Latest Gear Live Videos
Final Opera For Wii Delayed
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Internet, Wii,
It looks like Nintendo Wii owners will have to wait just a bit more for the final version of the Opera browser. According to GameSpot, Nintendo has announced that the browser, initially scheduled to be finalized in March, has been pushed back a few weeks to an April release. Nintendo claims that the extra time will be used to implement a number of changes including:
improved zoning and scrolling, a better zoomed font, quicker start-up times, faster access to favourites, the ability to erase the toolbar, and pre-set buttons for phrases like www and .com.
A toggle-able toolbar would help for viewing full-screen video and playing Flash-based games on the Wii, and the improvements to scrolling will help as well. With this announcement, it also looks like USB keyboard and mouse support is off the table; with the Wii-remote, this isn’t actually a huge deal, but would help with long input forms.
Read More 
| GameSpot
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Games For Windows Live Service Coming May 8
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Internet, PC, Xbox 360, Xbox Live,
Microsoft’s Games for Windows – Live service will be launching on May 8th, along with the launch of Halo 2 for Windows Vista. Microsoft also confirmed the pricing for the Silver and Gold tiers for the online service; like its Xbox Live sister, the Silver tier is free while the Gold level costs $49.95 per year. There is less of a differentiating factor between the two levels than on Xbox Live. While Xbox Live silver users have no online gaming support, Games for Windows – Live Gold level members will get access to friends lists and PC multiplayer gaming only. The Gold level will basically add more comprehensive matchmaking and cross-platform gameplay.
Microsoft announced three titles that will be supporting Games for Windows – Live; Halo 2, Shadowrun, and UNO. With only Halo 2 promised at launch, its hard to recommend that PC gamers without an Xbox Live Gold account already pay out the money for the full fledged service, particularly since Halo 2 won’t support cross-platform play. Of course, this will somewhat depend on how well developed a matchmaking service the game offers at the Gold tier. Still, the slate of games promised for this online service is really short right now; it almost feels like the ideal target customer for this is a current Xbox Live Gold member with an Xbox 360 that also has a decent gaming machine running Vista.
Microsoft’s full press release continues after the jump.
Click to continue reading Games For Windows Live Service Coming May 8
MADtv Recruits Through YouTube
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Comedy, Late Night, Internet,
MADtv, which I didn’t even realize was still on, has recruited their latest cast member through YouTube. Lisa Donovan, who moved to Los Angeles to become an actor, previously auctioned for MADtv, but didn’t get the gig. She started her own production company, Zappin Productions, where she created a number of short films. Her videos are available on YouTube, and were popular enough to be featured on the home page. MADtv‘s casting director found the videos on YouTube and asked Donovan to audition again. This time, she nailed it. A Cinderella story in the making—get your stuff up on YouTube and see if it doesn’t land you a dream job. MADtv airs on Saturdays at 11:00 p.m. Donovan can be seen beginning on February 17th.
Read More | Comingsoon.net
eBay Removes All Virtual Item Listings
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Corporate News, Hot Deals, Internet, MMORPG,
Bad news for Gold Farmers and MMO junkies looking to make their fortunes virtually - eBay, the world’s largest auction house, has begun quietly closing all listings for virtual property including “currency, items, and accounts/characters”. This is all according to poster on Slashdot who talked with a representative from eBay and got the following explanation:
The policy on digitally delivered goods states: “The seller must be the owner of the underlying intellectual property, or authorized to distribute it by the intellectual property owner.” Given the nebulous nature of ownership in online games, eBay has decided the prudent decision is to remove the possibility for players to sell what might be the IP of other parties via their service.
Of course, we doubt that this will put an end to payment for virtual online property - I’m expecting to see WoWbay.com to get bought out any day now…
Read More | Slashdot.org
2.4 Million Join Burning Crusade
Posted by Christopher Sasaki Categories: Corporate News, Internet, MMORPG, PC,
Blizzard Entertainment has broken PC sales records by selling over 2.4 million copies during the first 24 hours of availability of their expansion World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade. According to their press release, the company sold over 1.2 million copies in North America and 1.1 million copies in Europe, and over 1.7 million users logged in the first day. The press release did not state how many of those people wound up queued for their game servers, or how much productivity is dipping during the week of the game’s release. Blizzard assures gamers that have not yet purchased the expansion that more copies are shipping daily; while GameStop and EBGames made an insightful decision to just order enough copies to cover pre-orders, local Fry’s Electronics stores reportedly have stacks of the game available for purchase.
The full press release continues after the jump.
Click to continue reading 2.4 Million Join Burning Crusade
What’s Wii’s Online Strategy For This Coming Year?
Posted by Michael Cardiff Categories: Accessories, Editorial, Internet, Nintendo, Wii,
One way in which the Wii has definitely been lagging behind its next-gen competitors is the online arena. As it currently stands, the WiiConnect-24 service doesn’t REALLY seem to be connected 24-hours a day, and your online activities are pretty much limited to 1) visiting the Mii Parade (woo hoo) 2) checking a weather “forecast” that’s often a few hours behind 3) surfing the net with the beta Opera browser and 4) paying for old games via the Virtual Console service.
Now granted, Nintendo has a lot on its plate these days. In addition to just producing enough Wii’s to meet demand, they’re also working on a few blockbuster titles (Mario Galaxy and Pokemon Battle Revolution among them) and probably spending a fair chunk of time porting old games to the VC library. But still, Nintendo, we’re going to need something to keep us interested in Wii’s online service.
Matt over at IGN points to some previous discussions he’s had with NOA’s George Harrison, to give us a glimpse at what we can expect from the big N in 2007:
I interviewed Nintendo of America’s George Harrison a couple months back and he said that the company would eventually offer a variety of content on the Wii Shopping Channel, including add-ons and demos. I think Nintendo also wants to nurture a homebrew development scene of some kind. I’d be surprised if we didn’t hear more about all of the above at the Game Developers Conference in March. In the meantime, all I can tell you is that Nintendo’s online network is in its infancy and can only improve over time. Eventually, I’m positive there will be demos for everyone to download and try.
That sounds great and all, but honestly I think it’s time for some firm announcements and some much-needed changes.
Here’s our own list of what needs to change and what needs to be improved (after the jump!)
Click to continue reading What’s Wii’s Online Strategy For This Coming Year?
Read More | Wii.ign.com
CES 2007 Video: Social TV
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Gizmatic, Short Bytes, CES, CES 2007, Features, Home Entertainment, Internet, Videocasts,
Television has long been a very social activity - friends gathering to watch the game or a movie. Now this experience is possible with friends who may not be in the area. Social TV is a technology that delivers world-wide channels via the internet, and adds the ability to sync your viewing with friends (or strangers) and interact with each other via chat.
American Idol Rules the Ratings
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Internet, Ratings,
Despite my grumblings yesterday where I explained that I can’t watch the auditions of American Idol, the little talent show seemed to do just fine in the ratings. The premiere of the sixth season kicked off with 37.3 million viewers tuning in—a five percent jump from last year’s season premiere. Not bad, right? Well, seems some folks are becoming as disenchanted as I am, according to an article on Reuters. While the show garnered the highest viewership in American Idol‘s history, it still left some dissatisfied. Last night’s show included auditions from Minneapolis, with most of the wannabes not quite making the grade. One fan posted on Americanidol.com’s message board: “I think that we need to see more of the good with the bad. Not only did we get bad but it seemed to be longer segments of individuals… I’m not going to waste my time tonight.” So my critique yesterday was not too far off the mark—another fan on Yahoo’s message boards said, “Too much of a bad thing is not so entertaining… The bad ones are just mostly ridiculous, by this point.” Amen.
(You can find all the American Idol 6 posts here.)
Read More | Reuters
Road Rules 2007 Promises Viewer Interaction
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Prime Time, Reality, Cable, Cable/Satellite, Internet,
The latest installment of MTV’s Road Rules not only marks the return of the show since being on hiatus in 2004, it also introduces an interactive element. Dubbed Viewers Revenge, this edition of Road Rules lets viewers have some control over the cast. The show will not be pre-recorded as in past seasons, but rather use a “near real-time” format, similar to Big Brother. The other difference from past seasons is that the cast will compete in challenges based in California, rather than traveling on a road trip, due to the new format.
The challenge begins with six previous Road Rules’ contestants: Abram (Road Rules South Seas), Adam (Road Rules 10: The Quest), Shane (Road Rules Campus Crawl), Kina (Road Rules Xtreme), Susie (Road Rules Australia), and Veronica (Road Rules Semester at Sea). After each week’s mission, the cast will nominate a male and female castmate for elimination. Viewers will make the decision about who will compete in a face-off that is shown on the roadrules.mtv.com website. Viewers will also vote a challenger for the face-off from an online roster called “The Pit Crew.” Each Pit Crew member will have videos, blogs, and other other background information. If the Pit Crew member wins the challenge, they return to the RV and the loser then joins the Pit Crew lineup, where they can potentially get back in the game. If the initial Road Ruler wins, they keep their spot in the RV. Confused yet?
Look for a Road Rules: Viewers Revenge special on January 23rd at 10 p.m. The new season starts on January 30th at 9 p.m.
Read More | Reality TV World
View Part of The Apprentice Premiere Online
Posted by Wendy Michaels Categories: Prime Time, Reality, NBC, Apprentice, The - Donald, Internet,
If you can’t wait any longer until Sunday’s premiere of The Apprentice, you don’t have to. Well, sort of. NBC.com has included the first 24 minutes of The Apprentice on their site, giving eager fans an early peek. If you haven’t heard, this edition of The Apprentice takes place in Los Angeles and promises plenty of twists. Check it out—the clip opens with Trump talking to his wife and baby, Baron, before launching into his signature full-on screaming as he introduces the show and the 18 candidates. We even get to see a bit of his little tyke. The candidates’ first assignment? Building a tent together. Watch as 18 people quibble over how to get a tent built!
The Apprentice: Los Angeles airs on Sunday, January 7th, from 9:30-11:00 p.m.
Read More | ComingSoon.net
