ratings

Note: We've been informed by the ESRB that download-only games have been getting ratings for some time, this news just changes the way these titles are assigned actual ratings. We've edited the post to reflect the correct story.

Starting today the ESRB will let publishers automate the ratings process for titles available on storefronts like Xbox Live Arcade, Nintendo Wii Shop, DSi Shop, and the PlayStation Network Store.

Publishers will be able to complete an online submission form that consists of multiple questions related to a game's content--a completely different process than traditional disc-based console games.

The … Read more

Microsoft's Bing captured 30 percent of all searches run in the U.S. last month, market researcher Experian Hitwise said yesterday.

Looking at the U.S. search engine market in March, Experian Hitwise found that the number of searches at sites powered by Bing rose by 5 percent since February. That includes searches run on Bing's own site as well as those on Yahoo sites powered by Bing. Individually, Bing.com itself accounted for 14.3 percent of all searches, while the ones on Yahoo tallied 15.7 percent.

Market leader Google continued to dominate in the U.… Read more

Amazon scored tops in customer service out of 143 different companies, according to the Temkin Group.

Based on a survey of 6,000 different consumers in January, the 2011 Temkin Experience Ratings rated companies across a variety of industries based on recent dealings with customers. The survey looked at interactions online, in person, and over the phone, and asked consumers how their needs were met, how easy it was to do what they needed to do, and how they felt about the overall experience.

Retail chains did well in the survey, with Amazon followed by Costco, Lowe's, and Sam'… Read more

Apple has fired another legal salvo over the use of the term "app store," this one targeted at adult app store MiKandi.

Last week, MiKandi received a cease-and-desist order from Apple over the use of the term "app store," company co-founder Jennifer McEwen confirmed today to CNET.

In an interview with GeekWire published yesterday, fellow MiKandi co-founder Jesse Adams said that Apple specifically asked the company to stop billing itself as the "world's first app store for adults" and to stop using the term "app store" in describing its own free … Read more

Legitimate Android apps are being compromised by phony versions that masquerade as the real thing but deliver a payload of malware, according to a Symantec blog published yesterday.

Found on unregulated third-party Android markets, malicious versions of legitimate apps like Steamy Window are difficult to distinguish except for their tendency to request permissions that are more excessive than usual, says Symantec. But once installed, these apps carry a new piece of Android malware dubbed Android.Pjapps.

Even running the app doesn't raise a red flag to the user as the fakes closely look and act like the legitimate versions. … Read more

Our guest on today's episode of The 404 Podcast is Russ Frushtick, the games and tech editor for MTV Multiplayer, but the ESRB has assigned him an AO rating for Adults Only, so he won't be visiting Australia anytime soon. Similarly, Australia also refuses to welcome the latest Mortal Kombat game due to excessive violence.

The real story, however, is Australia's outdated rules for video game classification that currently only accommodate a maximum MA15+ rating, so video games that surpass these limitations are automatically banned in the country.

Since Australian adults still have access to mature media in its other myriad forms, it doesn't make sense that local gamers can't also enjoy video games with similarly "explicit" content.

And speaking of risque video games, a U.K.-only Nintendo Wii title is promising "flirty fun for all" with its latest adult-friendly release, called We Dare. The trailer for We Dare illustrates gameplay in the form of four consenting adults using the Wii remote to control virtual versions of party games like Spin The Bottle, Kiss Under the Mistletoe, and the ever-popular Take Off Your Clothes.

The We Dare trailer is a perfect example of vendors using viral marketing to hype up the release of video games that may not be as fun as the videos suggest.

The Dead Island trailer is making similar waves for two reasons: because of its graphic nature that makes sensitive babies like Wilson and me squirm, but also because it doesn't show footage of actual gameplay in Dead Island.

Game previews often show cut scenes or, worse, videos exclusively created for the trailers, which leaves plenty of gamers feeling cheated when the gameplay doesn't even come close… Read more

Twenty years ago, most people listened to music at home. They'd pop on an LP or put in a CD and listen to music on their hi-fis or home theater systems. Sure, they also had music in their cars, and maybe some sort of portable tape or disc music player, but home-bound music listening was still pretty common. If you asked me in 1991, "Will people always listen to music at home?" I could not have imagined what would change that. I knew the technology would continue to evolve, but what could possibly replace music at home? … Read more

Finding App Store apps that aren't featured prominently on the front page generally tends to revert into the proverbial needle-hunt in the haystack. Good news: new search tabs have magically appeared as of this morning, making app-browsing just a little easier.

The new pull-down search categories, as seen above, cover price, rating, platform, release window, and the like. They appear when using the search function, and can help narrow down a wide field of apps (such as, say, "dog apps"). It's a solid first step, but it doesn't help address flaws that are already in … Read more

General Motors on Wednesday delivered its first consumer-ready Chevy Volt to Jeffrey Kaffee of Parsippany, N.J.

The Volt is GM's much-anticipated hybrid electric car that can run on electricity alone or a combination of electricity and gas.

As part of the deal, Kaffee, a retired airline pilot, traded in his old Toyota Prius at the Gearhart Chevrolet Dealership in Denville, N.J., to get the 2011 Chevy Volt.

GM said Kaffee is just one of 360 customers who will receive Chevy Volts this week. In addition to the New York metropolitan area, Volts straight from the company's … Read more