Nook Comes In Color

BY

Barnes & Noble today announced their latest Nook, which will have a color display. Appropriately called the Nook Color, the $249 device will try to fit into the increasingly crowded market of e-readers and tablet computers.

Nook Color is loaded with extras including a Web browser, free word games and chess. Pandora internet radio will let users stream tunes over Wi-Fi while reading, and Quickoffice will let users view Microsoft Office files, and more.

“With Pandora on Nook Color, millions of book lovers can now to listen to their personalized radio stations on the same device from which they’re reading,” said Jessica Steel, Vice President, Business Development at Pandora. “Nook Color users can simply open Pandora, enter the name of a favorite artist or song and immediately start listening to a station created just for them, based on the initial song and their feedback to subsequent songs. It’s a never-ending experience of music discovery tailored to the taste of each individual.”

“We are excited to be part of Barnes & Noble’s innovative eReading platform,” said Gregg Fiddes, vice president of worldwide sales at Quickoffice. “Since Quickoffice is embedded into Nook Color, users can easily access and view all the content they love, including their personal files, directly on their device. They can zoom text at any level for optimal high-definition viewing. We’re excited to partner with Barnes & Noble and reach the eBook audience, as it supports our mission of bringing our award-winning productivity application to all users.”

The Nook Developer program was also announced, allowing developers to create new software for the Nook Color. “With Nook Developer , we’re opening our doors to content providers and developers to change the future of reading together,” said Jamie Iannone, President of Barnes & Noble Digital Products. “We invite developers across all platforms to join us in growing our eReading ecosystem by creating engaging content and reading-centric applications for our millions of customers to enjoy on Nook Color and beyond.”

Japan Polled On 3D Games

BY

Research firm goo Ranking recently polled Japan to see what games they want to play on 3D TVs. A survey included a wide degree of age groups and include 68.2 percent females.

Top 30 game series mentioned:

1.) Super Mario series
2.) Mario Kart series
3.) Final Fantasy series
4.) Resident Evil series
5.) The Legend of Zelda series
6.) Super Smash Bros. series
7.) Dynasty Warriors series
8.) Monster Hunter series
9.) Street Fighter series
10.) Dragon Ball series
11.) Gran Turismo series
12.) Winning Eleven series
13.) Tekken series
14.) Metal Gear Solid series
15.) Tomb Raider series
16.) Ace Combat series
17.) Silent Hill series
18.) Virtua Fighter series
18.) Love Plus series
20.) Ridge Racer series
21.) F-Zero series
21.) The House of the Dead series
23.) StarFox series
24.) Siren series
25.) Medal of Honor series
26.) Call of Duty series
27.) Virtual-On series
28.) Need for Speed series
28.) Panzer Dragoon series
30.) Space Harrier series

Source: Kotaku

MySpace Also Sending Personal Info

BY

While Facebook has recently been coming under fire for sharing personal information with advertisers in apps, MySpace apparently does the same thing. The issue primarily comes up in ads clicked by the user.

The data being transmitted were MySpace user IDs, which can be used to look up a person’s MySpace profile page that often includes a real name, photographs, location, gender and age. Companies that were sent the info, including Google, Quantcast and Rubicon, denied using the personal information.

MySpace says it forbids app makers from sharing user data with outside entities. “It has recently come to our attention that several third-party app developers may have violated these terms and we are taking appropriate action against those developers,” a MySpace spokesman said.

Source: Wall Street Journal

PlayStation Phone Images Leaked

BY

Images have surfaced of a PlayStation Phone on Engadget, and it is expected to run on Android 3.0 and have a special Sony marketplace for downloading games. The device shown has a d-pad and buttons, along with a touchpad, with a snap-up top.

The PlayStation Phone, in all its glory.

The PlayStation Phone sports a 1GHz Qualcomm MSM8655 chip, 512MB of RAM, 1GB of ROM, and a screen that is somewhere between 3.7 to 4.1 inches (the device is still in the prototyping phase).

The images have come under scrutiny, and Sony initially issued a comment that it is fake.  However, the official line from SCEE and Sony Ericsson now is “We do not comment on rumour or speculation.”

Champions Online Going Free

BY

Atari has announced that they will be making Champions Online free to play starting Q1 2011. Players will be able to purchase Adventure Packs, items, powers and costume pieces inside Cryptic’s C-Store and a $14.99 per month subscription gives Gold members access to most of the game’s content and extra features.

“Transitioning Champions Online to the free-to-play model is a great opportunity to reach a whole new audience of PC gamers that view subscription fees as a barrier to entry,” said John Needham, CEO of Cryptic Studios. “By taking care of our current subscription-based community and welcoming the addition of new players through free-to-play, Champions Online is poised to build upon its success and to establish a new leadership position as the first free-to-play superhero MMO.”

The Champions Online free-to-play closed beta test begins on November 9, 2010. To learn more about Champions Online Free-to-Play, please visit www.champions-online.com/f2p.

Mass Effect Free Online Comic

BY

Expanding game IPs beyond games has become a popular option, and Mass Effect is no different. However, what makes the the Mass Effect comics from Dark Horse extra special is that they’re written by Mass Effect 2 Lead Writer Mac Walters.

“By and large this story is appealing to anyone who likes exploring the Mass Effect universe,” Walters explains. “It crosses over borders. One thing we’ve always been cognizant of is providing a view of this universe outside of (main character) Shepherd’s vantage point which is how you play the game. With Inquisition, you get to see that world through the eyes of a more blue-collar-type beat cop character named Captain Bailey.”

Mass Effect: Inquisition is being made available for free on USA Today.

“This is more a character study of one of the more interesting figures that occupies this universe,” added Walters. “Captain Bailey’s a captain within the Citadel (the center of galactic civilization in this distant time). This is a very personal story for this character.”

Zynga Valued At Over $5.5 Billion

BY

SharesPost Inc. recently valued the stock share price of Zynga to be in the range of $5.51 billion. To put that in context, it’s more than the $5.16 billion that Electronic Arts is valued on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

“The valuation is not that crazy, given what s going on in the market”, said Atul Bagga, an analyst at ThinkEquity LLC in San Francisco. “It’s not that terribly expensive seeing the growth prospects.”

Bagga estimates that the virtual goods market may reach $3.6 billion in three years. Zynga has 210 million monthly active users and has recently ballooned to over 1,200 employees.

Zynga has truly seen a meteoric rise since it was first established four years ago, now having six of the top 10 most popular apps on Facebok. Even since March, its value on SharesPost has nearly doubled from $2.61 billion.

Source: Business Week {link no longer active}