Sony brings discounted Music Unlimited subscription cards to GameStop

By Ryan Fleming Published April 2, 2014

Sony Entertainment Network is partnering with GameStop to offer its Music Unlimited subscription at a slight discount on the standard monthly fee. Customers can now purchase gift cards, which allow access to the streaming music service for three months, six months, or 12 months, rather than paying a monthly fee, which is the only other method currently available.

The service is available on both Sony and non-Sony devices, but it is also the only music service currently available on the PlayStation 4. It is integrated into the console in a way that allows you to play music from the service in the background while you’re in a game, or to simply use it as a music app. Once the service is activated, it can then be used on several connected devices, including Android smartphones and tablets.

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The cards will be available for purchase in stores, or for delivery from the GameStop website, at the following price points:

Three months of premium access for $30
Six months of premium access for $55 (a 9-percent discount)
12 months of premium access for $100 (a 20-percent discount)

The cloud-based streaming service touts 25 million licensed songs. Sony is currently offering a 30-day free trial to check it out, after which it reverts to a $10 monthly fee for the “Premium” service, which allows for access on any compatible system – including Xperia devices, Blu-ray players, and more. A trimmed down “Access” plan offers the service for $5 per month, but limits the devices to Mac OS, Windows PC, PlayStation 3, and PS4. Sony is not currently offering an option to purchase multiple months at once beyond the gift cards.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…

Deals

Want to play Starfield? This GameStop trade-in deal offers an excellent swap

The Starfield title screen.

This content was produced in partnership with GameStop.
Bethesda is known for its expansive open-world games with rich experiences, and it's looking like Starfield -- their next big adventure -- will turn out precisely that way. Maybe it will even be the best yet as the culmination of every Bethesda game all wrapped into one. But since it's a Microsoft exclusive, you will need either a current-gen Xbox – Xbox Series X or S – to play Starfield or a beefy PC. People are a little upset with the AMD and Starfield partnership, with some of our worst fears about the PC version rearing their heads. So, the definitive version and the best platform to play on may be the Xbox Series X. If you don't already have an Xbox console in your home, you'll need one if you want to play during Starfield's launch. Perk up because GameStop has something just for you. Right now, you'll get an additional $50 of trade-in credit when you towards an Xbox Series X at GameStop stores -- that offer will be available until September 16th. Now's the perfect time to upgrade your gaming setup and dive into Bethesda's latest, and just as vast, space-exploration title. Seriously, there's a little bit of something for everyone in this game.

Why you should take advantage of this GameStop trade-in offer to play Starfield
If you plan to play Starfield, you have two routes: play on PC or Xbox. We've already established that Xbox Series X seems to be the best avenue for playing, which can put a wrench in the gears if you don't already own the console. But GameStop's trade-in offer fixes all of that. You can get your hands on a shiny new Xbox Series X, get your copy of Starfield, and start playing, but you'll also get a sweet deal out of the whole thing. You can use that $50 trade-in credit, plus the trade-in value, towards a new game, controller, or whatever else you need. Even better, you could use that credit to upgrade your copy of Starfield to one of the limited bundles, like the -- a collector's edition of the game -- which includes extra in-game content, a steelbook case, a Chronomark Watch and case, and more.

Gaming

Sony’s cloud handheld, the PlayStation Portal, will only stream certain games

Astro's Playroom booting up on the PlayStation Portal.

Sony has unveiled the price for its upcoming cloud gaming handheld, as well as an official name for the device: PlayStation Portal. However, one significant caveat to its functionality might sour people's interest in the handheld: It only supports PS4 and PS5 native games that the owner purchased.
PlayStation VR2 games can't be streamed to PlayStation Portal, which does make sense. More bafflingly, though, is the fact that the PlayStation Blog post states that "games that are streamed through PlayStation Plus Premium’s cloud streaming are not supported." That means you shouldn't pick up PlayStation Portal expecting to stream some PS3 and PS4 games available through PlayStation Plus Premium to the device. That's certainly an odd omission when it's currently PlayStation's most notable cloud gaming effort.
Although Microsoft is more closely associated with cloud gaming, Sony beat it to releasing a dedicated cloud gaming device. PlayStation Portal was first teased as Project Q during May's PlayStation showcase, but now, a PlayStation Blog post more clearly explains what we can actually expect from the handheld. Most importantly, we learned that PlayStation Portal will cost $200, which puts it underneath the cost of a Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series S, and other cloud gaming devices like the Logitech G Cloud Handheld.
As for what you're getting for that price tag, it's essentially a decent screen attached to two halves of a DualSense controller. The controllers on each side share all the functionality of the DualSense, including things like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. In-between is an 8-inch LCD screen that streams games over Wi-Fi at up to a 1080p resolution and 60 frames per second. All in all, that's fairly solid for a cloud gaming handheld that is this cheap.
Sony confirmed that the PlayStation Portal will have a 3.5mm audio jack, but also used the same blog post to unveil two new wireless audio options. There's the Pulse Elite wireless headset that features a retractable boom mic and a charging hanger and Pulse Explore wireless earbuds that offer similar audio quality in earbud form.
None of these products are available for preorder or have a specific release date just yet, but they are all expected to launch before the end of the year.

Deals

GameStop Cyber Monday Deal: Buy 2 Get 1 on all preowned Xbox One and PS4 games

A gamer sits in front of the Evnia Philips gaming monitor.

This content was produced in partnership with GameStop.
The Cyber Monday deals are pouring in and they're some of the best we've seen in a long while, especially if you're into gaming. Why? Mainly because GameStop is hosting some crazy deals right now, particularly on Xbox One and PS4 games. You see, if you buy two games you'll get one free, and it's for any preowned titles from those two consoles. We're talking about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, Madden NFL 23, Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Horizon Forbidden West, Elden Ring, and we could go on all day but you get the point. Shop the sale below, or keep reading to see some of our top picks.

Typically, with buy-two-get-one sales like this, you see a lot of older titles and the selection is pretty limited. That's not the case with the GameStop Cyber Monday sale. All preowned Xbox One and PS4 titles are fair game, including even some of the newer releases. There's nothing special needed to take advantage of the deal either, just add all three games to your cart and the discount will automatically apply at checkout.