Author Archives: Chris Morris

Opinion: Nintendo Slashes 3DS Price, But Did It Do Enough?

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Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris questions whether today’s major Nintendo 3DS price drop is enough to “resuscitate” long-term hardware sales in a world of smartphones and Angry Birds.

Welcome to the post-iPhone world, Nintendo. We were wondering when you’d take those blinders off.

Thursday’s announcement that the game giant would be slicing the price of the 3DS by nearly one-third after just four months was significant on a number of levels. But as the mobile gaming world continues to evolve at a breathtaking pace, it may not be enough to secure the system’s long-term future.

Read more at Gamasutra

Amazon strikes streaming deal with Universal

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Amazon Prime’s streaming catalog isn’t as big as the one at Netflix, but it’s working hard to catch up.

The retail giant has struck a deal with NBCUniversal Domestic TV Distribution that will add select Universal Pictures films to the Prime Instant Video collection. The deal will bring the total number of streamable videos to 9,000.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Nintendo slashes 3DS price

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Just four months after the high profile launch of its 3DS handheld gaming system, Nintendo is acknowledging that it has a problem on its hands.

The video game giant announced plans Thursday to slash the price for the 3DS by one-third — from $250 to $170 — effective August 12. The move came as the company reported fiscal first quarter revenue that was more than 50 percent below the previous year and a $328 million dollar quarterly loss. It also cut its projected earnings by 82 percent.

Read more at Daily Variety

Critics, shmitics: More Duke Nukem is coming

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It took more than 12 years for Duke Nukem Forever to see the light of day, but the wait for expansion packs may wind up being less than 12 weeks.

Take-Two and Gearbox Software have announced that the first downloadable content for the long-anticipated but critically-derided shooter will be out this fall. And in true Duke style, he’s taking aim at the kings of the FPS hill.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

Netflix vs. Hulu – the screen battle

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When it comes to audience reach, Netflix owes a debt of gratitude to the video game industry.

A new Nielsen Co. study finds that Netflix users are primarily streaming content to television sets – with half of those customers streaming the service through their Wii, PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Bet the FarmVille: How Facebook games are like casinos

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Playing a game on Facebook from the comfort of your living room couldn’t be any further away from the loud, smoky casinos of Las Vegas or Atlantic City. But scratch that surface a little and you’ll find that, aside from the complimentary cocktails, the two are virtually identical.

Both are designed to keep you sitting there playing, unaware of the passing hours. Both attract millions of visitors per year.

And both rely heavily on a small percentage of those visitors to make up the majority of their income.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

App Review: Hungry Chicks

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If you’ve grown wary of any game that hints at “birds” in the title, you’re hardly to blame, but Hungry Chicks isn’t a knock-off of Angry Birds. It’s actually a fun, though ultimately forgettable, bite-sized gaming diversion. The game, tailored for the iPhone and iPod Touch, is more complex and challenging than it seems at first glance, adding a second bird to the mix after a few levels, which forces players to collect the right number of worms for their specific nests. The controls are a bit odd and take some getting used to, but work well enough. And avoiding the obstacles can be a fun brain-teaser. It’s not a game you’ll find yourself raving about, but it’s one you may find yourself playing to pass the time — and since it’s cheap, it’s a safe investment.

Read more at Common Sense Media

App Review: Britannica Kids: Ancient Rome

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History can be boring — and the encyclopedia is seen by many as the product of a bygone era — but Britannica Kids: Ancient Rome is a wonderfully educational and entertaining way for kids to learn more about the Roman culture. There are the usual (and expected) walls of print, but they’re not the chief focus — and they’re extra helpful, highlighting difficult words and offering definitions so kids don’t get frustrated. But it’s games like the timed quiz, magic square, and puzzles that users are more likely to spend time with. While they’ll learn less with these than they will by reading, they will be engaged and spend more time with the app. It’s not cheap, but Britannica packs a lot of value in this one.

Read more at Common Sense Media

Video game industry wants $1.1 million from California

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Securing a court victory that clearly defined the First Amendment rights of video games was just the beginning for the Entertainment Software Association. Now it wants California to pay its legal bills.

The video game trade group has filed a motion with the U.S. Supreme Court for reimbursement of attorney’s fees in the case of Brown v. EMA, fees that add up to $1.1 million (and could go even higher).

Read more at Yahoo! Games

6 out of 10 with connected TVs regularly use apps

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Smart TVs are starting to gain traction with users – but having a boob tube that can connect to the internet is still not a big selling point.

In-Stat research says over 60 percent of households with a connected TV use a TV app at least once per week. Not surprisingly, Netflix and YouTube are the most popular apps – but interest seems to be growing in the competition.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog