Joystiq

Twin Galaxies accepting record score submissions, now at a cost

Mike Schramm — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 03:30:00 EST

Legendary arcade scoring organization Twin Galaxies had to take a break from tracking scores for about six months as the company went through a transition last year, but as of last week it's back in business and ready for score submissions.

There is one catch, however. The company charge to report your scores: $25 for one submission, $60 for three submissions, or $75 for five submissions. Each score submission requires video proof - you may include more than one score in the video - but each video can only cover one game. If you want to submit both Donkey Kong and Rampage scores, for example, you'll need to pay twice.

The new ownership says the old database was "damaged yet not completely irretrievable," and the fees will go towards smoothing out the verification process and evolving the website "beyond its status as the premier competitive scoring service, and into an interactive gaming platform."

So, think you can do better than Hank Chien?

Twin Galaxies accepting record score submissions, now at a cost originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 24 Apr 2013 03:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nintendo ID requires credit card verification for minors

Mike Suszek — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 18:00:00 EST

Parents looking to create additional Nintendo ID accounts for their children are required to pay a one-time $0.50 fee via credit card to provide consent for minors to access Nintendo Network.

Nintendo's confirmation email notes that Wii U owners can use a "Parental Control PIN" to create additional Nintendo Network IDs without any added charges. Credit card information used for the transaction doesn't appear to be stored on the system.

Nintendo ID requires credit card verification for minors originally appeared on Joystiq on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision will 'never' charge for Call of Duty multiplayer, Hirshberg says

David Hinkle — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:00:00 EST

"Are we going to be charging for multiplayer? The answer is no," Activision's Eric Hirshberg, CEO of the Publishing division, told IndustryGamers in what we could only hope was a Stuart Smalley staring-in-the-mirror moment. "The experience you have out of the box, connecting with the online community to play Call of Duty is absolutely integral to the experience, and we'll never charge for that. It's not going to be something we'll attempt to monetize; it's part of the package."

As if his point wasn't clear, Hirshberg further insisted that he could say "unequivocally" that Activision will "never, ever charge for the multiplayer." Earlier this month, statements from both Hirshberg and CFO Thomas Tippl hinted at vague plans to better monetize the franchise next year with more digital content, which in turn renewed speculation about the long-considered Call of Duty subscription model.

Activision will 'never' charge for Call of Duty multiplayer, Hirshberg says originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 24 Nov 2010 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ECA members cry foul over auto-renewal cancellation hassles [update: Halpin responds]

Griffin McElroy — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST

In an attempt to bolster its ranks with thrifty members of the gaming community, the Entertainment Consumers Association recently partnered with a few online retailers to offer its members some nice deals on video games, including a pretty sweet discount on purchases from Amazon. To accompany these offers, the ECA had its own spectacular deal: One free year of membership, which would normally cost $19.99. All applicants had to do was provide their credit card information, sign up and enjoy the discounts that were being passed along to ECA members.

Sadly, this is where the idyllic tale begins to go south. Shortly after the ECA began offering the free year of membership, the Amazon offer mysteriously disappeared. This drew the ire of the group's new members, but would be quickly forgotten when the option to cancel the auto-renewal of the membership fee, through the ECA's website, also vanished without a trace. An ECA forum moderator explained the option only appeared "for some browsers, but it wasn't intended to be there, wasn't a working option and was removed as soon as we became aware."

Now, users who were drawn in by these discounts can only cancel their memberships (and subsequent annual $20 fees) by sending a letter directly to the ECA's accounting department (the address is posted after the jump). What's worse, those who canceled their auto-renewal plans with the temporarily available online option could still be locked into the annual fee, if the moderator's claim that it "wasn't a working option" is accurate. We've contacted the ECA to find out if anything is being done to inform these honorable, due-paying members that they're still, you know, due-paying members.

Update: ECA president Hal Halpin issued a statement in response to the complaints, the full transcript for which can be found after the jump. He explains that the Amazon deal was taken down due to an exploit the ECA's new members found within the offer. He adds that simultaneously, the ECA updated its site as part of a "long planned for Content Management System upgrade," at which point they found a non-functioning feature which "looked to give some members the option to opt-out of the association." The option, which Halpin claims was never functional, was quickly removed.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Continue reading ECA members cry foul over auto-renewal cancellation hassles [update: Halpin responds]

ECA members cry foul over auto-renewal cancellation hassles [update: Halpin responds] originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 02 Dec 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony cuts bandwidth fees, publisher penalties from PSP Minis service

Andrew Yoon — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST

For its PSP Minis service, Sony is doing away with many of the fees associated with other digital networks to attract the attention of developers. As discovered by GamerBytes, the PlayStation Network's bandwidth fee -- for which publishers are charged per gigabyte of data transferred over PSN -- is revoked for the PSP Minis service. It's a somewhat odd decision, considering each Minis game will be limited to under 100MB. Certainly, a bandwidth charge would be one of the smallest fees a PSP Minis developer would have faced.

The PSP Minis program also does away with many of the practices common to WiiWare and Xbox Live. Unlike WiiWare, there is no minimum sales quota for developers to reach before they get paid. Additionally, PSP Minis publishers are allowed to choose their own release dates, instead of joining the growing queue of games awaiting release on both the PlayStation Store and Xbox Live Arcade.

It's clear that Sony is taking measures to make the Minis service appear lucrative to third-party developers, especially indie studios. The question is: Will PSP gamers buy into this new platform, or will Minis be a retread of the floundering Xbox Live Indie Games project?

Sony cuts bandwidth fees, publisher penalties from PSP Minis service originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ESA fees increased 1,700% during Min-E3 years, should lower now

Alexander Sliwinski — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:07:00 EST

The Entertainment Software Association increased its membership fees by 1,700% during the last two years of downsized E3s (2007-2008), apparently to compensate for revenue that the old E3 used to bring in. Gamespot discovered the shocking percentage while digging through the lobbying group's annual accounting to the IRS. The massive fee increase may have a little something to do with why Activision, LucasArts and others decided to leave the organization.

We contacted the ESA to find out if this year's rebirth of the "classic" E3 format would reduce membership fees. CEO Michael Gallagher wrote us: "The positive restructuring of the E3 Expo allowed us to revisit the ESA's dues structure. It is our hope that this new model will make the ESA an attractive and accessible option for small and mid-sized publishers so we can more fully represent our industry's diversity." So, we'll take that as a "yes." Now we wait to see if the reduction brings back the companies that left and, just possibly, welcomes new publishers to the flock.

ESA fees increased 1,700% during Min-E3 years, should lower now originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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