Experts Give the New Xbox Raves for Control, Creativity
(Dec. 6 2001)
Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Microsoft sold more than 960,000 consoles last week, with a majority flying off the shelves within a single 24-hour period.

Nintendo also said the Wii had the biggest Black Friday ever, selling more than 500,000 units on the day after Thanksgiving.

At one point during the shopping madness, a shopper pepper sprayed a crowd at a Wal-Mart to get her mitts on an Xbox (although reports now say police are investigating the incident to determine the cause of the attack).

Sony declined to release sales figures for the PlayStation 3 last week, but it is likely benefiting from a recent $50 price cut.

Such strong sales are mind-blowing.

People are lining up for — and in some cases fighting over — hardware that is five to six years old. It’s difficult to imagine any other consumer hardware that could attract that kind of demand after such a long period of time.

All three are nearing the end of their life cycles. The Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 are both five years old, and the Xbox 360 is a year older.

Nintendo announced that it will release a new console, the Wii U, later next year. Microsoft and Sony have not said anything official, but they are both expected to follow with competing launches in the same time frame.

It has long been a pattern for all three rivals to release new hardware at the same time. A European PlayStation executive recently hinted that Sony’s plan was to continue that trend because it was “undesirable” to be significantly later than the competition, according to IndustryGamers.com.

Despite the odds, there are at least three reasons why sales continue to do well.

The lineup of games is as strong as it has ever been for the consoles; all three have tried sprucing up the hardware with accessories and adding downloadable content; and, finally, consumers don’t have a choice — the only alternative is to wait another year.

First, the games: This year, publishers waited until now to release some of the hottest titles of 2011; hardcore gamers in particular will have their choice of any number of blockbuster hits.

Activision’s Call of Duty game is already a runaway success, grossing $775 million in the first five days it was available, to shatter all entertainment records.

Also in the hardcore genre is Electronic Art’s Battlefield 3, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed, PlayStation’s Uncharted 3 and Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham City, which are all going head to head this holiday season.

But the consoles don’t just serve the hardcore genre anymore.

Last year, both Sony and Microsoft released motion-controlled gaming systems to rival the Wii’s technology, which has always been considered more family friendly and easy to use.

This holiday season, Sony and Microsoft are offering the most games ever for the Move and Kinect, respectively. Microsoft will have 75 new Kinect games available for the Xbox this holiday, four times last year’s number. Sony said the PlayStation Move is expected to launch 26 titles.

In addition to being used to play games, the consoles are turning into entertainment systems for the living room.

It started with the ability to use the Internet-connected boxes to stream Netflix to TV screens. Now the consoles are turning into media hubs, playing video, music and other content that is readily available over the Internet.

Microsoft and Sony have made entertainment a particular focus between their respective online networks, Xbox Live and PlayStation Network.

Microsoft will make a huge push on Dec. 6, when it rolls out a free update to Xbox Live. Users will be able to conduct a Bing search to find games, music and video across several providers. To make it even more family friendly, the Xbox Live user interface will be controlled with voice commands, rather than by the game controller.

By the end of the year, Microsoft expects that nearly 40 TV and entertainment providers — including Comcast, Netflix, Hulu, ESPN and HBO GO — will be available on its system.

All of these reasons added up could keep the pedal on the gas for what in any other segment would be considered ancient technology.

In an interview, John Koller, director of marketing for Sony’s PlayStation, argued that there’s a lot left in the current generation of consoles.

As an example, he said its predecessor, the PlayStation 2, is 12 years old, but continues to be used in homes around the U.S. as a game player and DVD player. Similarly, the PlayStation 3 substitutes as a Blu-ray player.

Overall, the PlayStation 2 ended up reaching nearly half of all U.S. households.

If that can be used as a guide, then the PlayStation 3 still has a very long way to go. In fact, the goal may be unattainable if new hardware is coming around the corner.

To date, Sony has sold 18.7 million PlayStation 3’s in the U.S. That makes up just a fraction — less than 17 percent — of the 112.6 million households, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau figures.

“We are nowhere near where we could be,” Koller admits.

Next year, the true testament will be how the hardware sells as we get closer to the release of Nintendo Wii U and consoles.

One of Yahoo’s biggest problems — brain drain — has turned out to be an asset for private equity firms and other players interested in figuring out their best moves related to the Silicon Valley Internet giant.

A plethora of ex-Yahoos, including many former top execs, are getting buttonholed by those who want to know more about the inner workings of the company that might not be obvious from its copious financial data available publicly.

That includes former Americas head Hilary Schneider, who has a longer-term consulting gig with TPG Capital, one of the several PE firms that has recently signed a non-disclosure agreement with Yahoo; former COO and President Sue Decker, who has had a longtime informal relationship with Blackstone, which has not signed the NDA and has been in talks with Yahoo’s Asian partners, China’s Alibaba Group and Japan’s SoftBank; and even former CEO Carol Bartz, who sources say has also been contacted to get her insights.

She is one of many in that regard, in a large pool of former Yahoos, such as: LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner, who had run Yahoo’s media efforts; Chegg CEO Dan Rosensweig, former Yahoo COO; SurveyMonkey CEO Dave Goldberg, who ran swathes of Yahoo’s entertainment properties; Criteo CEO Greg Coleman, former Yahoo sales head; former CEO Terry Semel, who is now an investor; former communications exec Brad Garlinghouse, who is now at AOL; and Demand Media Chief Revenue Officer Joanne Bradford, who also was a top Yahoo advertising exec.

Not all are cooperating with the requests for a chitchat about Yahoo, but there is much incoming interest in ex-Yahoos and what they might know.

There’s lots more where that came from, from all parts and all levels of Yahoo, given the breadth of the exes now doing very well — thank you very much — throughout the tech and media industries.

Thus, calls from PE firms, from Silver Lake to Bain Capital to Providence Equity Partners, as well as interest from major and majorly irritated shareholders, such as activist hedge fund investor Dan Loeb.

It’s a smart idea to tap this rich vein of information, as all contemplate possible multi-billion-dollar investments.

While some of these execs have not worked at Yahoo in many years, all have significant knowledge about the challenges and also the culture that cannot be gleaned from spreadsheets.

They also know a lot about the internal politics and personalities of the existing inside players, too. More importantly, several were involved in similar previous major business decisions at Yahoo.

Decker, for example, was a key exec in the Yahoo takeover attempt by Microsoft several years ago; Schneider and Bartz were deeply involved in striking the advertising and search partnership with Microsoft.

“Between everyone, it’s a good way to figure out where all the bodies are buried,” said one person close to the situation. “And there are a lot of bodies.”

A range of major players interested in acquiring all or a large piece of Yahoo have been prepping possible bids and have been in touch with the Internet giant’s board over the last several days.

While Yahoo has publicly said it was not for sale, according to numerous sources both inside and outside the company, it has been receptive to the interest and its Chairman Roy Bostock and Co-founder Jerry Yang have spoken to several.

Among the possible players: Silicon Valley venture firm Andreessen Horowitz, which is working with private equity firm Silver Lake, in a deal that also might include Russia’s DST Global and Yahoo’s Japanese partner Masa Son; former News Corp. exec Peter Chernin, who is partnered with Providence Equity Partners; and the possibility that Yahoo’s Chinese partner, Alibaba Group, might consider entering the fray in what could be a reverse merger of sorts.

Also being rung up by some of the parties: Microsoft — Yahoo’s advertising and search partner — which is being seen as a possibly moneybags in any deal.

The movement among these investors is against a backdrop of increasing pressure for Yahoo’s board, after it fired CEO Carol Bartz last week. In the wake of the dramatic move, shareholders have upped criticism of Bostock and the board and have been looking hard for alternatives.

Today, that included hedge fund investor Daniel Loeb of Third Point, which has a 5.1 percent stake in Yahoo. In a filing this morning, he said he might increase that amount, and described a testy hour-long phone call he had earlier this week with Bostock that ended abruptly with a hang-up from Yahoo.

Sources said Loeb called Bostock a “fool,” among other not-so-nice names, on the call and asked for Yang’s help in dumping him.

This comes as exactly no surprise, given his previously strong letter in which Loeb called for Bostock’s ouster.

Loeb has been calling out Bostock — who is also on the boards of Morgan Stanley and Delta Airlines — for a series of gaffes at Yahoo since he became chairman in 2008 (he’s been on the board since 2003).

Those have included: Yahoo’s bungled effort to stave off a takeover by Microsoft several years ago; the too-long enthusiasm for Bartz, who was hired in early 2009 and fired last week; sitting unusually still as competitors such as Facebook, Google and more have out-innovated and outgrown Yahoo; and, of course, the falling knife of a stock, which has dropped precipitously since Bostock has been in charge of the board.

As Loeb wrote in a letter he sent to the company last week:

“It is time that certain members of this Board were held accountable for its past failures and their individual roles. Accordingly, we insist that Mr. Bostock, who championed Ms. Bartz’s hiring and led the charge against the Microsoft deal, promptly resign from the Board.”

Loeb is likely to add to that later today at a high-profile investor conference in New York, where the colorful but tough-talking investor is sure to add more logs to the fire.

But it not only him. Other major shareholders of Yahoo are also in touch with possible outside buyers, seeking a change at the long-troubled company, after its shares have remained in the doldrums, its attrition rate of employees has spiked and its product pipeline has slowed to drip.

This has all been taking place — of course — during one of tech biggest and most innovative booms, in which Yahoo competitors have grown strongly.

Enter Marc Andreessen, the well-known entrepreneur who has transformed himself into one of Silicon Valley’s most powerful venture capitalists.

He and his partner Ben Horowitz recently pulled off another similar deal — with Silver Lake — to take control of a then-troubled Skype. They later flipped it to Microsoft for a large return.

Sources familiar with the situation said the pair have become increasingly intrigued by the situation at Yahoo and believe that its assets and brand are still strong, despite its management turmoil in recent years.

One problem is the huge cost of almost any kind of takeover and also the complexity, given much of Yahoo’s $18.5 billion valuation is due to its Asian assets.

The sale of those shares, as well as the selling off of some of Yahoo’s less core properties, makes for a very complicated situation for anyone.

Said one person looking at the company: “It is one of the more massive hairballs around.”

That is a common sentiment among many of those looking at Yahoo, which has hired Allen & Co. to manage the process.

Also of worry is a bid that would include too many players. Yahoo has long been plagued by indecisiveness on the part of its execs and, mostly, its board.

But one thing all the possible buyers of Yahoo, as well as an increasing number of its shareholders, agree on: The Yahoo board needs a major shake-up.

As Loeb wrote last week, which many I interviewed also echoed:

“This letter details our principled demands for sweeping changes in both the Board of Directors (the “Board”) and Company leadership, and outlines the hidden value of Yahoo, which has been severely damaged — but not irreparably — by poor management and governance.”

The Seattle-based company, which aggregates real estate listings online, has priced its IPO between $12 and $14 a share. Once the sale is complete, it will have 27,058,139 outstanding shares. At $14 a share, the company will be worth $378.8 million.

The company plans to raise up to $55.7 million, not including over allotments, if any. In conjunction with the offering, it expects to secure an additional $5.5 million from Technology Crossover Ventures, which will buy shares at the same price as the IPO.

Zillow expects to trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol “Z.”

Its two closest competitors are privately held Trulia and Move, Inc., which has a public market capitalization of $355.5 million.

Today, it wants to change gaming again by introducing a new console called the Wii U.

The Wii U comes with a touchscreen, tablet-style controller that looks like a mix between clunky handheld gaming systems, like the 3DS, and Apple’s iPad in terms of functionality.

Nintendo did not say when the console will be released or how much it will cost.

In the time since the Wii hit the market more than six years ago, Nintendo has sold more than 47 million consoles in the U.S., making it one of the best-selling videogame systems of all time.

But since then, Xbox and Sony have both brought motion-controlled gaming to the next level with the Kinect and Move, respectively, and sales of Nintendo’s latest handheld gaming device, the 3DS, have failed to impress.

This morning at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, Nintendo is hosting a press conference to announce its plans for regaining its gaming throne in the living rooms around the world. The press conference takes place on the official opening day of E3, the annual event the videogame industry uses to announce its plans for the coming year.

Follow the live blog here for all the details:

8:49 am: Thanks for tuning in. We have another 10 minutes or so before things kick off.

I’m excited about this announcement. Nintendo has a way of shaking things up in the industry, and I’ve seen more than my share of first-person shooters already this week.

Whether the E3 crowd wants to admit it or not, there are more people out there who enjoy playing games–it’s about fun.

8:55 am: Nintendo is entertaining the crowd with trivia on the big screen. What was the first Super NES game to feature Donkey Kong?

9:05 am: Whoa, I didn’t even notice this until now, but in the very front of the auditorium, there’s a full orchestra. Very classy. Looks and sounds like we are about to begin.

9:09 am: We are listening to a full orchestra and choir with scenes from Zelda, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary, playing on the big screen.

Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Zelda, has just come on stage.

He’s bringing a translator on stage to help him out.

Last year was the 25th anniversary of Super Mario Bros., this year it’s Zelda’s turn.

Both the games and the music have evolved along with the consoles. He’s been listening to the music for a while now at his office, but to hear it in a hall like this is amazing.

Since we have the full orchestra, why not hear the music live?

First, a chime for getting a prize.

Next, the noise for getting an item.

Now a longer melody from a fairy’s fountain.

9:15 am: To celebrate the anniversary, they are releasing a game for all of the company’s hardware.

Nintendo’s eShop just launched yesterday on the 3DS, but today, you can download the Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.

Next weekend, there will be a 3-D version for the 3DS.

There will also be a free version of Zelda: Four Swords for the DSi, and a version called Skyward Sword for the Wii. Special for the launch of the game will be a gold remote!

Miyamoto says there will also be symphony concerts held around the world to play the original Zelda soundtrack in the Fall. More later on the specific dates. There are also CDs coming of the music.

9:19 am: For the last 25 years, the series has been supported by an incredibly large team, Miyamoto says. Within Nintendo, there are 200 people who have worked on the series.

Miyamoto says several of the people are here today that have worked on the project.

And, of course, he’d like to thank the fans for playing.

Nintendo’s President Satoru Iwata comes on stage.

He says they have been working hard to expand the number of people playing games, but as an industry we haven’t achieved yet a game platform that is equally satisfying for everyone.

This is what we want to create with our new platform.

How?

Two words: Deeper and wider.

He says that they can appeal to a wider audience than even the Wii accomplished. The full details are coming later this morning for the Wii. (The audience says boo, hiss….They don’t want to wait!)

“I think the new platform takes a major step in hitting our goal,” he says, but what about now?

The new Wii is for next year, and they have a bunch of new experiences to roll out for the 3DS, which hasn’t been doing so well, partly because of the lack of games to play.

9:27 am: Welcome to the stage Reggie Fils-Aime.

He asks: Is it possible to deliver something for everyone?

In the same way that’s the goal of the new Wii, this is the goal for the 3DS, he says. We are about to get a sneak peek of new games that will be in 3-D. Although they will only be in 2-D for us in the audience.

First game is Mario Kart.

That will be coming in time for the holidays.

Next game is StarFox 64. In the game, you can either use buttons, or you can turn and tilt the 3DS to navigate through the world.

Additionally, you will be able to use the forward-facing camera to see the face of the friends you are playing and how they are reacting to the game play in real-time.

It arrives this September.

Next up, an all-new Super Mario 3-D that’s been created from scratch for the 3DS. Fils-Aime says, “If it’s true that software sells hardware, it’s also true that Mario has sold a lot of hardware.”

It looks like an all-new Mario, but with plenty of mushrooms and monsters to battle.

The game will hit the market by the end of the year, but oddly no promise of it coming out in time for the holidays.

9:35 am: Another new game is Kid Icarus: Uprising, a fantasy-style game coming soon.

This game will use augmented reality cards to conduct battles.

Next game is Luigi’s Mansion 2. They promise the lovable Italian still has his vacuum to suck up ghosts. It’s not a simple revision, it’s a new game that makes use of 3-D and several new mansions.

9:39 am: Now we are switching gears to see third-party games for the 3DS. In a quick video montage, we see Resident Evil by Capcom, Driver Renegade by Ubisoft, Pac-man by Namco Bandai and many others.

Fils-Aime says that the new browser and eShop downloads that came out this week allow you to get new games. A Virtual Console also allows you to download classic games. For a limited time, they’ll be giving out 3D Excitebike, a super retro title.

But even bigger news: For the first time ever, Pokemon will spring to life in 3-D. The games will come with enhanced Pokedex.

I’m not too familiar with these games, except that I know it’s an essential game that kids play around the world.

Fils-Aime says there’s one more order of business left today.

A proper introduction to a new gaming companion. The name Wii made sense once we started to say it a lot and realized it was all about “we.”

So, today, welcome to the Wii U.

It’s about a system we will all enjoy together and is tailor made for you. (Other word associations: unique, utopia?)

9:46 am: They’ve just unveiled what the new controller looks like, and it’s a tablet!

Use it to draw and sketch with a stylus, or use it to play Othello with a friend, like an iPad.

Use it to play golf. Place it on the floor to see where your ball is lying in the sand trap, and hit it out with the controller in your hand.

Connect a gun accessory to it, to see your target more clearly.

This is wild.

Now we are seeing how you can video conference call with it, like Skype.

The tablet can also be used as a big touch pad remote control for your TV. You can swipe photos off the tablet to land on your TV screen.

9:49 am: The audience goes wild.

The Wii U is like the iPad tied to your TV. The touchscreen has a 6.2 inch display.

The device can also be used without the TV. For example, you can weigh yourself on the Wii Fit Scale just by holding the tablet.

The tablet itself has a gyroscope, a speaker, a microphone and many buttons found commonly on a typical console controller.

But it’s not a portable video game machine, even though it shares some characteristics. In other words, they don’t see it cannibalizing the 3DS.

9:53 am: The Wii U will have a strong connection to the Internet, including browsing the Web on your TV and video conferencing.

But what we haven’t seen a lot of yet is how it will be incorporated into games.

The answer isn’t clear.

We are hearing that there won’t be a shortage of ideas, and that it could be used for numerous ways to play.

There’s a whole interview with Miyamoto at www.E3.Nintendo.com on all the ideas he has on how he believes the new platform could be used.

To kick things off, they are promising there will be Super Smash Bros. for both Wii U and 3DS.

Of course, this is a product for the future. But here in LA, there is software for all of us to test today.

Not sure when Wii U will be released, or what the price point will be.

9:58 am: There will be a handful of interactive demonstrations on the show floor at E3 to show off the system’s capabilities.

10:00 am: Fils-Aime is back on stage to give us a few ideas of the games. There will be Super Mario Me. If you have the new controller, you’ll have a birds-eye view of the birds that are catching you, but you can still play if you have a regular Wii remote.

“What I just described is prototypes, they are not actual games, but one game I can tell you we’ll publish is a new installment of the Lego series called City Stories.”

He says developers around the world see the vast use cases of the Wii U. A bunch of interviews now are playing on the big screen of major game makers, like EA, Ubisoft and Disney.

They are saying that Nintendo has heard the voice of the hardcore game player, who will now be able to play titles, such as DarkSiders, Assassin’s Creed and Ghost Recon, on the Wii U.

10:07 am: If other consoles added motion-controlled gaming to expand its user base to more casual gamers, this appears to be Nintendo’s attempt to attract the hardcore gaming audience.

In a video demonstration, I’m seeing explosions, blood, guts, blasts and lots of shooting and killing.

That’s in stark contrast to the orchestra music we heard from Zelda that welcomed us to the press conference.

10:09 am: EA joins Nintendo on stage. Here comes John Riccitiello, the CEO of Electronic Arts.

“Over the years I’ve made several appearances with our console partnerships, but never before with Nintendo. Nintendo’s new console will have great HD graphics….Imagine a shooter like Battlefield with jaw-dropping graphics brought to you on a Nintendo system with a break-through controller.”

Finally, he says, imagine EA content on a console that can be expanded to mobile and the Web.

“We are changing games from a thing that you buy to a place that you go. Nintendo’s next platform has deeper online capabilities and this is an unprecedented partnership between EA and Nintendo.”

10:12 am: Fils-Aime is back on stage.

The Wii changed gaming, and last year you found out that glasses-free gaming could change 3-D gaming. Now there’s Wii U, a second window into the world of gaming.

If you are here on site, he says you can have hands-on with key new 3DS games. And, then there’s eight new Wii U experiences in the convention center.

10:14 am: For more information, you can check www.e3.nintendo.com.

Let the exploration begin and enjoy the show.

That’s it for the live blog. As a member of the press, I’ll be getting a special hands-on session immediately following the keynote, so stayed tune for pictures and video.

More From E3

• At E3, Xbox Lets Kinect Lead the Charge on Gaming, Live TV Ambitions
• Justin.tv Broadcasts Gamers’ Every Move on TwitchTV
• Who Needs War? Sparks Will Fly in EA’s New Sims Game for Facebook.
• Sony Unveils Vita Gaming Device at E3; Will Launch This Year for $249
• E3: Nintendo Unveils the Wii U With Tablet-Style Controller
• Three Key Takeaways From Nintendo’s Wii U (Plus Photos!)
• No Hacks to Report at Xbox, But Microsoft Isn’t Letting Its Guard Down
• Forget About 99 Cents, What If You Could Rent Mobile Games for 25 Cents?
• Digital Game Revenues Hit $5.9 Billion in 2010

But the company went a long way toward repairing its reputation tonight by generating excitement around several new products, including the new PlayStation Portable device it’s calling “Vita.”

Sony’s President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Jack Tretton apologized briefly for the inconvenience that the hacks caused to customers, retailers and publishers, before turning the focus of the presentation to the PlayStation’s future.

In front of 6,000 people at Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on the the eve of E3, Tretton said this year’s line-up includes tons of 3-D games and new titles for its motion-controlled accessory called the Sony Move.

And most importantly, it announced the Vita–previously known as the NGP or PlayStation Portable, which will be released in time for the holidays. The Wi-Fi only version will cost $249, while the AT&T-connected 3G version will cost $299 (not including data plans).

5:15 pm: Get ready. Here we go. They’ve asked the audience to put on their 3-D glasses and turn off their cellphones.

They started off by buttering us up with a plethora of food trucks outside and beer. Not a bad option. But little do they know that we’d all prefer outlets.

BTW, blogging and 3-D glasses don’t mix!

5:19 pm: We are kicking off the show with a montage of 3-D games. But surely, not all of these will end up in 3-D, right?

If Sony’s banking on a 3-D gaming strategy, a lot of people are going to have to buy new TVs. Well, I guess they can hope….

Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment comes on stage, remarking that there are so many people in the crowd. He says it’s 6,000 people here!

This isn’t the first time I came on stage with an elephant in the room, he says. Yes, he’s referring to the hack.

He says this is the first time he can address it directly. “To our third-party publishing partners, you have been with us for years, and I know that it’s been costly for you. We wouldn’t be where we are today.

You gave us shelf space when there was no PlayStation brand, and now we see it exceeding last year’s numbers. Last week’s sales numbers are up 27 percent year over year.

To our consumers: Without you there is no Playstation. I’d like to apologize for any anxiety we’ve caused you….It is you that causes us to be humbled and amazed by the commitment you have to the brand. Network connectivity is at 90 percent compared to before the outage.

For those of you who left, or never joined, the next 90 minutes will hopefully convince you otherwise.”

5:25 pm: Tretton says they are going to work extra hard to make the PlayStation Network as valuable as possible.

As part of that, it will be adding Cinema Now to give access to the latest TV shows and movies.

5:27 pm: Tretton leaves the stage so we can start the party. First game to be shown off is Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception.

Right about now, I’m realizing this is the fourth press conference I’ve been to today, and the umpteenth game preview. How many more can stand out, or impress? This is totally every videogame consumer’s E3 dilemma.

This is another first-person shooter, where you are walking around hallways and down the deck of a big ship.

And, a fight scene just ended in a grenade blast. The ship has sprung a leak, and water is pouring in. But the fight continues.

He’s now underwater trying frantically to find a way out before his oxygen is all gone.

You’ll have to buy the game to find out what happens next!

The game will be out June 28, and there’s a tie-in with Subway. With your next sandwich, you’ll get a free early sneak peek.

What’s this? Another version of Uncharted 3 will be available in 3-D. Not sure if it’s the same version, or a special copy. This isn’t a live demo, just a video, so it’s hard to tell how it will look once it’s released.

It’s coming much later in November.

5:37 pm: Insomniac Games is now on stage to show off Resistance 3, which is about a bleak existence.

Put on your glasses, this one is also in 3-D! (Have I mentioned that blogging is difficult with glasses on?)

With 3-D, you have three layers of depth perception. First, you notice rain drops are hitting your camera lens, then you notice how your gun protrudes out in front of you, and finally, you see the target you are shooting.

The game is gritty and grimy. Not a lot of light filters in through the gloomy clouds. It’s not pretty, but it’s realistic.

5:41 pm: Tretton is back on stage to say that their commitment to 3-D is unwavering, and that they believe that gamers can spur broader adoption of the technology.

Lots of good prices and games coming to the console, he says.

Content is a barrier, but so is price.

“We are making the entrance into 3-D more affordable for everyone,” he says.

They are launching two new hardware products, including a PlayStation-branded 24-inch display. It’s perfect for bedrooms and dorm rooms, he says. What’s really amazing is that two people will be able to play the game at once, by seeing two different screens, rather than a split screen.

This is really cool, but it’s completely unclear how this works.

The monitor will come with a pair of 3-D glasses and a six-foot hdmi core and Resistance 3. The bundle will cost $499.

A pair of standalone 3-D glasses will cost $69.99.

5:47 pm: Kobe Bryant comes on stage to show off 2K Sport’s new Sony Move game.

He takes the controller away to show the demonstrator how it’s done.

The ball is stripped from him, and then he fouls the Heat. Kobe says: “Man, this game is a little too realistic.”

He shoots, he scores!

He gives the game some serious props, saying it’s “frighteningly” accurate. He says that you can play the triangle offense better in the game than the Lakers did all year.

5:52 pm: Kobe leaves the stage. Now here’s another new Sony Move title called Medieval Moves.

6:06 pm: Sorry about that folks, but I lost Internet access for a little bit. Now I’m back.

I’m afraid I missed a few titles, including Little Big Planet, Sly Cooper and Infamous 2.

Now we are getting a peak at Dust 514, a space galaxy title.

Dust 514 is an exclusive to the PlayStation platform.

6:10 pm: Up next is Bioshock, a fantasy-looking game with a first-person shooter.

The creator of Bioshock is now on stage, telling a story about how he said some unfavorable things about Sony’s Move to the press because he makes core games–not family-friendly casual titles.

Sony called him to change his mind and make him a believer.

And, it worked. He says there will eventually be a Bioshock title using the Sony Move.

In the meantime, he says they are even more interested in the NGP, the new Sony PlayStation portable.

6:14 pm: Tretton is back on stage to announce a new partnership with THQ, which includes exclusive content from Saints Row coming out November 15.

Another exclusive is with Star Trek, which will be a Move title. A special Star Trek Move controller will also be released with the controller to replicate the phaser.

6:16 pm: We are now 75 minutes into the 90-minute press conference. I’ll expect more talk of the NGP any second.

We’re waiting to hear about its release date and price and whether it will make it out in time for the holidays. Previously, it was rumored to be delayed because of the devastating earthquake in Japan.

Tretton interjects that three more exclusives are coming from EA: SSX, the snowboarding title; Need for Speed: The Run; and Battlefield 3, which will include extra exclusive content that can only fit on the blueray disc.

6:19 pm: And, here we go, what we were waiting for: more information on the NGP.

Kazuo Hirai, president and CEO of Sony’s consumer products and services group, takes the stage to tell us all about it.

The original PlayStation portable came out in 2004. The question is, how do we deliver a PlayStation experience to a wider audience?

The answer is something he’s calling PlayStation Suite, which will allow non-PlayStation devices to play PlayStation content, including a ton of certified Android phones and tablets.

The NGP provides the next generation of portable gaming that allows you to play games with a number of new methods, like dual cameras and touchpads.

What it’s officially being called is Vita.

The device has a five-inch screen, front and rear touch pads, and front and rear cameras, allowing for augmented reality. The device will have both Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi-plus-3G models for on-the-go gaming.

“Of course, having such a set of features requires the nation’s fastest mobile broadband network. We are partnering with AT&T.”

The AT&T announcement garners serious laughs from the crowd.

A social network will come with the PlayStation Vita called Near, which will allow you to connect with friends and post game scores.

6:28 pm: Now time for a demo of the NGP–I mean Vita!

They are running through a short section of Uncharted 2, a game we saw demo’d earlier for the PlayStation. The device’s touchscreen allows you to punch the enemy. It can also be tilted so that the player can drop across the screen. However, where it makes sense, players can continue to use the same Sony PlayStation buttons they are used to from the console.

The game allows a player to swipe and tap the screen, where they’d normally have to memorize and execute a lot of quick button taps on a controller.

It’s an interesting combination of what you see on the iPhone and the typical PlayStation game pad.

Not sure how many titles there will be to begin with, or how much the Vita will cost or when it will be released.

More demos are occurring for now. The latest is Ruin, which is only a working title at this point.

6:36 pm: An interesting aspect of Ruin is that people will be able to put down their Vita, and pick up their game play exactly where they left off on the PlayStation 3.

The game play is stored in the cloud, and the exact same game will be available on both the Vita and PlayStation 3.

6:40 pm: Another game from ModNation Racers allows users to build their own track using the touchscreen to drop trees and houses where you want them.

Additionally, Vita players will have access to all the user-generated tracks created from day one.

6:43 pm: A few more details on Vita, which still sounds far off. An exec is saying that many of the PlayStation Vita titles will be tied to the PlayStation 3 through three methods: Cloud saves, online competition and content sharing.

6:47 pm: One more title is StreetFighter from Capcom, which was announced last year. Today, they are announcing that they are also going to have a StreetFighter X Tekken version for Vita.

They have a real-life demo of the game, which really has the crowd excited.

6:52 pm: One thing that’s very noticeable even from the audience is the size of the Vita, which looks a little awkward to hold with just one hand. It’s a serious piece of machinery. You almost wonder why they didn’t skip directly to making a tablet form factor.

We’re watching a short video on all the content coming to the Vita. There are tennis games, street fighting, mazes and much more.

Now here’s the real fine print:

The device will be available starting by the holiday season.

The Wi-Fi-only model will cost $249, and the 3G plus Wi-Fi model will cost $299. (No details on AT&T 3G pricing plans).

The PlayStation Vita will be on display tonight for everyone to play for themselves.

Tretton comes back on stage to wrap things up: “As you can see, the depth and breadth of content like never before…By adding 3-D, PlayStation Move and Vita, we offer the best entertainment around. We hope you are as excited as we are about what’s to come.”

Next up lots of demos and unnamed musical guests.

Now the stage is lifting up in the background to reveal a bunch of drummers and a DJ.

I guess the party has just begun.

That’s it for the live blog. Thanks for sticking around!

More From E3

• At E3, Xbox Lets Kinect Lead the Charge on Gaming, Live TV Ambitions
• Justin.tv Broadcasts Gamers’ Every Move on TwitchTV
• Who Needs War? Sparks Will Fly in EA’s New Sims Game for Facebook.
• Sony Unveils Vita Gaming Device at E3; Will Launch This Year for $249
• E3: Nintendo Unveils the Wii U With Tablet-Style Controller
• Three Key Takeaways From Nintendo’s Wii U (Plus Photos!)
• No Hacks to Report at Xbox, But Microsoft Isn’t Letting Its Guard Down
• Forget About 99 Cents, What If You Could Rent Mobile Games for 25 Cents?
• Digital Game Revenues Hit $5.9 Billion in 2010

The filing is a little surprising. While it was rumored that the company was talking to bankers, its nearest privately held competitor, Trulia, has been more vocal about its plans for an IPO, and presumably would have been the first to file.

In addition to Trulia, Zillow also competes against other start-ups and with Realtor.com, which is operated by publicly held Move.

In today’s filing with the SEC, Zillow discloses that it has seen significant revenue growth over the past three years. In 2010, its revenues totaled $30.5 million, jumping 74 percent over the previous year when it recorded revenues of $17.5 million.

However, the company’s losses continue to add up.

In 2010, it recorded a net loss of $6.8 million, narrowing significantly from the previous year when it recorded a loss of $12.9 million.

Zillow’s filing represents the latest in a string of Internet companies that have filed to go public. Also on the list is HomeAway, Pandora and LinkedIn.

Zillow’s prospectus is being underwritten by Citi, Allen & Company, Needham & Company, ThinkEquity and First Washington Corp.

The company said it had an average of 12.7 million unique users in the last three months of 2010, representing a 66 percent increase.

According to Hitwise, the top-visited real estate websites in March were Realtor.com with 6.5 percent market share, followed by Yahoo! Real Estate and Zillow.com, with 6.04 percent and 5.36 percent respectively. Trulia was listed fourth with 4.63 percent market share.

In addition to the funds it plans to raise from the IPO, it has received committments from Technology Crossover Ventures and PAR Investment Partners to purchase a total of $5.5 million in common stock at the same share price as the IPO.

Both the cash raised from the IPO and from the private placement will be used for general corporate purposes, including working capital, sales and marketing activities, general and administrative matters and capital expenditures. It may also use a portion for acquisitions.

The biggest shareholders in the company is Founder Richard Barton who holds 31.3 percent; Vice Chairman and President Lloyd Frink with 30.4 percent; Benchmark Capital with 19 percent and Technology Crossover Ventures with 29.9 percent.

Timing is everything and, sometimes, very awkward.

Today at its Redmond, Wash., campus, Microsoft is hosting a splashy online “marketing leadership summit” titled “Imagine 2011″–a gathering of top marketing execs from across the globe, most of whom are advertising clients of its online division.

Also today: Its longtime head of global marketing, Mich Mathews, announced her departure–to the surprise of many Microsoft execs here, in fact–via a report in Ad Age.

In the article, she said she had told execs at Microsoft just last night.

Mathews, who is probably Microsoft’s top woman executive, has been at the software giant for a dog’s age–22 years. (BoomTown met the sharp-witted and often pointed exec in the early 1990s, when she was in charge of the PR operations for the company.)

As SVP of Microsoft’s Central Marketing Group, Mathews oversees a $1 billion budget for Microsoft products such as Windows, Xbox , Window Phone 7 and its Bing search service.

While Microsoft will be conducting a global search for a replacement, several sources said the most obvious internal candidate for the job is Yusuf Mehdi, who is SVP for its Online Audience Business.

He leads global product management, strategic partnerships, business development and U.S. marketing execution for the unit.

Another strong internal possibility: Chris Capossela, who just left his job as SVP of the Microsoft Business division for unspecified duties around social initiatives. He had a similar job to Mehdi’s, with key marketing duties.

Attendees at the Imagine event were buzzing about the Mathews news, taking some focus off the program, which included an opening speech by CEO Steve Ballmer.

Ballmer did not mention Mathews onstage, which was a by-the-book overview of its online ad offerings.

Another sticky situation for Microsoft: The Imagine event was organized by another top woman exec at Microsoft, global ad sales head Carolyn Everson.

But, she left the company in mid-February after only six months, for essentially the same job at Microsoft partner Facebook.

Since then Microsoft and Facebook have been wrangling over the talent raid, including Microsoft even considering legal action to block the move.

(In yet another unrelated embarrassing situation–here’s an excerpt from a memoir by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, in which he alleges co-founder Bill Gates tried to shanghai him out of shares when he was sick with cancer.)

Like I said: Awkward!

Last week, Yahoo’s advertising unit got the once-over from its new sales head Wayne Powers. And, this week, its new Audience unit head Mickie Rosen is making a series of executives moves.

First up, sources said that the current head of its powerful Yahoo News, Mark Walker, will be leaving for another another company and a new head of the news site is close to being hired.

Already hired is top Time Warner digital exec Ken Fuchs, who will now run Yahoo’s huge sports, games and entertainment sites. He ran all digital distribution at Time Inc. Digital, overseeing emerging platforms for more than two dozen Web properties. Before that, he also ran Sports Illustrated’s online site and, previous to that, worked in strategy and development for Fox Interactive Media.

And Associated Content head Luke Beatty will be adding a lot to his portfolio, now running the Americas region community and local businesses, including Flickr, Groups, Answers and hundreds of local sites.

Yahoo’s current local head Matt Idema, sources said, will likely be leaving the company.

Lastly, Erin McPherson will be running all of the Silicon Valley Internet giant’s much dispersed video offerings, branded and original entertainment, across the Americas region.

In related news, Matthew Rothenberg, product head at Flickr, said in a blog post that he was leaving the company.

Yahoo declined to comment on the moves.

Microsoft–furious over a recent talent grab of its top advertising exec by Facebook–has been considering a wide range of options, including legal action to block the move, according to sources close to the situation.

Lawyer at both companies have been in back-and-forth talks in recent days after the hiring of Microsoft’s global ad sales head Carolyn Everson by the Silicon Valley social networking powerhouse to be its VP of global sales.

Among the more likely solutions being discussed: Barring Everson–a longtime ad sales exec who came to Microsoft from MTV Networks–from using any strategic information she learned at the company and also from contacting certain ad clients on behalf of Facebook for a certain period of time.

While a legal action to stop her from actually taking the position is the most serious option, it is certainly not without precedent for Microsoft. The company recently got a temporary restraining order to block one of its top government relations execs, Matt Miszewski, from working at Salesforce.com, pointing to non-compete and confidentiality contracts.

Whatever happens, it is clear the Everson hiring has infuriated Microsoft execs, especially CEO Steve Ballmer, since the company regards Facebook as a close partner. Microsoft is also a longtime investor in Facebook.

While considering a temporary restraining order against Everson in this kind of situation–since it is essentially the same job–is standard operating procedure for any company, several sources said tensions are higher than usual.

“This is just tone deaf on Facebook’s part not to think this would not be a problem,” said one person.

One particularly irksome aspect–top Facebook execs did not call Ballmer before news of the appointment leaked out to assuage the situation.

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg did release a statement when BoomTown broke news of the move in mid-February, in an attempt to make nice.

“Microsoft was one of our earliest partners and is still one of our most valued,” she said, in part. “We look forward to continuing to expand our relationship with them.”

Her dulcet words have apparently not worked.

In fact, the talent raid came as a surprise to many at Microsoft, especially since Everson (pictured here) had been hired in June after a long search and had become a high-profile presence at internal and external Microsoft events.

That included organizing the splashy “Imagine 2011, Microsoft Advertising’s Marketing Leadership Summit.” The event is set to take place at the end of March at the software giant’s Redmond, Wa. HQ and will include an evening concert by the band Train.

Now she will be doing such things for Facebook, where Everson will be replacing longtime and well-regarded ad exec Mike Murphy, who left the Palo Alto, Calif., company last fall. She will report to former Googler David Fischer, VP of Advertising and Global Operations.

Having a top exec who is amenable to and well known by Madison Avenue is key for Facebook as it ramps up its business, in anticipation of an IPO next year.

Despite being private, Facebook has recently been valued at between $50 and $60 billion by investors, who have been eagerly buying up shares of the company on secondary markets.

Under Murphy and Fischer, ad sales have been doing well already. Facebook’s share of online display advertising has more than quadrupled, from about three percent to almost 14 percent of the nearly $9 billion U.S. market, according to a recent survey.

In growing so quickly, Facebook has grabbed ad revenue–reportedly $2 billion last year–from old online powerhouses, especially Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL, and is also in a big fight with Google over premium ad sales.

Facebook’s surging usage and engagement are the reasons for the increased interest from advertisers, as well as its global growth in both market share and mindshare of consumers.

The opportunity at Facebook is clearly a big–and probably irresistible–move for the dynamic Everson, who has mostly worked in the mainstream media for much of her career.

Still, while movement of execs among top tech companies is not uncommon, there has been a lot less from Microsoft to Facebook.

Instead, Facebook has been most aggressive in its efforts to attract talent from Google.

No longer. In fact, the week before Facebook grabbed Everson, it also hired an up-and-coming exec, Chris Daniels, GM of Bing Mobile Product Management, to be its director of business development.

Still, there is some hiring war history between the companies. In late 2008, Microsoft’s Ballmer managed to lure former Yahoo exec Qi Lu to run its Online Services Division, several sources at both companies said, after he had told Facebook he would work there as its engineering lead. Lu had also been heavily recruited by Google.

Eventually, that was water under the bridge, which is what Facebook is hoping will happen with Microsoft over Everson.

Also important in the weighing of options at Microsoft is the obvious importance of keeping up good relations with Facebook. It is an important partnership, especially for its Bing search business, as an advantage over Google.

“Everyone is hoping to resolve this amicably,” said one person close to the situation. “There has been some damage to the relationship for sure, but the question is whether Microsoft wants to do something that would escalate that damage.”

Not surprisingly, both Facebook and Microsoft declined to comment on the fracas.

In fact, the only sector that grew in January was accessories, which increased six percent to $235.1 million

Accessories have been strong in previous months as well, buoyed by new motion-controlled remotes, like Microsoft’s Kinect and Sony’s Move.

The accessories have breathed new life into the Xbox and PlayStation at a critical time when the consoles have already been on the market for a couple of years.

However, accessories weren’t enough to keep both hardware and software sectors afloat.

In January, U.S. sales of videogame software fell five percent to $576 million compared to the same period the previous year. Hardware sales fell eight percent to $324 million.

In a statement issued by Microsoft today, it released more NPD data, including that it sold 381,000 Xbox units in January, up 15 percent year-over-year. It says it is the only console that showed growth in the time frame.

Microsoft also said it continues to experience some Xbox shortages at retail because of sustained consumer demand for Kinect, but anticipates the problem to improve through February, and is working retail and manufacturing partners to expedite production and shipments.

The top-selling games for the period were Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty: Black Ops, Ubisoft’s Just Dance 2, Electronic Arts’ Dead Space 2, Sony’s Little Big Planet 2, and Majesco’s Zumba Fitness. Making it into the top 10 was MTV’s Dance Central, which teaches people how to dance using the Xbox Kinect.

Photo Credit: Harmonix

Here’s an exclusive video interview BoomTown did with Huffington Post co-founder and Editor in Chief Arianna Huffington and AOL CEO Tim Armstrong this morning at Super Bowl XLV in Texas, just ahead of their announcement tonight that the Internet company was buying the news and opinion site.

Like both the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, the pair are going for an Internet content win, after AOL paid $315 million, mostly in cash and a small amount of stock, for the Huffington Post.

With the acquisition of one of the Internet’s best-known news brands, AOL is making its biggest move so far as it seeks to establish itself as a content leader on the Web.

As part of the deal, Huffington will become editor over all AOL content properties.

And editorial material from all these sites will be integrated into the Huffington Post, giving it a huge new infusion of editorial material.

The pair talk about all this and more in the longish video interview here, which I did in Dallas earlier today:

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20110206/aols-tim-armstrong-and-huffpos-arianna-huffington-talk-about-deal-touchdown-from-super-bowl/feed/ 31 http://allthingsd.com/20110127/nintendos-profit-falls-as-product-line-faces-steep-competition/ http://allthingsd.com/20110127/nintendos-profit-falls-as-product-line-faces-steep-competition/#comments Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:08:56 +0000 Tricia Duryee http://emoney.allthingsd.com/?p=2047 Nintendo is surrounded.

On the home console side of the business, there’s Microsoft and Sony with new motion-detection systems similar to the Wii. On the Japanese game maker’s popular handheld side of the business, there’s Sony’s new offering–announced today–and dozens of smartphone makers, from Apple to HTC.

All of that added up to fewer sales of Nintendo’s Wii and DS platforms in the third quarter, and there’s not much relief in sight.

Nintendo cut its sales forecast for the Wii console by 1.5 million units to 16 million for the year. It also lowered its DS sales forecast by 1 million to 17.5 million units (but raised it to 22.5 million units, including the sales of the upcoming release of its new handheld, which will offer a 3-D experience that doesn’t require glasses).

Today, Nintendo reported net sales for the nine-month period ended Dec. 31 of 807.9 billion yen ($9.8 billion), down from 1.18 trillion a year ago. Net income shrank to 49.6 billion ($603 million) from 192.6 billion in 2009.

For the same period in 2010, Nintendo said it sold 15.7 million DS units, with about half of those sold in the U.S. That’s down from 23.4 million in 2009. The company also said it sold 13.7 million Wii units worldwide in 2010, fewer than the 17 million sold in 2009.

Its financial forecast remains unchanged from revised figures released in September.

The company said in its earnings release that “Nintendo continues to pursue its basic strategy of ‘Gaming Population Expansion’ by offering compelling products that anyone can enjoy, regardless of age, gender, or gaming experience.”

But it seems that is also the goal of others, like Microsoft, which has been able to rapidly expand the audience for the Xbox by releasing the hands-free Kinect accessory. It sold eight million in its first 60 days on market. Sony has also released the Move, and today announced a next-generation handheld gaming system that beats Nintendo’s upcoming 3DS at least on one front–it comes with wireless 3G.

Photo Credit: Clevercupcakes

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20110127/nintendos-profit-falls-as-product-line-faces-steep-competition/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20101123/xbox-kinect-review/ http://allthingsd.com/20101123/xbox-kinect-review/#comments Tue, 23 Nov 2010 23:26:29 +0000 Katherine Boehret http://solution.allthingsd.com/?p=1527 This holiday season, the war against couch potatoes wages on with Microsoft’s Xbox Kinect, the latest in motion-sensing video-game consoles. While the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation Move encourage people to stand and play games using familiar gestures and simple controllers, Kinect encourages people to motion their way through games and screens using their bodies as controllers.

Kinect (xbox.com/kinect), a rectangular strip of four microphones, a 3-D sensor and a video camera, is $150 for those who own the Xbox 360. It’s sold in a $300 bundle with the 4-gigabyte Xbox 360 console; $400 with a 250-gigabyte console. (Sony’s PlayStation Move is $100 without the console and $400 when bundled with the 320-gigabyte PS3; Nintendo’s Wii costs $200.)All packages include the Kinect Adventures videogame. There are currently 17 games that work with Kinect, and each costs $50, $10 less than a standard Xbox game.

Kinect can sit on top of, below or beside the TV, plugging into a wall power outlet and the Xbox via a USB cord.The concept used by Kinect has potential far beyond games and might even become a new way of controlling computers of all kinds.

Thirteen of the 17 available Kinect games are rated E for Everyone, and the remaining four are rated T for Teens—a sign that Microsoft is going after a different crowd with Kinect than with its regular Xbox games, which offer a wide range of ratings, including violent games.

It automatically identifies who you are and pauses when you leave its vicinity, so it isn’t hard to imagine this ingenuity controlling all kinds of devices, like a PC, smartphone or tablet.

Over the past few weeks, I played a variety of Kinect games with three other people in the room, one other person in the room and completely by myself. I tried it with a 46-inch, 1080p LCD TV as well as using an old standard-definition TV.

My experiences were mixed. Kinect works beautifully for activities that involve only your body, like exercise classes, running, jumping hurdles, yoga and dancing, with the moves feeling natural and fun. The motion sensor detects even slight movements to reflect what you’re doing on the TV screen. I battled my boyfriend in Dance Central while busting out dance moves called Double Dig ‘Ems and Headwrushes. I sprinted down a virtual track, running in place fast enough to earn a game world record. And I toned my arms and abdominals while punching floating boxes in the Your Shape’s kickboxing class.

But when it came to sports that involved holding or throwing objects like bowling, volleyball or discus, Kinect started to feel a little inauthentic, like I didn’t really have control over the object. When I threw a discus far enough in Kinect Sports to prompt the game’s commentator to shout, “Is that discus a part of the space program?” I didn’t know what I did to get that result.

The same was true for driving a car in Kinect’s Joy Ride game: Players are instructed to hold their hands like they would if they were gripping a steering wheel, turning left or right by moving hands accordingly and leaning back and quickly forward to get a burst of speed. But it’s hard to mimic a motion to accelerate, and I found myself jerking my body all around to get results. My arms also got tired after holding them up for awhile.

Other games, like Kinectimals and Kinect Adventures, play to the Kinect’s strengths by using broader gestures and fewer accuracy-focused tasks. With Kinectimals, I moved my hands to virtually scratch a Bengal tiger cub; the cub even became more familiar with me the more it listened to my voice. I rode a raft in Kinect Adventures by leaning left or right to steer through rapids, jumping up to grab on-screen coins for points and ducking to avoid getting clocked in the head with objects.

Dance Central

In certain games, two people can play simultaneously standing in front of Kinect. The system can identify and sign in up to eight people as they step in and out of play. It recognizes those who are signed into Xbox and playing, so only their gestures maintain control of navigation. Its sensor will identify and log you in a few seconds after you step in front of it. If you walk away in the middle of a game, Kinect will sense that you aren’t there and will pause the game.

Kinect isn’t yet fully integrated into the entire Xbox navigation system. Some tasks still require the old Xbox controller, like opening the Xbox Guide, a quick way of launching anything in the system. Xbox’s Dashboard, which is the first menu you see when you turn on the system, also requires the controller. The Dashboard is separate from Kinect Hub, which lets you use your voice and gestures to do things like opening the system’s disc tray, selecting menus or even pausing a movie—just by saying, “Xbox, pause.” A spokesman said Microsoft plans to integrate these commands throughout the Dashboard. For now, it’s tempting—but futile—to want to use voice and gesture on every screen.

Many Kinect games capture videos of you as you play games and then play them back for you at the end. The results are hilarious. Kinect Adventures gives you a heads-up so you can make an extra silly pose at the right moment. Kinect Sports compiles a highlight reel as you go, playing this video back at the end of your athletic events, goofy sport gestures and all. And Dance Central announces a freestyle dance for all players at the end of each round, capturing video snippets of these moves. Users who are signed into Xbox Live can share these videos with others.

Kinect Adventures

Kinect can also be used to video chat with anyone who’s using Windows Live Messenger and a webcam.

I really enjoyed Dance Central—and not just because I won most of my dance battles (the one who gets the most moves correct wins). This game offered a large variety of songs ranging from old-school rap to Lady Gaga. Each dance was taught in a different virtual venue by an instructor who shouted words of encouragement or instruction, and cheers from the crowd spurred me on.

Navigating the menus in Kinect games is usually more enjoyable with gestures, though it takes a little longer than if you were pressing a controller button to skip ahead. In the Your Shape game, I selected from Personal Training, Fitness Classes and Gym Games using my arm to touch my selection and another red icon below that to confirm it. When I started this game, the sensor scanned my body to measure my height, arm length, leg length and shoulder span, thus customizing games just for me.

In the future, Kinect could use be used to recognize communities like a group of fans all wearing the same team colors while watching a game, in which case the system might display extra on-screen data for that supported team. Another example could include playing along with game shows from home, like reality TV for the masses.For now, Xbox Kinect does well with many games that mimic real-life gestures and motions. Games with specific actions using objects, like rolling a bowling ball, need work to feel more authentic.

Edited by Walter S. Mossberg

Email mossbergsolution@wsj.com

]]> http://allthingsd.com/20101123/xbox-kinect-review/feed/ 0 http://allthingsd.com/20101026/qotd-google-ceo-apologizes-for-street-view-quip/ http://allthingsd.com/20101026/qotd-google-ceo-apologizes-for-street-view-quip/#comments Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:54:27 +0000 John Paczkowski http://digitaldaily.allthingsd.com/?p=51357 Apologies from Google CEO Eric Schmidt are as rare as Bing bookmarks at Google HQ, so consider the one offered below– for his cavalier suggestion that folks worried about Google Street View invading their privacy should “just move”–something of a milestone.

“As you can see from the unedited interview, my comments were made during a fairly long back and forth on privacy. I clearly misspoke. If you are worried about Street View and want your house removed please contact Google and we will remove it.”

– Google CEO Eric Schmidt on his suggestion that folks concerned about the company’s Street View service “just move“

PREVIOUSLY:

• Google CEO’s Advice to the Street-View Shy: The Video
• Schmidt: Don’t Like Google Street View Photographing Your House? Then Move.

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