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Nintendo plans to merge its handheld and console gaming units into one division to create next generation hardware “that will turn heads,” according to Nikkei. It’s reporting that the gaming outfit is feeling the heat from tablet and smartphone gaming (and likely upstart outfits like Ouya, too) so is looking to speed up the development cycle and increase product interoperability. That’s why it’s allegedly bringing the brain power from all its divisions together to inaugurate the unified division by February 16th of this year — transferring in 130 console and 150 handheld engineers, to start. Nikkei said it’ll house the new team in a $340 million facility next to its Kyoto HQ that’ll be completed by the end of the year, seeing it as “a hotbed of new ideas.” All this comes on the heels of tepid launches of the Wii U console and Nintendo 3DS gamepad — making a shakeup none too shocking, if true.

Update: We contacted Nintendo, who confirmed by email that the report is, indeed, accurate.

Filed under: Gaming, Nintendo

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Via: IGN

Source: Nikkei (subscription)

Looking to browse with the full weight of your 64-bit hardware? Well, if you’re a Firefox and Windows user, you’re going to have to look elsewhere, as Mozilla has announced it’s closing the development of Firefox for the bigger computer architecture. Mozilla manager, Benjamin Smedberg outlined several reasons for the decision, including limited access to 64-bit plugins, a higher propensity for the browser to hang when using available plug-ins and difficulty distinguishing between 32- and 64-bit versions when dealing with stability complaints. After posting the announcement at Bugzilla, it riled plenty of nightly testers, with one Mozilla dev suggesting that around half of them were currently using the now defunct 64-bit version — presumably due to the fact that an official release never made it out of the gates. What are the options then, if you need your browsing 64-bit? You could return to Internet Explorer or give Opera a try — both offer a higher bit version, or make a switch to either OS X or Linux, both of which have fully-fleshed versions of the 64-bit web browser. Check out some of the (surprisingly vigorous) debate at the source below.

Filed under: Internet, Microsoft

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Via: TNW

Source: Bugzilla (Mozilla)

This week, Microsoft is holding its BUILD developer conference. Steve Balmer (Microsoft’s CEO) went on stage to demonstrate himself what Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 were about. He did a really good job rallying the Windows 8 developers (arguably a crowd already converted here) and the crowd went away energized and enthusiastic. The top devices were shown, including the Microsoft Surface RT which had the biggest round of applause (read our full review of the Surface RT Tablet).

Microsoft’s Steven Guggenheimer went on stage to talk about the development side of things, including monetization strategies which include in-app sales and third party payment systems. Of course there were a fair number of app demonstration, including Skype and ESPN, which has put a lot of efforts into building a Windows 8 app. (more…)

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Microsoft announces BUILD 2012, 4 million Windows 8 upgrades in less than a week,

Android developers need as much tender loving care for their interfaces as the users, don’t they? Google thinks so, as it just reworked Google Play’s Developer Console to offer a more direct, faster loading design. Along with scaling elegantly to let app writers see and manage many releases at a glance, the makeover gives developers a much more refined historical breakdown of app ratings. Creators can filter the star count through Android versions, carriers, countries, language, updates and even specific devices — if you’re convinced adding Kyocera Echo support was the ticket to improved ratings, you might have a chance to prove it. For anyone who isn’t that determined to keep everyone happy, there’s still a simplified publishing process and automatic translations for app descriptions in the store. Developers comfortable with a few limits on APK bundles can try the new console in a rough but mostly ready state ahead of its wider launch in the near future.

Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Google

Google revamps Developer Console for Google Play, eases tracking Android app ratings over time originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Oct 2012 04:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Other than what feels like a very slow pace of updates, one of our gripes with TiVo’s Premiere DVR platform has been a relative lack of new apps being released. Hopefully that could change soon, now that the company has opened up its Developer Channel to allow interested parties access to its SDK and tools to build their own apps. Although as our friend Dave Zatz points out, it doesn’t guarantee apps will be released even if certified, anyone ready to get down with TiVo’s Adobe-based environment should take a peek around. The notes do reveal some interesting details like the fact that only one app can run at a time so when an app is launched the TiVo UI is suspended, and that apps are restricted to 720p resolution only, 32MB of system memory, 20MB graphics memory and 1MB hard drive space quota. We don’t know yet what can be constructed with those tools, but go ahead — surprise us.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

TiVo opens up Developer Channel, lets third parties create apps for your DVR originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Oct 2012 01:14:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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