Recently in Video Games & Gaming Category

 For Sony, Home is where the future of gaming is -- or where they would like it to be.

In its battle for the hearts and minds of gamers, Sony is developing a robust social-networking component to its PlayStation 3 console.

The new element, to be called Home, has been in beta testing for weeks and allows users to explore an online world with avatars that can travel from one virtual place to another.

While it's not exactly a world like World of Warcraft or Linden Labs'Second Life, Home is the most ambitious push by any console maker into creating a virtual world for gamers.

It will live or die on whether it's simple, fun, and deep enough for gamers who have plenty of other things they want to do -- like play games. And the price is right: free for those who have a PS3.

The New York Times/VentureBeat.

Gamers: Power down consoles when not in use to save cash!

National Resources Defense Council and consulting firm Ecos have found that gamers could save $100 a year if they turn off their consoles when they are not in use.

That means you guys in the photo!

The pair also recommends that game console manufacturers look to include power management features in their next generation of consoles.

The authors said the industry should adopt automatic power-down features and make it easier for consumers to locate these features. Idle machines consume nearly as much energy as when machines are turned on.

The XBox 360, for example, has a power-down feature, but it's turned off by default and is hard to activate because its buried deep in the menus. (For instructions on how to find existing power-down features, click here.)

In terms of energy consumption, the XBox 360 is in the middle of the pack, consuming 119 watts in active mode, more than many desktop PCs.

The Nintendo Wii, meanwhile, consumes just 16 watts -- less than most laptops -- and the Sony PlayStation 3 burns through 150 watts in play mode. PlayStation 3 can update its software to add a power-management feature, but it's disabled by default, too.

More at CNET.

  National Geographic Ventures is working with video game makers on branded games for PCs, consoles and handhelds, with such forthcoming titles as National Geographic: Panda for the Nintendo DS and Sony will have National Geographic: Africa.

For the Panda title, look what you will be able to do!

• Interact with pandas - play with, help, teach and nurture your very own cute panda bear
• Learn about pandas - view pictures and read stories about real-life pandas from the National Geographic archives
• Nurture your panda - your panda's habits change with how you treat and play with it
• More pandas - as your panda develops, new baby pandas will join him in Panda Park
• Play in real time - graphics and sounds change according to the time of day
• Fun playground toys - have fun playing with familiar playground equipment like a tire swing, a see-saw, slides, and more
• Advanced shopping features - let your daily allowance grow and go on a shopping spree, buy panda food and toys immediately or order items by mail via Panda Delivery
• Simple UI - interact with your panda with a single touch of the stylus pen, simple controls allows you to focus on interacting with your panda

Almost like Panda Tycoon!

More at Bandai Namco Games.

• Interact with pandas - play with, help, teach and nurture your very own cute panda bear
• Learn about pandas - view pictures and read stories about real-life pandas from the National Geographic archives
• Nurture your panda - your panda's habits change with how you treat and play with it
• More pandas - as your panda develops, new baby pandas will join him in Panda Park
• Play in real time - graphics and sounds change according to the time of day
• Fun playground toys  - have fun playing with familiar playground equipment like a tire swing, a see-saw, slides, and more
• Advanced shopping features - let your daily allowance grow and go on a shopping spree, buy panda food and toys immediately or order items by mail via Panda Delivery
• Simple UI - interact with your panda with a single touch of the stylus pen, simple controls allows you to focus on interacting with your pandaInteract with pandas - play with, help, teach and nurture your very own cute panda bear
• Learn about pandas - view pictures and read stories about real-life pandas from the National Geographic archives
• Nurture your panda - your panda's habits change with how you treat and play with it
• More pandas - as your panda develops, new baby pandas will join him in Panda Park
• Play in real time - graphics and sounds change according to the time of day
• Fun playground toys - have fun playing with familiar playground equipment like a tire swing, a see-saw, slides, and more
• Advanced shopping features - let your daily allowance grow and go on a shopping spree, buy panda food and toys immediately or order items by mail via Panda Delivery
• Simple UI - interact with your panda with a single touch of the stylus pen, simple controls allows you to focus on interacting with your panda

The Washington Post/The Associated Press (11/18)  

A report from research consultancy TDG predicts that portals like Microsoft's Xbox Live and Sony's PlayStation Network will soon become formidable competitors to incumbent Pay TV services.

Leveraging broadband-enabled game consoles as the next-generation video platforms -- and bypassing cable and satellite TV operators, these companies will offer a compelling alternative to traditional TV programming by providing a more immersive, interactive video experience.

The launch of Microsoft's Experience and the Xbox Live Netflix streaming video service is a perfect example of how potent these services will soon become. There is little doubt these services are finally ready for prime time.

Even before the launch of Experience, Microsoft's Xbox Live had amassed some 15,000 movies (1,000 of which are HD) and some 13,000 TV shows for download-to-own. The Netflix partnership adds 12,000 movies and TV programs to the mix, all for free streaming to Netflix subscribers.

Sony's PlayStation Network has collected close to 1,000 movies and hundreds of TV programs for download-to-own. It has also announced plans to expand dramatically its video library in the next few months in order to compete with Xbox Live. 

Many thanks to Advanced-Television.

I grew up reading PC Magazine and I looked forward each couple weeks to picking up my copy of PC Magazine at the local grocery store. But today, Ziff Davis has announced that the legendary PC Magazine print publication is shutting down its print publication and focusing exclusively on online content. This is truly a sad day... Hold on while I grab some tissues...

PC Magazine started the whole in-depth comparative reviews of PCs and Microsoft software. They expanded later to including gadgets, MP3 players, mobile phones, GPS, and other technology. PC Magazine offered insightful tech tips and great columnists like John C. Dvorak. Back in the 80s and 90s the print publication was 400-500 pages, making for hours of tech- reading pleasure. Today, it's down to 150 pages and soon to be 0 (January 2009).

Well, I guess it's "greener" that way. But I for one will miss my print copy of PC Magazine.

The new Xbox Live look is supposed to kick off today so be sure to take a peek.

The gaming platform now includes customizable avatars, an iPod-like display and easier viewing of Netflix downloads.

It's got to be an improvement over what was there before ... or at least we hope so!

Let's hear the feedback!

Louder!

Hoping to provide viewers with an easy way to move Internet-based video onto TV screens, GridNetworks has announced a new service that would do just that by routing the content through an Xbox 360 gaming console.

The service is designed to work with any device that uses Universal Plug and Play protocols and, in the future, GridNetworks wants to be able to use Sony's PlayStation 3 as the conduit as well.

More at Multichannel News.

Researchers recently completed work on a networking solution that will synchronize the myriad personal electronic devices (aka gadgets) people will use in the not-so-distant future. 

The group, called MAGNET Beyond, was composed of researchers from 35 companies who developed an architecture to harmonize devices such as laptops, telephones, MP3 players, games and a variety of sensors.

And why is this networking project called MAGNET Beyond?

No it's not a take-off on Bed, Bath and Beyond, but the name is an acronym for "My personal adaptive Global NET and beyond."

Yikes!

How many researchers does it take to come up with a good acronym?

Definitely not this group! Better luck with the technology.

More at ZDnet.

Get ready for a new look for Xbox Live this week when Microsoft debuts a completely new look for its gaming platform.

The date: November 19.

The new look will include customizable avatars, an iPod-like display and easier viewing of Netflix downloads.

According to Microsoft, the upgrades are meant to turn a somewhat static user interface into "a social media entertainment hub."

So tune in later this week and let's hear how you like it (or how you don't).

Get more at USA Today.

Despite a worsening economy, all three current-generation video game consoles had better U.S. sales in October than they did a year ago, according to the latest figures from The NPD Group.

And both Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii sold more units in October, a four-week reporting period, than in September, a five-week period. Wowwee!

Also the worst of the economic bad news had yet to hit in September.

Sony, however, saw month-over-month PlayStation 3 sales decline, while sales of its previous generation (and less expensive) PlayStation 2 remained strong. Also, the PS3 saw the strongest year-over-year sales increase in October.

Nintendo was again the market leader, even though Microsoft cut prices on its Xbox 360 line in September, making its low-end model the least-expensive console on the market. 

More at The Seattle Times.

(Can you blame them for that seemingly pro-MS plug ...)