Author Archives: Chris Morris

Hulu Plus comes out of beta, gets price cut

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Hulu’s subscription service – taking the Web-based operation beyond the PC – has moved out of its beta period and is welcoming all who are interested. Hulu Plus officially launches today – and, even better, it’s getting cheaper.

The company has scaled back the $9.99 monthly fee it has charged since late June to $7.99 – and says it will issue refunds for the difference to early adopters who were in the beta. The price cut is a welcome one, but still higher than the $4.99 figure many people were expecting.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

In-Depth: Sony Threatens Microsoft’s Non-Gaming Dominance

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[As Sony announces a tie-up with Vudu for HD movie streaming, Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris looks at how the PlayStation 3 creator has started to gain ground on Microsoft’s array of on-console media content — the next big battlefield for game consoles.]

Long before Kinect, Microsoft had its own way of courting the non-gamer – offer functionality on the Xbox 360 that was unique enough to lure in people who weren’t interested in the latest Haloinstallment. And it was a pretty effective method.

With Netflix integration leading the charge in 2008, the Xbox 360 finally fulfilled the dream of the console as a Trojan horse of the living room. It gave the company a huge competitive advantage for a while, but recently that advantage has been slipping away. Sony, in particular, has gained a lot of ground in that battle and is threatening to overshadow Microsoft’s achievements.

Read more at Gamasutra

App Review: Talking Rex the Dinosaur

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There’s really nothing in Talking Rex the Dinosaur that Outfit7 hasn’t done in any of its six other “Talking Friends” apps. The main purpose of the series is for an animated on-screen character to repeat what you say to it in an altered voice. It’s a fun diversion, with a few features thrown in on the side — like feeding your dino a steak or playing a bit of catch with it — but it’s a one-trick pony that eventually does get old (generally much faster for adults than for kids). Still, the fierce T. Rex is bound to catch the eye of young dinosaur enthusiasts. The intensity of the animations might be a bit too much for the very young ones, though.

Read more at Common Sense Media

App Review: Jack and the Beanstalk 3D

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Jack and the Beanstalk 3D is a fresh take on a classic children’s tale, with bells and whistles aplenty. And what it does, it does quite well. The animations are beautiful. The control given to users over how fast or slow those animations run is engaging. And the background music, from Richard M. Sherman (composer of “It’s a Small World”), is charming. We only wish that the story itself was given a little more prominence and the learning potential of the app was better exploited.

Read more at Common Sense Media

NBA, Fallout rule the roost in October

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While no one will mistake October as a joyous month for video game sales, there were a few nuggets of good news from NPD this month.

Retail software sales were up 6 percent – the first time the industry has seen growth since May. And the Xbox 360 saw hardware sales increase – the only console to do so. Otherwise… well, things weren’t so good.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Beatles come to iTunes

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Apple has filled one of the biggest holes in the iTunes catalog. The Beatles catalog is now available for download.

After years of teasing, disappointment and back and forth, the Cuppertino-based company (which has become one of the most powerful forces in the music industry) and the iconic band have come to terms. It’s unclear at this time whether Apple secured exclusive digital rights to the band’s songs or if EMI, The Beatles’ record company, will be striking similar deal with other providers.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Kinect opens to big sales

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Cementing its status as one of the year’s “must have” holiday items, Microsoft’s Kinect has sold more than 1 million units in its first 10 days on the market.

That’s a strong start for the peripheral, which uses motion capture technology to let players use their bodies to control videogames on the Xbox 360. It’s certainly a stronger reaction than Sony saw with its entry in the motion control category earlier this year. The company shipped 1 million PlayStation Move units to retailers in that device’s first month on shelves, but did not sell them all.

Read more at Daily Variety

Focus Is on EA, Sony as Oct. Video Game Sales Loom

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After being severely disappointed in September, the video game industry is warily eyeing October’s retail sales numbers.

Analysts are calling for yet another decline compared to the 2009 numbers when the data is released Tuesday afternoon, roughly two hours after the market closes. Michael Pachter, managing director of Wedbush Securities, predicts software sales will drop 3 percent compared to last year, coming in at $555 million.

Read more at CNBC.com

Microsoft: Kinect sells 1 million units in 10 days

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Microsoft has a hit on its hands with Kinect, the motion capture device that lets players act as the controller for the Xbox 360. The company says it has sold more than 1 million units in the first 10 days of availability.

That’s a significantly stronger start than Sony’s PlayStation Move – which shipped 1 million units in its first month of availability, but did not sell that many. It also underscores the “must have” status of Kinect as the company gears up for the holiday shopping season.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog