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Xbox 360 Spring Showcase ‘08: Interview with Microsoft’s Shane Kim

Rio Pesino — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:49:59 +0000

The Xbox Spring Showcase wasn’t all about the latest titles. Microsoft Game Studio head Shane Kim spoke with The Reboot’s Rio Pesino and several other members of the media about a number of topics, including the Xbox Newton controller rumors, Blu-Ray, digital distribution and the evolution of Xbox Live.

Tags: Xbox, Microsoft Game Studio, Shane Kim, The Reboot, Rio Pesino, Blu-Ray

The Reboot: Xbox 360 Blu-Ray in the Works?

Rio Pesino — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:01:09 +0000

A new Xbox 360 Blu-Ray rumor is circulating around the Web. Chinese newspaper Economic Daily News claims a subsidiary of computer hardware firm Asus has been chosen by Microsoft to produce internal Blu-Ray players for the Xbox 360. Also in this episode of http://www.rebootshow.com The Reboot with Rio Pesino, the Grand Theft Auto sales war between Sony and Microsoft rages on, fans of the PC version of EA Sports’ Madden series get left out in the cold for the second straight year and a pole dancing game may soon be coming to the Nintendo Wii.

Tags: Xbox 360, Blu-Ray, Asus, Rio Pesino, Grand Theft Auto, Nintendo Wii

The Reboot: Sonic Unleashed

Rio Pesino — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 21:37:50 +0000

In this episode of The Reboot, Sonic the Hedgehog fans went nuts after several screenshots and a video trailer of the blue-haired hero’s latest adventure, Sonic Unleashed, were leaked online. SEGA Europe later confirmed that the game will come out this year. In other gaming news, Sony and Harmonix were hit with lawsuits this week and a Super Famicom console signed by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto fetches thousands of dollars on Ebay.

Tags: The Reboot, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic Unleashed, SEGA, gaming news, Harmonix, Shigeru Miyamoto

The Reboot: The Death of the Xbox 360 HD-DVD Player

Rio Pesino — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 17:28:02 +0000

Microsoft has officially discontinued production of its Xbox 360 external HD-DVD player. The decision comes days after consumer electronics giant Toshiba announced that it will no longer produce HD-DVD products, essentially ending the HD-format war with Sony’s Blu-Ray. Video game juggernaut Electronic Arts wants to take over Take-Two Interactive and Sony’s Phil Harrison calls it quits. Those stories and more on this episode of The Reboot with Rio Pesino.

Tags: Microsoft, Xbox 360, HD-DVD, Sony Blu-Ray, Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive, Phil Harrison, The Reboot, Rio Pesino

BICOM HMS7: Streamlined, Sleek, Sexy

editor — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 04:19:37 +0000

Curves of brushed aluminum grace the BICOM HMS7, a combination PC and media server designed for the digital home. Inside, there’s a high-performance, energy-efficient Intel Core 2 Duo processor, but outside the user-friendly front panel features touch-screen LED controls for music, movie, and program functions. Future expandability options include PCI, HDMI and Blu-Ray. “We wanted to get outside the box, to offer something that goes next to your stereo equipment,” said Ekin Binal, BICOM’s VP of product development. Binal said BICOM has always been an engineering firm; the company’s entries in the Intel Core Processor Challenge PC Design are its first PC design efforts. Could the HMS7 fit your digital lifestyle? The People’s Choice is yours.

Media From Your Computer on Your TV in HD

Paul Lancour — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 01:41:47 +0000

NETGEAR has announced its new Digital Entertainer HD. It’s the next step in bridging the barrier between your television and the digital media on your computer. Listen to this conversation with Jamison Ching of NETGEAR, as he outlines all the cool features of this wireless device, which allows you to use your TV to watch movies in high-def, listen to music, stream Internet content, and more.

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Tags: NETGEAR, Digital Entertainer HD, Jamison Ching

Notebooks In the Daytime, TVs at Night, For Now

John Furrier — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 23:38:43 +0000

It’s become old hat to suggest that the world of media is changing faster than the old media companies, and that the computer and tech world — long accustomed to turning sharp corners quickly — has the advantage of momentum in the new, post-YouTube climate. However, the opportunity for software developers around the globe is enormous, says Intel’s Sean Maloney. And what about for Intel? I mentioned to Maloney that I think of the PC as the new TV, at least during the day. If that holds true, the prospects for companies like his — and others — are also pretty good.

By the way, it’s tough to get a hold of Sean, because he’s a pretty busy guy. (his titles: executive vice president, general manager of the sales marketing group, and chief sales and marketing officer for Intel. And it’s the week before CES….). His schedule makes getting him for a sit-down interview a big challenge. I caught him in the hallway, and the simple fact of having a camera in my pocket made this podcast possible. The quality is fine for the content, and it’s not all that long ago that this wouldn’t have been possible.

Transcript:
Host: John Furrier - PodTech
Guest: Sean Maloney - Intel

John Furrier - PodTech
We’re here with Sean Maloney, the Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of Intel. In the hallway right next to the elevator, we just did a 15-16 minutes podcast about all the cool stuff that’s going at CES. We’re talking about, before, the podcast about HD. Tell us what’s going on in you mind, in your view about the whole HD phenomenon and video and all that good stuff.

Sean Maloney - Intel
I think what we’re doing here is typical of what I think is going to be a big breakthrough. If you think about the history of video and computers, the first video came out in the early 90s, kind of, on a tiny little postage stamp pictures; probably 50 years after video came on to TVs. You think about the DVD, and DVDs came out first of all with that kind of content played on TVs and then caught up later on notebooks and desktops. Now, what you’re seeing is HD quality through devices like this.

They’re going to reach probably the mass market even faster than HD or Blu-ray because of the viral and explosive growth that you’ve on video on the Internet now. So, I think for the first time, user-generated content is going to be at the same or higher quality than professional content and put the production standards off to one side, but just the image quality you’re going to see an explosion of beautiful image quality through devices like this and that will had a profound impact not just on hardware, not just on PCs, but on the whole of the electronics industry.

John Furrier - PodTech
But, hell, we’re in the hallway here at Intel. You’re a tough guy to get a hold of, you’ve got a busy schedule. I got my handheld, I pulled it out of my pocket, we are dong a quick interview, that’s phenomenal; but we’ve talked also about the opportunities, you’ve talked about software. Talk about to the people out there developing, entrepreneurs, software developers, hardware developers, people who’re innovating; what do you see happening with this new phenomenon, user-generated video, the new platform, the network, the Internet mobility, what are their opportunities as entrepreneurs?

Sean Maloney - Intel
Oh! I think that over the next two-to-three years you could imagine a world where almost everybody above a certain income level is going to have high-def cameras. Everybody will have notebook devices, and the global opportunity and I mean global opportunity there for software developers is very significant. I’d be weary about doing stuff that isn’t thinking globally because as you know all of these trends in the computer industry all set globally.

John Furrier - PodTech
Talk about TV, Daytime TV. The notebooks now replacing Daytime TV for people at work and a mobile environment is IPTV is going to be here sooner than later and we’re doing video now. What’s your view on that?

Sean Maloney - Intel
John, you might have comment earlier wrong that the PC is the new TV during the day. I think that’s a profound comment and it’s true. The issue is going to be how much can that spread out into the evening, and the rate of change of the Internet now is much, much faster than the rate of change in conventional media and one year on the Internet is equivalent to ten years in conventional media. Even with the conventional media industry guys waking up to that over the last 12 year. They are still chasing a moving target. So, I’d bet on the new entrant.

John Furrier - PodTech
The media business is not used to moving as fast as the computer business, as you’ve just mentioned. Talk about — as the head of the Intel Sales and Marketing and their products. What’s going to happen this year for the whole of 2007?

Sean Maloney - Intel
Well, from a marketing point-of-view, if we want to get messages across the people, we use the full blend of media. We’re still using TV to get an emotional connection to people. If you want to get an emotional connection, globally TV is probably still the way to go. At some point in the next three years — that may well become unraveled, in which case there is going to be a further move of ad dollars over to the PC. I think that will depend on how quickly the TV industry responds to this.

John Furrier - PodTech
Sean Maloney here in the hallway at Intel, (Inaudible) have to get some guys over there (Inaudible) Ken, and Darrel for the PodTech at the elevators. And where is Paul Otellini, can we go up into his office? Sean thanks so much for the video.

Sean Maloney - Intel
Thanks John.

Sony’s Kaz Hirai on Playstation 3 and the Future of Home Entertainment

Matt Kelly — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 22:22:47 +0000

SAN JOSE, November 8, 2006 (PodTech News)–Sony launches the PlayStation 3 later this month — its most important product launch in years. Featuring Blu-ray technology and other features, the new device has a lot is riding on it. Sony Computer Entertainment America President and CEO Kaz Hirai is on the front lines as the company attempts to capitalize on the convergence of gaming and entertainment, while ensuring a smooth rollout of the PS3 for the upcoming holiday season. Hirai spoke with PodTech’s Matt Kelly after the keynote interview on day two of the Dow Jones VentureWire Consumer Technology Ventures conference in San Jose, Calif.

Click here for transcript.

Tags: Sony, PlayStation 3, Blu-ray, Kaz Hirai, Dow Jones VentureWire

Blu-Ray, Big Blue and Copper Makes a Comeback

Jason Lopez — Wed, 11 Oct 2006 01:41:38 +0000

In today’s news, the Adam Sandler comedy, “Click,” is released for Sony’s Blu-Ray. Also, IBM is bringing some pressure to competitors Sun and Intel, with a processor chip in the offing that may improve speed and lower temperatures. (more…)

Nobel Prizes in Physics and Yogurt From Space

Jason Lopez — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 23:58:23 +0000

In the news today, a record-setting showing for the Dow Jones, some sordid details from the Hewlett-Packard investigation, a new gadget from Nokia, an update from the Blu-ray v. HD DVD front, Nintendo’s raised expectations for the fourth quarter, and Space Yogurt.

Blu-ray vs. HD DVD, Part 2

Matt Kelly — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 01:07:57 +0000

LOS ANGELES, September 5, 2006 (PodTech News) — It’s estimated that 80 percent of all U.S. households own a DVD player, and while DVD sales are expected to grow more than 3 percent this year, it’s a far cry from the double-digit growth seen between 2000-2004. That may explain why Hollywood is hoping the new high-definition format will translate into increased sales of movies for home entertainment, much like DVD sales did during their heyday. But will consumers flock to the new format with their steep entry price and a technology that may be obsolete in a few years? In this second in a two-part series, PodTech’s Matt Kelly put that and other questions to Bill Hunt, editor of The Digital Bits, an online publication that celebrates film in the digital era.
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Tags: The Digital Bits

Blu-ray vs. HD DVD: Part 1

Matt Kelly — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 02:45:52 +0000

LOS ANGELES, September 1, 2006 (PodTech News) — It wasn’t all that long ago that consumers were given the choice between two competing formats for watching video at home. Sony’s Betamax, despite its persistent reputation as a superior product, ultimately lost out to the VHS format, and by now, even that feels like ancient history. Once again, however, consumers are faced with a brewing turf war between two developing technologies (more…)

CEA: The Next-Gen Console War Will Benefit the Gaming Market

editor — Sat, 19 Aug 2006 17:06:12 +0000

The Consumer Electronics Association predicts that video games will bring in more than $12 billion dollars this year. In this podcast, CEA’s Sean Wargo talks with PodTech’s Rio Pesino about the growth of the industry, the impact next-gen consoles will have on the gaming market and comments on the Yankee Group’s prediction that the Sony Playstation 3 will win the console war.

Reporter’s Notes: The fact that videogames have become a billion dollar industry is no surprise. Sean Wargo’s prediction that the PS3 will win the next-gen console war came as something of a shock to me. Sure, Sony has a huge market share right now, but with Microsoft’s early release of its Xbox 360 and Nintendo’s expected cheap price tag on the Wii, I can see Sony losing a lot of gamers. The PS3’s expensive price tag and inclusion of Blu-Ray is also a risk. Gamespot has an in-depth interview with Sony Computer Entertainment American President Kaz Hirai.

In other CEA-related news, I got a chance to speak with CEA Communications Director Tara Dunion about the scaling down of the E3 Expo and the company’s thoughts on perhaps creating a West Coast venue to replace E3.
- Rio Pesino

Tags: Consumer Electronics Association, Yankee Group, Sony Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo, Wii, Sony, Blu-Ray, Kaz Hirai, Tara Dunion

E3 2006: Sony Expects PlayStation 3 to be Around 5 to 10 Years

editor — Wed, 10 May 2006 22:10:46 +0000

PlayStation 3 (PS3) info has come down the pike in pieces but one thing we know now is that the new vision from Sony is to create a platform for video game development. That’s not really news–Sony revealed its plans back at the Game Developers Conference. At E3 the main thing is PlayStation’s Blu-ray enabled HD capabilities and the controller that can simply be moved through the air to dictate on screen movement. PodTech’s Michael Johnson stopped by the Sony booth (about the size of city block) at E3 to chat with Sony spokesman Ryan Bowling about the new offering.

See more E3 photos on Flickr

Tags: PlayStation 3, PS3, Sony, Game Developers, E3, Blu-ray, HD, Ryan Bowling