Hasta La Gadget!

Normally, content providers and pay-TV platforms striking deals to deliver channels to subscribers is sort of non-news. But not every signed contract comes against the backdrop of an almost month-long blackout affecting millions of customers. While Time Warner Cable is still CBS-less, Verizon has locked up the broadcaster’s channels for another three years, including CBS Sports Network, which has been missing in many of FiOS’s larger markets.

If you read between the lines of the press release (embedded after the break), you’ll see this message isn’t aimed at customers or even the news media, it’s directed squarely at Time Warner. New York, Los Angeles and Dallas — the three cities that are currently mired in the blackout — are called out specifically as areas where CBS stations are available through FiOS TV. As part of the statement released, president of television networks distribution Ray Hopkins said, “This deal was reached in a short period of time, and CBS has once again achieved fair value for our over-the-air rights.” And, just to rub some salt in the wound, the press release ends with a reminder that CBS also owns the highly desirable Showtime. With the war of words clearly continuing between the two feuding media giants, we wouldn’t hold our breath for a resolution anytime soon.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD, Verizon

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Via: RCR Wireless

Microsoft Xbox corporate VP Phil Harrison isn’t worried that making publishing open on Xbox One will flood the console’s storefront with junk. In fact, he welcomes the impending flood. “I hope we have to deal with tens of thousands of games,” Harrison told Engadget in an interview this week during Gamescom 2013.

Harrison and co. unveiled the Xbox One’s indie-friendly publishing approach this week, dubbed “ID@Xbox” or Independent Developers @ Xbox, which allows game makers to self-publish on the upcoming next-gen console. After a short approval process, small studios or individual game creators can make their game available digitally via the Xbox Live Marketplace. “That will demonstrate that our platform is a really attractive place for creators to build games for,” Harrison added, in reference to dealing with a flood of indie content potentially hitting the Xbox One. “We will measure success by whether new and exciting experiences come to our platform.”

Head past the break for the full interview with Harrison, where we cover everything from his inauspicious gaming origins (he started developing games at 14!) to the future of Xbox One.

Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD, Microsoft

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Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One may be the big next-gen stars at this year’s Gamescom, but Oculus Rift is here as well, continuing to draw our adoration with news of a developer portal called Share. The portal facilitates easy distribution and cataloging of apps for current Oculus Rift dev kits, essentially centralizing the software world of the Rift in one convenient place. Company co-founder and Rift creator Palmer Luckey told us during GDC Europe this week that Share is just the tip of the iceberg — a precursor to the future consumer portal of VR applications that’ll exist alongside the eventual consumer model of the VR headset.

He and product VP Nate Mitchell sat down with us for a candid interview, touching on everything from the future of Share, to VR as a platform (and the challenges therein), to why mobile is the next space to watch for virtual reality (seriously!). Head past the break for the full video…and for a peek into the future of gaming’s most innovative product in, well, maybe ever?

Filed under: Gaming, Software, HD

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For those who find sports is the string keeping them from cutting loose of traditional pay-TV services, ESPN president John Skipper’s comments today are a bit of good news / bad news. Speaking to Bloomberg, he revealed the network has had talks to offer its content on internet TV services like the ones we’ve heard Google, Sony and Intel (among others *cough Apple*) are interested in offering. What he and a network spokesman made clear however, is that any agreement would involve those services offering a package of channels, just like current cable, satellite and telco providers. That would make it harder for any online service to differentiate itself on content or pricing, but we’ll have to wait for one to actually launch to find out for sure.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: Bloomberg

Consoles don’t ever really come back from the dead, they just usually become niche. But the PlayStation Vita, Sony’s redheaded portable stepchild, is currently having its Lazarus moment more than a year after release; a solid second chance at relevance. It’s a resurrection owed entirely to the indie community, a fact Sony’s more than happy to acknowledge — just look at the company’s recent marketing and Gamescom presser for proof. But before we talk Vita 2.0 and the promising future ahead, let’s rewind a bit to examine the missteps that almost pushed Sony’s powerhouse portable off a cliff.

Filed under: Gaming, HD, Sony

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