Today on Headline
RePLAY: A 400,000 decrease in Star Wars:
The Old Republic’s subscription numbers, Electronic Arts’ “restructuring”
plan and Microsoft’s $99 Xbox 360 with Kinect deal is now official.
It looks like subscription
numbers for Star Wars: The Old Republic
started to decline much faster than anticipated: the MMO has dropped down to
1.3 million subscribers from 1.7 million, according to an Electronic Arts
earning statement.
While the earnings statement
didn’t detail any explanations for the drop, a conference call this afternoon revealed
that the decrease was due to “casual and trial players” rotating out of the
game.
|Source: EA
In the name of a “restructuring”
plan, EA is reducing its workforce by an undisclosed amount and taking a hit of
$40 million in costs, of which $23 million consists of severance and “other
employee-related costs.”
EA has reiterated this
afternoon that despite the layoffs that would result from restructuring, the
publisher anticipates an increase in its workforce from 9,200 employees to
9,700 by the end of its 2013 fiscal year.
Last month, EA notably denied a report by StartupGrind that alleged the publisher plans to layoff 500 to 1,000 employees.
|Source: EA
Microsoft is leading
the charge on rent-to-own consoles with their Xbox 360. At the cost of $99 and
a two-year contract for $14.99 a month, consumers get a 4GB Xbox 360 console, a
Kinect and two years of Xbox LIVE Gold.
Over the course of two
years the deal will cost a total of $458.76, whereas purchasing a $299 Kinect
bundle outright plus two years of Xbox LIVE Gold at $59.99 only costs $418.98.
Buyers should beware
of the early termination fee: $250 in months one through three, $240 in month
four, and $12 less every month after. A full refund is only applicable within
the first 30 days and even then the first month’s subscription fee is
nonrefundable.
The deal is only available
at a Microsoft Store.
|Source: The Verge
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