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Movies getting play at E3 from Sony and Microsoft, not Nintendo

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This year at E3, the buzz has mostly been about Microsoft’s new hands-free camera controller, Nintendo’s new peripheral that measures gamers’ pulse to help them relax, and Sony’s aggressive lineup of exclusive games to draw hard-core players to the struggling Playstation 3 (click those links for complete Times coverage on each).

But video game consoles are increasingly becoming digital entertainment devices that can download and play movies and TV shows. Studios and network executives generally love the chance to get their content in front of hard-to-reach gamers, and on terms similar to, or better than, what they make for DVD sales and rentals.

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Several new deals and technologies have been unveiled at E3 this week that are accelerating the day when video game console makers become the gateway for video in the home.

Sony, which launched a video store for the Playstation 3 at last year’s E3, upped the ante this year by unveiling new technology that lets gamers download movies and TV shows from the video store directly onto the PSP -- a hand-held portable console -- via its wireless connection.

PSP owners already have been able to transfer downloaded video onto the device through the Playstaton 3, just as iPod owners can transfer video onto it from a computer. But Sony has actually outdone Apple with this new update, since iPods and iPhones can’t wirelessly download video. That’s hardly going to entice anybody to spend $170 on a PSP, but it is the kind of feature that can help the device stand out in an increasingly crowded market for mobile digital gadgets. It’s also a sign that not only do we no longer need a big screen or a TV to watch movies anymore, but we also don’t even need a plug.

Sony also added a number of independent and alternative producers to its video store, which already includes most of the major studios and networks. Amongst the new providers: the Weinstein Co., Summit, Magnolia, Showtime, G4, E!, the UFC and a number of anime distributors.

Microsoft didn’t announce any new partners for the similar video store on its Xbox 360 console, but it did add a new technology: high definition streaming. The tech giant has allowed high-def downloads since late 2006 and is currently the No. 2 digital video store after iTunes. But downloading a high-def movie can take three to six hours. If it works as smoothly as Microsoft promises, high-def streaming will allow users to click a button and, within a few minutes or even seconds, start watching a movie in 1080p, the same standard used on Blu-ray discs. That’s a pretty compelling offering and lets Microsoft compete directly with the Blu-ray players built into every PS3.

But if Sony and Microsoft are expanding their video offerings and technology, where does that leave the No. 1 video game console maker, Nintendo? Completely absent, much to the chagrin of many in Hollywood, who would love to access its nearly 18 million owners in the U.S. alone.

While there is a video streaming service for the Wii in Japan, Nintendo hasn’t introduced anything similar in the U.S. for either that console or the hand-held DS. In an interview Tuesday at E3 with The Times’ Alex Pham, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata was completely noncommittal.

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“We are hopeful that we launch a similar service in America someday,” he said. “But we do not have anything to announce today.”

-- Ben Fritz

Photo: Sony Computer Entertainment group CEO Kaz Hirai introduces a new version of the PSP, which can now wirelessly download movies and TV shows, at his company’s E3 news conference. Credit: Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

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