Hasta La Gadget!

Look, we’re well aware that you’re already fantasizing about the PlayStation 4, but how do you think that makes your existing PS3 feel? (Hint: Not awesome.) For those still focused on remaining in the here and now, Netflix has issued an update for its PS3 Player that “is more consistent with the Netflix player on the web as well as [its] mobile and tablet applications.” The key feature in this update is the ability to easily manage your audio and subtitle selections; before, you had to hop out of whatever you were watching in order to tweak those elements, but now you can make said changes while the content is still on screen. There have also been improvements made in the “trickplay” mode mode when scanning forward or reverse in play mode — essentially, these images now load a lot faster, which ought to keep your blood pressure at a safe level. The update is out now for PS3 users, and should be hitting select Smart TVs and Blu-ray Disc players soon.

Filed under: Gaming, Home Entertainment, HD

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Source: Netflix

The Ouya is making its way out to backers even now (though my shipping notification still hasn’t arrived. Grrr.) and judging by early impressions, it’s no silver bullet to take down behemoths like Sony and Microsoft. The $99, Android powered console still isn’t fully formed exactly, but it’s doubtful that between now and June 25 it’ll take on giant-killer proportions. Likewise the recently-announced BlueStacks Android gaming console, which features a subscription-based pricing model, probably won’t alone topple the giants.

But combined, these and a slew of other devices including the GameStick, smart TVs from manufacturers, Steam Boxes, and even Google and Apple hardware are eating away at what was once a fairly exclusive field. It seems a lot of people are waiting for a watershed moment to signal a significant shift away from traditional console gaming to a new paradigm, but increasingly, it looks likely that what we’ll see instead is an erosion that more closely resembles glacial shift, but on a less geological time scale.

There’s evidence to suggest that console gaming is already losing significant ground, like quarterly results from Nintendo that show a dramatic decline in consumer interest in the recently-launched Wii U console. And while Sony saw its first full-year profit in half a decade, most of the good news was on the smartphone side, and PlayStation sales fell for the year. Microsoft is still doing fairly well with the Xbox 360, but growth of key accessories like the Kinect have slowed with time.

Slower Kinect sales are a good bellwether for the industry’s overall health, if only because it and devices like it are where console makers are turning to try to inject some fresh life into a market that had recently started to look fairly stale. To some extent, Kinect, Move and other gimmicks like the screen of the 3DS are an answer to incursions by mobile gaming and other alternatives. Just like point-and-shoot cameras needed differentiating features like long zooms to prove themselves relative to smartphone cameras, video games needed something new to reel in new buyers.

The new crop of challengers to the console gaming market, including Ouya and the new BlueStacks GamePop console, risks getting discounted by critics as just another round of devices like the GP2X Wiz or the Gizmondo, which had limited appeal and then faded into the background of video games history as little more than a minor footnote. But that’s taking too short-term and dismissive a view on what’s currently happening in the video game space. It’s true that, as ardent console gamers continually remind me, there will always be a demand for that type of content.

Increasingly, however, there’s a growing contingent of players that are fine saying, “if I can get it on my phone, why do I need it anywhere else?” and that’s a market that’s ripe for a living room transition like the ones being attempted by Ouya and BlueStack. It’s easy to discount these ahead of their full consumer launch, and I don’t expect them to have an immediate impact on console sales, but they are signs of a sure shift, and one that won’t go away, even if doesn’t provide the sort of bomb shock disruption that we’re so fond of identifying and championing.

The Ouya Android powered gaming console, which initially started off as a campaign on Kickstarter, is now being shipped out. The idea of this console was liked so much that the campaign raked in some $8 million in crowd sourced funding. It launched with some 481 titles and is available for a relatively nominal price tag of $99. Obviously one has to be real, the Ouya can not upstage consoles like the PS3 or Xbox 360, but it might just carve out a niche for itself.

Since Ouya is now being shipped, the fine folks at iFixit has got their hands on a unit. Their extensive teardown reveals that Ouya is actually very easy to repair, it gets a 9 out of 10 on their Repairability Meter. Only standard head screws are used to hold the unit together, and there’s no super glue or adhesive that has been used. The only moving and modular part inside this console is the fan. In fact, the SUNON MagLev HA40101V4 fan is actually an off-the-shelf part, so it can be easily replaced if it ever dies out on you. Have a look at the entire teardown in detail over at iFixit.

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Even as we await next generation consoles, Sony is extending the battlefield for the current generation by focusing on Brazil. In an event today it announced that for the first time it will be building PlayStation 3s locally in Manaus, a move executives stated will inject $300 million into the local economy and drive “significant” price reductions in the region. Brazilian gamers can also expect more game release support, with news that The Last of Us will have a localized version available simultaneous with the worldwide launch, and GTA V will be the first game in the series to include Brazilian Portuguese localization. That’s a major shift for the area, especially considering the PlayStation 2 (yes, that’s a 2) only officially launched in Brazil in 2009. As the company extends its “Viva Em Estado Play” marketing campaign, it will also offer a 250GB PS3 bundled with God of War: Ascension for R$1,099, and is running a contest to win the first Brazilian-built PS3.

Filed under: Gaming, HD, Sony

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Source: PlayStation.Blog Brazil

Rockstar knows that having a strong back catalog of solid video games which have stood the test of time is one surefire way of making a quick buck, as it is one cow that is worth milking many times over. Just take a look at Nintendo and their library of games and you will know what I mean. As gamers look forward to GTA 5, here we are with information that Rockstar will be making use of their Grand Theft Auto franchise, namely the first two Grand Theft Auto games, where they will release it to the general populace on the following platforms – the PSP, PS Vita and PS3, with the first GTA having picked up a Mature rating, while GTA2 was on the receiving end of a more lenient Teen rating.

Other than that, it seems that nothing definitive has been revealed from anyone at Rockstar concerning these ESRB ratings, as the ESRB themselves could be said to have jumped the gun considering neither game shows up any more. Perhaps Rockstar is waiting for a far better time to make an announcement with the recent GTA V trailer revealed, no?

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