September 30, 2018 Play Buddy Quarterly Newsletter

[Stinkerbell]

(Feel free to delete this or move this if it's in the wrong place)

As of September 30, 2018 here's what's new and happening at Play Buddy:

Quarterly greetings, Play Buddians! Oh how the time flies. Seems like summer just began and now it seems as though the holidays are already upon us (I know I'm not the only one already seeing Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations in the stores)!

Okay, let's get down to business. Get comfy because this newsletter is a doozie!

Summer may be synonymous with vacation, but the work wheels never completely stop turning, do they? Mark and I hope you enjoyed your summer and partook of all the fun it had to offer. We made sure to get out and enjoy the season too, when work permitted. Speaking of which...

Boy howdy, have there been a lot of Pogo changes these past few months, or what? There's been a steady stream of game conversions to HD and HTML5.  Updating the associated Buddies continues to be our priority - not a moment to waste with all those new ranks and badges! While playing these new games, we've noticed - on our end and yours - performance and compatibility issues on older operating systems and browsers. For example: 

* A new game won't load at all on Vista or Windows 7 or
* A game will load in one browser, but not another or
* On Windows 8 and 10 it may load very laggy and almost unplayable in one browser, but plays fine in another AND the "right" browser for one game is the worst for another.
* A game loads but appears distorted so the Buddy cannot see/play it.

Games are supposed to be fun and shouldn't be so difficult to play! If we were associated with Pogo and had access to their game code, maybe we could help them fix these game bugs and streamline things. Unfortunately that's not the case. What we can control is our side of things: Buddies.

So, in the interest of improving overall experience and ease of use for the majority, we needed to make the difficult decision of implementing a couple of changes that initially won't be ideal for some users, but will ultimately benefit us all in the long run.

That means two changes will become effective January 1, 2019:

1. PRICE: Our $9.99 price will be changed to $10.99.

2. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: Windows 10 and the Edge and Chrome browser will be our new system requirements. We will no longer support older operating systems (Windows Vista, 7, or 8) or browsers (Firefox, IE, Opera, etc). Even so, the Buddies will continue to function among most of these, as they currently do.

These changes will take some getting used to BUT they are necessary for us to continue providing Buddies. It means we can remain relevant and compatible with the technological advancements being made by the game sites, Windows, and internet browsers.

We realize change isn't easy and we sincerely THANK YOU for your understanding and your continued support! For those who deem these changes are too much to bear, we respect your decision; please contact us if you require any assistance with your subscription, or if you have any questions that aren't answered below.

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FAQ
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Will the benefits remain the same?
Yes. You will continue to have access to ALL Buddies, for ALL game sites with unlimited updates and automatic access to any new Buddies, including complimentary installation on TWO personal devices.

Will I be able to use the same registration information?
Yes.

Do I need to sign up again?
No. The price change will begin automatically on your 2019 renewal date.

How do I manage my subscription?
To update billing information, renew, cancel or view your subscription information, simply click the blue link under "Purchase Support" in your most recent order confirmation email or follow these video instructions.

Newest Buddies

No official new games, but HD/HTML5 game re-makes (Double Deuce Poker, Word Whomp, and Poppit!) continued and associated Buddies released.

Coming Soonish

As you by now are familiar with, Pogo announced that the new Java 10 release will render their Java games inoperable. They have begun converting games to HD/HTML5; we will continue to update associated Buddies accordingly. 

Various HD/HTML5 Buddies - Pogo (new)
Improve existing Buddies - All Gamesites (updates)
(Bug fixes, improvements, and customer requests) 

And, as always, we love to hear your feedback. Ta-ta until next quarter!

[Squid]

Thanks for the info!

[Mayhem]

Thanks for the posting this! 

[catfancie]

Thanks for the info. 

[KrAzY]

I understand change #2 but don't see how that has anything to do with #1 being a price hike? if anything it should be easier for them to develop updates now without worrying about outdated windows and browsers so why the increase in cost to us? Not that i am asking Tinkerbell this question because she isn't the dev but i am just curious as to opinions on the change. It is prices like this that made me crack all the BW autos before. 9.99 is bad enough but i guess the price is only as high as what some one is willing to pay.

[LittleFawn]

I might have to cancel myself. Really cannot afford this along with other bills which are more important. I can understand the need to increase in price just will no longer be able to afford it.

[tvc]

I pay the yearly cost for the buddies anyone know how much the yearly cost will be? Thank you

[Mayhem]

$10.99 is the new yearly cost for the buddies (they are currently $9.99).

[Squid]

$9.99 monthly at this time.
Beginning 1/2019, the monthly fee will be $10.99, making it an annual expenditure of $131.88

[tvc]

well last year I paid 165.24 CAD so I dinged by the exchange rate too