Author Archives: Chris Morris

Netflix cuts 3Q subscriber estimates

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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.

Read more at Daily Variety

Video game advertising tops $1 billion

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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.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

EA offering refunds on problematic Tiger Woods 12

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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.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Nintendo plans big 3DS push for November

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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.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Analysis: GameStop Keeps Up With The Times

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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.

Read more at Gamasutra

Why Hollywood needs to focus more on Facebook

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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.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Tired of your iPad? Take it to GameStop

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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

How to host a great Poker Night

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Kenny Rogers offers some great advice about knowing when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em, but when it comes to putting together a world-class poker night for you and your buddies, he’s pretty useless.

The key to throwing a great poker night is to remember that it’s not just about the game — it’s about the people. Instead of silently staring at the TV, you’re gathered around a table eating, drinking and relaxing (sort of), the perfect ingredients for a good conversation. And the cash on the table ensures that everyone stays on their toes.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

App Review: Doodle Jump for iPad

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Doodle Jump is one of the members of the app store royal family — and justifiably so. The title is, as advertised, insanely addictive, and achieves this with simple, but never simplistic, gameplay. The iPad version, which was long in coming, doesn’t really add to the experience, though. There’s an extra theme, which is nice, but that’s about it. And tilting the iPad (even with the lighter iPad 2) is much more tiring than playing the game on a handheld device.

Admittedly, that extra theme — a race-themed multiplayer — is a blast, though, and the game hasn’t gotten any less fun. If you don’t own a smartphone or iPod touch, this is an obvious choice. If you do, though, there’s not much incentive to pay $3 for another copy of essentially the same game.

Read more at Common Sense Media