Hasta La Gadget!

The PlayStation 3 has kept access to Hulu even without PlayOn or other workaround while others were blocked — with the exception of its own remote friendly desktop software — thanks to its browser’s Flash support, but this morning multiple users have reported the above message indicating “Unfortunately, this video is not available on your platform. We apologize for any inconvenience.” Some odd glitch related to the recent 2.80 firmware update or other temporary problem, or is this the latest platform to get the Boxee treatment when trying to bring streaming video to TV screens? We’ve reached out to Hulu for an explanation but so far, haven’t heard a response. Interestingly, the Hulu TOS was just updated as of June 26, and although we haven’t found any PS3-specific passages, changing a browser’s user-string to match the console reveals it is definitely being specifically blocked.

[Thanks Sev, and to Tyler from FormatWarCentral.com for the picture]

Hulu to PlayStation 3 browsers: “This video is not available on your platform” originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 27 Jun 2009 06:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Got a knack for fighting titles? Have a particular fondness for Tekken? If so, you definitely shouldn’t be playing with a stock controller, and that’s exactly why Hori has crafted the beauty you’re inevitably peering at above. The stick, which will ship as part of a Tekken 6 Wireless Fight Stick Bundle bundle, will be made available soon for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (shown after the break), and according to our pals over at Joystiq, it’ll be on sale at a variety of respected retailers for $150. Said MSRP also includes a collectible art book and a pinch of pride, which totally justifies the somewhat steep asking price. Right? Right.

Continue reading Hori’s Tekken 6 Xbox 360 / PS3 joystick ain’t a bad way to burn $150

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Hori’s Tekken 6 Xbox 360 / PS3 joystick ain’t a bad way to burn $150 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Activision CEO Bobby Kotick says he sees the number of games bought per console slowing if the price on the PlayStation 3 doesn’t go down, and that his company (the largest independent game developer in the world, thanks in part to that sweet, sweet Blizzard cash) might consider dropping the PS3 and PSP in 2010 or 2011 if things don’t improve. He says Activision paid $500 million in royalties to Sony last year, but the Xbox 360 and Wii are cheaper to develop for and offer a better return on investment. Still, with 23 million PS3s out there in the world, we’d think it’d be difficult to ignore the console entirely — especially for cross platform titles like the upcoming Modern Warfare 2, where a majority of the work takes place in content development and gameplay mechanics. Of course, with games like Guitar Hero, DJ Hero and Tony Hawk now demanding the purchase of peripherals along with the game itself, Activision itself could certainly be doing more to make gaming cheaper on consumers… but we suppose that’s another conversation entirely.

[Via Joystiq]

Filed under: Gaming

Activision threatens to drop Sony if Sony doesn’t drop PS3 and PSP prices originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It doesn’t come as a surprise that Sony and Microsoft are hard at work at motion controls for their respective consoles: Nintendo is eating their lunch. The Wii’s incredible appeal with the average consumer — due primarily to the accessibility and charm of its Wiimote motion controls — has also created an annoying divide in the industry (real or perceived) between consumers who use embarrassing gestures to control meaningless mini-games, and those who memorize incredibly complex control schemes to control deeper and more “mature” experiences. There’s been a small amount of crossover, of course, but since Sony and Microsoft have lacked most of the gestures option, a majority of it has taken place on the Wii — the inclusion of an accelerometer in Sony’s Sixaxis controller has had little impact on gameplay, and Sony’s EyeToy 2 has had even less impact on the average gamer.

Of course, that’s all about to change next year, with the emergence of the Microsoft’s Project Natal and Sony’s PlayStation motion controller. Typical thinking would suggest that Sony and Microsoft will be attempting to capture a slice of the casual gaming market that the Wii has so well dominated, while also expanding on the Wii’s capabilities at serving the hardcore gamer — some capabilities which Nintendo itself is attempting to add to the Wii with the even more imminent MotionPlus add-on. So, does anyone here have what it takes to serve up the next generation of gaming controls to everybody, or do cost considerations and the current state of the console wars dictate an ongoing rift in the market? Let’s weigh our options…

Continue reading Motion control wars: Xbox 360 and PS3 are playing catch-up with Wii next year, who will do it right?

Filed under: Gaming, Peripherals

Motion control wars: Xbox 360 and PS3 are playing catch-up with Wii next year, who will do it right? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Jun 2009 11:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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All of the major E3 keynotes from Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony are over. While 2009 is now officially the year of motion controls, there’s still something missing. Here’s what we expected to see at E3, but didn’t.

Price Cuts
The financiapocalypse has yielded no price cuts for ailing gamers from Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft. A PS3 still hurts at $400, a real Xbox costs $300 (with downloadable retail games on the way, you need that hard drive), and a Wii still costs $250. Not to mention the true price of owning these consoles—$60 $80 for a complete Wiimote (can’t forget MotionPlus, which Miyamoto said yesterday could be required for the next Wii Zelda), $50 a year for Xbox Live—also remains unchanged. This is undoubtedly part and parcel of this generation’s extended lifespan, but parts and manufacturing prices have fallen, so they’re all presumably recouping more money than ever on their consoles. If they’re serious about picking up new gamers, they need to make it affordable.

PS3 Slim
Sony inevitably slenderizes every console, and the PS3 is an effin’ monster. The PSP Go shows they’re still very much on board on the shrink ray as a way to generate sales. The PS3 costs them less than ever to make—just think how much more they’d save if they didn’t have to pay for all of that extra plastic? (OK, maybe they’d have to pay more for the smaller guts.) But we’ve seen possible branding for it, just maybe. Are they saving it for motion controls?

Zune, Zune, Zune
We really expected more ZuneHD to be a part of Microsoft’s E3 keynote, given the barebone announcement that left us parched for more details. ZuneHD wasn’t mentioned once.

Also, Microsoft promised “at E3 next week, attendees will see firsthand how Zune integrates into Xbox LIVE to create a game-changing entertainment experience.” Um, we must’ve missed that. Zune Video Marketplace moved onto Xbox Live was all we caught. When we asked Xbox Live’s Marc Whitten yesterday where Zune audio was, he pointed at Last.fm. And about what we can expect from deeper Zune integration, we got a more or less canned response that they’ll be continuing to grow the service and move toward more integration. Not very satisfying.

Live Anywhere
Nearly three years later, and one year after being assured the project is still alive, Microsoft’s Live Anywhere—the service that’ll let you tap into Live from anywhere—is still nowhere. Which is absolutely baffling, given everything Microsoft’s added to the Live service since the New Xbox Experience and all of the “cloud” work they’ve been doing. Live Anywhere fits perfectly with all of that. There’s really no good explanation for why Live Anywhere is still MIA.

But we asked Whitten where it was, just for good measure. He said they’re focusing on the living-room experience here at E3, and since that extends onto other devices, it’s for another time and place. Ooooookay. Maybe when we see that deeper Zune integration?

A Bigger, Better Wii Balance Board and More Wii MotionPlus Games
While Nintendo didn’t fail to come through with a new piece of potentially gimmicky hardware (notice they didn’t even have a game to go with it, and Miyamoto himself was vague on WTF it’s for), Wii Fit Plus is the same old Wii Fit from a hardware perspective. We hoped a Wii Fit Plus would come with a Balance Board Plus—a smarter board that’s even bigger for people who don’t have Japan-sized feet. It’s one new hardware peripheral we wouldn’t have minded one bit.

A year after announcing the Wii MotionPlus, the game pickins for it still look a bit slim. Nintendo announced a handful of titles yesterday that’ll make use of it, like Sega’s Virtua Tennis 2009 and the new Tiger Woods Golf from EA (which’ll have it bundled) but it’s disappointing they didn’t have more to show at this stage of the game. During yesterday’s Q&A, Miyamoto said that it might be required for the next Zelda on Wii, depending on how widely it’s adopted—so whether we see it used in more games may very well be dependent on how well it does with the initial load of titles. So it’s odd there isn’t well, more of them to start to really get the ball rolling.

So that’s what we really missed at E3—well, all that and Hulu. What did you guys really hope to see?