Google may make good on its threat to leave China should the most recent negotiations with the government fall through

Anyone who may listen to the “Week in Geek” show I do each Friday morning would be able to tell you how often I mention the words “China” and “Google” each time the show airs.  The ongoing battle between China and its censorship guidelines and Google with their ongoing frustration in dealing with China’s empirical choke hold on what information is allowed through the web giant’s google.cn site makes for soap opera type drama.  And while I may make light of the situation, it is quickly becoming anything but a laughing matter.

Google continues to hold its ground in talks with China in regards to filtering (read “censoring”) search results through the google.cn site.  Recent months have seen the clashes between Google and China reach the point where Google has determined that it may be best to pull out of the China market rather than continue to attempt to comply with the restrictions put in place by the Chinese government.  And recent days have seen activity that may suggest that Google plans to make good on the threat.

While the retreat of Google from China may not mean much of an impact to the coffers of the search company, several burgeoning industries in China may be negatively impacted should the pullout come to fruition.  The Android based phone business may not be completely shut down by a lack of a local Google presence but it is certain that the devices would be severely limited in their functions as China restricts access to sites external to the country.  In addition, China Mobile Ltd., the largest phone company in China and perhaps the world, relies on the search giant for mobile searches and maps.

Analysts have described the withdraw of Google from China as a “lose-lose” scenario as the country would not see another company move in to take Google’s place but rather a vacuum.  And at a 35% share of the search market is a sizable vacuum.

Spokespersons for Google have stated that the company remains in negotiations with China and would not confirm that they would be withdrawing should those negotiations fail.

Gritskrieg – End of Line

[Source]

The Microsoft Windows 7 Phone will be hoisting quite a few slick features it looks like from it’s debut at GDC2010. In addition to all of the current popular ’smartphone features’, expect to see a loaded app store, a menu driven comic book reader (What’s up Disney-Marvel?), tons of games, watch live sporting events, and the power to view your Netflix que on demand. That is quite a feature for all the Netflix addicts out there.

Why this is not on the iPhone yet? We cannot say – but if the phone carriers can support the bandwidth for Microsoft, Apple’s AT&T should not be that far behind. Check out the prototype video from GDC over at Kotaku.com, its pretty kick ass.

OnLive goes live in the lower 48 states on June 17.

(Gamespot) – One year after it was unveiled at the 2009 Game Developers Conference, OnLive finally has a launch date. Company CEO Steve Perlman announced yesterday at his keynote address at the GamesBeat mini-conference at GDC 2010 that OnLive will go live on June 17. The service will initially be available as an application for the Windows and Mac operating systems, with a micro-console that can be attached directly to HDTVs to arrive later on in the year.

OnLive’s launch will be limited to the contiguous lower 48 United States and will cost $14.95 per month. According to the OnLive Blog, the first 25,000 thousand people to sign up will have the service fee waived for three months. (To apply, sign up on the official OnLive site.) Multi-month pricing and other promotions will be announced prior to the service’s debut.

OnLive’s monthly fee does not include the purchase price of games themselves, which can be rented or bought from publishers directly at a lower-than-retail price. Publishers supporting the service with PC titles include Electronic Arts, Take-Two, THQ, Ubisoft, Epic, Atari, Codemasters, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. At the DICE Summit last month, Perlman demonstrated both Crysis and Unreal Tournament 3 running on the service with minimal lag.

The June launch will only be the start of the OnLive rollout. The service will offer 1080p high-definition gaming at 60 frames per second starting in 2011. An international launch is also planned for an undetermined date.

For those unfamiliar with OnLive, the service aims to offer lag-free PC gaming via the Web. The company claims that since the heavy lifting of graphics processing will be done on the service’s servers, it will offer high-definition gaming on any PC or Mac, regardless of graphics card or CPU speed.

The addition of the micro-console will also allow the service to be streamed directly onto televisions, without the need for a standard game console. Perlman sees this as a positive because OnLive games will not be tied to increasingly antiquated consoles. He promised that the OnLive servers would receive graphical upgrades every six months in order to provide the latest PC graphics.

Image of the Sony "Move" provided by AP Photo/Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

Sony unveiled its highly anticipated motion controller today in a direct challenge to the Nintendo Wii. Aptly named the “PlayStation Move”, it’s obvious that Sony is trying to lure gamers who may be ready to move from the Wii. The “Move” will be used in conjunction with the PlayStation Eye camera and the wireless controller can reportedly track a players’ body movements in addition to movements of the controller itself.

Scheduled for a Fall release, there has been no mention of exact pricing by Sony for the “Move” but it is rumored that the controller will be bundled with the Playstation Eye and one game for under $100. Consistently outsold by the Wii, Sony obviously hopes the “Move” will be a step in the right direction in gaining ground on Nintendo.

“Move”-compatible games are already in the works from major publishers like Activision Blizzard, Electronic Arts, and Square Enix.

With nothing new to report from Microsoft in regards to its own “Project Natal”, which reportedly combines a camera, depth sensor, microphone, and processor, it would seem Sony has one again got a jump on the software giant with the latest technology.

Whether they can maintain their lead once Microsoft and Nintendo respond to the “Move” with their respective technologies remains to be seen.

Gritskrieg – End of Line

[Source]

Yeah, I totally ripped off Crutchboy's "custom" Avatar movie poster.

Samsung and Panasonic will begin selling 3-D capable televisions this week… What does this mean for us? Most likely nothing. The pricing will be, on average, about 500 dollars more than a comparable 2-D, HD capable television. Take into account that there will be very few movies available on DVD in the 3-D format, that you will have to keep track of and charge your 3-D glasses (they’re battery operated), and that game companies aren’t yet announcing any 3-D titles and what you have is a very overpowered and underutilized television in your home.

This isn’t to say that it’s not a great idea. On the contrary, I’ve been hoping for sets that produced 3-D images without a bunch of extra hardware for a long time now. But keep in mind that any movie you do rent or purchase that is capable of full 3-D on these new televisions will require additional 3-D glasses for each person you want to be able to watch the movie. Without them, all you’ll see is a very blurry screen. And the glasses look bulky from all I have seen.

With the launch of the 3-D televisions you can expect to see some “interesting” bonuses with the potential purchase. For instance from Samsung, a mere $3,000 (yeah, I said mere $3,000) will purchase one 46″ 3-D television, two sets of glasses, and a 3-D Blu-Ray DVD player. I’d imagine the deal will go on to include at least one 3-D movie for the player at some point.

We’ve seen the return of 3-D in the movie theater. We’ve seen movies like Avatar and Alice in Wonderland take advantage of the new technology. I’ve been impressed with the technology we’re only starting to see unfold for the entertainment industry but the question here would be if the television manufacturers might not be jumping on the bandwagon a bit soon.

I enjoyed watching Avatar in 3-D but it takes time for my eyes to initially focus when I put on the glasses and the movie begins. And once it’s over, it takes several minutes for my eyes to adjust to real life. I’m not sure I’d want to watch every movie and TV show using the glasses. And if I do, I’m certainly going to want to see how the gaming world responds to the technology.

So it may be some time before I’m ready for the 3-D television but if you have the cash and the wherewithal to purchase one, now’s your chance. Me, I’m going to wait for the consoles to catch up.

Gritskrieg – End of Line

[Source]