AllThingsD » game console

Gaia Moves Games From Online to Facebook

Tricia Duryee — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:00:54 +0000

Gaia Interactive, which developed one of the early online gaming communities, is participating in one of the most recent trends: Making its games available to users at all times, on most any platform.

Today Gaia announced the availability of its first game on the iPhone, a spinoff from the Facebook game Monster Galaxy, which is played by more than 15 million users a month.

The game is called Monster Galaxy: The Zodiac Islands, and is available for free, starting today.

Mike Sego, Gaia’s CEO, said the most-requested feature by its Facebook players was to play the game on a mobile phone.

Despite that, Sego said the game is a standalone experience, meaning that it is not tied to the Facebook game. “It is an entirely different game — we didn’t want it to be limited to the people who played on Facebook,” he said.

In the game, players must battle magical creatures while crossing the mystical islands in an attempt to dethrone an evil king. Gamers will be able to accelerate the time it takes to complete missions, if they purchase in-game virtual goods.

GaiaOnline was launched in 2003 as a social gaming community focused on giving players a platform to dress up avatars, share their interests and play games. Originally, the site added a PayPal link, where fans could give donations to the developers to keep the community going. Since then the community and the payment mechanisms have evolved a lot.

As for whether Gaia will continue moving to other platforms, like Google+ or a game console, Sego said, “It’s not something we have ruled out. The Monster Galaxy brand has a durable emotional connection with a large audience.”

LG Announces Customs Agent Chaos For PS3

John Paczkowski — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 21:58:37 +0000

LG Electronics has made good on its threat to block the import of PlayStation 3 consoles into Europe. The Guardian reports that the Hague has granted LG a preliminary injunction against Sony, which it claims has unfairly built some of its patented Blu-ray technology into the product.

Evidently, customs officials seized “tens of thousands” of PS3s in the Netherlands earlier this week and will do the same to any further shipments that arrive there for the next 10 days. Sony, which ironically begat these hostilities by filing patent-infringement claims seeking to block LG from selling mobile phones in the United States, is said to be frantically working to have the ban repealed.

Reached for comment, Sony had very little to say on the matter. “We’re investigating the situation, but cannot comment on it at this time,” said Dan Race of Sony Computer Entertainment America.

Meanwhile, LG is plotting its next move, which could include a play to have the 10-day import ban extended–or a court order to have the consoles destroyed.

Lenovo Aims to Score With Game Console in China

Voices — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:17:01 +0000

Lenovo, the world’s No. 4 PC maker, is looking to branch out beyond the commodity computer biz, introducing a smartphone and working on a tablet. Now comes word that it has formed a new company, Beijing eedoo Technology, to develop a game console called the eBox, featuring hands-free interaction. The console is slated to launch in China by the end of the year into a game market where rampant piracy reigns.

Hulu's Subscription Service Could Come Next Week–For Some of You

Peter Kafka — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 02:28:50 +0000

Some of you may finally get a chance to pay for Hulu. The video Web site is finalizing plans to launch its subscription service, and people familiar with the company say a beta test of “Hulu Plus” could launch as early as next week.

If you’re in a select group, that is. One person familiar with the site, owned by a joint venture of broadcasters and Providence Equity Partners, says the initial test could be limited to 10,000 people.

The Hulu Plus pitch, as I’ve previously reported: $9.95 a month for access to a deeper catalog of shows than the free service currently offers, plus the ability to watch it on devices other than a laptop or PC, including Apple’s (AAPL) iPad. Other reports this month indicate that the service may also be available on Microsoft’s (MSFT) Xbox and Sony’s (SNE) PS3 game consoles.

I’m also told that Hulu’s network owners–GE’s (GE) NBC, Disney’s (DIS) ABC and News Corp.’s (NWS) Fox–are still hammering out rights deals for particular shows. So it’s possible that the launch could be pushed back or that the service will have weird gaps in its catalog when it does launch.

One example of a possible programming stumbling block: Viacom’s (VIA) “Comedy Central” has rights to older episodes of NBC’s “30 Rock.”

Hulu says it is already turning a profit from ad sales and is on track to generate more than $200 million in revenue this year. A successful subscription service would beef up those numbers.

It would also accomplish an equally important goal for CEO Jason Kilar: Mollifying his network owners, who worry that Hulu is cutting into their existing businesses, including licensing fees, DVD sales and conventional TV advertising. Hulu and its network partners would split the $10-per-head fee, I’m told, though I don’t know the formula the JV will use to split up the dollars.

No comment from Hulu. The Wall Street Journal is also reporting on Hulu’s plans.

How to Watch Video, Wirelessly, on Your TV Set

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:03:34 +0000

An increasing number of people are watching video, including TV shows and movies, on their computers, instead of via traditional TV sets.

Many young people don’t even bother with a cable or satellite subscription and just use their PCs or Macs to get their video fix.

[ See post to watch video ]

But computer screens are small, so some folks hook the computer up to the TV for their viewing sessions. The problem with this is that it can be complicated for the technically challenged. And it can involve long cables stretching across the floor, or leaving a computer you might want for other tasks permanently connected to the TV. So companies have been working on ways to beam Internet video wirelessly from your computer to your TV.

I’ve been testing two of these wireless PC-to-TV solutions. Both require a secondary device that remains connected to the TV to receive the wireless signal from the computer.

One product is a new system from Intel (INTC), several major laptop makers and the networking equipment company Netgear (NTGR). It’s called Intel Wireless Display, or Wi-Di for short. The other is a software product called PlayOn, from a company called MediaMall. It beams video to your TV through popular game consoles such as Microsoft’s (MSFT) Xbox 360, Sony’s (SNE) PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii. Both of these products only work on Windows computers.

In my tests, both systems mostly worked as advertised, but each had some downsides. The Intel system works with any video from any site you can play on the computer, but the video disappears from the TV if you are playing it in full-screen mode and get the impulse to use the computer for any other purpose while it is playing. And it only works on a handful of new, specially equipped PCs.

The PlayOn system will work on an existing computer, and it keeps showing a video even if you choose to use the PC for some other task. But it can’t beam just any old video to the TV, only those from services PlayOn has enabled. For instance, you can watch TV shows and movies from Hulu (partly owned by News Corp., which also owns The Wall Street Journal and its Web sites) but not from your favorite random Web site.

Intel’s new Wi-Di system is so far only available on three specific laptop models, one each from Toshiba, Sony and Dell (DELL), that range from $900 to $1,050. And these laptops are so far only available from Best Buy (BBY). It also requires a small $100 adapter called Push2TV from Netgear, which comes free with these laptops.

Wi-Di requires computers equipped with Intel’s brand new 2010 Core processors, Intel’s graphics chips and Intel’s wireless chips. Netgear and Intel say the feature will be available on other PC models later in the year.

I tested Wi-Di with the $900 Toshiba E205, a capable laptop with a 14-inch screen. Setup was a breeze. I just plugged the Netgear box into my TV and pushed a special Wi-Di button on the Toshiba. I typed in a code number the first time I used it, and I was in business.

Instantly, anything showing on the Toshiba’s screen was wirelessly replicated on the TV screen, even though I was eight feet away.

I tested the system with YouTube, Hulu and many other Web sites with no hitches or glitches. I also played videos stored on the PC’s hard disk.

Video mostly played smoothly over Wi-Di, though the quality on the TV was a bit degraded from that on the laptop screen, and HD videos didn’t look nearly as good as normal HD TV broadcasts. Also, the system isn’t satisfying unless you are streaming a video that can be viewed in full-screen mode on the PC.

I tested PlayOn with a Lenovo ThinkPad laptop and a PlayStation 3. After hooking up the PS3, I installed the $40 PlayOn software, which runs in the background. I then navigated to the Video section of the Sony’s menu, found PlayOn listed and used the Sony’s remote control to select from supported services, which include YouTube, Hulu, Netflix (NFLX), CBS.com (CBS), Amazon (AMZN) Video on Demand, CNN.com,and ESPN.com.

PlayOn also allows third-party plug-ins to add other Web video sources, such as NBC.com, but the company admits that the plug-in process can be clunky.

Video quality was about the same on PlayOn as on Wi-Di, and most programs played smoothly. With PlayOn, you don’t see the actual Web site, and you’re limited to the navigation system and options of the game console you’re using. So, I had to tediously find shows on the Sony by trolling through long lists.

PlayOn failed to display videos and photos stored on my PC, though to be fair the company lists this as a beta feature. And it displayed brief error messages frequently, even when it proceeded to play my chosen video properly.

PlayOn costs $40, and can be downloaded from www.playon.tv. You also must own or buy a game console, or one of a smattering of less- well-known TV adapters that the system supports.

Watching Internet video is a better experience with no wires to get in the way. But it can cost a lot, and needs some work.

Find all of Walt Mossberg’s columns and videos online, free, at the All Things Digital Web site, walt.allthingsd.com. Email him at mossberg@wsj.com.

Netflix's Chances of a Nintendo Deal Really Were "Excellent"

Peter Kafka — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 11:00:46 +0000

Don’t accuse Reed Hastings of tipping his hand. At least not all the way.

Last Friday, at an onstage interview I conducted with the Netflix CEO, I asked him when his company might start offer streaming video for Nintendo’s Wii game console, as it does for Microsoft’s (MSFT) Xbox 360 and Sony’s (SNE) Playstation3.

The chances were “excellent,” Hastings said. “These things have a natural rhythm, and these are things that I think will work out over time.”

Another way Hastings could have answered the question, if he wanted to be a little more forthright: “It’s a done deal.”

Netflix and Nintendo are formally announcing the pact today, and Wii owners will be able to stream movies to their TV sets via the console sometime this spring, the companies say.

It’s an obvious move for both parties, but it’s particularly good one for Netflix (NFLX) since it offers the company a chance to introduce itself to some 26 million Wii owners–more than double the company’s 11 million subscriber base.

Netflix is slowly transforming itself from a company that mails DVDs to customers to one that streams video directly to their homes. Hastings says that 50 percent of his customers have tried the streaming service option, and game console owners have been particularly receptive.

If you want to scour Hastings’s comments for clues to other deals that may be in the offing, be my guest. Here are all 36 minutes of our chat, which took place during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

[ See post to watch video ]

RealNetworks Wants a Convergence Play–Just Like Everyone Else

Peter Kafka — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 11:30:37 +0000

Why did RealNetworks buy Varia Mobile, a software company best known for producing an MP3 player that sold poorly?

To work on a mysterious cloud-computing project, which has something to do with mobility and entertainment. That’s per TechFlash, which reported on the deal Sunday.

Probably best not to make too much of this one. Given that Real didn’t announce the deal (let alone report it to the Securities and Exchange Commission), it can’t be for much money (note that the last purchase Real bothered to announce was for $4 million). And the Lala deal aside, you can “acqhire” a group of engineers without laying out a lot of cash these days.

But it is a good reminder that RealNetworks (RNWK) wants to make itself a player in the next phase of entertainment–the one where you buy or rent the stuff over the Web and consume it wherever you want.

That’s at least partly why CEO Rob Glaser is still wrangling with Hollywood over his “RealDVD” system, which is supposed to let you rip copies of DVDs you already own. Because once you’ve done that, the next logical step is moving the file to your iPod or your tablet or just to different rooms in your house.

The problem, of course, is that everyone else wants to play there, too. And many already are in some form.

There are the hardware guys like Sony (SNE), who are selling TV sets and game consoles with Web connections, and cable guys like Comcast (CMCSA), who already control the pipe that brings the stuff to your living room. And telcos like Verizon (VZ), which want to do the same thing. And, of course, retailers like Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN) and Netflix (NFLX), which are already selling digital entertainment. Etc.

During the first Web boom, it seemed Real would be in this list as well, since its back-end technology and its RealPlayer were commonly used to move entertainment around the Internet. Now the company is best known for its Rhapsody music service and its collection of casual games, but it doesn’t have pole position in either sector.

You’ll hear plenty more about this stuff over the next week at the Consumer Electronics Show, which kicks off Wednesday. But Real will probably be mum.

The company doesn’t have any announcements planned and isn’t renting space at the convention’s main show floor. Not a terrible idea to lie low at CES, where lots of people make a lot of noise about stuff that never comes to pass. But at some point, it will be interesting to see how Real plans to compete.

New Twitter Valuation Clearly in Need of Character Limit

John Paczkowski — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 18:00:15 +0000

[ See post to watch video ]

Wii Fails Less Than Xbox, But "Red Rings of Death" Abate

Nick Wingfield — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 19:51:29 +0000

Nintendo’s Wii has outsold rival game consoles. Now a new study says it also outlasts them.

The study by SquareTrade, an independent provider of warranties on electronics, estimates that 2.7 percent of Wiis fail during the first two years of ownership, compared with a 10 percent failure rate over that period for Sony’s (SNE) PlayStation 3 and a 23.7 percent failure rate for Microsoft’s (MSFT) Xbox 360. The Wii failure rate is not just low for a game console, but for any kind of consumer electronics, the SquareTrade study says.

The company said it came up with the results after studying failure reports for 16,000 game consoles purchased by SquareTrade customers.

Read the rest of this post on the original site

Sony Still Losing Steam

John Paczkowski — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:00:41 +0000

[ See post to watch video ]

Weighing Devices for Your Netflix Delivered via Web

Nick Wingfield — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 02:18:03 +0000

Netflix was a pioneer in the business of movie rentals — getting consumers to rent DVDs online and mailing them out in cheery red envelopes. Recently, it has put a lot of effort into a service that delivers movies digitally over the Internet to subscribers, preparing for a day when getting movies on a physical disc will become outmoded.

People today use the Netflix service on their computers, but Netflix (NFLX) has cut a series of deals with hardware partners to make the service available on TV sets through an array of devices.

Most of these devices were designed to do other things: a videogame console, high-definition Blu-ray disc players, a TiVo (TIVO) digital video recorder. So to see how well the service works on these devices, I’ve spent the past couple of weeks comparing the Netflix experience on Microsoft’s (MSFT) Xbox 360 game console, on LG Electronics’ BD300 Blu-ray disc player and on a set-top box from Roku called the Netflix Player. The last, as the name implies, is designed mainly for Netflix service.

The devices suffer from a relatively skimpy selection of videos on the Netflix Internet service. Netflix has more than 100,000 titles for rent on disc, but about 12,000 titles for viewing through its Internet service at the moment, and there’s often a months-long delay after a movie’s release before it shows up online. Television shows generally turn up more quickly, with a handful, like NBC’s “Heroes,” watchable the day after they air.

Still, I find the Netflix service very appealing, especially for catching up on episodes of TV series, such as “30 Rock,” that I missed when they aired. Unlike the iTunes Store and other sites that charge users $1.99 per TV episode and $3.99 to rent a movie online, the Netflix Internet service is free to subscribers to its DVD service on one of the company’s “unlimited” rental plans, which start at $8.99 a month.

Depending on how fast your Internet connection is, Netflix videos begin playing almost instantly, though you can’t keep permanent copies.

Connecting the devices to Netflix through my wired home network was easy in all three cases. I used a wireless home network — more common in homes than the wired variety — with the Roku device, the only one of three products that comes with built-in Wi-Fi (it worked well in this mode). People who want to use the Xbox 360 with a wireless network will have to spend $70 or so on an external Wi-Fi adapter. LG recommends people use only a wired home network to connect to Netflix from its player, including adapter kits that cost about $100 for transmitting data over home power lines.

All the devices require you to create a list of movies you want to watch from a computer, just like Netflix subscribers set up “queues” of DVDs to be delivered by mail. The Xbox 360 offered by far the most elegant-looking interface for browsing through videos in my Netflix queue, letting me glide through a long row of cover art representing the movies and TV shows I selected on my PC.

In contrast, the Netflix menu on the LG Blu-ray player and Roku device were more static, making it more awkward to navigate the expanse of titles. Netflix became available on the Xbox 360 in November as part of a more sweeping software upgrade, delivered over the Internet, that remade the graphical look of the system.

The quality of most of the videos on Netflix is, to my eyes, about DVD quality, though Netflix is adding some titles in high-definition to its Internet library. HD titles were available for viewing only through the Xbox 360 when I was testing the service. Roku and LG say they will make software updates available online this month that add HD support to their devices.

The Xbox 360 also has some annoying quirks when using it as a movie player — including a noisy fan I found distracting. The game controller that comes with the Xbox 360 is clunky for playing movies, so users will need to invest in an inexpensive additional remote-control design for media. The Roku and LG players, in contrast, were totally silent and had acceptable remote controls for watching Netflix videos.

I experienced the most serious glitches with the LG Blu-ray player, which occasionally dropped the video signal to my television set as I was watching a movie. LG says the loss of video signal could have been due to the connection I used to hook the player to my TV, though I’ve never had a problem with other devices using the same connection. The LG Blu-ray player also took the longest of all the devices to install software upgrades from the Internet.

While there are some differences in the Netflix experience on the Roku device, Xbox 360 and LG Blu-ray player, none of them is so great that they should trump other considerations — like a desire to play videogames or watch HD Blu-ray movies — in deciding which system is the best fit.

The LG Blu-ray player is available online for about $300. The cheapest Xbox 360 model is $199. (To get Netflix through the Xbox 360, users must be “gold” members to the $49.99-a-year Xbox Live game service.) But if what you’re after is primarily Netflix movies, and you’ve got room near your TV for another box, the $99.99 Roku product is the best value.

Walt Mossberg is on vacation.

Write to Nick Wingfield at nick.wingfield@wsj.com

Surfing the Web on a Television Set

Walter S. Mossberg — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 00:01:00 +0000

Here are a few questions I’ve received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about surfing the Internet on a television set, the security of Apple’s Safari Web browser for Windows computers, and the cost of AT&T’s wireless service for laptops.

Can you recommend a device that would allow me to surf the Web on a bedroom television connected via Ethernet and to control the device via a wireless keyboard or remote control?

Perhaps the most direct approach would be to buy the MSN TV 2 device from Microsoft that is specifically meant for browsing the Web on a TV from a distance and can be used with Ethernet. It costs $200, plus a monthly fee, comes with a wireless keyboard and remote, and can be ordered at msntv.com.

A second option would be to buy a small computer with a wireless keyboard and hook it up to the bedroom TV instead of to a computer monitor. For instance, I have surfed the Web this way using a tiny $599 Mac Mini computer from Apple, which comes with a wireless remote and accepts almost any wireless keyboard, though it doesn’t come with one. There are numerous Windows computers that could do the same, and many cost less, though most are larger.

Another method would be to use a game console capable of surfing the Web, even if you have no intention of playing games. These are made to work with TV sets, and some can use a wireless keyboard and/or wireless controller to do the job. For instance, the $250 Nintendo Wii game machine has an optional Web-browsing function.

Apple has released a Windows beta version of Safari. Is it any safer to use than Microsoft’s Internet Explorer?

It’s too early to tell, as the Windows version of Safari is still in beta and is very new, to users and hackers alike.

Certainly, operating in Windows will make Safari much more vulnerable to attack than it is on the Macintosh operating system, if only because the writers of malicious software aim their firepower overwhelmingly at Windows. While Internet Explorer is hardly impregnable, it has become safer over the years, and Microsoft certainly has much more experience battling Windows security issues than Apple does. Apple has already issued some security updates for this new version of Safari and will undoubtedly have to keep issuing more to keep ahead of the bad guys.

I am thinking of buying a ThinkPad laptop from Lenovo with AT&T BroadbandConnect. Do I still need to buy some sort of card from AT&T and insert it into the laptop, and must I pay a subscription fee to them?

No, and yes. The laptop likely has the modem for AT&T built in, so you can connect to the Internet via AT&T’s cellular network without buying an external card. However, the service isn’t free. You can’t use it without a subscription, which typically runs $60 a month.

You can find Mossberg’s Mailbox, and my other columns, online free of charge at the new All Things Digital Web site, http://walt.allthingsd.com.

Write to Walter S. Mossberg at mossberg@wsj.com