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VAIO's debut Windows 10 phone is prettier than its name suggests
A few years ago, Windows phone tried to make a splash with vibrant colors, sharp contours and unusual palettes. Then things got a little quiet. Now Windows 10 phone is suddenly upon us, and Japanese phone makers are generally keeping colors a little bit more muted, while moving to classier-looking materials. Going toe-to-toe with the textured beauty of the NuAns Neo Windows Phone, here's VAIO's second smartphone. It's called the VAIO Phone Biz, but I'd prefer if you were more distracted by the pretty aluminum shell than the ridiculous name. It's dressed for business, even if no-one's looking to shake hands with a Japan-only (for now) Windows phone.
EA loses $310 million, totally forgot where they put it
Mega publisher Electronic Arts has revealed its second quarter fiscal results and the situation is less than stellar. Following a $95 million loss in its first quarter, EA has announced a loss of $310 million for the quarter ending September 30. Titles that excelled in the quarter included Madden NFL 09 (4.5 million units sold), Spore (2 million units sold) and the new MMO Warhammer Online (1.2 million units sold). Due to its continuing losses, EA has also announced company plans to let go about 600 employees -- 6% of its entire work force. Coming into the holiday season, EA expects to close the gap caused by losses but something tells us that at least 600 people could care less.
Kutaragi officially retires from Sony
We've known about it for months but today it becomes official -- Ken Kutaragi, the father of the PlayStation, is stepping down as chairman and chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. He will still have an advisory post at the gaming unit but his days of crazy press statements as one of the public faces of Sony are over.The storied engineer's long career at Sony hit some stumbling blocks with the PS3 launch, leading Kutaragi to be relieved of his day to day duties as president of the company late last year. Some say he was squeezed out to make room for new blood, but officially Kutaragi "has been considering this decision for some time" and considered today's shareholder meeting "the ideal timing to pass on the torch to the new generation of management."Next for Kutaragi is a post at Sony/Namco/Bandai partnership Cellius, which will focus on content designed for the PS3's Cell chip. We wish him all the best, and personally hope that the train of public gaffes doesn't stop running.
Media Molecule: Rag Doll Kung Fu creator's new studio
Here's the newest installment in the ongoing adventures of Mark Healey, the ex-Lionhead programmer who created Rag Doll Kung Fu. After cutting loose from Lionhead -- which, let's not forget, has since been acquired by Microsoft -- Mark reportedly started to pursue "other projects".He's now founded a new studio, Media Molecule, which includes other ex-Lionhead staff. For the next part of this ongoing soap opera, stay tuned -- the team are "mega busy" at the moment, and we're looking forward to what comes out of this new indie developer.
