Cars 2 Rolling Out

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Cars is getting a sequel from Pixar, and it will apparently involve spies this time. Perhaps this sequel got the green light because the video game spin-offs did so well

James Cameron Thinks 3D TV Needs To Evolve

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Director James Cameron has been instrumental in getting movie companies to move towards stereoscopic 3D technologies with Avatar. While he does think that 3D will be everywhere eventually, he thinks some technological hurdles must be jumped first.

Well, we see the world in 3D, said Cameron. To me, there are no barriers to 3D TV in homes in five to ten years.

He thinks that what needs to be developed for the home is auto-stereoscopic technology that lets 3D images be viewed without glasses or a headache. This will take a very advanced 3D TV to generate those sort of 3D images, and that’s probably still several years out. The sweet spots subdivide the total resolution of the screen, so breakthroughs have to happen in display manufacturing, said Cameron.

Source: VentureBeat

3DS Getting Social

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With sales of the Nintendo DS way down compared to last year, it’s clear that Nintendo needs the 3DS very badly. However, while the increase in hardware power and 3D screen will no doubt interest some, its online social capabilities might be the most revolutionary additions.

The 3DS will have a capability called StreetPass to connect to other 3DS machines. While the DS has a Tag Mode for sharing data, StreetPass works even if 3DS systems are not to be actively used or even have the same game, opening up wider social interaction possibilities.

One such use was detailed in an app called StreetPass Plaza. During the day, any other 3DS units a user comes across would be recorded and a user would be able to see a screen name, the last game the other 3DS user played, whey they encountered each other and how many times it has happened in the past Nintendo has said that this feature will be able to be disabled.

An issue with this feature is that the 3DS will have no 3G coverage and the use of Wi-Fi hotspots and machine-to-machine connections isn’t as viable in the U.S. and Europe, where the population density is lower and public transportation is less frequently used.

“I don’t think Nintendo gets the opportunities to catch people congregating in large crowds overseas like they do in Japan, said Jay Defibaugh, equities research director at MF Global FXA Securities. The ultimate solution lies in some form of cellphone connectivity for 3DS.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Xbox Live Becoming Primary TV Destination, Says Microsoft

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Microsoft has revealed that there has been a 157 percent increase in the time spent watching movies and television on Xbox in the last year. In fact 42 percent of Xbox Live Gold members in the U.S. are watching an average of an hour of television and movies on their Xbox everyday.

“Xbox is arguably one of the original Internet TV devices,” said Microsoft, noting that 25 million Xbox Live members watch 40 hours or more of content on Xbox Live every month, “That’s more than one billion hours being spent on the service every month making Xbox Live the leading social entertainment service in the living room and in the industry.”

Microsoft is planning to continue that meteoric growth by expanding Xbox Live from 26 countries to 35 in November 2010. ESPN on Xbox Live will also be coming in November, delivering 3,500 live and on-demand sporting events per year, in addition to Zune Music and video chat using Kinect.

Caprica Gets Nuked

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Syfy confirmed that they will not be picking up Caprica for a second season. The Battlestar Galactica spin-off will be removed from the Tuesday night schedule on November 2 and the final episodes will air in 2011.

“We appreciate all the support that fans have shown for Caprica and are very proud of the producers, cast, writers and the rest of the amazing team that has been committed to this fine series,” said Mark Stern, Executive Vice President of Original Programming, Syfy and Co-Head of Content for Universal Cable Productions. “Unfortunately, despite its obvious quality, Caprica has not been able to build the audience necessary to justify a second season.”

Battle.Net Might Open To Activision Titles

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Battle.Net is currently the platform for Blizzard’s online titles like StarCraft II and World of Warcraft and is a highly successful online platform. In fact, the online framework was one of the main incentives for Activision to purchase Blizzard.

“I’ll tell you this, Bobby Kotick and all the folks at Activision are very supportive of Battle.net and what we’re doing,” said Battle.net project director Greg Canessa. “[Activision has] . . . said that Battle.net is one of the top five strategic initiatives going on at Activision Blizzard. Having said that, Blizzard and Activision really are two separate entities, and we really do our own thing.”

It’s been rumored for a while that Acitivision will bring some of its other properties to Battle.Net, and while Canessa didn’t announce anything, he left the door open. “We’ve got so many opportunities in front of us, I think the mistake we could make as a company — and I don’t think we will make the mistake because we are aware of it — is to get spread too thin and go into too many different directions,” said Canessa.

“Today, [the focus is] Blizzard games, and making sure Diablo III is a kick-ass online experience, and making sure we evolve and add features of StarCraft II, make sure that WoW kicks ass for Cataclysm and beyond,” added Canessa. “. . . Someday, maybe we’ll add other titles in there, who knows. When we really feel like we’ve delivered that great set of experiences for Blizzard games, and we feel that we’ve grown the team . . . when I’ve got that sustainability, when we really feel like we’ve got that dialed in and nailed down, who knows what the future holds.”

Source: Gamasutra

Samsung Reportedly Developing Nexus Two

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According to reports, Samsung is working on a Nexus Two phone for Google. The device is said to have a 4-inch AMOLED screen with a front facing camera; appropriate since the latest build of Google’s Android is said to have video chat capabilities.

When I first saw it from 10 feet away, I thought it was the Galaxy S,” said an anonymous source. “I was a little surprised it was the Nexus Two.

Source: Gizmodo

PSP2 Powerful, UMD-Less

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According to reports, the early version of the PSP2 shown off to developers will be comparable to the Xbox 360 in processing power. The one hardware statistic cited was that the PSP2 will feature 1 GB of RAM, compared to the 64 MB of RAM for the standard PSP or the 512 MB of RAM that the Xbox 360 has.

Other sources suggest that the PSP2 will not have a UMD drive, and while Sony may still be considering what the final storage solution will be one source believes it will be on a Memory Stick. Two form-factors for the PSP2 were shown off, looking like the PSPgo and regular PSP respectively, though Sony apparently told attendees that they have not yet settled on the final design for the system.

Source: Kotaku

Verizon Pays FCC Fee

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Verizon Wireless has come to a settlement with the FCC over data charges on certain customers’ bills. They will reimburse about 15 million current and former customers to the tune of $52.8 million and will play $25 million to the U.S. Treasury.

Today s settlement requires Verizon Wireless to make meaningful business reforms, prevent future overcharges, and provide consumers clear, easy-to-understand information about their choices,” said FCC’s Enforcement Bureau Chief Michele Ellison. “People shouldn’t find mystery fees when they open their phone bills and they certainly shouldn’t have to pay for services they didn’t want and didn’t use. In these rough economic times, every $1.99 counts.

Uncharted Gets Booked

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Del Ray books announced today that it will be publishing a book based on the Uncharted series in 2011. Christopher Golden, the author of The Ferryman, Strangewood, The Gathering Dark and several Buffy The Vampire Slayer novels, will pen the non-canon novel.

The Uncharted game series has tracked the adventures of treasure hunter extraordinaire, Nathan Drake, as he travels the globe searching for priceless artifacts and solving history s greatest mysteries, reads the release. Now in the novel Uncharted: The Fourth Labyrinth, Nathan Drake will embark on an all-new, original, action-packed adventure in search of a secret that will put him on the trail of the legendary labyrinth of Daedalus, and take him from the ruins of Crete to a secret crypt deep in the heart of China!