Tag Archives: technotainment

2010 sees 6 percent drop in retail video game sales

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2010 was another ugly year for video game retailers. Overall sales of video games were down 6 percent compared to the 2009 numbers – coming in at $18.58 billion. But there was some room for optimism.

Adding in other income streams, including digital downloads, used game sales, game rentals, subscriptions, social network games and mobile game apps, the NPD Group, which tallies the numbers, estimates preliminary software sales in 2010 were between $15.4 to $15.6 billion – which represented relatively flat growth compared to 2009 (though perhaps down by 1 percent).

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Nintendo’s 3DS may eventually become a 3D camcorder too

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Nintendo will break new ground with the 3DS portable gaming system later this year, offering the first consumer electronics device to let people enjoy stereoscopic 3D effects without wearing glasses. But it looks like the company might have much bigger ambitions for the gadget.

In the latest Iwata Asks Q&A with the company’s global CEO, Satoru Iwata reveals that he would like to include video recording capabilities into future updates of the 3DS, letting people shoot home movies in 3D and watch them back on their device or (presumably) on a 3D TV via SD card.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Just how popular are pirate sites?

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The entertainment industry’s war on piracy is well known, but exactly how big an army it has been battling has always been something of a mystery.

MarkMonitor, which protects online brands for its clients, has done some counting, though, and it estimates that Web piracy sites distributing software, films and other products attract roughly 53 billion visits per year.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

iPhone 4 coming to Verizon – officially

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After years of rumors, speculation and pining, Verizon finally has the iPhone.

The company made the formal announcement Tuesday, confirming that the top smartphone on the market will be available to its customers in early March, ending AT&T’s long run of exclusivity with the device.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Latest World of Warcraft expansion sets new record

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Blizzard’s MMO juggernaut “World of Warcraft” is showing no signs of slowing down.

The company announced Monday that the game’s latest expansion – “World of Warcraft: Cataclysm” – had sold 4.7 million copies worldwide in just one month. That makes it the fastest-selling PC game of all time, displacing “Wrath of the Lich King,” the previous “WoW” expansion.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

CES 2011 Preview: Saturday’s things to watch

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Things are starting to slow down at CES – kind of. The crowds will be huge today and the show isn’t over until tomorrow, but rather than the flood of announcements, seminars and keynotes, Saturday and Sunday are basically days for attendees to seek out the items they’ve missed.

This is when quality tends to win out over hype at the show – as word of mouth spreads about smaller devices that don’t have the marketing budgets of Panasonic, Sharp or other multi-billion dollar companies.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

CES 2011: Panasonic press conference recap

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Panasonic is opening an app store – and launching a tablet.

The company announced plans Wednesday to transform its VieraCast service, which embedded a limited number of apps on select HDTVs, into Viera Connect – a market that will welcome apps from a larger pool of developers.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

CES 2011: Panasonic TVs get a streaming game service

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Panasonic is getting its game on. The electronics giant has struck a deal with Oberon Media to carry that company’s I-play TV in all 2011 Vierra Connect HDTVs.

It’s a big opportunity for the casual gaming service, which is also announcing today that it has locked up the Smart TV rights to “Tetris”. New Internet-enabled sets from one of the industry’s leading manufacturers will now feature its top franchises, which also include “Dream Day Wedding” and “Bubble Town” – along with casual standards such as “Solitaire” and “Texas Hold’em”.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

CES 2011 Preview: Wednesday’s things to watch

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It’s press conference day here at CES. That means the news floodgates are about to open big time.

Pretty much every major consumer electronics manufacturer attending the show has their moment in the spotlight Wedensday, with some 15 press conferences scheduled – including the evening’s keynote by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

CES 2011: Toshiba unveils 3D glasses-free laptop

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The 3D holdouts that are using the mandatory ridiculous glasses as an excuse might want to start coming up with another reason.

Toshiba has taken the wraps off of a prototype laptop that offers stereoscopic 3D images without the need for any sort of headwear. The machine uses the same technology Toshiba is using to power similar 3D TVs in Japan and lets users play games and watch movies in 3D. There’s one slight difference here: Those TVs are 12 inches. This machine boasts a 15 inch screen.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog