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Entertainment

Nintendo of America shakes up leadership

Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime has only one person he needs to report to now.

Nintendo announced Wednesday that Nintendo of America Chairman and CEO Tatsumi Kimishima will move to Japan to assume the role of general manager of Corporate Analysis and Administration and general manager of General Affairs at Nintendo Co., parent company of Nintendo of America.

Fils-Aime, who has for years been the face of Nintendo of America in the U.S., will remain on as president and COO of the subsidiary, but will not assume the role of CEO. Instead, Nintendo Global chief Satoru Iwata will … Read more

Nintendo's earnings disappoint as Wii U falls short

Nintendo's profit during its last fiscal year ended March 31 turned out to be half of what the company had expected, thanks to disappointing Wii U sales.

During the 12-month period ended March 31, Nintendo saw sales slide 1.9 percent year-over-year to 635.4 billion yen (about $6.4 billion), off its initial estimate of 670 billion yen. The company's operating loss -- a key measure of performance -- was 36.4 billion yen, substantially higher than the 20 billion yen it expected to post on the year.

The one bit of good news for Nintendo was … Read more

Smart pajamas read your kids a bedtime story

Technology has tiptoed into kids' pajamas with onesies covered in QR codes that link to bedtime stories.

"It's time for bed, Tommy. Brush your teeth, put on your PJs, and let's scan you."

Smart PJs, called the world's "first and only interactive pajamas," require downloading a free app for iOS or Android and scanning one of dozens of codes from the Smart PJs with a smartphone or tablet. The device then reads aloud a story, sings a lullaby, or broadcasts pictures of animals or other bedtime-appropriate cuteness. … Read more

Death-defying circus of the sky

It sounds like something out of a magical children's book: acrobats and jugglers in the sky. But the Paragliding Circus is something that happened in the real world, thanks to acro paragliding pilot Gill Schneider.

Alas, the circus in the sky isn't an ongoing institution; we imagine it would be quite difficult, anyway, for spectators to enjoy. It was 29-year-old Schneider's long-held dream, though, to combine his love of paragliding with his love of the circus. His father, who runs a circus school, loaned Gill some of his students, jugglers, and tumblers, and they were all joined by Roxane Gilliand, aerial acrobat with the Ecole Nationale des Arts du Cirque de Rosny-sous-Bois. … Read more

Steampunk AT-AT is a labor of 'Star Wars' love

When is an AT-AT not an AT-AT? When it's Captain Bayley's Infernal Mechano-Perambulator. The captain (also known as Mark), created a steampunk AT-AT out of a vintage toy. It's the details that amaze.

You could get lost in the depths of this steamy tribute to the famous "Star Wars" machine. There's a smoke stack blowing out fluffy clouds of fake smoke. The finish is done in a weathered-copper look. By golly, is that a lightsaber-esque unicorn horn on top of the nose? Mossy plant life hanging from the mouth makes this AT-AT look a lot friendlier than the killing machines from the movies.… Read more

The 404 1,255: Where we don't know what to do with our hands (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Order a slice of 'za from Da Hut with your Xbox.

- Is it possible to lose weight playing video games?

- Has anyone ever taken a good photo of a live band?

- Michael Bay apologizes for Armageddon.

Bathroom break video: Dodgeball: White Goodman's necklace does magic.… Read more

Life-size Iron Man figure will watch over you for $8,500

You could spend a lot of time and energy fashioning your own Iron Man armor, or you could just throw $8,500 over to Sideshow Collectibles and pick up a full-size suit right off the shelf.

The Tony Stark-size figure is a reproduction of the Iron Man Mark 42 suit from the upcoming "Iron Man 3." It's more than 7 feet tall and is painted with high-gloss automotive paint to give it that Iron Man shine. That's not all, of course. For your investment, you'll also get to enjoy LED light-up eyes, arc reactor, palms, and display base. That makes it a very expensive, but very cool, lamp.… Read more

Apple iTunes makes sweet music in online video market

iTunes tops the charts in online video sales, according to market research firm The NPD Group.

Apple claimed 66 percent of all TV shows sold and 65 percent of all movies sold online last year. In second place, Amazon took home 14 percent of all TV shows sold in cyberspace. Amazon and Xbox Video each grabbed a 10 percent chunk of all feature-length films sold over the Internet in 2012.

iTunes also scored the lead in the video-on-demand market, biting off a 45 percent share of all online movie rentals. Amazon Instant Video accounted for 18 percent, leaving Vudu with … Read more

Google execs' 'New Digital Age' resists cyber-siren song

When two executives at the world's most optimistic technology company write about humanity's digital future, you might expect a book brimming with excitement about the wonders to come.

Eric Schmidt and Jared Cohen offer plenty of that, but what makes "The New Digital Age" worth reading is the correspondingly healthy dose of pessimism. The book, released today, ultimately is persuasive in making the case that people can steer technology so it helps us more than it harms us.

The book, with straightforward writing and compelling details, seeks to predict what happens as today's online population … Read more

Psy's 'Gentleman' tops YouTube charts with 38M views in one day

With the same searing beat, ridiculous lyrics, and tongue-in-cheek antics, South Korea's Internet phenomenon Psy is breaking charts again with his new single "Gentleman."

YouTube announced Monday that "Gentleman" is giving "Gangnam Style" a run for its money by setting the record for getting the most views in one day ever. On April 14, "Gentleman" hit more than 38 million views. And, after only being up for about a week, the video has a total of nearly 204 million views.

"From a stats perspective, it's one of the biggest … Read more