Tech Jott / Nuevas Tecnologías

A week after Netflix hinted at the possibility of streaming video service for the iphone,now comes word that Netflix issued a survey asking whether people would be interested in instantly watching on their Nintendo DS.Netflix has already announced that they will begin streaming video for Wii owners starting in the Spring.

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XBox Live members who chat with other members on their headsets know that political correctness is not part of the XBox Live community.In fact,a lot of the chat is full of hateful comments that are impossible to defend.So in a surprising, and bold move,last week Microsoft let XBox Live gamer claim their sexual orientation in their nicknames or gamertags.

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As previously mentioned by Ron, Nintendo is going to release the DSi XL in late March.Owners of the fourth version of the DS series will be able to use the device as an e-reader. Starting in June “100 Classic Book” collection will be available.

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One of the criticisms of the Nintendo Wii has been that it is strictly for video games. Meanwhile, Microsoft’s XBox 360, and Sony’s Playstation 3 can do so much besides play video games.Slowly,it seems that Nintendo is trying to change that.

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Social networking websites have been around for a while now,so it was only a matter of time before they integrated with gaming systems.Well that time is now, as last week Microsoft introduced an update that lets members of  XBox Live update their Facebook accounts and send tweets through Twitter with their XBox 360.Sony also introduced an update that lets PS3 owners update their Facebook accounts through the Playstation Network.But is all this a good thing?

For a lot of gamers,playing games is a way to get away from cell phones and the web.They just want to relax and have fun and play games.For XBox Live members you can still communicate with your friends through text messages and chatting,so there is no need for twitter.Also,isn’t the whole meaning of twitter to see what other people are doing?If you are using Twitter on your 360 everyone knows what you are doing,you are playing video games.

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The holiday season is known as the season of giving.Microsoft,however, is taking away.What is Microsoft taking away you ask?XBox Live memberships.Microsoft recently confirmed that they are banning modded Xbox 360′s,and they are banning them in big numbers

Microsoft has said that one reason for the bans was to “support safer and more secure gameplay.” That is not true,the reason for the bans is because modded 360′s can play burned games.Microsoft wants to make sure everyone is paying full price to play their games.If they are really worried about safety they would do something about all the mean trash talk that goes on everyday on XBox Live.

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The ‘Guitar Hero’ and ‘Rock Band’ franchises have been some of the most successful gaming franchises in recent years.However, there has been some criticism by fans and critics that both franchises are no longer innovative,some musicians have even gotten in on the act.

Activision,the company behind ‘Guitar Hero,’ this week released ‘DJ Hero’ and,quite frankly,it is a breath of fresh air for music gaming.After getting a quick DJ tutorial from the legendary Grandmaster Flash you are on your way to DJing block parties and earning money and equipment,such as headphones,for each gig.

The game comes with a turntable that has three stream buttons,and a crossfader, which allows the players to scratch the record the way you play the notes on the ‘Guitar Hero’ games.You are also able to rewind brief parts of the track if you are performing well.If you keep performing well you earn euphoria,which is basically ‘DJ Hero’ version of star power.

The controls of the game are very easy to get used to,and the turntable/controller is about the size of a big joystick.The game has some interesting combinations for the mixes including a 50 Cent/David Bowie mashup.

‘DJ Hero’ may be able to bring back some of the fans who have abandoned music games recently,and like ‘Guitar Hero,’ is a game that is perfect to play when you are with a group of people.So step behind the wheels of steel and rock the party.

Although the holiday shopping season doesn’t begin until next month,Nintendo,Microsoft, and Sony have all begun to prepare for the showdown.All three companies have lowered the prices on their systems, the Wii,XBox 360,and PS3.As a result,all three consoles have seen sales go up significantly since the price drop.

Then there are the games.Next month Nintendo will release New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii.The game is a continuation of the long running franchise,but will take advantage of the Wii’s unique game play.The New Super Mario Bros. for Nintendo’s DS remains one of the DS’s top selling games more than 3 years after it was released.The game is bound to be a top seller as it will appeal to long time Mario fans and the younger generation.

Meanwhile for the XBox 360,the sequel to the award winning Left 4 Dead is going to be released next month.This game will appeal more to the hardcore gamers and the fans of the original Left 4 Dead.

Meanwhile for Sony’s Playstation 3 the God of War saga will continue,but gamers will have to wait until March of 2010 for God of War 3,however,next month Sony will release the God of War Collection.I don’t know why Sony just doesn’t release the next God of War for the holidays,but oh well, we will just have to wait.

When it was announced last year that the Nintendo DS was going to release a Grand Theft Auto game,Grand Theft Auto ChinaTown Wars,most of the fans of the series were not pleased.One complaint was that the DS was not capable of having the game play that is possible on the XBOX 360 or the PS3.
As a result,this has led to underwhelming sales for the game,which is a shame,because quite frankly it is one of the better games in the series.

In ‘Chinatown Wars,’ you are Huang Lee.After arriving in Liberty City to deliver a sword to his gangster uncle,Huang is ambushed,the assailants take the sword and leave Huang for dead.After giving his uncle the news, Huang must now help his uncle look for the assailants and help his uncle become the boss of Liberty City.

In the meanwhile you can create havoc and mayhem that GTA has become infamous for.Deal drugs,murder innocent people,gunfights with the police, its all here.One thing that is much easier in this installment of the series is getting away from the police.

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After the monster success of “Halo 3″ it was only a matter of time before the next chapter in the series was released.Fans of the series no longer need to wait as “Halo 3 ODST” is now in stores.However,in this chapter of the series players won’t play as the familiar Master Chief,which is strange considering Master Chief is the face of the franchise.Seriously,no Master Chief in a Halo game is like no Freddy Krueger in a Nightmare on Elm Street movie.

The game play is very familiar to the past Halo games.Some changes include not having a shield,which will lead to many casualties.In order to be successful at this game you must find a way to stay hidden.Also new weapons like the silenced machine gun and silenced pistol which will allow you to terminate opponents in silence,which is always fun.

The graphics in the game look great,but overall,it seems as if the creators of the game tried to play it safe.It almost seems as if the purpose of this game is to wet the appetite of gamers until “Halo 4″ comes out.We will just have to wait until then.This game isn’t a must own like “Halo 3″,but it is a very entertaining game,just like all the other “Halo” games.