84-Inch 4K Television Sets Arrive

OCT. 10, 2012 • The arrival of 3D did very little to drive high-definition television sales, but what turns out to be bringing consumers out to purchase a new set these days is screen size. The industry statistics that LG Electronics is sharing are that while the worldwide TV market saw a decrease of 6% last year, purchases of 55-inch and higher screens grew 56%. The reason LG is talking up that stat is that it is shipping its first 84-inch 4K ultra high definit.....

Sony Details PlayStation 3 Redesign

SEPT. 20, 2012 • Sony will ship a refresh of the PlayStation 3 for the holidays. The PlayStation 3 redesign benefits from a re-engineering of its internal components that nets a 25% reduction in weight, and a 20% space savings compared to the current model on sale. Stacked up against the original launch version, the savings in weight and space are more than 50%. Three new SKUs are shipping between September and October. Arriving first in North America on Sept. 2.....

Microsoft TV Studio Launched

SEPT. 18, 2012 • To date, Microsoft Entertainment has sourced most of its non-game content for Xbox Live from broadcast media sources. That’s changing though as the company has announced the launch of its own Microsoft TV production studio in Los Angeles. Tapped to lead the new facility is Nancy Tellem, who was president of the CBS Network Television Entertainment Group until 2009 where she oversaw program development, production, business affairs and oper.....

Wii U Priced

SEPT. 13, 2012 • Nintendo Co. Ltd. announced official prices and release dates for two Wii U launch SKUs. The Basic version features a white 8GB Wii U while the Deluxe package sports a black unit, boosts memory to 32GB and bundles in a copy of Nintendo Land. North America will be first to get the Wii U on Nov. 18 with MSRPs of $299 and $349 for the Basic and Deluxe models. The console arrives in Europe on Nov. 30, but Nintendo would not release overall European .....

India Xbox 360 Prices Raised

AUG. 24, 2012 • Redington Ltd., the India Xbox 360 distributor, announced increases in street prices for the game system. The 4GB model now costs Rs 15,990 ($288) up from Rs 14,990 ($269), the 250GB system went from Rs 21,990 ($395) to Rs 24,990 ($449), and the 4GB with Kinect bundle saw an increase to Rs 26,990 ($485) from Rs 24,990 ($449). Redington did not provide a reason for the increases, but Indian retailers assumed the decreasing value of the Rupee was t.....

Xbox Kinect Now $40 Less

AUG. 22, 2012 • North and Latin America, plus the Asia Pacific markets saw the Microsoft Entertainment & Devices division shear $40 off the price of the Xbox Kinect motion sensor bundled with Kinect Sports. The new pricing will spread to Australia and New Zealand on Oct. 4. There are no plans for a similar drop in list price in Japan, Europe or the Middle East. Also arriving in October is the $80 The Essentials Pack bundle, which features a wireless Xbox 360.....

New Ouya Android Console In Works

JULY 10, 2012 • Very similar to the concept that launched the mobile phone hardware-based Zeebo console a few years back is a new Android console system called Ouya. The main differences are that the Ouya is being directed far beyond emerging markets, and instead of relying on cell towers for connectivity, the console works in concert with Internet-connected TVs. Published specifications include a Tegra3 quad-core processor, running Android 4.0, 1GB of RAM, and .....

Sony Acquires Gaikai

JULY 2, 2012 • A month removed from the Electronic Entertainment Expo one of the bigger rumors from the show has come to pass: Sony Computer Entertainment has acquired cloud streaming service Gaikai for $380 million. With plenty of electronic devices that can benefit from Gakai’s network, the acquisition is clear win for Sony at a modest cost investment. Sony fully intends to utilize Gaikai as the foundation of its own cloud delivery service. What Sony wil.....

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