I was delighted this week to receive $25 from a guy for my GB-PVR companion utility Slimm GB-PVR. He had suggested a feature (one that hadn't even crossed my mind) and I had implemented it (I called it Maintenance Mode) over the course of a few days.
Being chronically ill and incapable of regular employment, I try to take advantage of the short times of relative capability I have (sometimes a few minutes in the space of a couple of weeks) to do a bit of programming. Therefore, it is with even greater joy than most that I gratefully received this money.
I decided to use the money to subscribe to the HD material, specifically HD and high-res Video Reviews, on IGN.com. Their Insider channel also has other exclusive content that I was interested in such as comprehensive game guides. Subscribing per annum sees a charge of just under $24 (they don't list a tax charge and advertise it at $19.95) which, as someone living in the United Kingdom, works out at about £1 a month.
The IGN Insider subscription came with 400 HitPoints. Today I decided to take a look see at what these HitPoints are and they are a reward scheme. The HitPoints home page prominently featured a downloadable PDF of Girls of Gaming Issue 03 w/ Bonus Mature Content for 350 HitPoints so I wasn't too hopeful at finding anything worth buying for my 400 HitPoints.
However, my eye caught the phrase CRC 2005 on the right-hand side of the page. CRC 2005 is a racing game that I have on my wish list of purchases when I can afford it. I'm a racing game super-freak and have this mildly obsessive-compulsive thing where I must own or play every racing game ever made for any of the gaming systems I own or have owned. I clicked the link out of curiosity to see just how many HitPoints I'd need to purchase the game, remember, a PDF magazine was 350. Imagine my joy then at finding the complete downloadable game is exactly 400 HitPoints.
This kind of bonus just brings joy to consumers and makes their experience and memory of a company better. What are the chances that I'll renew my IGN Insider subscription next year, I wonder? Higher, definitely higher.
No comments:
Post a Comment