PlayStation Vue TV Service Being Rolled Out

NOV. 15, 2014 • Sony Network Ent. International (SNEI) and Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCE) are beginning a roll-out of a new television content service called PlayStation Vue. An invite-only beta this month will be followed later by consecutive market launches in New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Sony will initially offer 75 channels sourced from CBS, Discovery Communications, Fox Networks, NBC Universal, Scripps Networks Interactive, .....

PlayStation Plus Subscribers Reach 7.9 Million

NOV. 3, 2014 • The PlayStation Plus streaming service has grown to 7.9 million subscribers, according to the Sony Corporation. The disclosure was made by chief financial officer Kenichiro Yoshida during a financial conference call on October 31 discussing results for the quarter ending September 30.  For the quarter sales by the Game and Network Services segment increased 83.2% year over year to ¥309.5 billion ($2.7 billion).  This was thanks to strong PlaySt.....

Xbox Live Real Money Beta Worries

JULY 10, 2013 • Microsoft Corp.’s beta test in the United Kingdom of the new real money transaction system for Xbox Live is raising some consumer alarms. Users in the test are reporting that games converted from Microsoft Points to real money are costing more.  The point values are being converted into pounds in real time  however, the conversion ends up costing consumers more for the same points value than was charged previously. For example, a game tha.....

Sony Acquires Gaikai

JULY 2, 2012 • A month removed from the Electronic Entertainment Expo one of the bigger rumors from the show has come to pass: Sony Computer Entertainment has acquired cloud streaming service Gaikai for $380 million. With plenty of electronic devices that can benefit from Gakai’s network, the acquisition is clear win for Sony at a modest cost investment. Sony fully intends to utilize Gaikai as the foundation of its own cloud delivery service. What Sony wil.....

DirecTV Trims 3D

JUNE 22, 2012 • With little fanfare, satellite television provider DirecTV has made its dedicated n3D channel part-time on June 1. The channel was launched in July 2010 in partnership with Panasonic as the first 3D line-up to operate 24 hours a day. But a dearth of 3D content forced DirecTV to run much of t.....

Drexel University Research Says Xbox 360 Credit Card Data Not Deleted

APRIL 1, 2012 ● According to a Drexel University study, resetting an Xbox 360 to original factory settings does not delete previously stored Xbox 360 credit card data from the hard drive. The research team purchased one of the consoles used, then applied generally available computer applications to search the hard drive for the consumer data. A Microsoft representative disputed the report, saying the Xbox 360 is not designed to save such credit .....