Realtime Worlds: APB subscription fees “won’t be normal”

July 17th, 2009 1 Comment   Posted in MMO, PC

Ever since Realtime Worlds announced All Points Bulletin it has been a highly sought after game with it’s GTA-like gameplay and MMO genre.

Well the developer has again stepped forward to speak of the game and this time about the subscription fees, a topic that has been under discussion for some time. David Jones of Realtime Worlds was quoted to have said the following:

“Basically, you have to buy the client. It’s a traditional game that you buy…We’re not going the normal ‘you have to subscribe to play the game every month’ route. What we haven’t said is which route we are going, and in some respects we’re still looking.”

Let’s hope that they really come up with something unique if you told World of Warcraft players they would have to pay an additional $15 a month to play APB, I don’t think they would be down.

via Kotaku

Last.fm free for Xbox Live Gold members, not so much for Silver

July 1st, 2009 No Comments   Posted in Music, Online, Xbox 360

Back at E3 Microsoft announced thtat they would be bringing services like Last.fm, Facebook and Twitter to Xbox Live but we haven’t heard many details since.

Well, Facebook and Twitter have been put on the back burner for a moment while Last.fm details begin to flow. It seems that a Xbox Live manager by the name of Christina DeRosa recently said that Silver Xbox Live members will in fact be able to access Last.fm, but not like Gold members. The service will be completely free for Gold members while Silver members will only be given a trial that allows for 3 hours of use per month.

Finally, there will also be a subscription to Last.fm that will allow for completely ad-free music, but who wants to pay for that, right?

Read (Joystiq)

Infinity Ward Says No To MW2 Subscriptions

June 18th, 2009 3 Comments   Posted in Action, FPS, News, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360

A survey hinted to fans of the Call of Duty series that the upcoming sequel to the hugely successful Modern Warfare might feature a paid subscription plan similar to what is already in place for most MMOs. Infinity Ward has put a kaibosh on those rumors, at least when it comes to Modern Warfare 2.

A post on their official forum said ”multiplayer will always be equal and free for everyone as always.”. The survey had come supposedly from Activision and highlighted the benefits of subscription plans. Infinity ward made sure people knew that this was only coming from Activision and had nothing to do with their games. I’m guessing that Infinity Ward knows many of us are only occasional gamers who wouldn’t be terribly happy with paying to play a game they only occasionally have time to sit down at.

There certainly is some room for additional revenue generation when it comes to gaming, but the existing avenue of downloadable map packs and character models is likely the better approach, since the gamers who play more often are generally younger and have less disposable income while the older ones have the cash to put into it but not the time to make a subscription plan worthwhile.