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After Math: Business as usual
While most everybody's eyes were glued on the happenings at GDC 2018 this week, the rest of the business world quietly continued turning. Google offered $40 million for the Lytro camera company, DJI constructed a legion of drones for a construction crew, 2 million Spotify users nixed the ads on their free service and the President decided to start a trade war with China. Numbers, because how else will you figure out how much more your electronics and appliances will cost?
Sky Store lets you scrap the DVD for a cheaper digital download
When the Sky Store's "Buy & Keep" option first launched in 2014, it offered the best of both worlds: A digital copy of a film (and later, TV box sets) to download and watch immediately, followed by a physical DVD copy to add to your collection when it eventually turned up in the post. Times have changed since then, though, and these days physical disc sales are dwindling as streaming and downloads become ever more popular. Embracing this shift, Sky is changing how Buy & Keep works this week, allowing you to sack off the DVD or Blu-ray copy for a cheaper, digital-only purchase.
GameStop confirms extensive credit card data breach
If you're a GameStop customer, check your mail. The company just sent out letters to online patrons confirming a suspected payment security breach. In April, GameStop said they were looking into a possible data breach that might have put customers' credit card information at risk. Confirming those suspicions, Kotaku reported today that a number of GameStop customers have received letters notifying them that their credit cards may have been stolen.
Digital downloads killed 150 GameStop stores
It's game over for at least 150 GameStop stores. The retailer has announced that it's shutting down 2 to 3 percent of 7,500 shops across the globe after sales and earning plummeted last year. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company was affected by the shift to digital downloads. More and more people now prefer installing their games straight from their console's online store instead of buying physical copies, that GameStop's sales dropped 14 percent in 2016. It did especially bad this past holiday season when its sales dipped 19 percent. As a result, its fourth-quarter profits fell 16 percent and its shares went down by about 12 percent, as well.
UK consumer rights laws now cover digital downloads
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 becomes official legislation in the UK today, pulling several, previously separate consumer rights laws together into a simpler structure. The Act also brings in clearer rules, such as a mandatory 30-day period in which sellers must fully refund customers who've received faulty goods, and for the first time, digital products are now covered. That means consumers who download games, software, music, e-books, films and TV shows are legally entitled to refunds, repairs and replacements if that content is deemed "faulty." Digital goods must be "of satisfactory quality," "fit for particular purpose" and "as described," according to the Act's legalese, though there is some wiggle-room within these broad statements.
Nintendo opens digital download store on Amazon
US Amazon users can now buy Nintendo titles like Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Wii U through a digital download space on Amazon. According to the page, you can purchase one of the 61 titles listed, including Mario Kart 8, Splatoon and Yoshi's Island, then just click the Nintendo Network link on the 'thank you' page. From there, the content code will be automatically redeemed and the game sent directly to your Wii U or 3DS console. The new store means there's now another way to purchase downloadable games other than through Nintendo's eShop -- even though it still comes directly from Nintendo.
Game to start selling digital game and DLC codes for the Xbox One and 360
Retailer Game is finally back on stable ground after a few turbulent years its brother-in-arms Gamestation wasn't lucky enough to survive. No doubt last year's console launches begat a healthy cash injection, but beyond the obvious products that keep tills ringing, Game's never shied away from trying new things. After adding Steam vouchers, tablets and Android consoles to its stores, it'll also begin selling digital game and DLC download codes for the Xbox One and 360 from August 15th. Game already sells codes for PlayStation Network titles and DLC, and last month also began stocking full PS Vita game codes. It may seem counterintuitive to visit a shop for something you can purchase direct on-console, but it works for those who want to keep their card details offline, or can only pay with pocket money. And it's not like they take up much shelf space, either.
UK government closes tax loophole on digital media, could mean the end of the 99p song download
Buried within the latest budget plan for the UK, Chancellor George Osborne announced new laws that would ensure internet downloads from the likes of iTunes, Google Play Amazon and game networks would be taxed in the country they're bought in. In the case of the UK, that would be around 20 percent VAT, substantially more than selling through countries like Luxembourg where the rate can be around 3 percent. Separate to the government's grand plans for its digital future, the new rule would start January 1st 2015 -- "ensuring these are taxed fairly and helping to protect revenue." According to the government's estimates, it could net around £300 million in extra tax income, although it's likely to bring digital download pricing (unfortunately) closer to physical media in the process.
Sony opens up PSN to digital download pre-orders
Pre-orders are nothing new in the realm of video gaming -- they're the requisite hype before the release day-storm. On the digital download front, however, that anticipatory frenzy hasn't gotten much major industry support, until now. Sony, purveyor of all things PlayStation, has just tossed a bone to its many PSN subscribers, offering the option to purchase unreleased titles in advance of their planned launches. First up for the newly announced service is Sorcery, one of the company's Move-compatible game due out later this month. Gamers who opt-in for the arrangement will receive an unlock key that should allow their consoles to begin the download process in tandem with the software's official debut. Hit up the source below for the full FAQ.
Sony updates PS Vita sales figures: 'over 1.2 million units worldwide', 2 million in software
As of recently, the PS Vita has become available in the locales of America, Europe and PAL territories, and now Sony's updated sales figures are in. How does "over 1.2 million units worldwide" sound? Because that's how many systems were purchased as of February 26th. If you'll recall, just two days after its December 19th arrival in Japan, the Vita rushed out of the gate, with Sony citing 321,000 units sold. Sales quickly slowed, however, despite the system making its way across Asia, as that number only rose to 500,000 by the time CES hit in January. Considering that means an additional 700K+ units were moved in less than two months, it seems that Sony's latest handheld isn't doing too shabby. Furthermore, it looks like a healthy amount of early adopters stocked up on games, as Sony also noted that more than two million pieces of software have been sold (out of 25 currently available titles) via retail and the PlayStation Store -- that said, there's no telling how popular those slightly cheaper digital editions have proved. Hit up the press release after the break for all the details, courtesy of the House of Kevin Butler Kaz Hirai.
Digital downloads bring UltraViolet one step closer to being useful
The dream of being able to buy a movie once and watch it anywhere promised by UltraViolet still seems impossible, but adding digital downloads to Flixster does bring it one step closer. Of course being able to download and watch a handful of movies on a single movie application is far from anyone's dream, but we supposed you have to start somewhere. If you had your hopes a simpler solution, though, you might also keep dreaming as the video after the break seems to show just how complicated one can make watching a movie. We suppose we'd be more excited if we'd just purchased Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 and learned that we could now also watch it on our tablet or smartphone -- now even if we aren't connected to the internet -- but perhaps like you, the final Potter installment isn't exactly on the top of our must have movie list.
GameFly to launch 'Unlimited PC Play' download service, offer less incentive to leave the house
GameFly hasn't wasted any time jumping into the digital download waters after acquiring IGN's Direct2Drive platform a little over two months ago. Set to launch September 8th in beta form, its new "Unlimited PC Play" service will offer subscribers access to 100-plus downloadable PC and Mac titles, with hundreds more expected in time for the official end of year launch. Fans of the video game rental outfit's snail mail subscription service don't have to worry about a shift to digital only, as the company has no plans to abandon its "unique combination of console and digital PC game offerings." Interested in getting an early peek at the new platform? If you live in the Los Angeles area, you can look forward to a planned beta launch party next month, where access codes for the new, invite-only service will be distributed. The rest of you PC gaming warriors will just have to settle for a sign-up page at the source.
20th Century Fox to offer digital downloads for Android devices, Blu-ray purchase required
20th Century Fox is dipping its downloading toes into the 21st century's waters, releasing movies on Android in addition to good, old-fashioned Blu-ray. According to the Financial Times, retail discs of X-Men: First Class will direct owners to a website where they can sideload a digital version of the film onto their Android device of choice. Apparently some of the suits over at Fox caught wind of how popular Android tablets are getting, and now see them as complementary, not cannibalistic (remember that industry buzz kill?) Sure, right now you shouldn't expect any Netflix-sized library of titles, but perhaps we can all agree this is a step in the right download-to-own direction. Residents of the US, UK, Germany, and France will get the first crack at downloading the films. The rest of you can just stream and wait. [Image credit via 20th Century Fox]
YouTube and Google Movies rentals can be consumed on either platform
Remember those 3,000 movies from Universal, Sony and Warner Bros. that were added to YouTube yesterday? Turns out, that same library is also being pushed to Google's newly announced Movies service. We learned as much during the outfit's executive Q&A session following the keynote this morning, and furthermore anything purchased / rented via Google Movies will be available to consume via YouTube, and vice-versa. Not a bad gesture!
Sprint Music Plus app gives users yet another mobile jam portal... if you're cool with RealNetworks
Tired of waiting for Google Music? How tired? If you've been pushed to your wit's end, and you're willing to give RealNetworks one last chance to actually impress you, Sprint's got a new service for you to dip your toes into. Sprint Music Plus is a newfangled app that can be accessed via the carrier's website and on Android / BlackBerry handsets, serving as a "single, convenient destination for customers to discover, purchase and play individual and bundled offers of full track music, albums, ringtones and ringback tones." Naturally, everything in here is DRM-free, and aside from being a hub for transactions, it doubles as a media management tool where playlists can be created and new content can be recommended based on prior purchases. We're told that customers can receive a discount if angling for a bundle -- which includes a full track, ringtone and ringback tone -- with $0.69 to $1.29 (per tune, mind you) being thrown straight to your Sprint bill. Care to give it a spin? Android users can head just past the break for a QR code, while everyone else can give those source links a hit.
Hulu Plus on TiVo apparently being tested, live streaming to iPad apparently being considered
So, an update. Er, a refresher if you will. Back in September of last year, TiVo announced that ingrained Hulu Plus access would be coming to its DVRs "in the coming months," but we've heard precisely nothing on the matter ever since. Enter the present. We've got a tipster who owns a TiVo Premiere and was just invited to join a Field Trial to "test Hulu Plus on TiVo," and he's also receiving codes to receive a free month of service. It's hard to say what kind of gap we're looking at between the testing period and the go-live period, but at least we've got a little assurance that no one simply forgot about their promise. In related news, other tipsters are starting to receive some fairly interesting surveys from TiVo itself, with a few questions in particular asking consumers how they'd feel about the option to "stream live TV, DVR recordings and TV shows from a cable company's On Demand library to one's iPad." This seemingly includes in-home and remote streaming, and we have to say -- streaming to the tablet just might be the magic feature that finally gets TiVo out of the hurt locker. Probably not, but are you really going to judge us for being blindly optimistic? %Gallery-118660%
Apple and other music retailers purportedly looking at 24-bit, high-fidelity audio downloads
Digital downloads, at least pertaining to music, have come a long, long way. The iTunes Music Store in particular has surpassed Walmart as America's leading seller of music, and it's evolved from a DRM-laden mess to a restriction-free(ish) marketplace with higher-than-average bitrate support. But it seems that 256kbps simply isn't high enough. According to unnamed "executives involved in talks," Apple -- as well as a few other digital music retailers -- are currently in discussions with labels to "improve the quality of the song files they sell." Essentially, these retailers are hoping to hawk 24-bit audio rather than the compressed 16-bit files available today, possibly with a price premium attached. The real trick, however, won't be coercing the labels to cooperate, but to retool future devices to actually play back 24-bit files. iTunes itself is already capable of handling 'em, but the iPod, iPhone and a slew of other handheld devices aren't. The report doesn't mention how close to a deal anyone is, but we're guessing it'll be sooner rather than later. Here's hoping the iPhone 5 ships with 128GB of capacity -- we're going to need an awful lot of space to handle those lossless Police albums.
Sony PSP to gain unlimited music via cloud-based Qriocity service
Just days after Sony's Qriocity video-on-demand service went live across Europe, in flies this -- news that the aforesaid service will be spreading its wings and touching the PSP in short order. Word on the street has it that the next PlayStation Portable update (v6.35) will bring along Music Unlimited powered by Qriocity, described as a "new, cloud-based, digital music service from Sony that will give music lovers access to millions of songs stored and synchronized through the cloud." Post-update, users will notice a new icon in the PSP's XrossMediaBar under the 'Music' category, and moreover, the Media Go application for managing PSP downloadable content on your PC will be updated "with enhancements to the user interface and advanced photo editing tools." Sony's remaining mum on a launch date, but the internet is already abuzz about what this may mean for the impending PlayStation Phone. Will Sony finally have a leg-up over iOS with an ingrained unlimited music client? A boy can dream, can't he? Update: Tipster Isaac spotted the screen above and the one after the break on his PSPgo today. Looks like the launch may be sooner than we'd imagined, eh?
All seven seasons of The West Wing finally available in HD... but only online
Even though acclaimed TV series The West Wing was shot on film and six of the seven seasons were broadcast in high definition, until now the only way fans could get a copy was in standard definition. Now Warner's announced all seven seasons are available for purchase in high definition on digital distributors including iTunes and Amazon, with a $3/episode, $50/season price tag. After rumors we'd see the series on HD DVD and later Blu-ray it's great to get access to the show's high production values in higher resolution, but sadly we must note that at least on Amazon (we couldn't find any notes on iTunes) it only offers stereo audio -- an unfortunate loss for a series that won multiple awards for its sound production and features 5.1 Dolby Digital surround on DVD. How much that matters is a personal preference, but while Blu-ray quality might not be expected from downloads, it would be nice to at least get everything that's on the DVD with our downloads. Check after the break for a quick behind the scenes clip with Executive Producer Thomas Schlamme.
Sony, Warner and Disney mulling $30 at-home viewing option, we laugh and wait for the $100 option
Ah, "premium" video-on-demand. Media controllers have been fighting the inevitable forever, but now it seems they're finally coming around to the future -- letting users watch silver screen gems (or duds, for what it's worth) in their home shortly after release in the theater. Before you bust out the golf claps for these dudes and dudettes, you should know that they're planning to ding you for around $30 for the privilege, so it's only remotely of interest if you happen to have a family of eight. According to a new Bloomberg report, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., and Walt Disney Co. are all in talks with major cable systems to "offer films for as much as $30 per showing soon after they run in theaters." Disney's also thinking of streaming its content to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with Warner expected to begin testing an offering later this year that lets consumers watch new(ish) release material for "$20 to $30 per viewing." Of course, we guess it can't hurt to throw the option out there and see exactly who is desperate enough, but we're guessing this won't exactly be the demise of the cinema. Or Redbox.
