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video games posts

Redbox debuts $2 video game rentals, pretty lean on titles thus far

by Laura June posted Aug 16th 2009 at 3:02PM


If you've been waiting expectantly for Redbox to launch its much dreamed-of video game rentals kiosks -- well, dream no more. Word has come down from on high that it's happened, and we'll tell you: we couldn't be more pleased. For $2 a night (which isn't really a great premium compared to Blockbuster's $9 for five nights), you can hit up the kiosk and grab games for Nintendo DS, Wii, PS2 and 3, and Xbox 360. Now -- the game selections are really slim so far, but we're pretty sure that situation will improve quickly, and the launch has only been rolled on in the Reno, Nevada area as of now. We'll keep our fingers crossed for Redbox to make its way eastward soon.

[Via Zatz Not Funny]

3D glasses included in two new Disney games for Xbox 360, PS3 & Wii

by Richard Lawler posted Jun 30th 2009 at 11:35PM


While you'll probably have to wait for James Cameron's Avatar for a proper stereoscopic 3D experience on consoles, Disney is readying two games this summer that will not only support anaglyph 3D (good news, it will work on any TV, bad news, it's the same low quality red/blue style 3D you've seen and ignored before), but come with two pairs of glasses packed in. Just continuing on the 3D hype its been dispensing to the kids with Jonas Bros. and Hannah Montana flicks both on the big screen and at home, highlighted most recently with Up and culminating in the upcoming Toy Story 1 & 2 3D remakes in October, Disney is clearly making an effort to work the technology in on every level with special 3D modes (no cheat codes necessary.) Toy Story Mania is a Wii-exclusive game due this fall based on the ride at its resorts, while G-Force brings spy guinea pigs to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 July 21.

[Via Joystiq]

Maingear's Axess HD Gamer PC looks to blow your mind, empty your wallet

by Ross Miller posted Jun 19th 2009 at 4:44AM

Make no bones about, Maingear's new Axess HD Gamer (and by merit of its namesake, HTPC, too) is nothing if not a powerhouse for those wanting to pay an arm and a leg for a souped up gaming experience. You want specs? At its best, we're looking at an Intel Core i7 on a X58 chipset, dual NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT in SLI, up to 12GB of DDR3 RAM, Blu-ray, Windows Vista / Media Center, and two 3.5-inch storage bays supporting 320GB SSD or 2TB HDD. If you need more nerd cred, ghost of vaporware past Phantom Lapboard serves as one of the bundled input devices, as does the NVIDIA GeForce 3D vision kit and a 22-inch Samsung LCD. Starting price is $1,799, but if you wanna go for broke -- and whether not you can, you probably want to -- top configurations can run you well over $5,000.

Netflix on the lookout for gaming platforms engineering guru

by Ross Miller posted Apr 13th 2009 at 4:47PM

We've heard whispers of Netflix heading to other, non-Xbox 360 game consoles before, and now adding to the susurrus is a job listing from the company for Engineering Lead - Gaming Platforms. The description calls for someone familiar with the technical hurdles of current-gen consoles for building a small team to "rapidly prototype and iterate on a variety of platforms." Whether or not this means we'll be seeing PlayStation 3 or Wii services in the near (or even distant) future is anyone's guess, but with Microsoft's version so far a streaming success, we wouldn't be surprised if the company took a few steps to increase the probability that 3 billionth delivered flick is digital.

[Via Joystiq]

Video game sales surpass DVD / Blu-ray for the first time

by Darren Murph posted Jan 24th 2009 at 12:29AM


Hold on to your caps, folks -- you're about to hear some positive economic news. Baffling, we know. According to Media Control GfK International, worldwide packaged media sales managed to creep up six percent in 2008. Interestingly, it seems that video games were doing the bulk of the driving, as for the first time in recorded history, sales of games exceeded sales of DVD and Blu-ray Discs. Back in 2007, games accounted for 47 percent of the equation, while it scooted up to 53 percent in 2008; analysts are expecting that figure to rise further and hit 57 percent in 2009, though much of this shift has to do with the digital distribution of content and not the disinterest in movies overall. Remember, we're talking about packaged media here. Per usual, loads more numbers await you in the read link if you're the ones and zeros type.

[Via CDFreaks, image courtesy of OrlandoSentinel]

Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts getting fixed for SDTV owners

by Darren Murph posted Nov 10th 2008 at 11:58AM


They always said the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and yet again that adage has proven true. After demo players of RARE's Banjo Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts found the text to be unreadable on SDTVs, word was passed on that the issue would remain in the final version of the game. Now, however, RARE's George Kelion has stepped in to announce that a fix is indeed in the works. To quote: "We would like to assure you that contrary to earlier reports, we are aware of the [text] issue and [are] currently working on a title update to be released within the next 30 days that will fix it for those with standard-definition TVs." Nice job raising cain, people.

[Via The Escapist]

Streaming HD video games demonstrated at IPTV World Forum

by Richard Lawler posted Mar 21st 2008 at 1:25PM


IPTV set-top box manufacturer Amino made a first recently, when it showed a live demo of G-Cluster streaming games played in high definition via its AmiNET130 STB. The G-Cluster service has been around in Japan for a while, it runs all the processing on a server, while the audio and video streams back to the user, but this is the first time its shown the technology used in HD. Resident Evil 4 and Sensible Soccer aren't quite as detailed as Call of Duty or Gears of War, but with enough bandwidth, it might not be long before we don't have to buy a disc or download a game at all.

Poll: Is your console connected to an HDTV?

by Darren Murph posted Dec 22nd 2007 at 12:00PM


We know what Nielsen found, but now we're interested in doing a little super-scientific research of our own. For all the gamers out there, what kind of television is your console(s) connected to? Still rockin' the RCA tube set circa 1991? Just upgraded to a snazzy new flat-panel? Check out the options below and toss in your vote, or if you don't see anything you like, sound off in comments, capiche?

Is your console connected to an HDTV?

PS3 owners most connected to HDTV, Xbox 360 / Wii not far behind

by Darren Murph posted Dec 20th 2007 at 8:27PM

We'll be straight with you: we aren't shocked in the slightest with these results, and while we're sure conjecture will fly over the underlying meanings, the results speak for themselves, really. According to new data from Nielsen Research Group, 71-percent of all PlayStation 3 consoles are connected to some form of HDTV (either LCD, plasma or front / rear projection), while 66-percent of Xbox 360s and 65-percent of Wiis were found to be played on a high-definition set. 'Course, it follows logic that the console with the built-in HD movie player would be most highly used on HDTVs, but considering just how many Wii owners also own an HDTV, it's downright depressing to think how stellar Wii Sports could be in 1080i.

[Image courtesy of GameWorldNetwork]




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