Gaming Consoles

According to Cisco’s latest annual Visual Networking Index report, online Internet traffic will reach 1.3 zettabytes by 2016, which is four times more than what we use today. At peak traffic time, Internet will reach 720 Tbps in 2016. Cisco reports this is the equivalent of 600 million people streaming Internet high-definition video simultaneously.  That is a lot of people streaming videos and Cisco is not the only one who is noticing.

Streaming has definitely become the preferred method for people to watch content.  In a generation that expects instant gratification, why would we wait to download content before watching on our TV lift cabinet?  As media giants fight to compete for content licensing for their streaming video services, gaming companies are also partnering up with TV manufacturers to offer game streaming.

At the E3 2012 conference this year, Gaikai announced they are partnering with Samsung to provide Samsung Smart TV’s with streaming game service.  This will be

If you are looking for a great gaming console to store within your TV lift cabinet, you may be interested to know that Microsoft is now offering the Xbox for only $99 plus a subscription fee.   Currently, Xbox and other gaming consoles cost around $299.  This is a hefty price tag for consumers to pay out.  Many are not able to pay this upfront cost.  To get around this hurdle, Microsoft is now offering this affordable subscription plan.

Consumers will have to pay a $99 initial fee to get Xbox 360 and then commit to a two year contract.  The subscription fee per month is $15.  The $99 price tag is a much more manageable number for consumers to handle than $299.  Microsoft is hoping this pricing strategy will lure in more customers and increase their Xbox sales.

Now for those who enjoy crunching numbers, you may have already figured out that the cost of owning an Xbox will amount to $459 with this new pricing strategy whereas it is only $299 without subscription.  However,

Add Xbox 360 to the wave of set top boxes and streaming apps for your TV lift cabinet. Microsoft has announced a long list of apps which are now available for download on the Xbox 360 console. Youtube, Verizon FiOS TV and MSNBC.com are a few of the U.S. available apps.  Beginning in early 2012, more apps are set to be rolled out, including Comcast Xfinity and MLB.tv.

The app selection is not the only exciting thing about Microsoft’s announcement. The technology itself sounds pretty impressive. With the help of Microsoft’s Bing search engine, users can simply say what they are searching for and Bing will pull up the results. Bing on Xbox voice search is already available in the US, Canada and UK.  Now whatever movie, TV show or game you are looking for is simply a voice command away – no need for a remote control!

Some of the other apps listed on the Microsoft press release include:

-          ESPN on Xbox Live

-          Vudu

-          HBO Go

-          Hulu Plus

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Bethesda’s new open world role playing game, “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is scheduled to be released to the general public tomorrow.  The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is compatible with PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and can be played from your TV lift cabinet.  The reviews pouring in from the individuals that got a sneak peak are extremely positive.

Syrim is a world with landscapes resembling scenes right out the “Lord of the Rings” movie.  Picture beautiful lush green villages, snow capped mountains, medieval castles, and you have stumbled into Syrim.  What makes this video game different from other video games is in Syrim anything is possible.  Almost everything in this game can be altered and tailored based on your decisions.  You can interact with other characters that range from orcs, lizard men, elves, and many other interesting creatures.  You can visit different cities each with their own culture, adversaries, and racial/political conflicts.  Ultimately, players will

Bethesda’s new open world role playing game, “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is scheduled to be released to the general public tomorrow.  The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is compatible with PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and can be played from your TV lift cabinet.  The reviews pouring in from the individuals that got a sneak peak are extremely positive.

Syrim is a world with landscapes resembling scenes right out the “Lord of the Rings” movie.  Picture beautiful lush green villages, snow capped mountains, medieval castles, and you have stumbled into Syrim.  What makes this video game different from other video games is in Syrim anything is possible.  Almost everything in this game can be altered and tailored based on your decisions.  You can interact with other characters that range from orcs, lizard men, elves, and many other interesting creatures.  You can visit different cities each with their own culture, adversaries, and racial/political conflicts.  Ultimately, players will

Some of you may have received a new Nintendo DS handheld gaming device for Christmas this year, and though you’re probably already in tune with whatever game or games you got with it, you may be wondering if it has any other unique capabilities.

One of its features is that people can watch recorded TV shows and movies on the Nintendo DS by placing them on a MicroSD card and loading the card into a M3 DS Simply adapter. After a quick software setup on the Nintendo DS, you’ll be watching your favorite movies in astoundingly great quality in no time. Anytime you’re ready for a different movie or show, just pop it on your MicroSD card and back into your adapter and viola!

While this is great for portability and convenience, many Nintendo DS owners wonder if they can save their eyesight by playing their favorite DS games on their home TV by connecting the two devices. And while there is no “official” way to do so, some have had success by sliding a screen adapter over the DS and connecting

Microsoft’s Kinect, an extension for Xbox 360 gaming consoles that brings games to life by body movement, needing no controllers, wires or gadgets, just announced that it has sold more than one million units during the first 10 days of its release. This absolutely blows away its competition, the Sony Move for PlayStation3, which hasn’t sold a million units yet, and it has been on the market since September.

So what makes the Kinect such a hot commodity? It may have something to its futuristic capabilities to translate one’s body movements, even the sound of your voice, into digital movements. Want to drive a race car? Just grab an imaginary steering wheel and go for it. It’s the new wave of full body gaming, and it may charge in a new era of integrating gaming consoles into a majority of people’s households.

Of course, some of the Kinect’s fandom may be due to Oprah publicly embracing it on her show in October. Oprah, along with a few of her audience members, danced away to the Dance Central