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Wal-Mart has created a new online GameCenter this week, a site that will give "first-look" exclusives, game previews and monetary discounts off new releases.

As a launch promotion, Wal-Mart is giving a $50 off discount for any customer pre-ordering three games, or more.

Says Kelly Thompson, VP of merchandising for Walmart.com: "Walmart Gamecenter combines incredible savings with exclusive gaming content all in a compelling and interactive experience online. Gaming enthusiasts will be drawn in by the exclusive content and developer interviews, while moms will appreciate the special savings only Walmart can offer on the hottest video game titles."

Each month, the GameCenter will update and feature new games, content and special offers.

Additionally, GameCenter customers can trade-in their games and consoles, with the retailer paying all shipping costs.

For the week ended May 17th, the Nintendo DS series of handhelds remains atop the Japanese hardware sales list, with the Sony PSP following close behind.

On an individual basis, however, the PSP-3000 did hold the top spot, with 24,475 units sold.

The critically-hated PSPGo, which removes the UMD drive, and added little else, moved just 871 units for the period.

The PlayStation 3 saw a jump to 20,463 units sold, pushing past the Nintendo Wii, which sold 17,570 for the week.

The new DSi LL, which has a screen increase of 93 percent from past models, continues to sell well.

Yesterday, we reported that four popular movie theaters in New York City had announced the ticket prices for the upcoming Shrek Forever After and for the first time ever, the IMAX 3D prices had reached the $20 threshold.

The theaters reported were the AMC Kips Bay, AMC Loews 34th street, AMC Loews Lincoln Square, and the AMC Empire 42nd street.

AMC now says the prices were incorrect, however, and the any online buyers who purchased for $20 can "visit guest services for a refund."

Reads the company's statement: "Unfortunately, a limited number of theaters posted incorrect pricing for ‘Shrek Forever After,’ which we immediately corrected. Any guest who purchased a ticket at the incorrect price can visit guest services for a refund."

I can confirm the price retraction, as checking the Lincoln Square theater, I was told the price was $19 for the showing.

While we may have not hit the $20 price point yet, at $19 now and rising, it is only a matter of time.

According to a new report from The Diffusion Group (TDG), Americans will be spending more time watching videos online than via broadcast TV by 2020.

The report, titled The Economics of Over-the-Top TV Delivery: How Television Networks Can Shift to Online Content Delivery, says by 2020, viewers will be watching over two hours of online video daily, surpassing the time they spend in front of a TV.

TDG analyst Colin Dixon says Americans only currently watch 22 minutes of video content online, as broadband Internet is still, for the most part, in its infancy.

The report cites the growing number of Internet-capable devices as the main reason for the strong forecast, including set-top boxes, HDTVs with the capability built-in, and Blu-ray players.

As the devices become more standard in households, consumers "won’t be thinking 'I'm watching online video;' they'll be thinking, 'I'm watching TV,'" adds Dixon.

HTC has noted today that "most" of its recent and upcoming Android devices will be getting the 2.2 update (Froyo), during the Q3 this year.

These phones include the Desire, Droid Incredible, MyTouch 3G Slide and the EVO 4G along with other upcoming models.

Availability of the firmware update for older devices (like those released before 2010) was not noted, but seems unlikely, given that many still run on 1.5 or 1.6.

Says HTC: "We are working closely with Google and our other partners to ensure we have the earliest access to everything we need to provide a complete and solid Sense experience on Froyo."

While 2.2 was unveiled earlier this week to rave reviews, Google notes it is not completely finished yet. Device makers should have it within a month, however. (That is of course, unless you have a Nexus One, which has been given an OTA update for 2.2 already).

In early April we reported that in a decision that would likely take down the giant torrent indexer, a judge had ordered IsoHunt to remove all torrents linking to infringing content.

This week, Judge Stephen Wilson of the US District Court has issued a permanent injunction against the site, telling owner Gary Fung to immediately remove all infringing torrents and prevent access to such copyrighted material.

While the injunction does allow for the site to remain open with a very strict filtering system, it seems that the site has little chance to do so, as Fung could be held in contempt of court if any unauthorized files are found uploaded. This leads many to assume the site will shut down, at least to all U.S. visitors.

The MPAA had sued IsoHunt in 2007, and last year a judge ruled against the indexer, saying it created a venue for illegal file sharing.

Four popular movie theaters in New York City have announced the ticket prices for the upcoming Shrek Forever After and for the first time ever, IMAX 3D prices have reached the $20 threshold.

The theaters are: AMC Kips Bay, AMC Loews 34th street, AMC Loews Lincoln Square, and the AMC Empire 42nd street.

Says media analyst Richard Greenfield of the move: "With the state of the economy remaining questionable, we worry pricing is simply moving up too quickly. The danger is scaring consumers away from the movie theaters."

The new price hike follows a recent round of price increases in March, where theaters in NYC raised IMAX and 3D prices as much as 25 percent. At the time, AMC 34th charged $19.50 for the IMAX 3D showing of "How to Train Your Dragon."

While the price may scare away a number of consumers, AMC seems to think it is worth the risk, given the recent string of blockbuster successes in IMAX 3D showings, including 'Avatar,' 'Dragon' and 'Alice in Wonderland.'

Box office revenue is up 6 percent year-on-year, mainly due to increased price tickets.

Google has announced today that it has started a beta Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) version of their search engine, encrypting the information that is sent between everyday users and the service.

You most likely use an SSL site everyday, as all online banking and most e-commerce sites use it. The URL will start with an "HTTPS" instead of the standard "HTTP." Most sites also use SSL when you are sending private information or creating a password.

Google has been using SSL encryption for Gmail, Google Docs and other services, but plain-old Google search had not used it.

Starting this morning, users can try searching more securely at https://www.google.com.

Adds the search giant: "When you search on https://www.google.com, an encrypted connection is created between your browser and Google. This secured channel helps protect your search terms and your search results pages from being intercepted by a third party on your network. The service includes a modified logo to help indicate that you’re searching using SSL and that you may encounter a somewhat different Google search experience, but as always, remember to check the start of the address bar for “https” and your browser lock indicators."

AT&T has raised the early termination fees for its smartphones, following recent moves by rival Verizon to do the same.

The early termination fee (ETF) is the charge that consumers pay if they cancel their monthly plans before the set expiration date (usually two years).

The ETF will fly from $175 to $325 for all smartphones and netbooks that use a 3G modem.

On the other hand, non-smartphones will have their ETF dropped to $150 from $175.

The new prices take effect on June 1st, so current customers do not need to worry.

The move has very coincidental timing to the upcoming release of the new iPhone 4G, which is expected to sell over 1 million phones in its first weekend. The new ETF will effectively lock-in users to their new iPhone for the duration of the contract. For the time being, the Apple device remains an AT&T exclusive.

Last November, Verizon made the same exact move, raising the price from $175 to $350, right before the launch of the popular Motorola Droid.

Late last year, Google announced it intended to buy mobile ad giant AdMob for $750 million USD.

After over six months of delays, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has cleared the purchase, thanks in part to Google's arch rival Apple.

Earlier this year, Apple purchased the third largest mobile ad company, Quattro Wireless, and used it as the backbone of its new iAd platform on the iPad and iPhone.

The FTC had been concerned that Google (the world's largest ad platform) merging with AdMob (world's largest mobile ad platform) would violate anti-trust laws. Apple joining the fray eased those concerns.

Says Jeff Shinder, former special counsel to the FTC: "The presence of Apple made it for hard for the commission to construct a merger challenge that it felt it could win."

Apple had tried to purchase AdMob first, but Google swooped in with a higher bid.

Last night, Yahoo sent out an invite for a press conference in which it promised an "exciting announcement" relating to "rich online and mobile experiences."

AllThingsD says that mysterious invite will lead to a joint announcement by Nokia and Yahoo that will place Yahoo email, search and other apps on Nokia smartphones.

The partnership is code-named "Project Nike," named after the Greek goddess of victory, and has apparently been in the works for at least three years.

For the most part, Yahoo's mobile initiatives have failed, says the source, but Nokia remains the top smartphone seller in the world by volume, giving the new deal a chance at success.

The deal is said to have been fast-tracked by Yahoo Americas EVP Hilary Schneider.

Adds someone close to the companies: "Recently, Nokia has offered devices that people don’t want and Yahoo has launched mobile services that they don’t want. Perhaps in working together, they will find a way to finally create some value."

Last month, Justin Long, the "Mac" in Apple's popular Mac vs. PC commercials (officially "Get A Mac"), said the ad campaign may be close to its conclusion, ending one of the more effective ad series in history.

He said he had heard from "PC" John Hodgman that Apple was planning to move on.

Today, it appears that prediction has come true, as Apple has officially ended the series of ads, the last of which played in October of last year.

The "Get A Mac" series has been replaced on the Apple site by the "Why You'll Love a Mac" page, which markets Macs over PC counterparts, claiming: "Better Hardware, Better Software, Better OS, Better Support, and It's Compatible."

All of the ads have been removed as well and it is unclear if the ads will play on TV anytime in the future.

According to Piper Jaffrey analyst Gene Munster, the Apple iPad is in extremely low supply in the United States.

Munster sent a note to clients on Friday claiming that the tablet was sold out or "in low supply" at 50 stores his team searched.

About 75 percent of all the stores checked were completely sold out of the popular tablet, with 3G models being sold out everywhere. The other 25 percent of stores had low supply of Wi-Fi only models, in a variety of capacities.

Says Munster: "We note that the stores have implemented a reservation system, by which customers can request to be placed on a waitlist for future iPad shipments, notified upon arrival, and given 24 hours to pick up the iPad."

That system normally takes anywhere between 4 and 7 days.

Additionally, Munster says he doesn't see the tight iPad supply easing until September.

The Netflix app for the iPad, one of the top ten most popular apps since the device's launch in April, has been updated this week, giving users one of their most asked-for features.

With version 1.0.2, users can now connect the iPad to a TV and stream the movie or TV show you are watching on the big screen, freeing you from the 9.7-inch iPad display.

You will need to use one of Apple's VGA, component, or composite dock cables.

The quality will not be great, but you can watch the streams at resolutions up to 1024x768.

While the app is free, to use Netflix's "Watch Instantly" catalog, you will need a subscription at $9.99 a month. The adapter from Apple will also cost you about $30.

Additionally, 1.0.2 fixes some minor bugs that were causing crashes.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has announced, jointly with the Congressional members of the International Anti-Piracy Caucus (IAPC) the first ever Notorious Illegal Sites list, calling out the six most "notorious" sites used for unauthorized downloads of music, movies and other copyrighted works.

Additionally, the groups named Russia, Mexico, China, Canada and Spain as the "Top Priority Countries" for lax anti-piracy efforts.

The sites to make the list are: China’s Baidu, Canada’s IsoHunt, Ukraine’s mp3fiesta, Germany’s RapidShare, Luxembourg’s RMX4U.com and Sweden’s The Pirate Bay.

The groups say these sites and their services provide little other uses than an exchange of unauthorized copyrighted works.

"The release of this report casts a damning spotlight once again on several nations with lax copyright protections and websites that brazenly traffic in copyright theft. I'm particularly struck by the IAPC decision to identify significant global websites that facilitate massive theft; theft that destroys jobs and cuts short the dreams of creators who find it more difficult to attract the capital they need to build their careers. Just last week, five years after the 9-0 Supreme Court landmark decision against Grokster, we saw a federal judge rule against the most significant theft machine in this country – LimeWire. While it took some time for the judicial process to work, we did see that in a nation of laws, those who set up elegant schemes to profit from theft will be stopped. There is basic accountability, although much work needs to be done to achieve a fully accountable Internet space," says Mitch Bainwol, Chairman and CEO, RIAA.