‘Sims 3′ piracy rates higher than ‘Spore’
Two weeks ago we reported that the game The Sims 3 by EA had been leaked two weeks early to P2P, and according to new data figures compiled by research firm BigChampagne, the pirated version had been downloaded over 180,000 times in just four days.
2008’s most pirated game, EA’s blockbuster Spore, saw 500,000 downloads in its first 10 days, so Sims 3 is on pace to beat that.
EA is saying however that the pirated version is not the final release.
“The pirated version is a buggy, pre-final build of the game,” EA’s Holly Rockwood said. “It’s not the full game. Half the world - an entire city - is missing from the pirated copy.”
Android 1.5 update now official
The hotly anticipated release of the Android 1.5 (Cupcake) firmware update is now official, says T-Mobile, and G1 users should begin to see this update soon if they have not already.
The official update list:
* System-wide:
o Refinement of all core UI elements
o Animated window transitions (off by default)
o Accelerometer-based application rotations
* UI polish for:
o In-call experience
o Contacts, Call log, and Favorites
o SMS & MMS
o Browser
o Gmail
[More]>>
Circuit City online store now re-opened
Last month we reported that the PC retailer Systemax, which has recently purchased Tiger Direct and CompUSA, was planning to buy the Circuit City name, brand and website, for $14 million USD.
The company has now completed the aquisition and has already revised and relaunched the Circuit City website. You can read more about the site, from the Systemax CEO here: Circuit City relaunch.
The new site has 24/7 customer service, more advanced search functions and more importantly photo and video galleries for every product in the store.
Along with the purchase of the website domain and all branding, Systemax was given “customer lists and information” and a “share of revenue generated over the next 30 months.”
‘Resident Evil 5′ sales remain strong
In early March, the much anticipated horror sequel Resident Evil 5 was leaked to torrent sites and P2P, a full ten days before its official release date. Capcom was understandably upset, but launch month sales were spectacular and it appears those sales remain strong despite the leak.
Capcom CFO Kazuhiko Abe adds that sales of the sequel are currently at 4.97 million and rising, on “very strong demand”.
Abe notes that the company sold 4.4 million units in March alone, and that the title will top 5 million within days.
The publisher, like all other major publishers, has complained of piracy woes in the past, even citing piracy as the main reason Devil May Cry 4 had stagnant sales. The publisher said the PC version of the game had been “pirated to hell” and that Capcom Japan refused to release it digitally as a result.
Nokia Ovi Store goes live
The much hyped Nokia Ovi Store is now live everywhere, and is available from your mobile phone as well as from desktop PCs and Macs.
So far there are only about 700 apps, games, and audio/video pieces of content, but Nokia promises 20,000 at least.
Check it here: Nokia Ovi Store
Be warned however, the site is running extremely slow as of publishing, from the PC and from the mobile browser.
Direct movie downloads headed to iPhone?
According to a report over at Open Salon, the upcoming Apple iPhone 3.0 firmware update is expected to hit the phone next month, and with it will come direct downloads of movies and TV shows, eliminating the need for a PC with iTunes.
Alleged screenshots (posted at the end of the article) seem to show direct links to “iTunes Movies,” “iTunes TV,” and “iTunes Movie Rentals.” All movies and episodes are separated by genre.
Apple has not confirmed or denied the rumor.
Currently iPhone/iPod Touch owners can only directly download podcasts.
We will keep you updated.
‘Watchmen’ Blu-ray to include full PS3 game
Warner Bros. has announced that the special 2-disc Director’s Cut edition Watchmen Blu-ray disc will include a full PlayStation 3 video game, Watchmen: The End is Nigh.
The movie is expected to hit stores on July 21st, but there was no word on MSRP for the special edition.
Although it is unclear what extra features will be on movie/game version, the standard edition includes “11 making-of Watchmen shorts, Chemical Romance’s music video for “Desolation Row” and the studio’s debut of ‘Maximum Movie Mode,’ in which director Zack Snyder will appear as the film is rolling to explain various ins and outs of the creation process. Also on the standard Blu-ray edition is a new Web-enabled feature expanding the community screening experience to users’ Facebook friend network.”
The game itself has already been partially released as a download via Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. The physical game will include two segments, only one of which has been released so far.
Paris Hilton sued for not promoting movie
Thanks to a new ruling in the U.S. District Court of Miami, a lawsuit filed last year against socialite Paris Hilton will go ahead to trial, despite pleas from her lawyers to have the case thrown out.
The lawsuit is over Hilton’s lack of promotion for her film National Lampoon’s Pledge This , which had a limited theatrical run before being released on DVD by Vivendi.
The suit was filed by the investor group Worldwide Entertainment Group which claims the socialite’s lack of promotion cost them $8.3 million USD in investments based on the film’s performance.
According to IMDB, in the movie Hilton plays a sorority president who takes in a group of unconventional freshman girls seeking acceptance into her house. The movie is also ranked #31 in the Bottom 100 list of all time, with a 1.6/10 rating.
Zattoo blocked by Universal and Warner
A German court has given both Universal and Warner Bros a preliminary injunction against the streaming video portal Zattoo.
The site had been running commercial spots using films from Universal and Warner. Zattoo shows free German TV channels on its site as free web streams while adding advertising to the content.
The studios however are now suing the site saying “its agreement with German channels does not allow it to insert commercials into its films.”
Zattoo is now blocked from streaming any Warner and Universal films until a settlement is reached, and the site pays additional licensing fees.
The IPTV provider, which launched 4 years ago, has over 4 million registered users and is available in Germany, Denmark, France, Spain, Switzerland and the U.K.
Sharp intros HDTV with Blu-ray burner
Sharp has introduced the 20-inch AQUOS DX LCD this week, the first HDTV at that size to include a built-in Blu-ray burner.
The TV also has a built-in digital TV tuner that allows users to record episodes and burn them to BD-R/R DL and BD-RE/RE DL discs. The company says up to 30 hours of HD video can be recorded to BD-50 discs, and the data can be burnt at up 7x speed.
Users can also play media stored on DVD-R, including MPEG-4 and AVC high definition video files.
The TV itself, is 720p resolution and has a 1,500:1 contrast ratio with 450cd/m2 brightness. For inputs, there are two HDMI ports, a VGA, a D4, and S-video and RCA. There is also an Ethernet port for Internet connectivity.
The TV will hit Japan on June 20th, and will cost $1590 USD.
