02/13, 12:00pm
ThinkGeek unveils iCade 8-Bitty at Toy Fair
ThinkGeek picked the American International Toy Fair to bring out the iCade 8-Bitty, a much more portable alternative to the iCade cabinet. The wireless iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch gamepad is conspicuously styled like (though not identical to) the original NES controller with four face buttons, Select and Start, although it also has two shoulder buttons. It works with the same iCade-friendly titles, such as Atari's Greatest Hits, as well as any others wanting to use the freely available support.
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02/13, 9:55am
Apple volunteers for wide audits of factories
Apple on Monday took the step of asking the Fair Labor Association to orchestrate "special voluntary audits" of its last-stage suppliers. The investigations, which include Foxconn plants in Chengdu and Shenzhen, began the same day. They include both interviews with "thousands" of workers over conditions as well as inspections and document reviews.
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02/09, 8:50pm
Xbox 360 sales drop year to year but still ahead
New NPD data has once again given the Xbox 360 the lead in console sales in the US during January, but in grim conditions. At 270,000 systems in the month, it had enough to outpace the Nintendo Wii and Sony PS3, whose sales researchers were keeping secret. However, its performance was noticeably worse than a year ago, where it had moved 381,000 systems.
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02/06, 10:05pm
Application initially submitted in 2010
Sony has filed a patent application with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a tablet-like game controller. The Position-Dependent Gaming, 3D Controller, and Handheld as a Remote in many ways conceptually resembles Nintendo's
Wii U's tablet-like game controller. Sony actually began the application process for the technology in July 2010, almost a year before Nintendo showed the system.
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02/05, 11:25pm
PS Vita on smooth track according to Sony
Sony in its results call Friday was confident that the PlayStation Vita was selling well so far. Having moved slightly more than 535,000 units in its first three weeks, according to Media Create data, company CFO Masaru Kato didn't see "any problems" with results so far. The comment came even after shipments had dipped to just over 18,000 in January and had been mostly steady since.
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02/01, 10:10pm
Specs said to change often
Nintendo has reportedly continue to make adjustments to the technical specifications for its upcoming Wii U game console. In an interview with Dutch magazine NGamer, Team Ninja's Yosuke Hayashi suggests that the hardware specs have been "changing constantly" since the game studio first began developing for the upcoming device.
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02/01, 7:45pm
3DS has free Wi-Fi hotspots in 21 countries
Nintendo has inked a deal with free-hotspot.com to offer free Wi-Fi service to Nintendo 3DS owners. The arrangement will provide the hand-held game console's users with free access to over 5,000 Wi-Fi hotspots. These are dispersed within in 21 European countries.
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01/30, 6:10pm
Voice to text to aid disable students in classroom
Nintendo is partnering with Japanese service provider NTT DoCoMo to bring speech recognition tools to the classroom. Together, the two companies are using Nintendo's DS handhelds to display a teacher's words directly on the handheld gaming device's screen as they are spoken. The intent is to help students with disabilities learn better.
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01/30, 3:45pm
No new Xbox in 2012, said Microsoft France exec
Despite rumors to the contrary, Microsoft will not release the next-generation Xbox 360 in 2012, according to Cedric Delmas, Microsoft France marketing director. In an interview translated by Eurogamer, he said nothing will be revealed for a new Xbox at this year's E3 show in June. Other claims have pointed to an E3 2013 reveal instead.
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01/30, 8:45am
Nintendo 3DS Pearl Pink hints US on February 10
Nintendo hoped to seize on Valentine's Day by putting out a stand-alone Pearl Pink version of the 3DS. The gaming handheld, previously available only in a bundle for Americans, will be available by itself. It had been available in Japan as early as September.
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01/27, 12:50pm
Wii U may launch under a different name: source
Nintendo is reportedly considering changing the name of its upcoming game console, the Wii U. The reason for this internal mulling, CVG heard, is supposedly due to the confusion with the 3D and 3DS, which Nintendo found to be too similar in the public eye. It supposedly fears the same would happen with the Wii U and its existing Wii.
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01/26, 11:50pm
Nintendo Network to accompany 3DS and Wii U
Nintendo's Friday briefing in the wake of its tough quarterly results has confirmed that it plans to at last go head-to-head with Microsoft and Sony in a persistent online gaming network. Just called Nintendo Network, it will let gamers download chat and play with each other without needing friend codes in addition to getting game add-ons. On the Wii U, gamers will have personal accounts, presumably letting them transport their Mii, downloads, and other preferences across systems.
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01/26, 5:20am
Nintendo to report first annual loss in late March
Nintendo’s quarterly earnings report out today (pdf) shows that company’s fourth quarter profit, normally a strong suit, collapsed by 61 percent compared to the same period in 2010. The company is now well on track to report a larger than expected annual loss, marking the first time it will have been in the red. Part of the gaming giant’s fortunes will rest on its Wii sequel, the Wii U, which Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said will reach the US and other key markets for the crucial holiday season 2012.
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01/25, 11:30pm
Apple has internal clash over China factories
Apple has faced both internal tension over as well as misleading statements from its Chinese suppliers, an in-depth investigation has uncovered. Focusing primarily on Foxconn, the New York Times spoke to numerous current and former Apple executives who said that, while there were improvements in the years since Apple began auditing factories, the company has so far stopped short of a hardline approach that would get a supplier like Foxconn to change.
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01/24, 7:35pm
Xbox 360 sequel may use Radeon HD 6670
A culmination of rumors may have given the first clearer picture of the next-generation Xbox's hardware. A tip to IGN has the system using graphics hardware roughly equivalent to AMD's Radeon HD 6670. Although strictly a mid-range graphics chip on the desktop, it would allegedly be about six times faster than the Xbox 360's 2005-era video.
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01/21, 5:35pm
Apple story shows China flexibility over US
Newly uncovered details behind Apple's original iPhone launch have underscored the reasons why manufacturing jobs aren't likely to return to the US in large numbers. Referring to Apple's well-known decision to switch from plastic to glass for the original iPhone's touchscreen, the New York Times understood that Jobs was furious the iPhone couldn't be put in a pocket with keys and avoid display scratches. The only way to get scratch-resistant glass in a timely way was to go to Foxconn's plants in Shenzhen, where Apple from a sudden midnight notice could have them producing 10,000 units a day with the updated model inside of 96 hours.
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01/20, 8:00pm
ESA drops SOPA support only after too late
The Entertainment Software Association engaged in what many saw as bandwagoneering Friday after it dropped its previous support for the Stop Online Piracy Act. Now that the bill had been indefinitely postponed following large-scale protests, the game advocacy group switched to arguing for a law that "balances both creative and technology interests." It claimed to have wanted an even approach "from the beginning."
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01/18, 8:20pm
PS Vita sales continue to drop
New Media Create data has made clear that the PlayStation Vita isn't yet threatening most other consoles or smartphones. After a blockbuster launch in December, it has tapered off for a second time in a month to just 18,361 systems as of January 15. Every console's sales dropped off sharply in the same period, but it still sat behind Sony's seven-year-old PSP, the PS3, and Nintendo's 3DS.
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01/17, 10:35am
IDC sees 3DS and Vita surviving Apple and Google
Dedicated handheld gaming systems like the Nintendo 3DS and Sony's PlayStation Vita will trigger a "rebound year" that fends off iOS and Android, IDC estimated on Tuesday. A wave of revenue stemming both from the new hardware and from game sales attached to it was expected to last through 2012 and 2013. While Nintendo and Sony might still sell fewer units and fewer games, the frequent $30 to $40 prices of their games would trump the dependence on cheap or free titles on smartphones and tablets.
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01/13, 9:40pm
SOPA to no longer censor outside sites
Key Stop Online Privacy Act (SOPA) promoter Representative Lamar Smith stated Friday that he wanted to remove the domain name blocking provision from the proposed bill. He wanted the Congressional Judiciary Committee to "further examine the issues" surrounding the measure, according to CNET. A corresponding move was already underway with the Senate equivalent of the bill, Protect IP (PIPA), from Senator Patrick Leahy.
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01/09, 3:45am
Netflix expands to Britain
Netflix confirmed its long-in-the-making plans to expand to Ireland and the UK on Monday. The service works much like its American equivalent but has some accommodation for the local market, such as The Only Way is Essex. Going to the area also brings the full Facebook integration that's currently off-limits to Americans.
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01/03, 10:20am
Nintendo Wii U may lure iOS devs and e-books
Quickly coming on the heels of talk of a full Wii U app store is a rumor late Monday of Nintendo actively courting iOS developers. The gaming giant was said by a developer talking to Forget the Box to be offering "assistance" porting apps for Apple's platform to the Wii U. The titles would by necessity played on the controller's 6.2-inch touchscreen.
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01/03, 8:40am
Nintendo more than recovers from early 3DS slump
Nintendo returned from holiday with word that it had shipped more than four million 3DS systems in the US. The milestone, which it reached in nine months, was enough to outsell the Wii over its own intro period. Nintendo had already passed four million in Japan just days earlier.
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12/30, 12:10pm
Nintendo and Sony rethink unpopular SOPA bill
A quiet update to the list of Stop Online Piract Act supporters (PDF) has shown that Nintendo and Sony have backed away from the proposed bill. Both were originally endorsing the bill as of November but quietly removed themselves from the list sometime in the past month. Neither has acknowledged the change in attitude.
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12/29, 9:55pm
Handheld outfitted with snakeskin
Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima has teased a special edition Nintendo 3DS featuring a snakeskin-texture housing. The customized gaming handheld is said to be borne of direct collaboration with Nintendo and created to celebrate the upcoming release of Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D for the platform.
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12/29, 9:35am
Nintendo Wii U may have full tablet-like apps
Nintendo's Wii U may have a full-fledged app store similar to the iPad or Android by the time it ships, according to a rumor early on Thursday. The portal as portrayed by The Daily would give non-gaming apps such as MLB.tv the option of running on the regular TV interface, but it would also allow for more tablet-like apps that run just on the gamepad's 6.2-inch touchscreen. There would be a "wider variety" of apps than what DSiWare and WiiWare offer now, the source said.
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12/28, 4:00pm
Modded GameCube available on eBay for $950
A modder who calls himself Slipstream has breathed new life into the 10-year old GameCube home console from Nintendo through a portable hack. He calls his creation the Sly Cube, and it includes a seven-inch LCD flip screen. The integrated 7.2V, 600mAH battery is said to provide between three and four hours of play time.
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12/28, 3:40pm
PS Vita sells just 72K units in first full week
Sales of Sony's recently launched PS Vita handheld games console have cooled significantly, the latest numbers from Japanese site 4Gamer.net reveal. The first full week of the console's being on the market saw just 72,479 Vitas find homes, a marked decrease from the 321,400 units sold in its first two days on the market. This puts the system in fifth place after the 3DS, the Vita's predecessor the PSP, Nintendo's Wii, and Sony's PS3, respectively.
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12/28, 7:30am
Nintendo opens up to DLC for the first time
Nintendo has joined [sub. req.] its competition in offering paid DLC for its 3DS gaming titles. Users now have the option of purchasing additional levels and other downloadable content for games where offered by developers. The first 3DS game set to get the treatment is Fire Emblem.
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12/27, 7:55pm
Sales picking up after early trouble
Nintendo has reportedly sold more than 4 million of its 3DS gaming handhelds in the local Japanese market, according to data collected by Famitsu. The device is also said to have reached sales of more than 510,000 units for the holiday shopping week that ended on Christmas day, setting a new record for weekly sales across the globe.
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12/26, 2:50pm
Xbox Live loses gun avatar add-ons on January 1
Gears of War developer Epic Games warned late this past week that Microsoft was pulling all "gun-like" avatar props from Xbox Live. As of January 1, the Hammerburst, Lancer, and other items wouldn't be available as a matter of policy, Community Manager Will Kinsler said. Any avatars bought before the cutoff would stay afterwards.
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12/22, 7:00pm
NPD tracks smartphone and digital gaming at last
The NPD Group in a rare step began tracking some of the contributions of non-traditional gaming to the industry for the first time. It estimated that about $1.64 billion came from "other content," which includes mobile games as well as direct downloads and social network games, generated $1.64 billion in revenue. The growth made it larger than the traditional software side of the business, which dropped to $1.3 billion
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12/19, 2:10pm
LG Magic Motion Remote to power its 2012 TVs
LG gave a teaser for its CES plans Monday with plans for a brand new remote. The Magic Motion Remote Control will center on a Wii-like gesture system for navigation, such as by drawing the letter "V" to watch videos. Voice commands will be present, although they should be simple and focus on basic channel changes and tasks.
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12/18, 8:50pm
Apple TV may go beyond voice with DVR link, motion
New leaks from within Apple's media talks have hinted that the long-rumored Apple TV set may go beyond just voice commands. The sources for the Wall Street Journal had the set responding also to "movements," hinting at a motion system like Microsoft's Kinect or the Nintendo Wii remote. Development has also supposedly been underway for uniting DVR storage with iCloud, hinting that a user might stop watching a regular broadcast TV show on the set itself and then pick it up later on an iPhone or a computer.
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12/17, 3:40am
PS Vita has strong start in Japan
Sony had an upbeat launch for the PlayStation Vita in its home country of Japan. The 7AM launch saw thousands in line with volumes closer to that of an Apple launch, including 600 at Yodobashi Camera in Tokyo's Akihabara district and 300 at Bic Camera in the Ikebukuro district. At the official event at Shibuya Tsutaya, where Sony executives including company president Kaz Hirai were hosts, the first buyer was an unidentified 33 year old northerner.
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12/16, 2:05pm
Nintendo 3DS coming to Louvre as visitor guide
The Louvre museum in Paris just revealed that it will use Nintendo's 3DS portable game console to guide visitors through its collection of art. The 3DS will replace its audio guides starting in March, which are so far used only by four percent of its 8.5 million yearly visitors. The French museum will become the first to do so, and Nintendo will supply 5,000 of its consoles for the cause.
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12/15, 7:55am
PS Vita Japan launch already spoken for
Sony on Thursday said that it had sold out of the PlayStation Vita in Japanese pre-orders. Not due to go on sale until Saturday, the handheld game system triggered lines that saw its initial batch spoken for. It did have a significant amount of time to sell stock, having started pre-orders on October 15.
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12/15, 5:40am
Early 3DS adopters get free games this Friday
The promised free games for Nintendo ‘Ambassadors’ will be ready for download this Friday. Users have reported receiving SpotPass notifications informing them of the arrival. Nintendo instituted the ‘Ambassador Program’ when it decided to dramatically slash the price of the 3DS console after less than six months on the market following poor early uptake.
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12/14, 3:35pm
Nielsen shows game console usage numbers, bumps
Streaming and video-on-demand on game consoles has seen a sharp increase over the past year, media researcher Nielsen revealed after performing a study in October. Users now spend 14 percent of their time on the Xbox 360, 15 percent on the PS3, and 33 percent on the Wii watching videos from services such as Netflix, Hulu, MLB Network, and ESPN3.
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12/13, 10:35am
Nintendo 3DS gets right analog add-on in US
Nintendo on Tuesday confirmed that its Circle Pad Pro add-on for the 3DS would becoming to the US. The right analog stick and shoulder button hybrid should reach the US on February 7 as a GameStop exclusive. It will carry a relatively low price at $20, although it won't come with extras.
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12/09, 6:45pm
NPD charts huge device sales, flat cash in Nov '11
New NPD data has shown runaway gaming hardware sales in November that could signal a minor revival in the face of iOS gaming. Nintendo saw a resurgence as it moved 795,000 3DS units in the US during the month, or about double what it has in recent months. It still managed to sell 350,000 DSi systems, leading it to about 1.15 million handheld gaming systems in one month.
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12/08, 1:15pm
Shigeru Miyamoto not stepping down: Nintendo
Nintendo is vehemently denying reports that its main game designer, Shigeru Miyamoto, is stepping down to a lesser role at the company, said a Thursday report. Miyamoto is responsible for popular franchises like Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda, and his stepping down would not be good news for the company. In an interview with Wired, Miyamoto said he will retire from his current position and work on something small by himself.
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12/06, 10:30am
CPU said to be similar to Xbox 360 chip
Nintendo's upcoming Wii U will reportedly be powered by a quad-core processor based on Power architecture. Although the gaming company has yet to fully detail its next console, unnamed developers who are claimed to have early access to the device have told Tom's Guide the U's 45nm 3GHz processor is "very similar" to the 3.2GHz PowerPC chip used in the Xbox 360.
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12/01, 5:10pm
Total Immersion teams with Intel on AR in chips
Total Immersion, which specializes in augmented reality, has teamed up with Intel to bring AR features like gesture recognition to the chipmaker's future products. Total Immersion marketing chief Antoine Brachet revealed to Reuters and others on Wednesday that products could reach consumers in as soon as three years, depending on consumer response. This would allow digital information such as text, graphics and games to be overlaid atop screens and allow users to interact with them.
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11/29, 6:45pm
Xbox 360 has best week ever, nears 1m in one week
Microsoft on Tuesday marked its best week ever for gaming. The company sold over 960,000 Xbox 360 consoles during Black Friday week, getting its best one-week Xbox hardware sales ever even with a holiday. Over 800,000 of those were sold just on Black Friday itself, and it was one of the top sellers at Best Buy.
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11/28, 11:05pm
Nintendo 3DS sales jump 325pc based on Mario
The launch of key Mario and Zelda games helped catapult Nintendo 3DS sales, the company's US President Reggie Fils-Aime declared Monday to USA Today. The week of November 6, just before Super Mario 3DS Land arrived, the handheld saw its sales jump 325 percent. The launch of the game itself saw sales jump 49 percent again over those already boosted figures.
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11/28, 11:15am
Nintendo to ship two Nitendogs bundles Dec. 4
Nintendo just introduced two upcoming 3DS bundles. The systems are available in pink only and thus meant for girls, giving them the choice of nintendogs + cats: French Bulldog and New Friends or nintendogs + cats: Toy Poodle and New Friends games. They arrive in stores on December 4 and are priced at $170, or the same price as the standalone 3DS system.
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11/25, 12:15pm
Sony acknowledges late launch of PS4 a problem
PlayStation Europe CEO Jim Ryan said he doesn't want to repeat being behind competitors in the launch of its next-generation gaming console. Speaking in an interview with Eurogamer, Ryan said it'd be "undesirable" for the PS4 to be "significantly later than the competition." Nintendo's Wii U should be out in 2012 while the next Xbox is expected to be introduced next year as well, with a launch possibly due in 2013.
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11/23, 1:55pm
Early Black Friday sales for gamers go live
Early Black Friday deals for gamers have started early and include a $145 Nintendo 3DS at Target and a $199 Xbox 360 bundle at Sam's Club. The usual price for a 3DS is $170, making the discount relatively steep for a system that's otherwise the same as usual.
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11/21, 9:25am
Nintendo 3DS gets Zelda, Mario bundles this week
Nintendo confirmed some rumors and brought two special edition 3DS bundles to the US. The previously Europe-only Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D bundle includes both the game and a unique black 3DS with the Hyrule logo, and other trim elements, in a gold hue. A more conventional Super Mario 3D Land bundle mates a regular red 3DS with the new Mario platformer.
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