Qore is Out, Shady Things Afoot

So, Sony's new interactive video magazine thing, Qore, went up last night and, as I had mentioned on Tuesday, I was debating purchasing an annual subscription. I held off because I kept hearing varying stories on whether you actually got Calling All Cars for free, or if you had to pay $2.99 for it, or if there was any promotion at all. No official site mentioned it at all.

Turns out you do get the game for free with an annual subscription, but in the meantime I learned something else: The big exclusive they are touting with this first issue is that you get access to the SOCOM: Confrontation public beta when it begins. Only, that isn't strictly true. You get access to the beta 2 weeks after it begins.

So who gets to play those first 2 weeks? People who pre-order the game. So if you want access to the Beta you can either pay $2.99 for Qore and get in 2 weeks late, or you can pre-order the game for FREE (because you can either cancel your pre-order or the $5 will go towards your purchase) and get in at the start. What's wrong with this picture? If Beta access was invitation only this wouldn't be so bad, but when anyone can get into the Beta not only for free, but 2 weeks earlier, why would you pay $3? You wouldn't, which is why it's pretty crappy that Qore is being promoted this way. Anyone who shelled out the $3 for the beta just got, as they say, hosed.

I thought Qore sounded fairly cool in and of itself, but this doesn't instill much confidence in me as far as future "exclusives".

Sony Launching Interactive Video Mag on PSN

Starting Thursday, PS3 owners will have access to a new PSN service called Qore. What is Qore? Let me allow Veronica Belmont to explain:

From Crackle: Qore preview

So basically, it's the online equivalent of the now defunct Official PlayStation Magazine, complete with exclusive demos.

Yes, that's right, there will be demos for certain games that will only be made available through Qore, which I'm sure is not going to go over well in some quarters.

The first "issue" will be available sometime on Thursday for $2.99 and will give you access to the SOCOM: Confrontation Beta, whenever that begins. There is also an option to subscribe for a year (13 installments) at $24.99, which will also net you a copy of the PSN game Calling All Cars for a limited time.

I'm debating signing up; at worst I get Calling All Cars out of it (which I've always wanted to try anyway) and I just don't resubscribe next year. I also like that Veronica Belmont hosts the show as she's more than just a pretty face; she actually knows what she's talking about, which is more than you can say for anyone hosting a show on G4.

[via Kotaku]