So you’ve had all the family togetherness, awkward dates, spoiled sports stars and overrated high-brow writing you can take this weekend? We’ve compiled The Favs, some of the best connected entertainment stories from this past week. It’s all that you need to feed for intellectual growth — short of going back to work tomorrow morning. Some of it is original reporting, and some of it is the work of others.
[divider] Windows Phone [/divider]
Where Nokia Went Wrong
Of course we all knew that it wasn’t going to take long for industry watchers to start Monday night quarterbacking Nokia’s past after Microsoft announced that it would be purchasing the company’s entire handset division for $7.2 billion. After all, mergers and acquisitions and analyzing the two are what the mobile industry does best. In a new piece, The New Yorker attempt to do what every single technology-specific publication spent months doing in the lead up to Nokia’s first Windows Phone. I’m not saying that their attempt to breakdown the company’s recent past and gleam lessons fully lands. I am saying, they seemed to have cut through the nonsense that dogged earlier attempts and gleaming lessons from the subject matter. Where Nokia Went Wrong
[divider] Xbox / Gaming [/divider]
Where is our “Xbox for the rest of us”?
It’s been months since Microsoft announced that it’s next-generation Xbox One console would only be shipping in one version and would cost a $499. Since then, the shock has worn off for some users, but not all of them. In this long form piece, LiveSide examines why normal users didn’t get the often rumored cheaper Xbox One version. I’m enclined to think that with the Xbox One’s feature-set fragmenting the console base would have been a really bad idea but, I could understand why some users — particularly those who don’t want to pay $499 for an entertainment console — might disagree. Where is our “Xbox for the rest of us”?
The Truth is Last Year’s Games had Problems. This Year’s are.. Better?
In what is going to probably go down as my favorite piece of gaming journalism this year, Kotaku absolutely nails the nonsense that sports game development houses pull every year when launching a title with a higher number — in this case NHL14 and NHL13. Just read it. I can’t offer them higher praise than that. Read it right now. The Truth Is Last Year’s Games Had Problems. This Year’s Are.. Better?
Have any good reads of your own? Drop them in the comments to share with everyone.
