Tag: promotion

Microsoft offers developers “promotional codes”

Microsoft campusIn a move to push its marketing to the grass roots, Microsoft has started offering developers promotional codes

Developers generate codes from the Dev Centre from section found in the Monetisation tab on the sidebar of the app page.

They can select an app or in-app purchase and the number of code they want to generate, and then click Order Codes. The codes are generated and then downloaded in the form of a .tsv file (tab-separate value file). The file has all the codes, expiration dates, and URLs to share the codes with customers.

The developer then provides customers, testers, and reviewers with the promotional code or URL that leads the customer to a code redemption page. If the developer wants to give the customer a code instead of the URL, he or she can inform the customer that he can redeem the code at microsoft.com/redeem.

Once the customer has redeemed the code from the promotional URL code or the microsoft.com/redeem page, the customer will see a link to take them to the app in the Windows Store. If the code is for an app, the customer can click install without getting charged; if the code is for an in-app purchase, the customer can download the app to use the code.

Developers can monitor code usage, unredeemed code quantity, and see exactly when the codes expire.

Vole is asking for people’s opinions about its cunning plan.

 

 

AMD extends Never Settle bundle to select APUs

AMD, SunnyvaleAMD’s Never Settle game bundles seem to have been quite successful in the past, so it’s hardly surprising that AMD has decided to extend the programme to select APUs. So far the Never Settle promotion was limited to discrete graphics cards.

According to a set of slides unearthed by German tech site hardwareluxx.de, AMD will start bundling Sim City with several APU SKUs later this month. Sim City is a rather interesting title for casual gamers and it doesn’t need discrete graphics to run properly, so it looks like a good choice. Sadly though, the Sim City launch has already been marred by a number of technical and DRM issues. However, everything will probably be sorted out before AMD’s new promotion takes off.

It appears that the programme will be limited to select A8 and A10 APUs. As AMD is expected to introduce a new series of desktop APUs based on the Richland core, it is safe to assume that the promotion will cover them, along with some Trinity chips.

In any case the buyers of eligible chips will get a free download code for Sim City, valued at $59.99. This sounds like more than a fair deal, as even the fastest AMD APUs tend to be quite cheap. A $59.99 gift as icing on the cake seems like a very clever way of adding even more value to these mid-range chips. Provided consumers like Sim City, of course.