Review: Nintendo 3DS

Nintendo is one of the few, refreshing companies that constantly surprises you.

As Apple was mounting its assault on the portable gaming space, the Kyoto-based company threw gamers a curve, announcing plans for a new handheld system that would allow users to see images in stereoscopic 3D without the need for special glasses. It was a risky move, but it seems to be one that will pay off.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Steve Jobs re-elected to Disney board

Steve Jobs will remain on the board at Disney.

Investors voted Wednesday to re-elect the CEO of Apple (and one-time owner of Pixar), despite proxy advisors who lobbied against the action, citing continuing concerns about Jobs’ overall health.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

PBS to stream ‘The Civil War’ free via iPad/iPhone

With the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War fast approaching, it probably won’t come as a surprise that PBS has plans to rerun Ken Burns’ acclaimed series on the War Between the States.

What might be a bit more unexpected, though, is that the network plans to offer a free stream of the series’ first episode to showcase its PBS App for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The stream will become available March 24 for a 10-day window.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Sony’s next-gen handheld to keep a digital focus

The PSP Go, which shunned physical media for a download only model, might not be a roaring success, but Sony’s doubling down on digital distribution as it prepares its next generation handheld gaming system.

The head of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe says that every game on the so-called NGP (Next Generation Portable) will be available to buy as a download the same day the physical game appears on store shelves.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

BitTorrent to world premiere feature – intentionally

BitTorrent isn’t usually a service studios want to partner with. The favorite application of movie and software pirates, the service is widely demonized throughout the state of California.

But the makers of The Tunnel will world premier their direct-to-DVD film on the service on May 19  – and they’ve doing so with the full cooperation of Paramount.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Samsung demos big-screen glasses-free 3D TV

Glasses free 3D is still a fair ways from making it to the living room, but Samsung is starting to test the waters.

The electronics giant is showing off a 55-inch prototype this week of a set that doesn’t require any sort of dorky headgear. Before you get out your credit cards, the company says it will be at least three years before something like this will hit the market.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Netflix streams 6 out of 10 digital films

Want to know why studios are growing leary of Netflix? It’s all in the numbers.

A new report from The NPD Group shows that despite the best efforts of some enormous competitors, the online rental service holds a 61 percent market share in the streaming movie field so far this year.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Halo: Reach launches first expansion pack

“Halo: Reach” players are getting some more maps.

The “Halo: Reach” Defiant Map Pack goes live today, with two new multiplayer maps, a firefight mission and new achievements letting players earn up to 150 Microsoft Points.

Read more (and learn how to win free codes) at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Transformers to get their own MMO game

Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and the rest are getting their own online world.

Hasbro and Runescape developer Jagex have announced plans to create a massively multiplayer game based on the popular 80s toy line and cartoon series. Unlike recent single-player games published by Activision, though, this will have nothing to do with director Michael Bay’s 2007 cinematic reboot of the series.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Video game industry posts a February surprise

The video game industry pulled a rabbit out of its hat in February – and that rabbit looked a lot like an Xbox 360.

A surprise 10 percent jump in hardware sales and a 22 percent increase in peripheral sales not only led the industry to an increase over the February 2010 numbers, but put it in positive year-over-year country as well, according to data from the NPD Group.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog