Electronics City - Could Netflix Eventually Eliminate the Blu-ray?

You know someone who has it. You probably use it or uses someone's account for it. You most likely have figured it is amazing for date nights. 

Netflix. 

Netflix has become one of the most popular brands in the world, first with the system of having DVDs sent in the mail through a monthly subscription service. The DVDs would be sent back through a package sent out with the movie or TV show to the customer, & the user could rent out another movie & the cycle would continue. 

Netflix is the most popular online movie streaming service
in the world. 

Over time, Netflix developed its streaming online service that allows for many TV series & movies to be shown on smart TVs, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Playstation 4, Playstation 3, cell phones, tablets, & a variety of other devices. Netflix has slowly been phasing out the DVD rental service in favor of the streaming service, & the results have been strong. 

The company has begun to develop their own original series, Orange is the New Black, Hemlock Grove, & House of Cards - all which have received wide praise overall. 

Overtime, many people tend to go towards Netflix even over purchasing a series or a movie on DVD & Blu-ray. Most DVDs & Blu-ray discs range from $15 to over $100 for a massive set. On Netflix, unlimited seasons of a show are available for only $9.95 per month, & can add up to 5 users on one single account. 

While DVDs & blu-rays still remain the #1 source of revenues for movies & TV series, the question has to be asked of how long will that last with the rise in popularity of instant streaming content? So far in 2013, Netflix reported revenues of over 1.1 billion dollars worldwide, & with so many popular series available on Netflix including Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, Family Guy, Parks & Recreation, among thousands of other titles, Netflix continues to gain steam as a viable option for a night in with family & friends as opposed to spending money on DVDs, blu-rays or even going to the movie theaters. 

When it comes to the social side of things, Netflix has become the ultimate date night idea, in my humble opinion. Having the option of curling up with a special someone, having some dinner & having a night of someone's favorite show is far more interesting than not being able to chat or stop a movie at the movie theaters, not to mention, movie theaters cost about $40 for a full night including movie, popcorn, drink, etc. 

As time goes on, people will go more towards instant gratification in their entertainment, & unless the price of the blu-rays & DVDs come down, the way of the future of entertainment will be streaming media, & Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant Video & others will be at the head of the class. 

Electronics City - Why is the Nintendo Wii U Not Comparing To The Xbox One, Playstation 4

When the Nintendo Wii U came out last year, it was met with a ton of optimism from gamers & non-gamers alike who enjoyed its predecessor, the Nintendo Wii. 

The Wii allowed gamers to get up & exercise, while being able to play their favorite games, thus staying in shape & having a great gaming adventure, not to mention being very popular at parties. 

The Nintendo Wii U - 32GB Version.

When the Wii U finally hit the stands, people that I knew were a bit confused on how everything worked with it in terms of the handheld device that allows you to have a different look of the screen as opposed to looking actually at the screen itself. 

While the hardcore gamers will talk about the graphics & a bunch of stuff that the casual gamer like yours truly probably won't know or care about, the biggest reason for the downfall of the Wii U is because many gamers had already gotten word about the upcoming Playstation 4 & Xbox One consoles that would come out the following year - in 2013. 

With the economy still working itself out and people rethinking how they spent their money, the Wii U appealed basically to the hardcore Nintendo fans who knew that there would be some kind of Super Mario reincarnation coming out, which still does awesome to this very day. It didn't have the features that will keep non-gamers using the system, outside of the Netflix & Hulu Plus. Many users use their game consoles for so many things other than playing video games, particularly with the cost of cable & satellite steadily increasing by the day, & the Wii U doesn't appeal to that group at the present time. 

The Wii U, according to a market research report that was sent to IGN, has only done 25% off the sales of the Nintendo Wii, which just went over 100 million consoles sold worldwide. While those numbers are nothing to laugh at, my guess is that there were far higher hopes from Nintendo with this unit, with no direct competition from Microsoft & Sony. 

Nintendo has become a niche video game product, more than ever before, but from a business standpoint, there is still so much money to be made in that area due to one thing - Mario. That will keep this company a float for a while - but Nintendo has to hope that the Mario luster never goes away. If so, it could be a long road back to prominence for the famed company. 

Electronics City - Amazon offering AmazonFresh Grocery Delivery Service

Ahh yes, my favorite company on Earth, seriously, is Amazon. This is not to talk about the greatness of the company at all - ok, well maybe it is. 

The company announced this week that the company will begin delivering groceries in the San Francisco area, after success in Los Angeles & in Seattle, its founding city. If it is successful, this service will go all across the United States - without question. The project is called AmazonFresh.

The store already offers grocery & food products for delivery through a variety of companies at low prices, but with having its own distribution service, without question, it will put more pressure on Kroger, Meijer & Wal-mart to become better with understanding the needs of people who either live in major metropolitan cities like New York, or who live in very rural areas - many people can't always get to the grocery stores for either lack of transportation or distance from their homes. 

Here is the catch - in San Francisco, the service is available for a 30-day free trial, after that period, the consumer will have to sign up for the PrimeFresh system, which will cost $299 per year as a membership. 

Looking at the Amazon Fresh website, it looks as though they get foods from Los Angeles, San Francisco & Seattle-based restaurants, as well. 

If this is the case, this will completely change the game for good in online shopping. Amazon was already strong in shopping for groceries, this would expand its strength tenfold. For as much as people do go out & spend money at dinner & go to the grocery store for the week, to have many of those products at marked down prices through Amazon will, in theory, provide financial relief for thousands of people in the west coast. 

One of the biggest complaints of people when they are at the grocery stores is that items are costing more than ever, not as fresh, etc. Not that I am an expert or anything, but if Amazon is as diligent about this AmazonFresh system as they are about all of the other products the website sells at low prices, the major grocery chains need to keep their head on a swivel because Amazon is coming faster than Ray Lewis on a quarterback blitz. 

For more information, you can check out our section at the Electronics City blog - electronics-city.com, or the Electronics City store. 

Classic Video Game Consoles Available at Electronics City For Limited Time

Electronics City has an extensive variety of classic video game systems & games available at low prices during the duration of the holiday season. 

The Nintendo 64 is among the many classic games & consoles
at Electronics City. 

The video games & systems include classics such as the Sega Genesis, Sega Game Gear, Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Atari, 3DO, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, & thousands of games & accessories for all of the systems. 

Xbox One Console Available at Electronics City; Xbox One Games On Sale

The new Electronics City store has the new Xbox One game console available in stock for immediate shipping for the holiday season. The system ships in 24 hours & has free shipping available. 

Madden NFL 25 from EA Sports up to 22% off
at Electronics City. 

Along with the Xbox One console, the store also has the Xbox One games available at up to 22% off of the retail price. Marked down games include Call of Duty: Ghosts, Madden NFL 25, Battlefield 4, among others.