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GameStop Mobile launches as AT&T virtual carrier, gives us rare bring-your-own GSM in US (update)
Here's an expansion of mobile competition in the US that comes out of left field, even for us: GameStop as a cellular provider. GameStop Mobile, as it's called, is that rare bird of an AT&T-based MVNO that relies on a bring-your-own-device strategy. As long as your hardware works on AT&T's 850MHz and 1,900MHz bands and isn't locked to another carrier, you can bring any GSM- and HSPA-based phone (or data-only device) and use it contract-free: rates start at anything from a strictly pay-as-you-go $5 through to a $55 monthly plan with unlimited voice and text, if just an anemic 500MB of data. Tablet owners and other data-only fans can pay the same $55 for 1GB per month -- a bit stiff considering that those on AT&T proper can get 5GB of data for slightly less. No doubt this is to take advantage of iPad and iPhone trade-ins, PlayStation Vitas and the overall rise of unlocked devices. We're just wondering whether GameStop will catch a few customers subscribing as they pick up their Diablo III pre-orders or else face the uncertain future that befalls many MVNOs. Update: As our friends at Joystiq have pointed out, the GameStop Mobile website is no longer publicly accessible. Looks like someone may have pulled the switch a bit too early.
Skype launches on PS Vita, can do video calls in the middle of gaming sessions (video)
Skype continues to spread itself to anything with a data connection, and while while we don't expect this to be the last gaming device it'll appear on, it's the second. Yes, the Microsoft-owned Skype will be available to download for free on the Sony-made PlayStation Vita later today and it's capable of video calls from the get-go -- although we're yet to test whether that's possible on a 3G signal. Embarrassingly, the app looks far more capable than its recent gone-gold compadre on Microsoft's very own mobile platform. While the Windows Phone version is unable to tick along in the background, the Vita (with all that top-end processing power) can still keep your account online while you're running other apps, even take those video calls mid-game. Thankfully, Skype has drafted in professional gamer Fatal1ty to give us a quick tour of the UI and how it's all meant to click together -- it's included right after the break. Update: To allow the Skype app to connect in the background, games like Uncharted, which switch off wireless connections, are unfortunately not supported.
Nyko's PlayStation Vita speaker stand goes on sale for $30, Power Grip still MIA
The PlayStation Vita may not have the electric longevity to replace your portable music player, but Nyko figures there's no good reason it can't take up the role of rocking your bedroom. The accessory outfit's stereo speaker charging dock for the Sony's fledgling handheld hasn't changed much since we saw it at CES, save for the fact that it's available now. $30 turns your Vita into the most overpowered alarm clock (assuming you download the upcoming app from the PSN store) your nightstand has ever seen. What of the PS Vita Power Grip? A Nyko representative tell us it's on the way, but doesn't have anything to announce at this time. Read on for the charging dock's official press release.
Pulled PSP titles restored to the Vita, security holes covered with tape
Seething about the removal of Everybody's Tennis or Motorstorm: Arctic Edge from the PlayStation Store? Relax, Sony's restored both PSP-titles in time for you to play 'em all through the weekend. Of course, both are now neutered (along with the Vita's firmware) so they can't be used to load arch-hacker Wololo's Vita Half-Byte Loader -- but it hardly matters, they've already got another top-secret exploit ready to launch on an unsuspecting world.
PlayStation Suite's 'open beta' SDK available to download now
As promised last month, Sony has launched its PlayStation Suite SDK on open beta. Machinations have continued since November behind closed beta doors, but the free SDK is now available for anyone to download. Developers will be able to make content accessible for all PlayStation-certified devices, from the PS Vita to Sony's batch of Android phones and tablets. The official version is still pegged for launch later in 2012 and will demand an annual subscription for access. During the open beta, users can create games that use both physical buttons and touchscreen input with a PC-based simulator, test and debug those creations on willing Sony devices and debate away in the dedicated developer forum. Those with lofty game-making dreams for the PlayStation Suite can download the open beta at the source link below, but expect to sign a new contract when the full SDK goes official.
PlayStation Vita 1.66 firmware update rolling out now, minor UI tweaks in tow
Shortly after unleashing (and quickly pulling back) the PS Vita's v1.65 firmware update, Sony's rapidly rolling out a followup release. Version 1.66 brings with it a few UI tweaks, including tidbits such as the addition of a progress bar during app installs, notification alerts now only popping up for three seconds, plus the option to tap Retry / Cancel when running into troubles during location search. Games like Unit 13 and Gravity Daze will also see "functional improvements," while the Near app is getting a direct link to the PlayStation Store, making it easier to grab apps that other folks are toying with. The refresh is up for grabs now, so be sure to hit that System Software on your quad-core beast, or head over to the source below if you're in need of some guidance.
Sony pulls another game from PlayStation Store after new Vita exploit found
Sony's withdrawn Everybody's Tennis from the PlayStation Store after discovering it could be used to hack the PS Vita. The game was pulled without warning (probably to the consternation of tennis fans) as the company attempts to keep absolute control on its new platform. It's the second title to get the treatment after hacker Wololo discovered an exploit in Motorstorm Arctic Edge that allowed the Vita Half-Byte-loader to be launched on the device. It looks like the game of cat-and-mouse between massive corporation and a single individual will continue for a while, with Wololo claiming they've got access to around 10 more undiscovered exploits. Popcorn, anyone?
Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft: three very different takes on portable gaming at GDC 2012
Tim Cook says the darnedest things. Why, just last week Apple's head honcho suggested that iPad users are ditching their home consoles in favor of Cupertino's favorite slate. Bold words, ones that can't be sitting well with the gaming industry's big three. Steady thy rifle, hardcore gamer, Cook has a point: the console wars have shifted irreversibly. Gone are the days of bickering over somewhat similar 16-bit consoles and their supposed lack of "blast-processing"; today's gaming armies wage war with wildly different artillery. In the pursuit of your mobile gaming dollar, Nintendo toed a traditional line with a new twist. Sony, on the other hand, seems to have bundled every input method it could get its mitts on into its next-generation portable. Microsoft, however, puts the "mobile" in mobile gaming, echoing Apple's own approach with an Xbox Live platform that eschews dedicated hardware to float across Windows Phone devices as a "feature."Take a step back, and suddenly it seems like the major players of consumer gaming aren't even driving on the same track. This war isn't about the "most powerful" console anymore; it's about creating the right experience for today's gamer. We ducked under the unspoken truce of last week's Game Developer Conference to get a bead on Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony's portable gaming strategies. Read on to see what they're doing to differentiate themselves from the competition.
February's gaming sales a mixed bag: up for the month, down for the year
At this point, every time NPD releases its numbers, the video game industry collectively holds its breath. The last couple of months have not been kind, as hardware sales continued to drop. But, in February there was finally some good news -- console sales were 87 percent over January. More impressively, that jump only falls to 62 percent if you exclude the Vita. Still, after so many disappointing months, even that stratospheric jump left sales 18 percent lower than the same period last year. Even when taking software into account sales were down 20 percent -- with the industry as a whole raking in just $1.06 billion last month, down from the $1.33 billion the previous February. Individually there was good news for companies, though. Nintendo saw Super Mario Galaxy cross the five million mark, while all of its consoles (the DS, 3DS and Wii) all saw more than 50 percent spikes in their sales compared to January. Meanwhile, Microsoft held on to its number one slot by moving 426,000 Xbox 360s. Hit up the various source links for more info.
Sony shows off PlayStation Vita's augmented reality chops at GDC, leaves the AR marker cards at home
The PlayStation Vita's current augmented reality mini-games may be anchored to a handful of marker cards, but it doesn't have to be that way. Front and center at Sony's GDC booth was "Magnet," a developer tech demo that shows off the next generation handheld's markerless chops. The application maps out the texture and patterns to create its own marker, which would allow developers to create more natural AR experiences that won't burden players with the hassle of carrying around marker cards. Sony says the tech demo won't be evolving into a full game, but hopes it will inspire developers to build something new and exciting for the handheld. Although staff on hand couldn't say for sure that this is an off-shoot of Sony's SmartAR technology, we think it looks awfully familiar.
Music Unlimited app arrives on PlayStation Vita, Android version gets offline play
Listening to music isn't the best reason to take the plunge with the PS Vita. However, a new feature's a new feature, and Sony's very happy to tell you that its own subscription-based Music Unlimited service has arrived on UK devices, courtesy of its own dedicated app. Now you've had your fill of the games, Twitter and Facebook apps, it must be time to integrate with Sony's verticals and hand over more cash. The Android app has also been updated to include offline playback to songs added to your playlists -- like another certain streaming music service. You can grab the latest version at the source below.
PS Vita Facebook app officially resurfaces, available for download (again)
If you were lucky enough to snag the free Facebook app for the PS Vita last week while it was briefly available, you probably found its performance balky, at best. Shortly thereafter, Sony unsurprisingly pulled it from the PlayStation Store, noting issues stemming from Facebook's side of town. Well, good news just came in from Sony's PlayStation Twitter account -- Zuckerberg's app is "fully restored" and ready for your downloading pleasure. Facebook's relationship with Vita OS will, hopefully, be less "complicated" this time around, but let us know how it's working for you in the comments.
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.
Video: PlayStation Vita's AR game trio
With the retail launch of the Vita hardware comes the arrival of three augmented reality games, using a set of six cards that look an awful lot like the ESP test cards Dr. Venkman used in Ghostbusters. I downloaded them all from the PlayStation Store today, carefully set up a camera between my face and Vita (keeping the table in view) and demonstrated all three.Of the three, Fireworks is the definite standout. And by "standout" I mean "one I could foresee playing a second time."[Music: "Shanghai Moon" by USK]
'Select' PS Vita apps hit the US PlayStation Store: Netflix, LiveTweet and Flickr (Update: video hands-on)
Did you just brave the lines of a midnight launch party and snag yourself a PS Vita in the US? Good news ye early adopters, Sony's PlayStation.Blog.US has just announced that select free apps will be available as part of today's PlayStation Store update. Currently, you'll find Netflix, LiveTweet and Flickr, but there's still nary of trace of Facebook or Foursquare among the bunch (nor any official word on release dates for that matter). We gave each app a download and quick spin prior to them being officially listed without much in the way of hiccups -- however, Netflix does take its sweet time to start-up. Disappointingly, Vita's 20MB cap on 3G data is totally in effect on Netflix, as switching to our cellular connection denied us any access to the service. We're giving the apps some extended use to bring you our initial impressions shortly, but for now, you'll find more info at the source link below.Update: We've added gallery below and a brief video hands-on just past the break to let you grab a taste of each app before downloading them for yourself.
Engadget Giveaway: win one of two PlayStation Vitas, courtesy of Tanga!
This week's contest is all about the hotness, and if a brand new PlayStation Vita doesn't do the trick, we don't know what will. We have two WiFi / 3G units to hand out to our awesome readers, and it's all made possible by Tanga. The e-tailer is known for offering tech magazine subscriptions on the cheap as well as plenty of other daily deals. So take a peek, browse through the rules and fire off a quick comment to enter the giveaway!
Distro Issue 28: A slew of device reviews and a look back at CP+ 2012
Apple's kitty cat-flavored OS refresh may have dominated the news this week, but it was a deluge of product reviews that kept the wheels spinning at Distro HQ. Issue 28 is one of our heftiest yet, featuring Sony's stateside PS Vita, Ainovo's $99 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet, Motorola's QWERTY kin, the Droid 4, the AT&T version of Samsung's ample Galaxy Note and LG's fashionable Prada Phone. Shaking things up a bit, Zach Honig travels to Yokohama, Japan to bring you the biggest breakouts from the 2012 CP+ Camera and Photo Imaging Show. And, to round it all out, we've got a healthy helping of content you won't see anywhere else, like Ross Rubin's Switched On, Donald Melanson's Recommended Reading, our Q&A with Netbooknews' Nicole Scott and a lesson on "How to Be Happy" by cartoonist Shannon Wheeler.Distro Issue 28 PDFDistro on the iTunes App StoreDistro in the Android MarketDistro APK (for sideloading)Like Distro on FacebookFollow Distro on Twitter
PS Vita torn apart by iFixit, gets its vitals checked
iFixit's (counter-intuitively) done it again. This time it's made gamers of the world weep by ceremoniously un-fixing a PS Vita, Sony's latest portable gaming powerhouse. Standard screws and fittings -- alongside a modular design -- made for a relatively pain-free deconstruction for these tinkerers -- especially compared to recent iFixit visitors. Highlights from the tech autopsy include a 2,200mAh battery, Toshiba SDRAM and an OLED display that is unfortunately fused to the plastic, reducing the score down to a could-be-worth-a-fixin' 8 out of 10. Get your goggles, grab a surgery mask and meet us at the source below. Things could get a little messy.
Joystiq's PlayStation Vita launch guide
The PlayStation Vita launches this week in the form of a "First Edition" bundle. The for-real hardware launch will take place on February 22. We'll be covering the hardware and its games continuously through that period, and rounding it up here for ease of reference.
PlayStation Vita review
Look familiar? It should: that's the PlayStation Vita, Sony's up-and-coming challenger to the mobile gaming throne. It's made the rounds a few times before, from E3, to Tokyo Game Show, to San Francisco's Vita Hill Social Club, and it even took an early pass through Engadget's review gauntlet -- courtesy of the Land of the Rising Sun, of course. After a strong start in its homeland (followed by a quick holiday slump), the budding portable hit the books, brushed up on its English and barreled its way back into Engadget's game room, demanding another review. And why not? We're happy to oblige. And here it is, an extremely familiar looking slab of plastic, glass and electronics that calls itself the North American 3G / WiFi PlayStation Vita. Sony's new region-free tradition ensures that it won't be too different than Japan's native model, but we're diving in for a more detailed look anyway. Read on for a peek at its content management system, backward compatibility, the particulars of its fancy new thumbsticks, the latest firmware update's contribution to the platform and much more.