love
"Xbox Ambassadors" have received their welcome emails from Microsoft in preparation for the first "Free Xbox Live Gold" promotion this weekend. As the Madeline Albrights of the Xbox 360 community, Ambassadors are expected hold hands and speak slowly as they guide confused Newbs through those first intimidating steps into the scary world that is Xbox Live:What we'd like from you is that you spend some time on Xbox Live during the Gold Weekend. Please clear some space on your friends list for new friends. Take some time to chat and play games with the new gamers, answer questions that you feel comfortable answering; otherwise refer questions to Xbox.com. PR person for a day! Who could pass that up? And no, telling a pupal player that shaking his console will improve graphic performance is not part of the program. This reminds me of the well-meaning dorks who used to give campus tours at my university. Would you have benefited from an Xbox Ambassador, or is the concept just a little too Mr. Rogers for your elitist geek taste? [Thanks Jaemz]
Search and win an Xbox 360
MSN is running a contest at msnsearchandwin.com where you get yet another chance to win yourself a Xbox 360, games and various other junk. You search for a key word like "xbox," then click on the ad that pops up to see if you won. I struck out several times on a free console and a Vespa scooter. That's fine because I wouldn't be caught dead riding a scooter anyway, and you have so much more pride in a game system when you pay for it with hard earned cash, right? MSN is promoting this contest on the radio in the Philly market and the 360 is the first prize they mention.
Basic PSN service to include online gaming
Could Krazy Ken Kutaragi's Playstation Network be "live," "4D" and largely "free" when it comes to online gaming? It looks that way according to this story (No, I'm not trying to turn this site into PS3 fanboy):...regarding the PlayStation Network Platform, [TeamXbox has] learned that the basic service will be free and include online gameplay, at least at launch; only specific titles like MMO games and premium services like online storage will require an additional fee.Microsoft is telling us not to expect big changes in their strategy no matter what Sony does, but the news that the PS3 may offer "free" online gaming at the base level has to affect people's opinion of Xbox Live. Sony is playing catch up in this area of the business and offering gamers more for less is one way to get our attention (It's certainly better than stupid buzzwords like "4D"). Then again, at a predicted price point well above the Xbox 360's, the PS3 isn't exactly going to be a bargain hunters dream. Maybe this is Sony's way of taking the edge off that Paris Hilton price tag. Or will all the good games end up charging their own fee anyway?This developement forces me to wonder if MS will eventually offer online gaming with XBL Silver, or just do away with membership levels altogether. Even if Sony is just using this as a short-term gimmick for the PS3 launch, it could lead to more "Free Gold Weekends"for 360 owners, like the promo coming up at the end of March.Do you think making PSN "4D and free" is a smart move on Sony's part? More importantly, does it require a response from MS? Do you think you are paying a fair price for XBL Gold?
Shadowbane becomes free-to-play
Ubisoft's MMORPG Shadowbane recently made a fairly subdued announcement regarding customer billing--or, rather, the lack of billing. Shadowbane follows in the footsteps of MMOs like PlanetSide and Anarchy Online, allowing previously paying customers to enjoy the game for free.The low-key nature of this change means we don't know if the subscription fee will be replaced with other revenue streams such as in-game ads or expansion pack-based charges. Hopefully we'll have more news soon. For the time being, it seems fairly straightforward: download the game client, activate a free trial, never pay.[Via digg]
Sony's MMO marketing shows signs of desperation
Many of you showed scorn at one of Sony Online Entertainment's recent moves, their "all-in-one" Station Access Collection MMO bundle. But wait; they're not done yet. If playing PlanetSide for free isn't enough for you, SOE have teamed up with FilePlanet to offer a month's free play of EverQuest II. Not tempted? How about some Star Wars Galaxies TV commercials to pique your interest? (Ignore what dedicated players are saying; hardcore players are so last season.) We hope the marketing department hasn't run out of ideas yet; SOE are definitely piling on the publicity, but given the reaction to their Station Access Collection announcement, all this still won't be enough to rejuvenate their aging MMOs. Casual gamers or those new to MMOs might get suckered in briefly, but we're unlikely to see a huge rush of new players as a result of all these campaigns; if anything, the over-promotion will put people off.
Free Music Video Content for your iPod
It's always cool when bands release free music videos as promotional material. I remember last year when The Decemberists released the music video for 16 Military Wives via Bittorrent. Many bands now release promotional material in download-able formats. This leads me to my current point: the Texas-based band SOUND Team has released a music video as a preview to their upcoming full length album Work EP due out in March. What is so amazing about this music video that I must post about it on TUAW you ask? Well, they have released an iPod ready version. That, dear readers, is good marketing. Free music videos that are formatted to play on an iPod (and therefore in Quicktime as well) are always a good thing. Incidentally, my favorite site to grab free music videos is videos.antville.org. They may not be iPod ready, but there are a few ways to take care of that. [via iLounge]
PlanetSide plans free service
Sony Online Entertainment's MMOFPS title, PlanetSide, will soon feature a free-to-play service alongside its existing subscription tiers. Currently scheduled for Valentine's Day, the "Fodder Program" will allow free players full access to the game, but impose limits on their BattleRank and CommandRank, restricting their arsenal.Also planned to kick off at the same time is an improved training system for new players, meaning that newbies should be able to jump into battle within a few minutes. SOE may be anticipating competition from the upcoming MMOFPS Huxley, or trying to attract new players in hopes of revitalising the game--but a free service should benefit anyone wishing to try out a new genre of MMO.[via Eurogamer]
Free MacUpdate for all of 2006
MacUpdate.com is offering a free membership to anyone who registers in the month of January. The membership will last through the entire year. That's a nice New Year's gift.
Macjams releases 4th set of free loops
MacJams.com, the music community for amateur and aspiring musicians, has released the 4th batch of free loops in their 5-week set. I posted this over on DownloadSquad, but I thought it was too cool to not mention here on TUAW. The loops are in Apple Loops format for the likes of GarageBand and (I think) Final Cut/Soundtrack. I've been too busy with a new semester to crack them open, but apparently they're just regular AIFF files any audio editing program should be able to use. In fact, one DLS reader was using in Sony's ACID Express on *shudder* Windows. I've also heard the loops touch on a range of sounds like ambient, hip-hop and jazz, so they sound pretty handy. Go check the series out, especially since you have no excuse not to - they're free! They're also licensed for non-commercial use, and their site has more information on all that legalese. Enjoy!
Opera Still Offering Free Registration Codes
Yesterday we reported Opera was throwing a 10th anniversary party and offering free registrations for one day only. Well, it seems like the offer is still running today. I saw the story show up in MacNN's feed this morning and thought "What? That was yesterday..." and just figured they were late to the party. But sure enough: I went over to Opera's party page where the offer appeared and it's still available. I have no idea if this is a fluke or possibly a strategy to gain some marketshare, (I wonder if it's even working) but as of this writing you can still get a copy of the $39 Opera browser for free.[Update: Looks like the free offer has finally ended. The page has now reverted to mentioning their affiliat program through which you can still obtain a free copy - as long as you place an Opera button somewhere on your site and grab 250 unique clicks. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.]
Fill Your iPod with Free Tunes
Sick of the iTMS and DRM? Why not check out Common Tunes.
