consoles

Those consumers who don't want to upgrade from the Nintendo Wii to Wii U just yet but still want to get video streaming for their console are in luck. Amazon announced today that its Instant Video service is now available on the Wii.

"Amazon Instant Video is now playing on your Nintendo Wii," the video service wrote on its Web page. "Start watching over 140,000 movies and TV episodes today. Prime members can also watch thousands of these videos at no additional cost."

Kickstarter continues to be the gamer's best friend. The latest project to blow past its goal is GameStick, a sort of Raspberry Pi meets Ouya creation that reached its $100,000 goal by day two of its crowdfunding campaign and has already ladled $70,000 more of green gravy on that figure with 27 days still to go.

GameStick is an open-source, Android-based, portable game console meant to turn any screen with an HDMI port into a gaming hub. The entire system consists of a basic handheld controller with a dongle that slides out to plug into the screen and communicate back to the controller via Bluetooth. … Read more

Sony has discontinued the PlayStation 2 in Japan, says a report, nearly 13 years after the device's introduction.

Famitsu broke the news that Sony halted Japanese production of PlayStation 2 hardware in its home country, but the blog also noted that the company plans to continue developing and selling games for the video game console. We've reached out to Sony Computer Entertainment America for more information about future PS2 plans in the U.S. -- check back later for a response. … Read more

Developers who ordered an Ouya game console should soon find one in front of their doors.

The folks at Oyua confirmed today that 1,200 developer consoles have been shipped and should reach eager buyers in the next few days.

Created this past year, Ouya is an attempt to bring gaming back to your TV. Designed to hook up to your television, the Ouya console plans to be home to a platform of Android-based games built by interested developers.

The console itself is the brainchild of Julie Uhrman, a video game industry veteran who wanted to lay the groundwork for … Read more

You gotta love the Xbox. Even after all these years, it's still rocking great new games (Dishonored, anyone?), still evolving with accessories like the Kinect, and still the best Media Center Extender you can buy.

The entry-level Xbox typically runs around $200, but while supplies last, Fry's Electronics has the Xbox 360 (4GB) for $149.99 (plus sales tax in some states). Shipping adds another $10.54, unless you're lucky enough to have a Fry's store near you, in which case you can pick it up. (The Xbox, not the store.)

If you're the least … Read more

Let the gamers, Android nuts, and open-source geeks rejoice -- the Ouya is shipping on time!

Well, at least the developers' consoles are, that is. Ouya first garnered attention by raising more than $8.5 million on Kickstarter this summer to create an inexpensive, open-source, Android-based game system.

Early supporters of the crowdfunding campaign got first dibs on a finished Ouya for as little as $95, but those aren't scheduled to ship until March. However, the hundreds of folks who ponied up $699 or more for a first-run, rooted developers' system with early SDK access get to experience Christmas twice in the same week when their consoles ship on December 28.… Read more

The next edition of Microsoft's Xbox could be ready for the holidays -- the 2013 holidays, that is.

Microsoft is aiming to launch the Xbox 720 in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas of next year, "people familiar with the company's plans" told Bloomberg yesterday.

The software giant could unveil the next Xbox at the E3 show in June or at a separate event specifically geared toward the console, one of the sources said. The people providing this tidbit to Bloomberg didn't want to identify themselves since the information is reportedly based on a confidential Microsoft … Read more

Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime has some sharp words for Microsoft and Sony: you react to us, not the other way around.

Speaking to CNET in a telephone interview today, Fils-Aime brushed off an assertion that the Wii U could be faced with irrelevancy issues if Microsoft and Sony launch their new consoles in the coming year, as expected.

"In the end, our competitors need to react to what we're doing in the marketplace and need to figure out what their innovation will be," Fils-Aime told CNET. "It's likely that faster processors and pretty … Read more