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Machinima Looks to Turn Game Re-Streams into Big Business

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June 28, 2013

Video game “re-stream” is a popular video genre on YouTube where gamers post recorded video of their gameplay, sometimes accompanied by voice-over commentary. One of the most popular channels is Machinima, which is looking to transform itself from a YouTube channel with billions of monthly views to a real media company. It may be the future of television, so long as Machinima, and others like it, can overcome copyright issues and create a sustainable model. Continue reading Machinima Looks to Turn Game Re-Streams into Big Business

Ouya and Nvidia Releasing Android-Based Gaming Consoles

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June 27, 2013

This week, game console startup Ouya and interactive graphics company Nvidia are introducing Android-based gaming systems that can be connected to big screen TVs, and looking to take advantage in the growth of mobile device gaming. Ouya is looking to challenge Microsoft and Sony with its own low cost gaming console. Nvidia has developed Shield, a mobile device with a built-in display, which can also be connected to TVs and computers.  Continue reading Ouya and Nvidia Releasing Android-Based Gaming Consoles

E3 2013: Disney Infinity Has Potential as Major Franchise

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June 13, 2013

During this week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, Disney Interactive promoted “Disney Infinity,” its upcoming video game environment and merchandise hybrid that incorporates physical toy figurines based on popular characters from the company’s films and television shows. Kids can interact with RF-outfitted action figures, power discs, and play set hexagons that can integrate film locations and theme park attractions. Continue reading E3 2013: Disney Infinity Has Potential as Major Franchise

Xbox 360 Tops Sales Charts for 27th Consecutive Month

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April 23, 2013

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was once again the best-selling game console in March, marking its 27th consecutive month topping the sales charts, according to The NPD Group. Microsoft reports that 261,000 Xbox 360s were sold last month in the U.S., while spending on related hardware, software and accessories totaled $402 million. While the Xbox beat Nintendo’s Wii U and Sony’s PlayStation 3, hardware sales were down from the previous year. Continue reading Xbox 360 Tops Sales Charts for 27th Consecutive Month

Ouya Released to Early Backers, Retail Launch in June

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April 1, 2013

Gaming startup Ouya, which raised more than $8 million last June via Kickstarter, announced it will release its $99 game console to retailers on June 4. The affordable Android-based box could encourage innovation and disrupt the TV gaming market, by allowing developers to create inexpensive games. Wired had a chance to play with the new device at design firm fuseproject, where Yves Behar created the metal cube that houses Ouya. Continue reading Ouya Released to Early Backers, Retail Launch in June

New Sony PlayStation to Allow for Streaming Games Online

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February 20, 2013

More than 10 years ago, Sony executive Ken Kutaragi predicted that one day videogame consoles would become one with a network that linked players together, thus eliminating the physical console and allowing gaming to require only a display and controller. Now, Sony is preparing to reveal its newest PlayStation, on which gamers will be able to stream games via the Internet — one step closer to Kutaragi’s vision. Continue reading New Sony PlayStation to Allow for Streaming Games Online

Nintendo Struggles with Wii U, Lowers Sales Projections

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February 1, 2013

The holiday season didn’t go as well as Nintendo had hoped. “Nintendo Co. slashed its sales outlook in the wake of disappointing holiday demand for its new Wii U videogame console, which it had been banking on to rekindle consumer excitement,” reports the Wall Street Journal. Wii U was launched last November and was Nintendo’s first new videogame console in six years. Continue reading Nintendo Struggles with Wii U, Lowers Sales Projections

Nintendo Activates TVii Media Entertainment Service for Wii U Gamers

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December 21, 2012

Nintendo activated the Wii U’s Nintendo TVii functionality this week. The service will directly integrate Amazon Instant Video and Hulu Plus, and will upgrade its Netflix and TiVo applications in early 2013. Wii U wants to become not just a gaming device, but a device through which families run all of their entertainment. This includes gaming as well as television and video chatting, explains Steve Moffitt, Nintendo’s executive VP of sales and marketing. Continue reading Nintendo Activates TVii Media Entertainment Service for Wii U Gamers

TIME Lists Top 10 Gadgets of the Year: iPhone 5 Takes Top Spot

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December 13, 2012
  • Although Apple may have to cede the top spot on smartphone sales, its iPhone 5 still sits at No. 1 in terms of overall device and operation system quality, earning the coveted TIME Magazine ‘gadget of the year’ award.
  • “TIME’s Harry McCracken calls the iPhone 5 ‘one of the most artfully polished gadgets anyone’s ever built,’ adding that ‘when it comes to melding hardware, software and services so tightly that the seams fade away, Apple still has no peer,'” VentureBeat reports.
  • “Despite 5 million units sold in its opening weekend, and stellar sales results that catapulted iOS back into the mobile operating system lead in November, the iPhone 5 probably can’t catch the Samsung Galaxy S III, which launched in the summer and reached 18 million units by early November,” the article continues.
  • Apple did not, however, gain recognition from TIME for its iPads, even though the new iPad mini earned a warm welcome by many in October.
  • TIME‘s top 10 gadgets are as follows: 1) iPhone 5, 2) Nintendo Wii U, 3) Sony Cyber-shot RX100, 4) Raspberry Pi Model B, 5) Lytro, 6) Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display, 7) Microsoft Surface with Windows RT, 8) Samsung Galaxy Note II, 9) Nest, and 10) Simple.TV.

Nintendo Network ID: Pros and Cons of Wii U Restrictive DRM

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December 12, 2012
  • “The new Nintendo Network ID system that debuted on the Wii U is a sign of progress for a company that has, historically, not shown a lot of savvy in setting up its online systems,” according to Ars Technica.
  • With Wii U, users can connect up to 12 separate Nintendo Network IDs to a single system.
  • “The new Wii U eShop includes many retail games for download on the same day they reach stores, and does away with the ‘Wii Points’ virtual currency that characterized Nintendo’s previous console,” notes the article. “The company has even promised to roll out a cloud save feature sometime next year.”
  • All of this would allow users to access their own games when at a connected friends’ house. However, as the article explains, “it also means a game downloaded to the Wii U in the living room won’t be playable on a second system in the kids’ room, even if the same password-protected Nintendo Network ID was used on both systems.”
  • “It also means that if your system breaks down, you can’t just go buy a new one (or borrow one from a friend) and immediately recover your content using your account. Instead, you have to go through Nintendo’s official repair process, waiting up to two weeks for the system to be returned just to maintain the system-locked license data.”
  • “I understand that Nintendo is worried about piracy, but its not like Microsoft, Sony, Valve, Apple and Google aren’t,” writes Kyle Orland for Ars Technica. “Yet those companies have all found their own ways to balance protection for their online stores with the ability for users to access that content in their own way.”

Safe Internet Coalition Established in Europe Aimed at Protecting Children

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December 5, 2011
  • Apple, Google, LG, Nintendo, Nokia, Samsung and Facebook are among 28 tech and media companies that are joining forces to “deliver a better Internet for our children,” reports TheNextWeb.
  • “The group was put together by the European Commission (EC) and the priority actions set out include making it easier to report harmful content, ensuring privacy settings are age-appropriate, and offering wider options for parental control,” according to TNW.
  • “This new coalition should provide both children and parents with transparent and consistent protection tools to make the most of the online world”, says Neelie Kroes, vice president of the EC. “The founding coalition members are already leaders in children’s safety online. Working together we will be setting the pace for the whole industry and have a great basis for fully empowering children online.”
  • The coalition has created a statement of purpose covering five key areas: create effective reporting with simple, robust tools; enable age-appropriate privacy settings; develop age-rating through widespread content classification; extend parental control; and effectively remove child abuse material through improved cooperation with law enforcement.

Game Consoles May be Aging, but PlayStation, Wii, Xbox Still Selling Strong

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December 2, 2011
  • Despite analyst speculation that video game consoles may be in jeopardy due to the increased capabilities and growing popularity of smartphones and tablets, “Microsoft’s Xbox and Nintendo’s Wii sold in record numbers last week as Americans kicked off their holiday shopping,” reports AllThingsD.
  • Some 960,000 Xbox 360s were sold last week and 500,000 Wiis were sold the day after Thanksgiving. Game consoles are still experiencing strong sales five and six years after they were introduced.
  • “It’s difficult to imagine any other consumer hardware that could attract that kind of demand after such a long period of time,” suggests the article.
  • Blockbuster game titles like Activision’s “Call of Duty” game, which grossed $775 million in its first five days, continue to juice the market.
  • Motion-controls such as Wii and Microsoft’s Kinect open up the market beyond gamers to a family market.
  • And, as previously reported on ETCentric, game consoles are becoming entertainment centers for streaming video, music and other media content through partnerships with providers such as Netflix, Hulu, ESPN, HBO GO and others.

EyeAsteroids from Tobii: Will Eye Control be the New Motion Control?

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November 8, 2011
  • Stockholm-based Tobii Technology is introducing a one-off arcade machine called EyeAsteroids, a game that recognizes eye movement as its control mechanism, dismissing “the idea of using joypads, joysticks or flailing your arms around like a whirligig in order to play games,” reports Pocket-lint.
  • “EyeAsteroids is similar to the classic arcade unit from 1979, but with no physical control mechanism.”
  • The company, known for its eye-tracking communication aids for those with special needs, claims the technology is faster than gesture recognition. According to its website, the company provides related technology for research fields and computer controls in areas including hospitals, diagnostics, vehicle safety, gaming and computer manufacturing.
  • “We believe the addition of eye control to computer games is the most significant evolution point in the gaming industry since the introduction of motion control systems, such as the Nintendo Wii,” said Henrik Eskilsson, Tobii’s CEO. “Gaze interaction is fast and intuitive, adding an entirely new dimension to video game interaction.”
  • The Tobii EyeAsteroids prototype is starting its world tour in New York City today and will be on display at January’s CES in the South Hall.

Wii Surpasses PS3 as Top Video Game Brand for Young Consumers

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November 8, 2011
  • Nintendo Wii is the most popular video game console with young Americans (ages 8-to-24), according to a new Harris Interactive survey.
  • Nearly 6,000 young consumers participated in the study conducted in August 2011.
  • The poll also lists Apple as the top brand among the 13-to-24 demographic for computers, mobile phones and tablets.
  • “It’s interesting that the Nintendo Wii rated so highly given that it’s been the lowest selling console for the last year,” reports IndustryGamers. “This shows that Nintendo still has plenty of brand equity among consumers, and with the right products and marketing there is no reason they can’t be the #1 selling console again. The dangers are also clear in this study, as Apple leads in mobile phones and tablets, where games are one of the top categories that seem to be having an effect on handheld console sales.”

Nintendo: 3DS and Wii to get Hulu Plus, 3D Video Capture for Handheld

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October 24, 2011
  • By the end of the year, both the Wii and Nintendo 3DS will have access to TV shows and movies via the $7.99 per month Hulu Plus service (but only in 2D).
  • Hulu Plus joins Netflix in offering content on the Nintendo devices.
  • Also, the 3DS will get a software update at the end of November that allows 3D recording for up to ten minutes, and the ability to “stitch together stereoscopic images for stop motion animation that jumps out of the tiny screen at you,” suggests Engadget.
  • “With both Hulu and Netflix in tow, as well as the ability to create your own content, the 3DS is actually turning into quite a powerful little portable.”

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