Subscriptions Archives - Desk Chair Analysts

Just figured I’d let you know that I (and by extension the rest of the Tech Talk Thursday crew) have been nominated for a BIPOC Streamer Award in the Chatterbox category!

Please come show your support over at https://buff.ly/4bvHIyN

The post Tech Talk Thursdays Episode #117 (06/06/2024) appeared first on Desk Chair Analysts.

Rockstar increased the price of GTA+

MajorLinux — Mon, 22 Apr 2024 15:35:36 +0000

We now live in the age of subscriptions. At one point, we used to happily pay for the thing we want and move on about our lives. But then shareholders became very unhappy with this deal when monetary growth became the only thing on their minds. Some companies handled it poorly. But, I’m hesitant to say that Rockstar might have done right by GTA fans. After all, it is still a subscription.

GTA+, a subscription service introduced March 2022, has just received its first price increase. Plans will be rising to $8/month after staying at $6 for over two years. These prices are already being reflected in the Xbox and PlayStation stores.

For those who may not be familiar with the GTA+, it has a rotating list of games that are available to subscribers along with a ton of perks for GTA Online. Members can enjoy playing Red Dead Redemption, GTA: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition, GTA: Chinatown Wars, and GTA Liberty City Stories. Bully and L.A. Noire will be a part of the package later in the year.

There is some speculation as to what this service will become when GTA VI hits store shelves next year. Nothing has been announced from either Rockstar or its parent company, Take-Two.

But, with the relatively low cost and the amount of benefits that subscribers are getting, especially if they’re playing GTA Online, GTA+ has been one of the lease offensive subscriptions I’ve seen to date.

Source: GameSpot

The post Rockstar increased the price of GTA+ appeared first on Desk Chair Analysts.

Tech Talk Thursdays Episode #113 (04/11/2024)

MajorLinux — Fri, 12 Apr 2024 16:53:46 +0000

https://youtu.be/liKh-dqLqFw

Tech

Gaming

Please check out the shows live on Twitch, Thursday at 8:00pm ET!

If there are any topics you’d like to see covered, email us at ttt@majorshouse.com or join the MajorsHouse Discord server!

You can follow us at:
@MajorLinux
@SynxiecBeta
@kevikevshow

Sub to the audio podcast here

The post Tech Talk Thursdays Episode #113 (04/11/2024) appeared first on Desk Chair Analysts.

EA Play is getting a bit more expensive

MajorLinux — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 22:04:27 +0000

If you are one of the tens of people who are actually paying for EA Play, I have some bad news for you.

EA has announced that it will be increasing its subscription prices on both EA Play and Play Pro next month. First noticed by GamesIndustry.biz, emails went out to subscribers detailing the new prices. The changes go into effect on May 10.

If you are on the base tier of EA Play, your costs will go up $1/month, from $5 to $6. If you pay yearly, it went up from $30 to $40 a year. On this tier, you get to access pre-release trials of new titles along with a collection of older titles. Also, it bares mentioning that this tier is also included with PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate (not Xbox Game Pass).

If you chose the Pro tier, you’ll be paying $17/month or $120/year. This tier grants you access to premium editions of some of the newly released games before launch along with collection from the base tier.

GI.Biz pointed out that the changes in prices were attributed to reflect currency value and market value.

Honestly, I don’t know anybody who’s actually subscribed to EA Play outside of those of us who use Game Pass.

Do you sub to EA Play? Please let me know if you do.

Source: GameSpot

The post EA Play is getting a bit more expensive appeared first on Desk Chair Analysts.

Twitch is increasing sub prices in select countries next month

MajorLinux — Wed, 21 Feb 2024 06:41:42 +0000

I know this isn’t going to be the most popular opinion. Unless there is some cataclysmic shift, Amazon and Twitch are all we got. Sure there’s Azure, YouTube, Walmart, GCP, and a number of open source and community options, but sometimes we have to face facts. In today’s episode of “Our Corporate Overlords Ruin Everything”, Twitch, a company trying to become profitable, will be increasing sub prices in four countries.

After axing nearly 500 staff, Daddy Bezos doesn’t think Twitch is bringing in enough. So, in the UK, Canada, Australia, and Turkey, the cost of the sub is getting a hike.

In the UK, Canada, and Australia, those viewers will see a £1/$1 increase on base subscriptions on March 28. Tiers 2 and 3 will be unaffected.

However, in Turkey, all three tiers will be affected. A Tier 1 sub will go from 9.90 lira ($0.32) to 43.90 lira ($1.42). Apparently, the Turkish lira value has dropped significantly over the past 15 years.

The price changes will only take place on the web with mobile app changes being applied in the months to come. Also, other countries will likely see an increase in the future.

Twitch states that it’s “updating prices in several countries to help stramer revenue keep pace with rising costs and reflect local currency fluctuations.”

Yeah, I ain’t subbing to that excuse.

Source: Engadget

The post Twitch is increasing sub prices in select countries next month appeared first on Desk Chair Analysts.

Netflix to remove cheapest ad-free plan to make your wallet lighter

MajorLinux — Wed, 24 Jan 2024 05:54:33 +0000

When I think about Netflix and all these other streaming services, a song comes to mind…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP-7GNoDJ5c

Now, that the singing is done, on with the article.

Netflix wants more money as usual

Netflix reported its earnings today and it included a nasty surprise for a couple of countries. It announced that the company will be retiring their $11.99 plan starting in Canada in the UK. For those not in the know, that is Netflix’s cheapest ad-free plan. It is planning to axe the plan in the second quarter.

Once the change is made, customers have a choice to go up to the $15.49 plan to continue ad-free viewing or go down to the $6.99 plan which has ads.

In Q4‘23, like the quarter before, our ads membership increased by nearly 70% quarter over quarter, supported by improvements in our offering (e.g., downloads) and the phasing out of our Basic plan for new and rejoining members in our ads markets. The ads plan now accounts for 40% of all Netflix sign-ups in our ads markets and we’re looking to retire our Basic plan in some of our ads countries, starting with Canada and the UK in Q2 and taking it from there.“
Excerpt from Netflix earnings report

Netflix says this is because of all the new features it’s decided to dip its toes into. That includes 4K streams and gaming. Netflix has already been thinking about adding ads and microtransactions to its gaming lineup. But they aren’t stopping there. Executives wrote, “As we invest in and improve Netflix, we’ll occasionally ask our members to pay a little extra to reflect those improvements.”

To add more fuel to this dumpster fire, Netflix announced that it is brining WWE Monday Night Raw to the service with a 10-year deal. This cost the company $5 billion. So, that’s an added expense.

As someone who hasn’t subscribed to Netflix in a while, I don’t understand why they are adding services nobody truly asked for. Unfortunately, as bad as it has gotten, the company does offer things that bring people in. Its Games business is doing well. The live action Avatar: The Last Airbender (not Shyamalan’s version) is releasing soon. And I want to see that animated Scott Pilgrim.

Also, while I don’t care for One Piece, something about it is resonating with me.

Maybe it’s the call of the sea…

Source: The Verge

The post Netflix to remove cheapest ad-free plan to make your wallet lighter appeared first on Desk Chair Analysts.

Ubisoft thinks we need to be “comfortable” not owning our games

MajorLinux — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 17:02:16 +0000

I am a privileged person. I’m not ashamed to admit that. I know that I have it better than other people around me. It’s why I choose to speak up when the status quo tends to shift away from helping everyone and actively starts hurting people. And while something as silly as subscription services exist, the business practices behind them ultimately end up hurting people. And it sounds like Ubisoft wants to be okay with that.

Tuesday, Ubisoft updated its subscription model for Ubisoft+. Ubisoft+ allows you to access titles that they make at any time for a monthly fee. This is similar to Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus. There are now two different tears to choose from. With Premium ($17.99/month), subscribers will have access to all new releases and some additional perks. With the new Classics ($7.99/month), you will only have access to a selection of Ubisoft’s back catalog and live games.

That being said, Ubisoft’s director of subscription, Philippe Tremblay, told GameIndustry.biz there is “tremendous opportunity for growth” when it comes to subscription models. Its just one thing stopping it, consumer thoughts on the matter.

One of the things we saw is that gamers are used to, a little bit like DVD, having and owning their games. That’s the consumer shift that needs to happen.

They got comfortable not owning their CD collection or DVD collection. That’s a transformation that’s been a bit slower to happen [in games]. As gamers grow comfortable in that aspect… you don’t lose your progress. If you resume your game at another time, your progress file is still there. That’s not been deleted. You don’t lose what you’ve built in the game or your engagement with the game. So it’s about feeling comfortable with not owning your game.”
Ubisoft director of subscription Philippe Tremblay

I love how it seems to think gamers don’t understand how the technology works. For one, we know you can’t store data on a optical disk on consoles because the drives in our console don’t allow for it. We’ve called for cloud saves so we can go to a friend’s house and load our save there. I’m just speaking for me here, but what I want is to be able to access a game after its removed from the internet. I would like for game preservationists to be able to have something to share with future generations. Also, if I pay money, I should be able to own it.

Tremblay went on to say: “I still have two boxes of DVDs. I definitely understand the gamers perspective with that. But as people embrace that model, they will see that these games will exist, the service will continue, and you’ll be able to access them when you feel like. That’s reassuring.”

In this case, it looks like he’s trying to compare Ubisoft+ and others like it to Netflix and its ilk. There are a lot of people who ~~are~~ were glad that Netflix existed. You can watch your favorite movie and not worry about clutter in your home. It was always there. Until it wasn’t. When everyone else came through with similar services, movies and shows disappeared or went somewhere else. Now we have apps that tell us where a show is and how much those subs cost. We have to pay the cost of those subs to get that content back. It’s easier now to just buy the movies and TV box sets. Or, at the very least, buy them from Amazon, Apple, or Google and hope they don’t get taken away like PlayStation almost did.

Like I said, I am a privileged person. I have access to more storage than a small server farm at times. I have faster internet than most Americans have access to. When I could, I could afford to have all the subscriptions, both movie and gaming. I had no issue with keeping access to them. But not everyone has that luxury. It’s why I argue against the Xbox Series S. I use Xbox Game Pass, but at least Microsoft isn’t saying the quiet part out loud. They at least still want to push software sales.

But to try and convince people that they shouldn’t want to own anything anymore is just sick.

Source: Eurogamer

The post Ubisoft thinks we need to be “comfortable” not owning our games appeared first on Desk Chair Analysts.

Amazon to bring ads to Prime Video next month

MajorLinux — Wed, 27 Dec 2023 18:46:34 +0000

If we remove the banger year for gaming releases from the equation, 2023 has been an incredibly shitty year. From tech and gaming layoffs to studios forcing writers and actors to strike. A genocide in Palestine which further opened eyes to imperial forces exploiting other countries. It’s not been a great year. But we’re not going to worry about those today because corporations think they aren’t getting enough money trough streaming. And the latest to back that trend is, you guessed it, Amazon.

Some time ago, Amazon had announced that they were going to be placing ads in the movies and shows they stream through Prime Video. You know, that thing you pay for with your Amazon Prime subscription to avoid advertisements when watching content. I swear, if I didn’t know any better, they got us out here literally paying for cable TV.

Well, the world’s largest online retailer has now given us the date of their new enshitification platform. It will roll this out on January 29th.

This will allow us to continue investing in compelling content and keep increasing that investment over a long period of time.

We aim to have meaningfully fewer ads than linear TV and other streaming TV providers. No action is required from you, and there is no change to the current price of your Prime membership.”
Amazon statement to customers

If you want to avoid the ads, all Amazon asks is that you pay them $2.99/month to keep them away. This will be on top of the $14.99/month ($139 annually) for Amazon Prime. You can subscribe to Prime Video separately for just $8.99/month.

I still don’t get why all of these streaming services are making these moves except for lining their pockets and appeasing shareholders. Technically, the writing was on the wall when every media company under the sun started their own streaming networks. At a certain point, it was all going downhill.

You still hate to see it, though.

Source: The Verge

The post Amazon to bring ads to Prime Video next month appeared first on Desk Chair Analysts.