After months of negotiations, Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) and Nintendo have mapped out their agreement to partner on streaming movies and TV through the Wii by this spring. The steaming option will be available to U.S. Netflix subs who have a plan starting at $8.99 a month (an a Wii console…

—Wii Gets PPV in Japan: Nintendo has partnered with 12 media companies to launch pay-per-view streaming service on the Wii. The content includes episodes of Sesame Street, among other movies and TV shows; media partners include TV Asahi, NTV and NHK Enterprises. Shows range in price from 30 to 500…

More TV shows, movies and online series coming to the PlayStation Network, as talks between Nintendo and Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX) reportedly heat up ... *Sony* Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) has inked deals with six new content providers—including Lucasfilm Ltd.—that will add to its growing lineup of video content accessible through…

Back-to-back $100 price drops from *Sony* and *Microsoft* for the PS3 and Xbox, respectively, pumped up sales of both consoles in just over a week. Sony (NYSE: SNE) sold just over 75,900 PS3s—more than double the number of units it sold the previous week—and up 16 percent vs. the same…

So much for the theory that the gaming industry might be recession-proof. Video game hardware, software and accessories sales fell 17 percent year-over-year in the U.S., to $1.43 billion in March, according to market research firm NPD. The firm attributed the slump partly to the fact that Easter (surprisingly, a…

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata says the company isn’t worried about competition from likes of *Sony* and *Apple*, but judging from some of the latest press, there’s a growing sentiment that Nintendo’s choke-hold on video game hardware and software sales might be coming to an end. The NYT digs into why…

Two hot, critically-acclaimed games helped push sales of Sony’s PlayStation 3 past the Nintendo Wii for the first time in well over a year in Japan, according to Reuters. It’s a significant milestone, given the fact that the Wii has been outselling the PS3 worldwide since they both launched in…

—PS2 price cut aimed at the Wii: *Sony* dropped the price of the PS2 to $99, much to the dismay of consumers hoping that a price cut was coming for the PS3, but SCEA director of hardware marketing John Koller told Kotaku that the company wasn’t aiming at them. It…

Consumers have gobbled up more than 50 million Wiis worldwide since Nintendo launched the console in 2006—making it the fastest-selling piece of video-game hardware in history, according to Satoru Iwata, the company’s president. What’s the secret to the company’s success? Iwata told Game Developers Conference attendees that Nintendo sees game-development…

There’s a consensus that Nintendo forever changed the video-game industry when it launched the Wii in 2006, since, even with its simple graphics and thin library of “hardcore” games, it quickly eclipsed sales of the PS3 and Xbox 360. But one gaming exec says that the iPhone is an even…

The Wii may lead the console wars in terms of units sold, but its lack of downloadable video content is a big disadvantage in the long-term—*Microsoft* and *Sony* continue to add titles to Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network. But the Wii may get streaming video capabilities soon, according to…

The recession has led to studio closures and layoffs at stalwarts like EA and *THQ* in Q4, but the video-game industry actually fared well in 2008: sales of hardware, software and accessories topped $21.3 billion, up 19 percent from 2007, according to market research firm NPD Group. The best-selling title…

Two news bits about the Nintendo Wii snuck out during yesterday’s Christmas Day lull: Nintendo announced that the Wii would finally be getting video downloads, and Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) said that the console topped its holiday best-seller list. —Nintendo teams with Dentsu for Wii video service: Nintendo has partnered with…

Nintendo is releasing a new accessory for the Wii gaming console that will enhance game play with more realistic motion feedback, the company announced at the E3 Media & Business Summit today. (Release). The Wii MotionPlus, which will come out in the spring, provides quicker and more accurate motion responses…

Nintendo has launched a new channel for games distribution—WiiWare. Games are downloaded over the internet by redeeming WiiPoints, which can be purchased at the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets…the benefit to this system being that kids can buy the points over the counter with cash rather than relying…