paid subscription
Latest
Spotify counters Apple with its own podcast subscription plan
Spotify will take on Apple with its own paid podcast subscription platform, but it won't take a cut for the first two years.
Elder Scrolls Online, free-to-play games still require Xbox Live Gold
One of Microsoft's big announcements today was the restructuring of Xbox Live Gold; the company will now allow Xbox 360 and Xbox One owners to use entertainment apps like Netflix and HBO Go without requiring a paid Xbox Live subscription. As Microsoft's Phil Spencer clarified to Joystiq today, the latest in a series of "Xbox One-80s" doesn't apply to free-to-play and subscription-based online games. "Right now we haven't changed the policy on MMOs and free-to-play games," Spencer said. While not getting into specifics, he noted that with some games there are "engineering constraints, policy constraints and partner constraints in each one of these scenarios," so the decision to keep games behind the Xbox Live paywall reportedly doesn't rest solely in Microsoft's hands. Bethesda's latest MMORPG, The Elder Scrolls Online, will still require a Gold subscription on top of the developer's own monthly fees. For the time being, at least; Microsoft has "about six months" to consider changing its policies, as the game was recently delayed for consoles. The developer was in talks with Microsoft back in August to cut the extra fees for The Elder Scrolls Online, which won't be enforced by Sony via PlayStation Plus for PS4.
It's WoW's birthday and you may be getting the gift
As we mentioned yesterday, it was World of Warcraft's 3rd anniversary of their North American launch. In celebration of the birth of the 800-pound gorilla of MMOs, Blizzard wants to give you free loots.The first week it's $100 J!nx gift certificates. In the second week it's World of Warcraft action figures. And for the last week they are handing out an Apple iPod Touch and 2-year WoW subscriptions to five lucky winners.There are, of course, eligibility requirements, but the basics are that if you have an account in good standing and are 18 or over then you are automatically entered in for a random drawing every day. Check out their official rule page for all the details.When it comes to contests, nothing beats just showing up to qualify. And who wouldn't want to have their subscription paid for?
