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You probably bought 'Call of Duty' and 'Destiny'
It's true: you probably bought Call of Duty and/or Destiny this year. If you play games or buy presents for someone who does, there's a strong possibility that you paid for one or both of these two blockbusters this year. They're number one (Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare) and number two (Destiny) on this year's top sales list, and they're both from one publisher: Activision. Do you know how many games Activision publishes? Three games, more or less: Call of Duty, Destiny and Skylanders. There's a strong possibility you've heard of that third game from your children, who won't stop hounding you for more and more $12 toys to use with their $60 game.
Microsoft opens its coffers to cryptocurrency Bitcoin
Alongside cash and credit, Microsoft will now also accept Bitcoin in exchange for digital content, including music, movies and games on its Xbox consoles and Windows devices. Bitcoin fans wanting to use their money on Microsoft's goods have a few caveats to keep in mind. First, you can't directly exchange Bitcoins for new games. You'll need to transfer the Bitcoins into your Microsoft account, and then use that money to purchase your content. Users can transfer up to $1,000 into their Microsoft account each day, but high rollers should be aware that there's a $5,000 maximum limit on each account. Once Bitcoins are transferred they can not be refunded. If your eyes just glazed over, Bitcoin is an open source, peer-to-peer currency backed by the security of a computer algorithm instead of the economic strength of a nation. As the Bitcoin design is available to the public its supporters argue that the currency offers more transparency and freedom from human machinations than traditional monetary systems, and is inherently less likely to encounter the sorts of problems that caused the 2008 financial crisis. Detractors point to events like the recent Mt. Gox scandal, in which a major Bitcoin exchange suddenly lost the equivalent of $470 million (most of which has never been recovered), as indicators that the cryptocurrency may not be as secure as advertised. [Image: Wikimedia/AntanaCoins]
Sound Off! What apps do you use to cash in on your car?
When you live in a crowded city, having a vehicle can sometimes feel more like a burden than a luxury. Finding parking, paying for insurance, dealing with the occasional fender bender – managing all of these things could drive even the most serene among us to the brink. But hey, it's 2014, so of course a handful of smart folks have come up with ways to make your car work for you instead: Lyft, Getaround and... what are we missing? Tell us in the Engadget forums! Or if you think it's better to ditch a car completely -- how would you go about selling it online? Sound off, people.
Smart wallet puts an end to lost cash and dead phones
So long as you still need physical ID cards and cash, you'll need something to carry them -- but that doesn't mean that you're stuck with a low-tech purse or wallet. StreetSmart is crowdfunding the SmartWallet, a money holder with both a Bluetooth-connected GPS locator and a 1,000mAh battery to charge your phone. It's not nearly as world-changing as the company's (rather hyperbolic) promo video suggests, but it's potentially handy if you tend to forget your cash or phone when you head out the door. Leave the wallet behind and you'll get a heads-up through an Android or iOS app that will help you find it, including directions within 50 to 150 feet; lose your phone and a button on the wallet will make your mobile device ring.
US Marshals will auction 50,000 Bitcoins seized from Silk Road
Want a virtual piece of law enforcement history? You're about to get your chance. The US Marshal's Service is holding an auction on December 4th that will sell off 50,000 Bitcoins from Ross Ulbricht (aka Dread Pirate Roberts), the alleged founder of the black market website Silk Road. You'll need plenty of real-world cash to get your hands on this digital currency, though. The feds are selling the digital currency in batches of 2,000 to 3,000 coins, and you'll need to place a minimum $100,000 deposit by December 1st to claim one of them. Not exactly an impulse purchase, then. At least this isn't the last auction you'll see -- police seized a total of 144,000 Bitcoins in the Silk Road bust last year, and roughly half of them have yet to go on sale. [Image credit: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer]
Snapchat messages disappear, but the money you can send in them doesn't
Heads up, millennials: Snapchat isn't just for sending evaporating selfies anymore. Thanks to a newly inked deal with Square (of all companies), you'll soon be able to fire off money at your Snapchat contacts after you've created a Snapcash account and connected a debit card. Really. It's that easy. Once that teensy bit of setup is done, the app will detect if you're sending a message to a friend with a dollar amount inside; when it does, the send button with sprout a dollar sign and you're ready to transfer those funds. The folks over at Re/code are reporting that the Android faithful in the United States will get the necessary app update some time today, with an iOS version to follow shortly.
Sales, income down in Capcom's Q2 financial report
Capcom's Q2 financial results remain gloomy, with net sales down by 51.3 percent and operating income down by 41.6 percent over the same period in 2013. This marks the second consecutive quarter in which the Street Fighter publisher posted declining sales. The culprit, Capcom believes, is a lack of any major releases during the period. Ultra Street Fighter 4, Dead Rising 3 and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy all "posted steady sales," but without a major new product Capcom has only these relatively dated games to rely on. Capcom's arcade division wasn't much help, either. Net arcade sales dropped by 11.7 percent "due to the decentralization of the entertainment industry, a lack of products that attract new customers" and a shrinking market for those arcades that still exist. Despite all of this, Capcom remains optimistic that it will reach its earlier projections of net sales totalling $740.3 million by the end of the 2014 fiscal year. [Image: Capcom]
Analysts get their Q4 Apple earnings estimates in line
Apple is scheduled to reveal its Q4 earnings today at 5PM EST, which means analysts far and wide are weighing in on what numbers they expect Tim Cook and company to reveal. The consensus seems to be quite positive, with all of Fortune's long list of professionals an independents agreeing that it's going to be a record-breaking day. Revenue estimates range from $41.80 billion on the high end to a low of $38.43 billion, which is just a technical way of saying that everyone knows Apple made a whole lot of money, and investors should be happy. Of course, Apple has a history of confusing Wall Street, and good news from the company is often met with a paradoxical drop in stock price, so don't be surprised to see AAPL experience a bit of a roller coaster this afternoon.
Make sense of expenses and spending habits with MonSense
If you want a money management app that's a step above basic, but not overly complicated, Monsense is a great choice. Available on all iOS devices, Monsense gives you a lot of room for customization, but also lays the groundwork for tracking expenses. You have the option to create multiple accounts, though you probably won't need that many. The term "accounts" can be a bit misleading, because Monsense does not connect directly with your bank account. Instead, these accounts refer to how you categorize your funds. You can have accounts for work, home, travel or anything else you'd like. Within each account, there are preexisting categories such as beverage, bills, food, fuel, groceries, home, etc... Click on a category and then add the corresponding transaction. This keeps things organized and helps you to track where you spend your money. To add an expense, tap the plus sign at the top of the home screen. Choose your account, your category, enter a name for your expense, the amount and you're done. Y For recurring expenses, select the weekly, monthly or yearly option and then key in the due date. Future expenses show up in the red pending bar at the top of the screen. Click on the bar to view all of your pending expenses. Swipe left to edit, delete or mark the expense as paid. To make sure that you don't forget to pay a bill, Monsense syncs with your calendar and notifies you when an item is due. The only comment I have regarding recurring expenses is that it would be nice if there was a daily option – especially for those of us with a predictable coffee habit. The best part about Monsense is how it tracks your spending habits. Click on "patterns" in the menu bar and you'll see a weekly, monthly or yearly pie chart showing you where you spend your money. View all of your transactions in one chart, or scroll through each category to see its specific percentage. Here's where things don't make a lot of sense: Monsense lets you export beautifully detailed charts and graphs to a pdf file (there is an Excel option, as well). However, you need to flip over to the export screen to view them. Only the pie chart is available in the patterns section. Really, all of the charts and graphs should be available in one place from which you can easily export the information. Another thing, unless you are using an iPad, you can't read anything but the pie chart. All of the other graphs are too small to decipher. There really should be a way to view these in-app without having to export them. Monsense is more of an expense app than a budget app, but you can enter your income, the same way that you would an expense, and then easily determine how much money you have left to spend. I like Monsense, but it does need a few improvements. Still, for US$0.99, it's simple approach to money management might be just what you need.
TUG cuts its staff in half to keep moving forward
There are certain announcements that never inspire confidence, like saying that you've had to remove half of the team working on a project. That's the announcement that TUG's developers recently dropped on the community. An investor that the team had been counting on provided terms that would have meant losing control of the project, so Nerd Kingdom chose to decline the funding. This might have been a great choice from a moral stance perspective, but it also meant that the team had to be pruned to keep the project financially viable. For fans, the immediate downside is that the game will be running a bit later with its Kickstarter rollouts than previously scheduled. The game is still humming along in development, though, and this reduction should be enough to keep the lights on. You can read the full update on the Kickstarter page, which also details a few potential unnamed spots of hope on the horizon.
World's first government-backed digital currency to launch in December
It doesn't yet have a name, but Ecuador's new government-backed virtual currency is coming. That's the thrust of a new report from the Associated Press, anyway -- the country's Central Bank is said to be gearing up for a launch sometime in December, though the juicy technical details and the mechanics of how citizens can get their metaphorical hands on these things are still shrouded in mystery. What does seem clear at this point is that Ecuador's current cash (in the form of US dollars) isn't going anywhere, and that people will be able to conduct transactions with each other from their mobile phones without big fees eating into them. If everything goes according to plan, this'd be the first time a national government has launched its own official digital currency, though that's not to say some cryptocurrency nuts haven't aimed to affect change on a national scale. Enthusiasts in the Czech Republic launched the CzechCrownCoin a few days ago in a bid to bolster online business in the country, and the Auroracoin folks made the virtual equivalent of $380 available to all the fine folks of Iceland... only to see its value tank over time.
Captain's Log: Star Trek Online's expansion and communication
So we finally know what the next expansion is going to be for Star Trek Online, and my speculation regarding the Xindi and points related turned out to be way off. Nope, we're heading into the Delta Quadrant, which is less interesting to me than the Gamma Quadrant, but I suspect the powers that be are exploring all the angles of existing content first. It's coming with a level cap increase, a new tier of ships, a bunch of new tricks, and apparently some bonus communication misses. Delta Rising is really on track to be a pretty divisive expansion anyway. It was inevitable, really; raising the level cap now was going to lead to problems no matter how it was handled. Unfortunately, Cryptic Studios hasn't done a great job communicating what's in the works for players, nor have the first few things that we've heard exactly countered some early suspicions. It was a minefield that's thus far been navigated largely with a push and a blindfold.
Square Cash lets you swap dollars via text message
Late last year, Square introduced a service called Cash that lets you send money to anyone in the US with just their email address. You could either do so with a regular ol' email app -- simply CC cash@square.com in an email to the recipient with the dollar amount in the subject line -- or you could download the Square Cash app to make the process easier. With the latest Cash app update, however, there's a special bonus feature if you decide to use the app to send money -- you'll be able to send money with their phone number as well.
Fudget uncomplicates money management
Fudget, currently free in the App Store and available for both the iPhone and the iPad running iOS 7.0 or later, is built for simplicity. This isn't an app that's loaded with features. It's streamlined and focused on taking the complications out of managing your money. To be blunt, I thought I would hate this app. I need visuals like charts and graphs showing me how and where I'm spending my money –- or I thought I needed them. After only a few minutes of playing around with Fudget, I started to question how much value there is in those charts. To me, Fudget's less-is-more approach is a Zen-like take on managing your money. You start off by creating an individual "fudget" (budget). There's no limit as to how many fudgets you can make or what you use them for. Creating monthly or weekly fudgets is the obvious choice, and daily budgets can help you tighten your wallet even further. There are no pre-populated expenses or expense categories. Everything is entirely up to you. If you have more important things to spend your money on than paying your bills, no problem. Swipe to the left to delete or star an entry. Starred entries will recur on all subsequent fudgets. This is important if you're tracking monthly budgets. Where Fudget really shines is that it lets you get creative with how you track your money. Make the most of the app by budgeting for specific tasks. Manage your money for a vacation or business trip. Allocate a fudget for business lunches or dinners. Keep track of back to school expenses or Christmas shopping. If you are like me and you're really into Halloween, it's probably a good idea to create a fudget for that too. I may have given away my top secret Halloween costume, but at least you can see that, despite its limited features, the uses for this app are endless. It's a bit weird to say that Fudget takes the stress out of managing your money, but that's exactly what it does. It doesn't yell at you when you spend too much money on movie tickets and it doesn't monitor your spending patterns in fancy charts and graphs. It's not that those charts don't have their place, but if you already know how to be responsible with your money on a general basis, you probably don't need them. However, if you do require a more robust budget app, try something like Pocket Expense. In a sea of complicated personal finance apps, Fudget's no-fuss approach to money management is a welcome change.
Simple rebuilds backend from scratch, releases new apps
Over the past several months my favorite online bank, Simple, has been working feverishly to update their back end. Today it released an updated app that compliments the under-the-hood changes made to its systems. Simple, if you don't know, is a banking services company that was founded with mobile in mind. Unlike many banking services that throw an app together for a large bank, knowing customers have few choices otherwise, Simple took the approach that good design and excellent features are important to many customers. After using the service for well over a year, I must agree. Users will immediately notice a design refresh, making Simple more in tune with iOS 7 and beyond. There's been a significant upgrade to Goals, where you can set financial goals. Simple makes it astonishingly easy to manage and track goals, and I'd say it is one of the best tools for this if your needs and goals are relatively straightforward. Other changes as per Simple's release notes: • We've totally redesigned and rebuilt Simple from the ground up, adding new features and improving functionality based on your feedback. • Send money to other Simple customers instantly and for free with Simple Instant. • Goals is all new. It's now easier to see your savings progress. Add memos to Goals to better organize your savings. Shortcuts make moving money between Goals even faster! • Get quick access to your most common contacts with Favorites. • Personalize your Simple experience by uploading your own avatar Simple isn't a bank, but it was acquired by BBVA earlier this year. I've been assured this will only make the company stronger, and it continues to operate essentially as it did before, but now with a multinational bank backing it. I've always been impressed with Simple's customer service, and even in light of a lot of bugs that popped up for users in the previous weeks (the CEO has apologized for these), I'd say Simple is a safe bet for handling your money and making your life, well, more simple. The app is free, but you'll need to ask for an account as they ramp up their customer base.
Shift's debit card lets you pay with both real and virtual money
Part of the challenge of Bitcoin and other virtual currencies has simply been the need to juggle different apps and cards to use every payment option at your disposal. Wouldn't it be nice if one card could handle everything? You might just get your wish. Shift Payments is testing a new debit card that can switch between real and virtual money on the spot, such as through an app; you could pay for morning coffee with Bitcoin and after-work groceries using real cash. Loyalty card support is in the works, too.
Apple isn't being parental enough, according to EU
Preventing unauthorized purchases on the App Store isn't difficult. Apple's system already requires separate authorization for App Store transactions and in-app purchases, provides a warning of the 15-minute purchase window when a paid app is bought, and iOS allows you to disable both in-app purchases and App Store transactions via its Restrictions settings. None of that is enough for European regulators, who are now shaming the company for not doing enough to keep kids from running up huge bills on their parents' credit cards. The European Commission released a statement claiming that "No concrete and immediate solutions have been made by Apple to date to address the concerns linked in particular to payment authorization." In the end, it's hard to argue that Apple is actually responsible for kids making massive purchases using the authorization provided by their parents. If a child -- whether they're too young to know the difference or an older teen who simply doesn't care -- can't be trusted with access to an adult's credit card, they shouldn't have the password or other authorization to use it on the App Store. It's as simple as that. Pointing the finger at Apple, which is providing ample tools to manage and restrict purchases, is just a way for those caught with huge credit card bills to pass the blame off on someone else.
Grid Autosport rep on controversial DLC: 'It sells'
In an unexpected show of honesty, Codemasters has defended the latest DLC release for Grid Autosport by pointing out that, despite the angry protests of the Internet masses, such additions earn good money. Yesterday saw the debut of the Grid Autosport "Boost Pack," a $3 DLC item that grants players a permanent 50 percent increase to experience points as well as additional cash. Fan reactions were largely negative, with many wondering why Codemasters would release an item that shortens the effective lifespan of its new racing sim. Ben Walke, the game's community manager, offers a candid response: "Regarding the boost pack we did similar with GRID 2 as a car unlock, we got a bit of flak from that but in all honesty and without any PR bull shit ... it sells," Walke wrote. "There is a silent subset of players that do like that sort of content but whether or not it's here to stay is something the industry is yet to work out." Walke then denied allegations that Codemasters had made Grid Autosport more of a grind than necessary to drive sales of the Boost Pack. "Under no circumstances did we make the game a grind on purpose (that much I can promise you), in the grand scheme of things it's still relatively easy to progress via single player and online it's not that difficult to earn money." This controversy comes only months after a similar uproar over the heavily DLC-laden Forza Motorsport 5. Whether you agree with Walke's point or not, he's right about this sort of thing becoming a trend in gaming. If you don't like it, we suggest you not purchase the DLC. [Image: Codemasters]
EVE Evolved: Making ISK from the Crius release
EVE Online's economy has been studied over the years for its resemblance to the real world, and it is often cited as an example of a hyper-capitalist society with no laws or regulation. But underneath the emergent interplay of supply and demand that has fueled everything from freighter businesses to virtual investment banks, EVE is ultimately a game. The biggest influence on the markets by far has always been CCP Games and the changes it deploys in expansions, which shake the universe up and force players to adapt to new circumstances. There's always money to be made from major gameplay changes, and accurately predicting how an expansion will impact on the market can put you on the head of a short-lived but very lucrative gold rush. Though EVE's updates now come in the form of ten smaller releases per year, the upcoming Crius release scheduled for July 22nd has practically a whole expansion's worth of changes to industry and research. That gives you just over two weeks to prepare for the change, train any skills you might need, and figure out how to cash in on EVE's industrial revolution. In this edition of EVE Evolved, I run down some tips for how to prepare for the upcoming industry revamp in Crius and make some ISK.
California makes it legal to pay with Bitcoin and other virtual currencies
If you've previously paid for goods with Bitcoin or other digital currency in California, you're technically a criminal -- the state has long had a law requiring US dollars, even if it hasn't been enforced. As of this weekend, though, you're officially in the clear. Governor Jerry Brown has signed a bill that legitimizes payments with Bitcoin, other forms of virtual money, community currencies and reward systems like coupons and points. As state assembly member Roger Dickinson explained when fighting for the measure, modern commerce has "expanded" beyond cash and credit; to him, it only makes sense that the law keeps up with the times.
