In a move to help its next-gen console better rival the service options offered by the Xbox 360, Sony Entertainment has been trying to make its PlayStation a little more “homey” for users. The electronics giant recently announced that more than 20 different companies have signed on to have their own slice of “Home.”

Some of the partners that will offer content on PlayStation Home have been confirmed as Activision, EA, Capcom, Disney Interactive Studios, Namco Bandai and Ubisoft. Gamers with access to Home can create their own 3D avatars to navigate the world, customize their experience and check out the content available to them.

The Home concept has been in development for several years and entered beta in late 2008. While it looks splashy, many wonder if it’s a little too little a little too late. With the success of Xbox Live and its ever-expanding offerings, it just may be.

I have to admit, however, Home does look pretty spectacular. The Sony site shows avatars worthy of Sony Online Entertainment’s MMORPGs. The 3D aspect is quite striking. The company has, in fact, put together a great lineup of content providers.

As Home shapes up, it will be interesting to see if it helps pull users away from the tried and tested Live or if it, like the console that backs it, will languish as the slow runner in the next-gen race.

Nods to 1UP

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Labels: playstation home, soe, sony, xbox 360, xbox live

It seems I’m not alone in my infatuation for the Xbox 360’s latest whistle. According to numbers released today, a million Netflix subscribers are taking advantage of the ability to watch movies from that service instantly on their televisions via a connection with the Xbox.

Thanks to the partnership formed about three months ago, Xbox 360 owners have been given the ability to watch any movie or television show in the Netflix instant watch library through the console. Since the program’s launch, 1.5 billion minutes of Watch Instantly footage has been viewed in this manner.

The program’s popularity comes as no surprise to me. It’s useful, affordable and downright convenient. Having the ability to easily make the connection between Netflix and the television is a boon in my eyes not only to Microsoft and Netflix, but also owners of the console.

Netflix is so pleased with the program’s reception so far, it is crediting it for a rise in quarterly results. This makes absolute sense. The marriage of the two services brings more value to them at a price that’s affordable. The streaming videos are available to Xbox Live subscribers with gold accounts. The Netflix add on starts at $9 a month. That’s a pretty cheap add on for people who already have gold accounts.

Nods to Reuters.

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Labels: netflix, streaming video, xbox 360, xbox live

On the heels of its best Friday ever, Microsoft has confirmed it will upgrade the capacity of its Xbox 360 Arcade model. The new machines will have 256MB of onboard memory. This means consumers won’t have to rely solely on sometimes awkward add on memory cards.

“We are constantly updating the console’s more than 1700 internal components. We can confirm that we are moving to internal memory for the Xbox 360 Arcade. The physical internal memory is the same size as the previous external memory units - 256MB,”

said a spokesperson for Microsoft.

With prices for the Arcade model now highly competitive with the Wii, this move could help Microsoft continue to enjoy brisk console sales – as long as Microsoft doesn’t up the pricing too much to compensate for the built-in memory.

Black Friday sales of the Xbox 360 broke records with U.S. retailers reporting sales that beat the console’s own records in previous years. The numbers have the 360 beating out the PlayStation 3 by a three-to-one ratio. Sales were up an estimated 25 percent over Black Friday 2007.

"We entered into the Black Friday sales period with cautious optimism, knowing that dollar for dollar, Xbox 360 offers more social entertainment value than any other console on the market," said Don Mattrick, senior vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft.

"Record Black Friday sales in the U.S., coupled with our existing global install base of 25 million and an online community of more than 14 million Xbox LIVE members, have laid the groundwork for continued global sales momentum in 2009."

With prices that now start at $199.99, the Xbox 360 is the most well-rounded console on the market for the price. Offering not only game play ability, but also access to Xbox LIVE and its games, movies and television shows and also high-def DVD play, the console provides serious bang for the buck. If Microsoft does it right and keeps pricing where it is or only asks for a minor increase for the onboard memory, it likely will be a hard machine to beat in sales.

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Labels: microsoft, PlayStation 3, Wii, xbox 360, xbox live

It has cross-generational appeal. The price is right. The game play is fun. Still, there is something missing from Nintendo’s Wii that does help the competition edge it out with certain buyers. That something is a video delivery service, something at least one analyst thinks may soon be on the horizon.

Former Microsoft senior exec, Colin Dixon, who now works for The Diffusion Group, recently discussed the differences in consoles and content delivery.

"(Nintendo) Wii hasn't delivered any movie services, but once they do, and we expect them to do that, they will have a much broader set of content."

Evidence that Dixon’s prediction is correct is found in Japan where Nintendo plans to release a theater channel soon. No plans, however, have been discussed for a North American version – just yet.

Speculation as to what Nintendo will do for delivery of content ranges from besting Xbox Live with an even broader array of programming to turning the devices into cable delivery boxes to compete with local providers. There’s also hope in the gaming community a firmware release might enable DVD use.

No matter how you crack it, if Nintendo does add some sort of video delivery ability to the consoles, they’d go up immensely in perceived and actual value. I can tell you in our home, the PlayStation 3 doubles as a DVD/Blu-ray player and is used more for that than gaming. The Xbox 360 also gets a fair amount of use as a movie-viewing machine when programming on our local cable company’s on-demand channel is light.

It would be nice to see Nintendo enter this fray. I might never have to buy a DVD player again! My fingers are crossed.

Via The Wiire

Labels: microsoft, nintendo wii, PlayStation 3, Wii, xbox 360, xbox live

Disney Interactive Studios is celebrating the 25th anniversay of "Tron" the movie with a with a re-release of the classic games on Xbox Live Arcade. Both Tron the game and Discs of Tron will be out this summer.

"The 'Tron' film has captured the imaginations of video game players and film fans for generations with its ground-breaking visuals and action-filled story," said Craig Relyea, vice president of marketing, Disney Interactive Studios, in a media release. "The classic arcade games Tron and Discs of Tron are returning this summer through Xbox LIVE Arcade with new features and options for the film's 25th anniversary."

The games include the original versions and also newly enhanced ones, as well. The updated versions include enhanced graphics and audio. There will be four online modes.

There's no word on when exactly these will arrive on Xbox Live, but they will certainly deliver one heck of a blast from the past when they do.

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Labels: disks of tron, disney, tron, xbox 360, xbox live, xbox live arcade

Just nine months after its official release, THQ's Saints Row has been named an Xbox 360 Platinum Hits title.

Players of the game take on the role of a 3rd Street Saints gang member. Living under threat from rival gangs and corrupt officials, the mission is to conquer Stilwater a district at a time.

The title allows players to customize their character and vehicles. The open-world genre title can support up to 12 players on Xbox Live.

As a Platinum Hits title, Saints Row will retail for $29.99. Considering it's only nine months after its initial release, I can't quite figure out if this is actually good news for the title or not, but at least it's good for gamers that want to check it out for less of an investment.

The folks at THQ don't sound too upset though.

"Achieving Platinum Hits status in just nine months is a tribute to Volition's talented development team, and we look forward to leveraging their proprietary open-world engine to continue pushing the genre forward," said Bob Aniello, senior vice president of worldwide marketing, THQ, in a media release.

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Labels: platinum hits, saints row, thq, xbox 360, xbox live

Microsoft has announced plans to bring the Xbox Live network to the next level. Like the folks over at CBS, Microsoft wants to have some original content to offer gamers to view over its online platform.

To achieve this, the company has rolled out a content for would be television producers to create a pilot for the network. The winner gets $100,000 budget and a chance to win a six-episode commitment for Xbox Live.

"Not only can aspiring TV producers from across the globe try their hands at creating new TV shows, but because of Xbox Live Marketplace, they can now win a chance to have more than 6 million people worldwide see their work," Bill Nielsen, senior director of Xbox Live at Microsoft, has been quoted as saying. "This is an incredible opportunity for us to participate in the festival, and we are thrilled to be able to bring community-created TV content to the Xbox community for the first time."

Entries will be accepted until June 29. The rules can be found here.

According to Punch Jump, Xbox Live is currently the No. 1 platform for distribution of television and movies.

This news is very interesting for online TV fans and want-to-be producers alike. More original content on the net to join the likes of CBS's shows, such as "InTurn," come of the cartoon series online and so on is a very good indication of what the future holds for viewer. It just keeps getting better.

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Labels: cbs, microsoft, online tv, xbox 360, xbox live

Xbox 360 gamers that want a break from hard Halo shooting action will soon be able to take some time out to talk. Microsoft is prepared to deliver an IM service to the console.

The Windows Live Messenger software package for the 360 will be delivered with the Spring Update May 7. The new feature will enable users to chat with up to six people at the same time, using the 360 in place of a computer.

The new service will work with the 360’s virtual keyboard, or gamers can plug in a USB keyboard to make it easier. Plus, Playfuls is reporting a new QWERTY text input device is coming this summer that will connect right to a controller to help with text and instant messaging.

Microsoft’s certainly doing its part to make certain the 360 offers a lot of the same perks as a computer, but I have to admit, I’m having a hard time picturing gamers being thrilled with IMs coming in as they fight it out online.

Maybe it’s just me?

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Labels: im, microsoft, xbox 360, xbox live

- Two big announcements came out of the GDC in relation to the Xbox 360’s memory capacity. The first involves a much-needed boost in storage ability. The second centers around an increase in the size of games that can be put on Xbox Live.

A 512MB memory unit for the 360 will be made available on April 3 for a price of about $50. The unit will greatly increase the capacity for storage gamers have at their fingertips right now. To sweeten the deal, Microsoft intends to preload the unit with Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved by Bizarre Creations for a limited time.

This news alone has been long awaited and will no doubt be music to Xbox 360 gamers’ ears.

But, there’s more. The Xbox Live arcade game size limit has been increased from 50MB to 150MB, which gives developers a whole lot more room to play with in creating games.

“The new size limit offers developers increased flexibility and continued opportunities for innovative game development, while also ensuring that the millions of gamers on Xbox LIVE can continue to easily access, download and play all Xbox LIVE Arcade games on Xbox 360,” Chris Early, product unit manager for Xbox LIVE Arcade and Microsoft Casual Games at Microsoft, has been quoted as saying. “If you take a look at current games like ‘Roboblitz’ and ‘Small Arms,’ it’s clear that our developers deliver amazing game experiences within a compact size limit. Our focus is on continuing to provide developers with an environment that allows for the creation of cost-efficient games and that nurtures an artistic and creative approach to game development.”

Both moves are very good ones on the part of Microsfot. The storage capacity boost was absolutely needed and the arcade game size increase will likely result in a lot more games being developed for Live play.

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Labels: microsoft, roboblitz, xbox 360, xbox live, xbox live arcade

Wannabe game designers with a love for Microsoft’s XNA software might just find themselves $10,000 richer thanks to a contest announced at the Game Developer Conference.

Microsoft is rolling out its Dream Build Play contest for amateur game designers. Entrants must use the XNA software (a free version is available online) or Torque X and they must submit their creations by July 2.

The lucky winner will get an invitation to enter into an Xbox Live Arcade publishing contract, the 10 grand, an Alienware Aurora 7500 system, Windows Vista and a whole bunch of other perks, as well.

The winners of the contest will be announced during Seattle Game Fest ’07 in August.

Sounds like a great way for potential game designers to show what they’re made of. With the tools available for free, there’s nothing to lose.

Check out the contest rules here.

Nods to International XboxWay.

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Labels: microsoft, torque, xbox 360, xbox live, xna, xna contest

As Sony slowly lets the cat out of the bag about a potential movie and television download service for the PlayStation 3, things over on Xbox Live Marketplace are starting to really shape up.

The Microsoft site's entry into the television and movie arena has really come a long way since launch, offering a fair amount of titles in both the television and the movie arenas.

The Top 10 list for Movies has some pretty good flicks listed, including “Crank,” “Superman Returns” and “See No Evil.”

On the television side, Comedy Central is a big contributor with “Stand Up” and “South Park” both in the Top 10. “CSI,” “Supernatural” and a host of other shows round out the offerings.

Microsoft’s partners in the download effort include such big-name players as WB, Paramount, NBC and Spike TV.

While this isn’t exactly “gaming news,” it is interesting to watch this service grow and round out. The downloads for both the PS3 and the Xbox 360 make the consoles more well-rounded, useable and easier to financially justify. We’ve barely used a regular DVD player since the 360 and PS3 made their way into our home.

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Labels: microsoft, ps3, sony, xbox 360, xbox live

Sony’s Phil Harrison has let the cat out of the bag about Sony’s intention to add movie downloads to the PlayStation Network.

"We made a very conscious decision in putting a hard drive in every machine and a minimum of 20GB, 60GB and who knows in the future, maybe that will rise. You know, that tends to be a trend," Harrison has been quoted as saying. "The decision we made to put a hard drive in every PlayStation 3 was because we saw the long term benefit. The ten year plan of allowing people to download all kinds of digital content to their PlayStation 3 -- not just games but movies, music, HD, standard definition TV, you name it. And that was a significant investment, but it was absolutely the right thing to do."

The news comes as little surprise as Microsoft is already in the field. Its movie and TV download service over Xbox Live Marketplace is a big hit, with gamers fast realizing their Xboxes can be used for a whole lot more than games.

As 1UP aptly points out, Sony is a in great position going into the proposition due to its Sony Music and Sony Pictures divisions. Content should not be an issue for the company.

Hopefully, more news on this will be coming soon. Lots of questions remain, including pricing, content, a launch date and whether or not IPTV will go along with the deal. No matter what, though, this is good news for PS3 owners that bought to make the console a part of a total entertainment package.

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Labels: PlayStation 3, playstation network, ps3, xbox live

Lost Planet: Extreme Condition fans getting tired of the same old, same old in online action don’t have to wait too much longer to get a jolt in their gameplay.

Capcom has announced it will release the first new multiplayer map March 9 via the Xbox Live Marketplace. The map will cost 400 Microsoft Points for those who are interested in battling it out on some new ground. It seems it will be the first of many the company intends to roll out to make sure the action stays fresh.

“We’re committed to bringing new content to the thriving community of Lost Planet fans,” said Charles Bellfield, vice president of marketing for Capcom, has been quoted as saying. “The development team is steadily working on additional environments to provide players with new ways to enjoy the intense Lost Planet brand of action.”

Lost Planet is a fairly new title that’s seen some amazing success. Gamers are flocking to it because of the unique setting, the realism and the balls-to-walls action. We’ll have a full review of it coming soon, but suffice it to say, the game’s a hit in our house.

Better than Halo? You’ll have to read the review to find out!

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Labels: capcom, halo 3, lost planet, xbox 360, xbox live