Fully Charged: Windows 10 upgrade free for pirates, plus more on Nintendo’s mobile plans

Even pirates can grab the Windows 10 upgrade

Microsoft’s strategy going forward seems to be to appeal to as many people as possible with software and services, rather than focus on its own hardware interests. And in pursuit of amassing Windows 10 users, Microsoft will even let users with pirated copies upgrade to the latest version and go legit.

“Anyone with a qualified device can upgrade to Windows 10, including those with pirated copies of Windows," a company spokesman told The Verge. "We believe customers over time will realize the value of properly licensing Windows and we will make it easy for them to move to legitimate copies.”

As revealed yesterday, Windows 10 will be out this summer, and the upgrade is free to all Windows 7 and 8 users for the first year of availability.

[Source: The Verge]

Nintendo will make its own mobile games

After deflecting the possibility for years, Nintendo finally announced this week that it has partnered with mobile giant DeNA to bring games to phones and tablets. Considering the latter’s recent portfolio of exclusively free-to-play games (and oft-uninspiring ones, at that), the prospect worried some fans. But they can breathe at least a partial sigh of relief.

Nintendo CEO and president Satoru Iwata confirmed to Time yesterday that development of its mobile games will “be mainly done by Nintendo,” with DeNA in more of a support/technical role. He also said that games (the image above is purely conceptual, of course) may be free-to-play or premium, based on what makes the most sense for the game in question. Here’s hoping some of that classic Nintendo magic makes the move over to mobile.

[Source: Time]

PlayStation’s TV service doesn’t work with PS TV

PlayStation Vue, the television service aimed at cable cord-cutters, launched in a few U.S. cities yesterday at the hearty price of US$50 (about £34) per month (with optional add-on channel bundles). And as one reviewer discovered, there’s something about Sony’s recent strategy that might have you shaking your head.

Namely, the PlayStation TV – the tiny set-top box released late last year – doesn’t work with the Vue, i.e. PlayStation’s TV service. It works on PlayStation 4 and 3, but not the TV. That’s probably because the PS TV is based on the Vita handheld hardware, which is less powerful than the home consoles, but it still comes off as a seriously silly oversight.

But the PlayStation TV already seemed undercooked and underwhelming at launch, as it was. And the lack of compatibility for Sony’s promising television alternative makes it seem even less likely of being long supported in the PlayStation family.

[Source: The Verge via Twitter]