Netflix and Xbox 360 – It’s a Deal

If you’re a Netflix subscriber and own an Xbox 360 you’ll be able to watch the entire library of Netflix programming on your console. This deal, recently announced at E3, puts Microsoft in a great way in terms of being the console to buy for multi-media entertainment against its Rival Sony.

While the Wii can’t even play a DVD, Sony holds a lot of power of its Music (having its own labels helps) and its ability to play Blu-Ray movies. Microsoft’s HD-DVD player DVD player doesn’t handle high definition movies, although most new consoles have HDMI and all the high definition goodies ready to go.

Again, this won’t cost current Netflix subscribers any additional cost, “and movies and TV shows can be shared with the avatar-based community called Live Party, just announced earlier this morning.” (Kotaku)

This may not inspire you to run out and purchase an Xbox 360 console but it may be a deciding factor when pitting it up against the PlayStation 3 when shopping for a current-generation system.

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Episode 311: Podcast Two, Xbox OneEpisode 311: Podcast Two, Xbox One

This week is just Jonah Falcon and Jordan Lund, but the podcast is double length as the Xbox One dominates the last part of the podcast. There’s also the Gaming Flashback of Bungie’s Oni.

This week’s news includes:

  • Games Industry Biz eulogizes Wii U, states it suffered “death by apathy”
  • Xbox One revealed by Microsoft
  • Microsoft: No fees for used games, special dispensation for gamers without internet
  • Microsoft’s Greenberg: E3 presentation will be “all about the games”

All this and Listener Feedback.

Small Games Make Big WavesSmall Games Make Big Waves

The game industry is doing “okay” in this bad economic time compared to other industries.  Primarily, Nintendo is rocking the house with their games, hand-held’s and consoles while mobile developers are showing some great successes in the industry. Many success stories in our industry are based on small titles, downloadable games of the more “casual” style while a few larger titles are experiencing slower than expected sales trends.

wiiwareWe’ve mentioned this in the past, but the tough economy gives many smaller developers great opportunities for success. While big publishers struggle to look good in the eyes of the investor, tiny developers can produce quality titles for minimal cash investment and time to market. Ten years ago, smaller developers tried to compete with the big boys making larger titles, cloning successful titles or simply asking investors to put it on the line for their game. Today, developers can create a small iphone app, a cute WiiWare title or exploit the XNA efforts of Microsoft for Xbox Live Arcade and actually have a chance.

There are still challenges with these smaller developers when working in the WiiWare and XBLA publishing channels, your game marketing and promotion becomes highly reliant on Nintendo, Microsoft or Sony for PSN. Tom Prata, senior director of Nintendo of America talked to Gamespot about this issue:

“Finally, there’s the problem of promotion. It’s not enough to make a great game if nobody notices it. Prata specifically said Nintendo will be devoting more resources to support the promotion and development of WiiWare games in the future.” (gamespot)

Of course, in the world of smaller game titles and downloadable casual games, you’re going to be at risk of finding a lot of “shovelware” — products that are only released to make a quick dime, often based on some license or popular theme/character. The great game titles will, hopefully, rise to the top and show themselves off amongst all the wanna-be money makers.

Those smaller developers putting a huge passion into their titles actually have a chance in this new industry trend. Game makers, internationally, now have a chance to grasp a small piece of the industry and make their dreams come true. The core audience may see this as a trend of noisly low quality titles, but I believe the industry needs this change to grow a new generation of developers based on niche interests.

While many can wait for their next release of Madden the rest of us will continue to spend a little money to see what the future innovators are going to be bringing to the table.

RUMOR MILL: Wii 2 Controllers to Have Cameras?RUMOR MILL: Wii 2 Controllers to Have Cameras?

Some leaked documents are showing that the Wii 2 controller will not only have screens on them, but front facing cameras, too.

According to Escapist Magazine:

According to a source that Develop calls “close to the matter,” the controller for Nintendo’s next console will have a front-facing camera, which will be used for creating in-game images.

This comes after weeks of speculation about the new console and its controller, and the source also claims to be able to confirm some of those rumors. Supposedly, the controller will indeed have a large, 6 inch touchscreen (stylus perhaps included) and a standard button layout, as was first rumored about a month ago.

With a touchscreen and camera, the new controller sounds suspiciously like a Nintendo DS or 3DS, and the source believes (but does not know for sure) that the handheld may be able to be used as a controller for the console. “The functions are the same,” he says. “It is a standard wireless controller added with a front-facing camera and touch screen. That sounds far too much like a 3DS to me. But I can’t confirm this, Nintendo is being very cautious about the details.”

Let us know if you believe this rumor.