Streaming Media Industry News from E3
Microsoft shows off Kinect, new Xbox at E3
Thousands of Hollywood stars, VIPs, and media from around the world gathered at LA’s Galen Center to witness the future of entertainment on Sunday, June 13, 2010. This exclusive 45-minute experience, which Cirque du Soleil spent four months developing and producing, was presented Sunday night, with an encore performance set for Monday. Along with a 76-person strong cast of dancers, musicians, acrobats, and clowns, show goers were treated to a dazzling setup featuring 25-foot-high projection screens totaling more than a football field in length, a gigantic 9-foot-tall elephant puppet housing projection screens and two artists, and a 40-foot-diameter steel structure that rotates on its axis and weighs as much as 25 VW Beetles.
Microsoft Corp christening its new motion-sensing game system "Kinect," on Sunday offered a sneak peek of upcoming titles it hopes will help draw a new generation of casual players into the 40 million-strong Xbox game console fold.
In a performance conceptualized by Cirque du Soleil, the company staged enactments of how games would be played. Those included a track and field tournament, a driving simulation in which passengers rock their bodies to toss the car into cartwheels, and a Star Wars game with enhanced control of a Jedi knight - which drew cheers.
Microsoft did not announce game publishers for Kinect -- previously dubbed Project Natal -- nor divulge any other details. LucasArts releases Star Wars titles.
The world's leading gaming hardware makers, hoping to reignite the slumping $60 billion industry by expanding it beyond hardcore games to more casual players, will unveil at the E3 Exposition in Los Angeles this week a range of futuristic gadgets.
Microsoft is expected to flesh out details of its Kinect system at the annual games convention, which along with Nintendo's 3D-without-glasses platform is expected to generate the most buzz. Sony Corp will show off its competing Move motion-sensor.
Microsoft -- which recently lost its mantle as world's largest technology company to Apple Inc -- unveiled Natal at last year's E3. Analysts estimate the three-camera device, which will be in stores by this holiday season, will range from $50 to $200.
The set-up -- which allows for completely hands-free games and controlling the console with voice commands -- is designed to appeal to casual players and newcomers who may not be aware of the product, rather than hardcore gamers, analysts said.
"There's only so much headway you can make until you bring moms into the equation. There's lots of kids and moms who want to have an interactive experience together," said Mike Delman, vice president of global marketing for Microsoft's interactive entertainment division.
The rush of new technology comes just as the video game industry, which dwarfs the $10 billion domestic movie box office, needs it. Total U.S. industry sales -- hardware, software and accessories -- are down more than 10 percent to $4.7 billion this year through April, according to retail research firm NPD Group.
YouTube Teams With IGN To Broadcast E3, Continues To Ramp Up Live Streaming
Michael Sinclair Contributing Editor - (June 14th, 2010)
This year, fans will be able to watch live, thanks to a live stream that’s being broadcast through a partnership between YouTube and gaming portal IGN .
YouTube will be live streaming the main press conferences (Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, EA, Ubisoft) and content from IGN’s E3 booth which will include game demos and interviews. All of this will be available on the channel YouTube.com/E3 .
Most Internet users to watch video online by 2014
Robert Klug Contributing Editor - (June 14th, 2010)
As more people turn to the Internet to catch movies, TV shows, and other content, 77 percent of all Internet users in the U.S. will watch videos online by 2014, according to information released Wednesday by eMarketer.
Wwith an 11.3 percent rise in viewers from 2008 to 2009, says eMarketer. The number of people catching full-length movies on the Web more than doubled between September 2008 and October 2009, according to a report by Ipsos. (Credit: eMarketer)
The overall growth in online video viewing will likely slow to between 8 percent and 9 percent through 2012 and drop to 5.2 percent in another four years, forecasts eMarketer. But the streaming of full-length content will continue to surge.
"If the first iteration of online video was about silly pet tricks on YouTube, the next wave will be about professionally produced full-length content such as TV shows, movies, and live sports," Paul Verna, eMarketer senior analyst, said in a statement. "This shift will be propelled by a combination of technology integration, demographics, and a growing comfort level with the idea of watching video hosted on Web sites."
The demand for full-length videos is being propelled by a couple of factors, notes eMarketer. Hulu, which offers full TV episodes and movies, has been ranked by Nielsen as second to YouTube in the number of video streams viewed this past April. Consumer adoption of Web-enabled TVs, Blu-ray players, and similar devices is also driving the rise in long-form video content. In-Stat has forecast that U.S. shipments of Web-enabled consumer gadgets will grow from 14.6 million this year to 83.4 million by 2014.
The growth in all online video viewing is being fueled in large part by the under-25 crowd, eMarketer said. A recent report from Retrevo found that 29 percent of all people under 25 get all or most of their TV online, compared with only 8 percent of the entire video-watching population. And as the younger generation gets older, eMarketer expects they'll be used to getting their video fixes on the Web courtesy of a new range of devices that will make online video viewing even easier.
