Archives

WSJ: Microsoft to Cut Xbox Price From $179 to $149

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 19, 2004 - 10:28am.
New York -- The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Microsoft plans to cut the price of its Xbox video game console from $179 to $149 by early April, citing "people familiar with Microsoft's plans." The move is aimed at increasing demand for games in advance of the traditionally slow summer buying season. Microsoft will introduce the discount at U.S. retail chain Wal-Mart, followed by other major retailers, The Journal reported. When asked if Sony would follow suit with a price cut for its PlayStation 2, spokeswoman Molly Smith told The Journal the company has "no immediate plans to lower the price… We will make adjustments when we feel the market is ready." To date, Sony has shipped 70 million PlayStation 2 units to U.S. retailers, compared to Microsoft's 13.7 million Xboxes and Nintendo's 15 million GameCubes.
tags: Xbox | Microsoft | WSJ |

TiVo Files With SEC to Raise $74.4 Million in Mixed Shelf Offering

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 19, 2004 - 10:27am.
San Jose, Calif. -- TiVo, a provider of digital video recorder equipment and services, said in filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it plans to sell $74.4 million in debt securities, stock and warrants. The company plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes. When combined with another $25.6 million in unissued securities, the total offering will equal up to $100 million.
tags: VC | TiVo | SEC | Shelf Offers |

FTC to Track Consumer Complaints on Media Violence in Movies, Games, Music

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 19, 2004 - 5:00am.
Washington -- The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced this week that it has expanded its consumer complaint handling system to categorize and track complaints about media violence, "including complaints about the advertising, marketing, and sale of violent movies, electronic games (including video games), and music." The FTC said it has added several new complaint categories to its general consumer complaint form specifically addressing media violence, including "complaints about ads for violent entertainment products airing or appearing in media inappropriate for children; ads containing an incorrect rating for violent content, or no rating at all; cross-marketing of violent entertainment products to children; and the sale or rental of violent entertainment products to children."
tags: Games | Music | Movies | FTC | Media Violence |

Nokia, Philips, Sony Developing New Wireless Device Interaction Technology

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 19, 2004 - 5:00am.
Hanover, Germany -- Consumer electronics firms Nokia, Philips and Sony this week announced the formation of a joint venture that will develop the use of "touch-based" interactions in consumer electronics, mobile devices, PCs, smart objects and for payment purposes. Based on the RFID technology being implemented by retailers including Wal-Mart to wirelessly track inventory, the touch-based technology from the Near Field Communication Forum (NFC) will allow users to access content and services in an intuitive way by touching smart objects and connecting devices just by holding them next to each other. "The use of NFC technology in consumer electronics devices will increase opportunities for users to transfer data, implement secure transactions and download rich content," said Sony senior executive vice president Teruaki Aoki.
tags: Sony | Philips | Nokia | New Wireless | Interaction Technology |

Creative Commons Launches Music Sharing License, Content Search Engine

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 19, 2004 - 4:58am.
Austin, Texas -- Creative Commons, a non-profit whose goal is to increase the number of freely-usable media works through non-restrictive copyright terms, announced this week the launch of a new music sharing license and Get Content search engine at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. The music sharing license allows musicians to clearly mark their songs as free to download and share while protecting their commercial and other rights. Works copyrighted under the Creative Commons music sharing license will then also be indexed in the organization's new Get Content search engine. In addition to music, the Get Content index also includes video, images, text and educational content whose owners have stipulated that their works may be shared freely and in many cases used in new commercial works or made into derivative works.
tags: Search Engine | Musics | Creative Commons |

"Unreal" Developer Epic Games Merges With Scion Studios

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 19, 2004 - 4:58am.
Raleigh, N.C. -- Epic Games, a developer of 3D game engine technology and titles including the "Unreal" PC multiplayer game series, announced that it has merged with fellow developer Scion Studios. Scion is responsible for titles including the U.S. Army's multiplayer title, "America's Army," which uses Epic's Unreal Engine technology. Former Scion CEO Michael V. Capps will head Epic's development and production management in his new role as president of Epic Games, while Epic chairman and CEO Tim Sweeney will retain his current roles. "This will increase Epic's ability to develop multiple games, including those in its award-winning Unreal franchise, internally for both PC and console platforms," the company said, in a statement.
tags: Epic Games | Unreal | Studios | Scion |

"March Madness" Drives Fans to Sports Web Sites

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 19, 2004 - 4:55am.
Washington, D.C. -- Buoyed by the heightened anticipation of "March Madness" -- the nickname for the annual NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament -- Internet sports sites showed large increases in traffic for the week ending Sunday, according to statistics from Nielsen//NetRatings, a provider of Internet audience measurement services. The category of sites drew 20 million unique visitors from home for the week, up 14% from the previous week. Locally, traffic to AOL Sports jumped 69% to 2.1 million unique visitors, while traffic to USAToday.com Sports surged 33% to 660,000 visitors. Other sites showing sharp rises included Sportsline (up 56%), Fox Sports (up 38%) and ESPN and Yahoo Sports (both up 16%). Marc Ryan, the senior director of analysis at Nielsen//NetRatings said that online tournament brackets, real-time game results and timely commentary make the web a strong attraction for March Madness fans.
tags: Sports | March Madness | Web Sites |