Author Archives: Chris Morris

Netflix to spin off DVD-by-mail business

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Netflix plans to separate its streaming and rental-by-mail businesses into separate divisions in the coming weeks.

The company hopes the new division, dubbed ”Qwikster,” will help it stabilize its subscriber base and revive its share prices. To help revive consumer interest, the company plans to add video games to its rental options as well.

Also in the note, CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings acknowledged the overwhelming negative feedback to recent price changes at the company, saying ”I messed up. I owe everyone an explanation.”

Read more at Daily Variety

PlayStation Vita’s battery life fails to impress

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The PlayStation Vita has plenty of cool features to brag about, but battery life ain’t one of ’em.

Sony has released a new spec sheet for the upcoming handheld system, revealing that gamers can expect between 3-5 hours of game playing time per charge — meaning if you bring one along for a cross-country flight, you might want to have another entertainment option at your disposal as well.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

FTC eyes child privacy updates. What’s the impact on entertainment?

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The FTC wants to make changes to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) that could have a significant impact on the entertainment industry.

The Commission has proposed several amendments to the privacy rules that are meant to protect kids under 13, the most notable of which is adding geolocation information to the definition of personal information.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

App Review: Crimson: Steam Pirates

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Naval battles, for the most part, really haven’t been done well on the iPad, but Crimson: Steam Pirates is a wonderful exception to that rule, offering one of the most polished, surprising adventures to hit the app store in a long time. The game deftly balances story and gameplay and throws in a number of surprises to keep players engaged.

Taking a page from Sid Meier’s Pirates (the only other stellar pirate game app), the game uses a top-down view of the sea battles, but also folds in ship boardings and a local multiplayer mode. It’s the story that’s the real surprise, though. Instead of being an afterthought that’s not worth your time, it’s funny and thrilling. Having to pay for extra chapters is a bit frustrating, as it feels like there could be two versions of this game — a free a la carte one and a premium one with all content unlocked — but that’s quibbling. Crimson has become the must-have app for strategy fans, assuming they’re not too young.

Read more at Common Sense Media

Opinion: Sony’s Updated Terms Of Service – Mountain Out Of A Molehill?

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Just as Sony was starting to put the consumer badwill of this year’s hacking fiasco behind it, it goes and slips a change into the terms of service for the PlayStation Network. In this opinion piece, Chris Morris takes a look.

Sometimes you have to wonder if Sony even bothers to run things by its public relations department before taking action.

Just as the company was starting to put the consumer badwill of this year’s hacking fiasco behind it, it goes and slips a change into the terms of service for the PlayStation Network – and the masses began to howl once more.

Read more at Gamasutra

Oldest coin-op games

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For some gamers, old-school means the Nintendo Entertainment System. Others go back further to the Atari 2600, or perhaps even Pong. But if you really want to talk about old-school gaming, you should talk to your grandparents. And their parents.

While video games are largely thought of as a relatively recent phenomenon, their predecessors — arcade games — have been around since the 1800s. Long before Steamboat Willie introduced Mickey Mouse to the world and prior to the kickoff of the first World Cup (both occurred in 1930), people were paying to play games.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Sony ruffles feathers with “no suing” update to user agreement

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If you’re hoping to launch a class-action lawsuit against Sony, you might want to read the new terms of service of the PlayStation Network really closely before agreeing to them.

Sony has amended the user agreement it requires gamers to digitally sign off on before they can access the online functionality of the PS3 — and it’s got a whopper of a change intended to dissuade players from litigating.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

App Review: Get Outta My Galaxy! HD

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Get Outta My Galaxy! is a game that certainly earns points for style. It’s beautiful and, once you progress past the early overly simplistic levels, it’s laid out extremely well. Ultimately, though, it’s a game that tends to be a bit repetitive. (Occasionally sluggish controls work against it as well.) Still, there’s an undeniable fun factor that comes with being a grumpy protagonist who wallops perky aliens, and the short levels make it a great choice for when you only have a few minutes to play.

Read more at Common Sense Media

What does the future hold for laptop PCs?

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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.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

App Review: Machinarium

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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.

Read more at Common Sense Media