At the risk of sounding like a forum troll, I have to say, I'm not too impressed with the implementation of Netflix on Xbox 360. The service, which is available to Xbox Live and Netflix -subscribers, allows you to stream movies to your TV via your Xbox 360, and on paper, it sounds ingenious. Indeed, that's why I -- along with many others -- was so excited when Microsoft announced this forthcoming feature way back at E3 in July. Unfortunately, Netflix for Xbox Live users is now here, and it's not all it was cracked up to be.
For starters, the selection of streamable movies is lackluster. Netflix users who have used the service's "Instantly Watch" section know that there aren't an incredible variety of movies to pick from. There are few new releases available. Instead, the selection is composed mainly of films like Mission to Mars, The Abyss, Superman: The Movie, Batman Forever and Scarface. There's nothing necessarily wrong with these movies. Some of them are actually grea... More »
Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo may dominate the global market for video games, but they don't rule in every corner of the world.
The extremely high cost of new video game consoles and games in Brazil has led to unusual market conditions in that emerging country – and a potential market for video game hardware makers. Due to high import taxes, new consoles like the PlayStation 3 regularly fetch in excess of $1,000 USD in Brazil.
However, an intrepid Brazilian company called Tectoy hopes to capture a portion of the young, casual gaming market in Brazil with the launch of their Zeebo home console.
This innovative piece of hardware presents the first credible challenge to the popularity of the other big three manufacturers, and lights the way toward other potential opportunities in markets south of the equator.
Under the hood, the Zeebo is no slouch, especially considering that i... More »
Courtesy of marketwire via YouTube, below is a video and related Press Release as the ESRB announces rating summaries, a new source of information for parents about video game content.
Press Release: ESRB Announces New Video Game Rating Summaries
New Resource Provides Parents With More Detailed Information on Game Content Just in Time for the Holiday Shopping Season
The ESRB announces rating summaries, a new source of information for parents about video game content.
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - November 12, 2008) - The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), which assigns age and content ratings for computer and video games, today announced the availability of "rating summaries," a new, supplementary source of information about game content that parents can use when considering which games to purchase for their children this holiday season and beyond.
The infamous Xbox 360 "red ring of death" (indicating a failed unit) has caused Microsoft - and its customers - untold pain in the three years since the console's launch in 2005, and cost it $1.15bn (£738m) last year.
Microsoft has never said publicly why the console was plagued with faults: it seems that poor production quality was at the heart of the failures - an all-round problem with no single cause except impatience on the company's part as it tried to become the leader in videogame consoles.
It was an ambitious attack. Microsoft's engineers started working on the Xbox 360 at least a year after Sony's engineers began work on the PlayStation 3, yet wound up shipping a year earlier. With the first Xbox, the company lost $3.7bn (£2.3bn) over four years, mostly because costs of the box - particularly its hard drive - were too high.
Bill Gates didn't really care about the losses; that was simply the ante for getting into an exciting ne... More »
The console market today is as tough as any industry there is, but it wasn't always like this. For the past several years the PS2 has been the console to trump, and before it there was the original PlayStation which also dominated the market.
One unclear question still remains though; will the PlayStation 3 remain atop the market? Many analysts believe that this will in fact hold true, but why are they claiming this? In my personal opinion, here are the Top 5 reasons that the PlayStation 3 will eventually re-take the lead in the game industries market.
#5 The Xbox 360 and How It Matches Up
The Xbox 360 is a great console, but it has its flaws. The Xbox 360 is a very similar console to the PS3. They have similar play and they have similar specifications. The Xbox 360 has an estimated 30% failure rate and this will cost Microsoft dearly. The Xbox 360 is struggling to maintain its position in America, and if that isn't enough it can't even ga... More »
From today, GO!VIEW (www.goview.tv), the portable Video-On-Demand Service for the PlayStation®Portable (PSP™), officially launches in the UK and Ireland giving PSP ™ owners the opportunity to access TV Shows, Movies and Sports on-demand and on the move.
Press Release: PSP™ owners to beat boredom this winter with a free trial of the fully launched Go!View service
Following its Beta release in July, GO!VIEW has now been fully updated to bring PSP™ users the ultimate in on-demand content – exactly how they want it, when they want it. What’s more, a free 30 day trial of all three subscription packs is available to all PSP™ users so they can try GO!VIEW for themselves before signing up.
There’s no excuse for any PSP™ owner to be bored this winter with the wide range of TV shows, movies and sports that can be easily transferred to the PSP™ via an internet enabled PC.
From top entertainment shows including Heroes, De... More »
One of the most feel-good stories of the year has got to be the unholy alliance between NPD/GfK/Enterbrain, that lets us see - every three months, at least - what the biggest-selling games are not in the US, Europe or Japan, but in the world.
Last time we checked, the best-seller was GTA IV. This time around, for the quarter running from July-September? It's Madden. Madden, followed by daylight.
1. Madden 09 - 2.994 million
2. Wii Fit - 2.089 million
3. Force Unleashed - 1.738 million
4. Pokemon Platinum - 1.482 million
5. Mario Kart Wii - 1.468 million
What's even more interesting than the raw numbers is the percentage of those final tallies US sales comprise. For Madden, of the 2.994 million, 2.958 were in the US.
Proving, in case Americans were unaware, how few people outside North America give a rat's arse about American Football. Yet for Wii Fit and Mario Kart, US numbers accounted for barely half of tot... More »
Nintendo has released figures for 2008 hardware sales in Europe, which reveal the PS3 is outselling the Xbox 360 - though the Wii is still laughing in both of their faces.
As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, more than 10.4 million Wii consoles have been shifted in Europe this year. The high point for Nintendo was April, when nearly 180,000 units were sold. The figure for Xbox 360 during the same month was around 90,000, as it was for PS3.
Overall, PS3 sales are said to exceed those for Xbox 360. However, Microsoft's console proved more popular than its rival during October, when a price cut boosted sales to more than 60,000 units.
The DS has beaten the PSP over the course of the year. In July Nintendo shifted 225,000 handhelds, while the PSP reached a peak of 50,000 units during the same period.
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