In today's news:- For every two winners, there's a loser
- Phil Collins regrets the '80s
- Guitar Hero pulls the plug
- No legs on this Miyazaki castle
- A big box of Pikachu
Microsoft, Nintendo up, Sony way down: In company earnings reports released this week, Microsoft and Nintendo profits were up significantly from the same quarter last year, while Sony profits were way down -- 94 percent lower. Both results were attributable in part to the companys' performances in their video games divisions. Sales of the Xbox 360 video-game console boosted revenues in the entertainment and devices division by 70 percent to over $1 billion, as compared to a year ago, according to a story on the newratings.com website. Sony, on the other hand, had said that its battery recall would cut earnings for its fiscal second quarter by about $430 million. Sony's net profit in the quarter plunged 94 percent to a mere $14.4 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. Sony also was hit particularly hard by an operating loss of about $90 million in its videogame division. In the catbird seat is Nintendo, which reported sales of $2.5 billion, up 69 percent from a year earlier. Net income was $458.6 million, up from a loss a year ago, according to the San Jose Mercury-News.Well I remember... Veteran rock star Phil Collins is impressed with the way he is portrayed in the latest Grand Theft Auto game -- and a little bit embarrassed. "They have got it spot on," he said in a story at the contactmusic.com website. "The five o'clock shadow, the suits and all the other stuff that was so embarrassingly prevalent in my '80s wardrobe."
Guitar Hero unplugged: Guitar Hero fans will be able to shred with a wireless controller, thanks to a unit coming directly from Activision subsidiary RedOctane. Displaying a new glossy white finish, the $59.99 wireless guitar controller contains the same features as the wired Guitar Hero SG controller. The really boring press release is here.
Miyazaki's Unmoving Museum: "With spiral staircases, catwalks stretching out above, and doors that are only three feet high, the place has a dream-like quality." That's how the Gridskipper website describes the Ghibli Museum, the world's largest repository of the works of Hayao Miyazaki. Located about a 45-minute train ride from Tokyo, the museum contains replicas of Miyazaki's movie characters and the theater shows shorts you can't see anywhere else.
Pokemon Advanced Box Set, Vol. 2: Ten-year-old Ash aspires to be the greatest Pokemon (pocket monster) trainer in the world. To do this, he enlists in the help of two friends, Misty and Brock, and his own Pokemon, Pikachu. Together, they must search their world for all 150 Pokemon, while avoiding the likes of Team Rocket and their Pokemon, Meowth. Of course, if you don't already know all of this, you've been under a really big rock for the past decade.
Labels: evermore, Games, Microsoft, Movie, Sony, Videogames, XBox-360
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