Offering less-than-sincere condolences for a competitor’s misfortune, a Microsoft spokesperson publicly hoped the ongoing PlayStation Network outage would lead to more action on Xbox Live. [More]
video games
PlayStation Network Goes Down, Sony Says It Could Take A While To Fix It
By 4.22.11
It’s been a rough month for the PlayStation Network, which buckled under attacks from hackers earlier this month, and now has gone down again for an extended period. [More]
Microsoft Works To Prevent Indie Game Ratings Manipulation
By 4.20.11
Seeking to prevent further abuse of its indie games rating system, Microsoft announced it will restrict the ability to rate games to paying Xbox Live Gold members. Previously, anyone could sign up for a Live account and assign ratings to games on the service, and some developers accused users of making up fake accounts to falsely prop up the visibility of certain games while damaging others. [More]
Report: Sony Finally Puts PSP Go Out Of Its Misery
By 4.20.11
From the very start, Sony’s PSP Go looked like a non-starter. The handheld game machine cost more than previous PSPs, lacked the ability to play disc-based games and struggled to get retailers to stock it. [More]
Downloadable Video Games Will Be Rated By Computers Instead Of People
By 4.19.11
Up until now, the Entertainment Software Rating Board has used a three-person committee to assign video games ratings that determine the age groups for which they’re appropriate. To lighten the load, the ESRB will hand some of their duties over to computer software. [More]
Price Drop Lends Credibility To Rumors Of New Nintendo Wii On The Horizon
By 4.18.11
Last week, we reported on the rumors of the impending release of a newer, better Nintendo Wii, along with reports that the company would be dropping the console’s price to $150 to clear inventory of the older models. Well, it’s not quite the announcement from Nintendo HQ that people have been waiting for, but a number of retailers have gone ahead and slashed Wii prices down to $170. [More]
Best Buy To Develop Dedicated Video Game Sales Desks, Clerks
By 4.18.11
Realizing “video-game” contraptions played by these kids today may be catching on, Best Buy has devised the notion that it might hire and train employees who actually know something about the products to help — and possibly, exploit — customers who buy them. [More]
Video Games You Can Play While Injured
By 4.17.11
If you do a lot of typing and gaming in less-than-ideal ergonomic conditions, you’re probably putting yourself at risk of a hand or wrist injury. But even if you manage to put yourself out of commission, you can still indulge your hobby. [More]
Wave Hello To Netflix Control Via Xbox's Kinect
By 4.15.11
Back in November, when Microsoft released Kinect — its motion and voice sensing Xbox 360 add-on — it lacked compatibility with the Netflix streaming app. Now Microsoft has finally gotten around to (sort of) correcting that shortcoming, releasing a free downloadable update that lets Kinect owners to yell and wave at their videos to get them to pause, play and rewind. [More]
Either There's A New Wii Coming Next Year Or Anonymous Sources Are Liars
By 4.15.11
Little, anonymous birds that float around video game sites are all chirping the same tune — that Nintendo will announce a newfangled Wii follow-up by June’s Electronic Entertainment expo, if not sooner. Nintendo, which the sources say won’t release the console until late next year, has reportedly put the device in the hands of game publishers to give them a head start on development. [More]
Report: Nintendo Will Drop Wii Price To $150
By 4.13.11
In a bid to halt months of slumping Wii sales, and possibly signaling a sooner-rather-than-later announcement of a successor, Nintendo will reportedly cut the console’s price from $200 to $150 on May 15. The new price would be a 40 percent reduction of its original $250 price tag. [More]
Startup Wants To Pair Video Game Achievements With Coupons
By 4.12.11
For most gamers, the blip sound and tally of pretend points is reward enough for racking up in-game achievements. But a Silicon Valley startup is out to monetize the habit of achievement whoring, joining with advertisers and game publishers in a model that echoes Groupon. [More]
Sony Exec Calls Nintendo Products "Babysitting Tools"
By 4.11.11
The lawyer-neutered, ultra-conservative ritual of corporate interviews could sure use some more WWE-style smack talking, and Sony Computer Entertainment of America president and CEO Jack Tretton provided, delivering a slew of “oh no he didn’t” barbs aimed at Nintendo in an interview with Fortune. [More]
Sony Exec Says Earthquake May Alter Portable Machine Release, Spokesman Says It Won't
By 4.8.11
Sony, which plans to release a follow-up to the PSP (codename: NGP) near the end of the year, has its wires crossed over whether or not last month’s earthquake and tsunami will affect the product’s launch. [More]
Report: Hackers Retaliate Against Sony For Going After One Of Their Own
By 4.5.11
In an episode reportedly linked to Sony’s attempts to take down the alleged hacker who decimated the PS3’s security, a group of hackers reportedly crippled the PlayStation Network and several Sony-related cites. [More]
