Intel’s Sandy Bridge 
technology is less than a year old, but the next big thing already appears to be on the horizon.
The company showed off prototypes for its “Ivy Bridge” processors this week at its Intel Developer Forum and the early word is encouraging – with faster speeds, lower power consumption and amazing battery life.
Machinarium is unlike 
anything you’ve played in the app store. Its minimalist interface and hand-drawn graphics might catch your eye, but its clever story and sly humor make it unforgettable. It’s a point-and-click adventure/puzzle game — and those puzzles can be real brain stumpers — but it’s one with heart and emotion that’s communicated through subtle, understated means, a rarity in this over-the-top gaming world. The game, originally released on PC, won several awards from respected industry sites — and it makes a wonderfully smooth transition to iOS devices.
Netflix has lowered 
its subscriber estimates by 1 million people for the third quarter, the first sign that the consumer backlash over its drastic price changes is negatively impacting the film streaming/rental service.
In a note to investors, the company lowered the expected number of DVD-only customers from 3 million to 2.2 million, while ratcheting down the number of projected streaming customers from 10 million to 9.8 million. The number of customers using both services is expected to remain unchanged.
The videogame world 
has a long way to go to catch up with the television advertising market, but it has hit a notable milestone.
DFC Intelligence reports U.S. advertisers spent over $1 billion in 2010 on video games, a number that’s expected to double by 2014. Globally, that number hit $3.1 billion, with expectations it will reach $7.2 billion by 2014.
While the Xbox 360 
and PS3 versions of Tiger Woods 12: The Masters have been received fairly warmly, the PC version is in the rough. The thick stuff.
Graphics are subpar. The features are lacking. And fans, who have been waiting for a new PC version of the game since 2008, are livid. Now it appears that publisher Electronic Arts is trying to soothe the angry masses.
While rumors of a 
redesigned 3DS didn’t pan out, Nintendo had plenty to say about the future of its latest handheld system at a pre-Tokyo Game Show press conference on Tuesday.
The Kyoto-based company is going all-in with the 3DS this November and early December, offering a system update that will add several new features (including video recording) as well as two major titles to help boost holiday sales. But analysts still think the company will fall short of its goals.
Following GameStop’s mobile 
device announcements earlier this week, Gamasutra’s Chris Morris discusses the company’s plan to defend itself against the ongoing decline in retail game sales.
It’s no secret that game publishers have spent a lot of time focusing on the growing importance of the mobile space, but things have been a lot quieter on the retail front.
However, GameStop’s pair of announcements Monday sent a clear signal to both gamers and investors that the company was planning to defend itself against the ongoing decline in retail game sales and the changing nature of the gaming market.
Facebook’s a great 
way to waste 10-15 minutes. You can catch up with friends. You can let everyone know about the mundane details of your day. And you can learn more about your favorite brands and entertainment content.
Unfortunately, that 10-15 minutes often ends up being a lot longer per day – and, as a result, social media has grown into a viable threat to entertainment companies who are alredy fighting for viewers’ attention.
Hulu’s list of 
potential problems keep piling up.
As the bidding war for the streaming video service continues between Yahoo, Google, Amazon and Dish, NBC has launched a new app bringing full-length episodes of select shows to the iPad.
GameStop is joining 
the iOS revolution.
The country’s largest video game retailer — and the biggest seller of used games and game hardware — has now started accepting iPods, iPhones and iPads for trade-in for store credit, which can be redeemed for games, hardware, downloadable content and more. The company claims to offer ‘competitive’ trade values on the systems.
Read more at Yahoo! Games
Chris Morris: Journalist 