Downloads -- Engadget

downloads posts

GameStop to start testing game downloads early next year

by Donald Melanson posted Nov 13th 2009 at 2:33AM

GameStop has been dropping hints about its digital download plans for a little while now, but it looks to have done its most extensive and official talking about the matter yet at the recent BMO Capital Management Digital Entertainment conference, where it confirmed that it will start testing the program "early next year" with kiosks in an unspecified number of stores. That program will apparently work in conjunction with services "such as Microsoft Corp's Xbox Live and Sony Corp's PlayStation Network," and will focus primarily on add-on content rather than full game downloads. Why's that, you ask? Well it seems that GameStop thinks "a large market for full game downloads is not imminent, (but) the add-on downloadable market will grow" -- a view that some would obviously beg to differ with.

[Via Joystiq]

Zune HD gaming and app downloads confirmed: Twitter, Facebook, and 3D games on the way (updated)

by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 15th 2009 at 3:59AM

The promotional video and leaked shots already made it clear but now it's official: the Zune HD will be a gaming and application platform. In addition to a few casual games, calculator and MSN Weather apps pre-loaded onto the Zune HD, the official Microsoft press release touting the launch contains this little nugget of gaming gold:

"Later this year, Zune plans to release free applications such as Twitter for Zune and Facebook for Zune, in addition to fun 3-D games such as "Project Gotham Racing: Ferrari Edition," "Vans Sk8: Pool Service" and "Audiosurf(TM) Tilt." Games can be added to Zune HD via Zune Marketplace over the Wi-Fi connection or when connected to the Zune PC software."

Hear that Nintendo, Sony, and Apple? There's a new handheld gaming platform in town. All that remains to be seen is how it will integrate with the Xbox 360.

Update: A bit more is revealed in a Seattle Times Q&A with Brian Seitz, Microsoft's Zune marketing manager. At the moment, the strategy is to keep all the apps and games free and developed in-house or in close collaboration with third parties -- no third-party SDK for devs to freely crank out apps just yet. Seitz is clear that games will be the primary focus of the "sometimes-connected" Zune HD and the Windows Marketplace is Microsoft's priority for handheld app development:

"So what we didn't want to do was build two parallel app store experiences that didn't work together. Right now our product roadmaps didn't line up perfectly for us to snap to what they're doing or vice versa... Down the road if there's a way we can work with Windows Mobile or another group inside the company that's building an app store and take advantage of that, that's something we'll look into."

Man, Windows Mobile 7 and the rumored OneApp app store can't get here soon enough.

Microsoft and Tesco strike up 'virtual DVD' partnership

by Vladislav Savov posted Sep 9th 2009 at 6:24AM

Starting this autumn -- which is sort of like now -- Tesco stores in the UK will be offering "virtual DVDs" to customers who purchase certain home video titles. Promising no less than a "DVD-equivalent" experience, the new service will be replete with all the menus, copyright warnings and extra bits you'd find on the disc itself, plus additional exclusive content and movie viewing parties with online chat. We're not entirely sure films need all the added interactivity Microsoft has cooked up, but ambitions are to expand the bonus content and to offer the service in other markets "eventually." And hey, seeing as it's based on Silverlight, all that good stuff will be available on Mac too.

Paramount, Lionsgate, Warner Bros. & Sony Pictures movies finally available (legitimately) in DivX

by Richard Lawler posted Aug 26th 2009 at 8:00AM

Over the last few years we've witnessed a slew of DivX Certified devices including HDTVs, DVD & Blu-ray player, set-top boxes, game consoles and even cell phones, but until now, despite several content agreements, in the U.S. there hasn't been any content available in the format from the major studios. That changes today now that online store FilmFresh.com, has signed up Paramount, Lionsgate, Warner Bros. & Sony Pictures to offer new release and archive movies for purchase as DivX formatted downloads. The bad news? For now at least, they'll be standard definition (stereo audio) only. Rick Bolton, CEO of Film Fresh as well as Eric Grab and John Greene of DivX filled us in on the details, and from what we've learned -- if you'll stand for lower res video -- the combination of compatibility and portability could make this download service a competitor against the likes of iTunes, CinemaNow and Zune.

Continue reading Paramount, Lionsgate, Warner Bros. & Sony Pictures movies finally available (legitimately) in DivX

Apple sells 25% of music in the US, none of which is AC/DC

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Aug 19th 2009 at 5:13PM

According to the number crunchers at NPD Group, the trend that came to a head last year when Apple beat out Wal-Mart for the title of largest Stateside music retailer is continuing apace. That's right -- one in four songs sold in America is sold on iTunes, while Wal-Mart (including CD sales through retail stores, sales through their website, and Wal-Mart Music Downloads) holds the number two position at 14 percent. And number three, if you're morbidly curious, is Best Buy. In addition, 69% of all digital music sold in the US comes from the iTunes store, with Amazon ranking second at 8 percent. When talking formats, the CD remains the most popular at 65 percent, but as some dude named Russ Crupnick (NPD's vice president of entertainment industry analysis) notes, "with digital music sales growing at 15 to 20 percent, and CDs falling by an equal proportion, digital music sales will nearly equal CD sales by the end of 2010." Which can only be a good thing, if it means that we'll never have to step into a Wal-Mart again. Sales of ringtones and sales to consumers under 13 were not tabulated, which means the data may incorrectly skew away from purchases of The Wiggles' Go Bananas! and that Crazy Frog song.

[Via TUAW]

Apple's App Store crosses the 1.5 billion download mark

by Laura June posted Jul 14th 2009 at 9:54AM

Yes, it seems like only yesterday (or about 3 months ago) that Apple crossed a landmark -- 1 billion apps downloaded from its App Store -- and here we are again. Apple's just issued a press release stating that it's now seen another half a billion apps downloaded in about three months -- putting them over the 1.5 billion mark. Apple doesn't get all the kudos to themselves, though: after all, someone's been downloading The Moron Test. A lot.

Close to 700,000 Palm Pre apps downloaded to date

by Donald Melanson posted Jun 20th 2009 at 5:21AM

There may not be a ton of Pre apps available just yet, but it looks like there's enough to accumulate an impressive 666,511 downloads as of June 17th, which likely means that we're close to or past the 700,000 mark by now. As you can see above in graph form courtesy of Medialets, things have been rising steadily as more and more apps became available, and there's no noticeable sign of a drop-off even as apps remained around the 30 mark after the end of the first week. Of course, it's obviously still a little early to draw any firm conclusions, and there's no telling how things could shake out once the long-awaited PreFart and PreBeer apps make their debut.

[Via Mobile-review]

Xbox 360's Games on Demand service gets demoed on video

by Darren Murph posted Jun 7th 2009 at 12:32PM

Without a doubt, Microsoft's Xbox 360 Games on Demand unveil at E3 gave gamers plenty of reason to celebrate. Just think -- no more camping out for midnight launches; you just fire up your console, make sure you've paid your internet bill and get to downloading. For those who just can't wait to see what said experience will actually look like on Redmond's console, the video just past the break does a commendable job of explaining. It looks as if the system logs your credit card information in order to make game purchases as easy as a few button presses, and games that are already on your HDD can be played while another downloads. It's good stuff, we promise.

Continue reading Xbox 360's Games on Demand service gets demoed on video

Nokia's Ovi Store said to be launching with 20,000 'items,' unknown number of apps

by Tim Stevens posted May 8th 2009 at 8:51AM

The launch of the Ovi Store is just around the bend and, according to reports, Nokia is looking to blow things out a little better than Google, which launched its Android Market with a paltry 50 selections. Nokia is said to have over 20,000 "items" ready for download when things go live, a number that compares quite favorably to the 40,000 apps Apple currently offers through its App Store. However, what remains to be seen is exactly what an "item" is defined as. We're sure that count includes custom apps and WidSets, and there's talk about N-Gage games finding inclusion as well. However, video and music downloads seem to be counted and we'd guess ringtones too. So, how many actual applications will it have at launch? That remains to be seen.

Apple's App Store hits a billion downloads

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 23rd 2009 at 5:06PM

Here's to another billion -- and not just from the App Store. Windows Mobile, Symbian, Android, webOS, BlackBerry -- we're expecting every bit as much out of you guys, so let the games (and the productivity apps, utilities, flatulence simulators...) begin.

HP makes MIE installation and recovery files available for download, fun times

by Laura June posted Feb 7th 2009 at 7:01AM

We've known this was coming, but plenty of you will no doubt be excited to hear it's finally here. That's right, HP's just made MIE installation files available for the Mini 1000 -- great news if you've wanted to get in on all that MI action. As you can see above, they've unleashed one version to install the recovery tool from an XP machine onto a USB flash drive, and one to install the image from Linux machine to a USB flash drive. There is absolutely no guarantee these images will work with anything other than the Mini 1000, of course, so... watch out!

[Via GottaBeMobile]

Smartphone videogame market explodes in 2008; dumbphone market wounded, but struggling on

by Tim Stevens posted Feb 2nd 2009 at 3:32AM

With the economy lodged so firmly in the toilet we're always glad to see some sort of good news on that front, so check out the latest numbers from comScore that show the market for downloadable time-wasters on smartphones grew by a massive 291 percent in the period between November of 2007 and 2008. That's thanks in large part to the iPhone and its App Store, with sales on that platform alone accounting for 14 percent of all mobile game downloads and nearly one third of all iPhone users reporting they'd downloaded at least one game. That compares quite favorably to non-smartphone users, of whom just 3.8 percent have downloaded a game, driving that market to decline by 14 percent since 2007. Overall the mobile gaming industry bucked recessionary trends, grew a healthy 17 percent, and will now be shopping in the husky clothing section.

[Via PHONE Magazine]

Digital sales overtake CDs at Atlantic Records, music pie in general shrinks

by Darren Murph posted Nov 26th 2008 at 9:24AM

Yep, it finally happened. One label has come forward and admitted that, for the first time, digital sales of its music has surpassed CDs. While many pundits asserted that loosing tunes via tiny downloadable files would instantaneously cause the deep-pocketed record labels to crumble as piracy ran rampant, the numbers tell a different story. In fact, music sales overall have declined from $14.6 billion in 1999 to $10.1 billion this year, and it's expected to shrink further. But for Atlantic, moving tracks on the information superhighway has proven quite successful; last quarter, digital sales accounted for 51% of its revenue, while CD sales still make up over two-thirds of all music sales industry-wide. There's no real indication as to why Atlantic seems to have that digital charm while everyone else is still clinging tight to old world business models, but it's sure nice to see this side of the equation thriving. Now, about those DRM-free downloads across the board...

[Image courtesy of Dexondaz]

Microsoft revamps Zune Pass: keep ten tracks per month forever and ever

by Darren Murph posted Nov 19th 2008 at 11:35PM

There's just nothing like the holiday season, folks. That warm, fuzzy feeling you get when spending your last dollar on a gift for someone you aren't even that fond of -- really, what else can compare? On second thought, maybe this can. Microsoft has just announced that, beginning today, Zune Pass users will be able to select ten tracks per month to keep forever (and ever, and ever), and the $14.99 monthly subscription rate isn't headed up. Agreements have been miraculously nailed down between Microsoft and EMI Music, Sony BMG Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, not to mention a number of independent distributors. We must say, we certainly appreciate the gesture here, but is it enough to make fencesitters buy in? What say you?

Apple looks to OTA downloads for 3G iPhone, record labels look for cash

by Joshua Topolsky posted May 19th 2008 at 1:41PM

According to a churning rumor-mill, Apple desperately wants to make over-the-air downloads of iTunes content a reality on the 3G iPhone. Apparently, a record label executive "familiar with the discussions" states that the Cupertino gang is hoping for a "big launch in June" which includes OTA music downloads, ringtone sales, and ringback tones (the substitute music you hear instead of a ring when calling someone). There's only one problem: the labels want a higher premium for those services than a typical MP3 download. Of course, Apple's iTunes pricing has been a point of contention for some time, though its recent rule-bending for HBO could lead to upped charges for the new services. Something tells us Apple has the tenacity and bullheadedness to make this work -- let's just hope they can temper the labels' greed with the end user's economic realities.

[Via AppleInsider]