Original Shows On PlayStation Network

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Sony could very well be joining the original programming foray, if a listing coming from a registered domain tells anything.

The domain, PSNAdvertising.com, redirects visitors to another site called OnlineSPT.com, which shows a listing for Original Series, stating:

“From the #1 studio worldwide, Sony Pictures, comes a series of original shows ranging from comedy to reality to sports. PlayStation Productions is dedicated to bringing high quality, professionally produced content to the PlayStation Network. Sponsorship and product integration opportunities are available upon request.”

Sony did mention original programming on PSN briefly during its E3 presentation but has remained silent on the subject since then. Sony has provided no comment about the programming possibilities, but considering its main competitor in the next-generation console race (Microsoft) already has intentions to produce original programming, it makes perfect sense.

Source: The Sixth Axis

Chef Boyardee’s Xbox One Giveaway

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It isn’t enough that Mountain Dew and Doritos have promotional tie-ins with Microsoft and its Xbox One console – now Chef Boyardee is getting in on the action.

The company has announced that it will be giving away five Xbox One consoles per day from now until February 18, 2014. To enter, eaters will simply need to enter a code from specially marked Chef Boyardee products at the Win With Chef page. Codes can also be acquired by paying a visit to the page each day.

Along with the system, winners will also receive a copy of the simulation game Zoo Tycoon.

Source: Shacknews

Sales Via Smartphone Zoom

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A report from Branding Brand indicates that purchases via smartphones have certainly risen quite a bit from last year’s Thanksgiving/Black Friday holiday shopping weekend.

The company reports, in conjunction with data from IBM Benchmark, that sales for smartphone-oriented sites have risen tremendously, with a whopping 186.54 percent increase for Black Friday over the previous year, and 75.65 percent more visits than before. iOS leads the charge with 66.62 percent of mobile site visits, while Android lagged behind with 32.97 percent. These buyers generated 174,111 orders with a $93.20 average in price, an increase of just over 22 percent compared to the previous year’s sales.

With the Black Friday weekend spreading into Thanksgiving, numbers also picked up on that day as well, with 69 percent more visits and increased sales of over 258 percent over Thanksgiving 2012, according to Branding Brand’s index.

No word yet on Cyber Monday sales, but numbers could be through the roof for that day as well.

Source: TechCrunch

Shield Adds Streaming

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When the Nvidia Shield first launched last month, it came with a bunch of notable features, including the ability to broadcast Android gameplay onto a television. Now, the device is working a different way, this time with PC games.

A new downloadable update for the device now provides the opportunity to broadcast PC games on a television with 1080p resolution. In addition, 720p streaming mode has some notable improvements, and players can also use the new Gamepad Mapper feature. This allows them to set up gameplay options however they wish on the Shield controller.

Some 63 games currently support the game streaming service, including popular hits like Batman: Arkham Origins, Borderlands 2 and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, but many others are expected to be compatible soon, with another possible update.

The update can be downloaded now for free of charge. Nvidia Shield is available in retailers nationwide.

Source: Endadget

Yoyotech’s Ultimate Gaming PC

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A lot of avid PC gamers spend a great deal of time building what they feel is the “ultimate” game-playing rig, something that will run a game like Battlefield 4 efficiently and without fail. However, Yoyotech believes that it has such a rig already set to go — for a steep price.

The UK based PC retailer has put together a jam-packed unit called the XDNA Aurum 24K that comes with a number of ideal features to make it run smoothly and supreme power, including not one but two Nvidia Titan graphics cards, an Intel Core i7-4960X Extreme Edition CPU overclocked to 4.6 Ghz. Top that off with 64 GB of the fastest Corsair RAM, a 256 GB SSD and 2 TB hard drive all housed in a Corsair  Obsidian 900D towercase, it has no problems running even the most complex games. Bioshock Infinite Handles like a breeze.

Yoyotech’s high-powered PC can drive a 4K monitor at 31FPS in Crysis, and 21 FPS in Battlefield 4. That’s if you have a 4K monitor… but if you have to get by with three 1920×1080 monitors, this PC can drive those at even faster drame rates.

However, you’ll need a good amount of cash to pick it up. The unit retails for approximately $13,000 or 7,979 pounds in the UK. PC owners will certainly get what they pay for, but others may have to wait to make their dream purchase.

Source: Forbes

Mobile And Console ‘Both Great Gaming Experiences’

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Epic Games is one of the leading independent game developers in the world today. After conquering the PC market with franchises like Unreal and the console market with Gears of War, the company managed to wow Apple with its Infinity Blade iOS franchise. With Unreal Engine 4, Epic has a game engine that’s been built for mobile, Web, PC and next gen game development. Mark Rein, co-founder and vice president of Epic Games, talks about the growing opportunities in mobile games and how they’ll impact current and next gen consoles in this exclusive interview.

[a]list daily: When it comes to the rapid exponential growth that we’ve seen in the mobile side, what excites you about the direction we’re seeing on how quickly tablets and smartphones are upgrading and pushing technology capabilities for games?

Mark Rein: Everything.

[a]list daily: At what point do mobile devices become competition for consoles?

Mark Rein: It’s a different form factor and a different usage model. They’re never going to be a one-to-one console to tablet because one you plug into a wall, one you carry around with you. That doesn’t mean that they won’t have the same amount of power and you won’t be able to plug your tablet into the wall and add a controller and play it like a console. I think that’s inevitable. I think Apple’s now embraced having a controller.

But you know, it doesn’t really matter to me. There are these great experiences no matter how you want to play. If you want to sit down and play NHL 14 or Need for Speed Rivals on PlayStation 3, that’s great. I’m not going to do that on my tablet. That’s a console experience. And then there are games like Infinity Blade that I love playing on my tablet.

I don’t think the whole “one defeats the other” really is a thing. They’re both great gaming experiences, and consumers will ultimately decide where they’re going to spend their money. If consumers decide to spend their money more on one than the other, it will get more attention, but I think consumers are happy. I know as a gamer I’m happy that I get to experience all these things and have all these different experiences. I have a tablet for playing XCOM Enemy Unknown when I’m on the plane and I have a console for playing it when I want to sit in front of the screen with the controller. I’m perfectly happy to have it all.

[a]list daily: Is second screen forcing the issue by connecting these two worlds?

Mark Rein: I don’t think so. I think we’ve yet to see the real value of the second screen idea, if you’re talking about SmartGlass and companion apps and things like that. But that doesn’t mean that it won’t be big one day. I don’t really know what it is yet.

Where I really use SmartGlass is for choosing things from the menu and navigating the store instead of using the controller. It’s great for watching a movie and then continuing it on my tablet when I walk away. There are lots of great uses and applications.

Where it fits into gaming, I don’t know. I’m not sold on picking up my tablet to choose my play and then putting it back down and picking up my controller. It’s kind of a wonky way to choose a play, so I don’t know if that’s how it’s going to go or not.

Developers should try everything and have lots of fun with it, and sooner or later there will be a killer app for that sort of thing, too.

[a]list daily: What opportunities do you see when it comes to the PC moving forward, especially with free-to-play being so dominant out there today?

Mark Rein: There’s an opportunity to reach a very large audience and give them games that have a depth level that is very difficult to achieve on a tablet and not as difficult, but still more complicated, to achieve with a controller.

There’s definitely the opportunity to make new strategy games that are totally designed for moving your pointer from place to place, for example. There’s also the ability to play beautiful 3D games in a Web browser. We showed this at GDC earlier this year as proof of concept with Unreal Engine 3 running in HTML5. It looks really good. And moving forward, Unreal Engine 4 will make it a real feature. Gradually, it will open up markets to us that we currently don’t have today.

[a]list daily: What challenges do you see for the video game industry if you look ahead over the next couple of years?

Mark Rein: The biggest challenge in the video game industry is the same as it’s always been — getting noticed, getting people to know about your game and try your game.

Obviously, that assumes you made a great game that people want to play, which is a bigger job, but really the main thing is how do you stand out, how do you get people to pick up your game and how do you get people to engage with it. And then it’s about how you get people to give you money for it.

Xbox One Tops Black Friday Sales

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Even though more polled users may prefer Sony’s PlayStation 4, it appears Microsoft’s Xbox One has become the sales leader for this past weekend’s Black Friday event, at least as far as Target and Walmart are concerned.

A report from InfoScout indicates that the newly released next-gen console has had no problem leading the sales charts, with a whopping 31 percent share of the game market over the weekend. Even with its high price of $499, it’s had no trouble selling out in stores that carry it.

In second place, Microsoft also dominated with its Xbox 360, with a close 30 percent share. A lot of stores sold the console at a discount price, such as Wal-Mart with its 4 GB $99 bundle and Best Buy with its four-game 250 GB bundle for $189.

Sony picked up the slack in third and fourth place, with the PlayStation 3 sitting at 15 percent market share and the PlayStation 4 close behind with a similar percentage.

Meanwhile, Nintendo lagged behind, with the Wii U in fifth place with a 6 percent share, and the Wii with a meager 1 percent.

In terms of game sales, Activision’s Call of Duty: Ghosts easily made its way to the number one slot, with Disney’s figure-oriented adventure game Disney Infinity in second place. Rounding out the list were Activision’s Skylanders: Swap Force, Rockstar Games’ Grand Theft Auto V and EA Sports’ football sim Madden NFL 25.

Source: Venturebeat {link no longer active}

 

Black Friday Online Spending Rises

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A lot of people invaded stores on Thursday night for Black Friday deals, but that didn’t stop others from doing their shopping online. In fact, the audience is bigger than ever before.

IBM’s Benchmark reporting has revealed that the record-breaking numbers topped last year’s with ease, researching over 800 online retailers and millions of transactions.

Mobile traffic grew to 39.7 percent of all online traffic, which is a 34 percent pick-up from 2012’s numbers. The general order value was $135.27, which is about a 2.2 percent year-after-year increase.

Mobile sales also played a huge part in the online numbers, with 21.8 percent of total online sales in all, a 43 percent rise from the previous year.

Smartphones led the charge in online traffic, with 24.9 percent accounted for, while tablets came in close behind at 14.2 percent. Those who used iPads and Galaxy Tabs as their shopping choice spent about $135.72 per order, compared to smartphone users spending $115.63.

iOS users seemed to spend a little more than Android users as well. Those who prefer iPhone and iPad ended up spending $127.92 per order, while Android shoppers went around $105.20 for their purchases. iOS traffic sat at 28.2 percent of online traffic, while Android was in a slightly distant second with 11.4 percent.

It looks like some people definitely knew how to avoid stores this year.

Source: TechCrunch

PS4 Leads In Purchase Intent

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With the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One now available at retailers, Sony and Microsoft, respectively, are battling it out for next-generation dominance. However, according to a new poll by Nielsen, it appears there may only be one true winner this holiday season.

When polling American consumers, Nielsen reported that 30 percent of activate gamers intended to purchase a PlayStation 4 console, while only 22 percent showed interest in the Xbox One.

In addition, Parks Associates held a similar poll, with 38 percent of gamers wanting to grab a PS4, and 27 percent leaning towards Xbox One.

Sony does have an edge in the next-gen wars, with its PlayStation 4 system selling for $399 compared to the Xbox One’s $499 price tag. We’ll see how the dust settles over the next four weeks.

Source: BGR

iOS Dominates Android In Shopping

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As crazy as Black Friday is, it’s a huge sales opportunity for retailers, and they want sales to happen in stores, online and increasingly on mobile devices. Both Android and Apple have their fair share of sales, but, according to IBM, there’s only one clear-cut winner.

While Android’s popularity is picking up in the market, the company states that Apple has had no problem dominating its competitor during Thanksgiving and Black Friday this week. IBM stated that by tracking “millions of transactions and terabytes of data from approximately 800 U.S. retail websites” over the course of the two days, it’s found that users are buying more using iOS devices.

In the analysis, IBM states that iOS users spent about $127.92 per order, compared to Android buyers spending $105.20. iOS traffic also reached about 28.2 percent of all online traffic, while Android only reached 11.4 percent. Meanwhile, in terms of sales, iOS rules with 18.1 percent, as Android only grabs around 3.5 percent.

In overall online sales, according to Adobe, iOS devices picked up $543 million in online sales, while Android devices were way behind with $148 million. Of the sales on iOS,  the iPad had a whopping 77 percent share of those sales. Android has some work to do to catch up.

Source: Business Insider