Microsoft and Sony have been waging war over whose 
gaming system has more mass-market features since the beginning of this generation. Score the latest round to Sony.
The company and Major League Baseball have struck a deal that will result in MLB games streaming live via the PS3 effective today. To watch ‘em, though, you’ll need a subscription to MLB.com – and that will run you over $100 per year.
It’s no secret that Microsoft has always had broader plans for the Xbox 360 than video games, but a new report from Bloomberg indicates the company may be thinking of something much more ambitious than anyone expected.
Microsoft and former News Corp. president Peter Chernin have reportedly discussed creating a television channel that would air exclusively on Xbox Live and feature a mix of original programming and reruns. News of the discussions comes on the heels of reports that Conan O’Brien considered moving his show to Xbox before deciding to go with TBS.
That headline wasn’t a typo. Martha Stewart Omnimedia and Majesco Entertainment have partnered up to bring the doyenne of domestic duties to the video game space.
“Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia offers a vast wealth of content and has a passionate following. Branching into the interactive entertainment space is a natural next step,” said Jesse Sutton, CEO of Majesco Entertainment in a statement.
Demand Media, the company behind online hits such 
as eHow, Livestrong.com and Cracked, is expanding its reach, adding both Hollywood and Internet heavyweights to its board of directors.
Peter Guber, chair of Mandalay Entertainment Group, and Josh James, senior vice president and general manager of the Omniture Business Unit of Adobe, have joined the company’s board to help the company in its content creation and audience behavior.
Nolan Bushnell, the man who founded Atari in 1972 
and was booted from it six years later, is back again. Atari has named Bushnell to its board of directors and said it hopes to lean on him to help with the company’s future planning.
It’s a move that might bring a smile to gaming historians, but could once again raise questions about the company’s future. Bushnell, while unquestionably a visionary in the video game space, has not been a major part of the mainstream gaming world for years. And his appointment comes as two well-respected industry veterans sever their ties with the company.
When Blizzard Entertainment put the “Celestian Steed” mount up for sale 
in its “World of Warcraft” store Thursday, it was quite clear: The virtual horse wouldn’t give players any new abilities; it would only give them a new way to get around the game world. And the speed would depend on their character’s skill level.
Users didn’t care. Within four hours, the queue to buy one was 80,000 people long. Before the day was out, the queue numbered over 140,000 – with an average wait time of seven hours. The virtual pet carried a price tag of $25 – meaning Blizzard could earn more than $3.5 million in less than a day via microtransactions.
We’ve covered the problems at Activision since the abrupt firing of Jason West and Vince Zampella fairly regularly. And since Monday’s news that the duo had started a new development house and aligned themselves with Electronic Arts, the exodus of talent at their old studio Infinity Ward has gone from a trickle to a steady stream.
Most of the design leads from “Modern Warfare 2” have departed at this point (though none have formally been announced as employees of West and Zampella’s Respawn Entertainment yet). Running a list of names that most people haven’t heard of before this mess doesn’t effectively show the exodus, but the team at PC Gamer UK have found a good way to do so.
It was no surprise that Disney-owned ABC was one of the first media companies to embrace 
the iPad. Steve Jobs, after all, is a prominent board member. But now that the first numbers are coming in, you can bet that executives at the network are awfully glad they signed on early.
In just 12 days, ABC’s iPad app was downloaded more than 212,000 times. And users have already streamed more than 680,000 episodes via that app.
With consolidation sweeping through the film industry and indie shingles closing down at a rapid clip, it’s harder than ever for budding filmmakers to get a break. But a new Website that counts three members of the Academy among its ranks is looking to make it a little easier.
Openfilm.com emerges from its beta period Thursday with a series of grants for filmmakers, its own distribution company and an advisory board that includes actors James Caan, Robert Duval and Scott Caan, along with director Mark Rydell.
Chris Morris: Journalist 