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Chris Morris: Journalist

The collected works of a writer for hire

For the past several years, Activision’s Call of Duty franchise has been the videogame industry powerhouse — dominating the sales charts not only during the critical holiday sales period, but also carrying that momentum well into the following year.

In 2012, though, the franchise is showing signs of weakness.

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LucasArts is turning to the Dark Side for its next Star Wars game.

Not the Dark Side of the Force, mind you. It’s done that several times already. Nope, this time the publisher is hoping to explore a darker, more mature side of the sci-fi universe in a new game called Star Wars 1313.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

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There aren’t a lot of sure bets in the video game industry, but for the past few years the “Call of Duty” franchise was a pretty safe place to put your money.

The past three installments of the game have set consecutive entertainment-industry sales records at their launch. And even after the holiday season ended, they’ve led the sales pack for at least the first few months of the following year — but not this year.

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E3 is usually the video game industry’s big party of the year — a chance to celebrate its strengths and showcase the titles it expects to drive sales forward for the rest of the year.

But as the game makers gather for this year’s event, a cloud hangs over the soiree. Retail sales are down 27 percent compared to this time in 2011. Mobile devices are stealing the spotlight from traditional consoles. And naysayers are openly questioning the long-term viability of the console industry.

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Unlike its popular console cousin, the app store incantation of Skylanders isn’t exactly heavy on story. That doesn’t stop Skylanders Cloud Patrol from being an incredibly entertaining and time sucking game, though.

Read more (and listen) at KYW NewsRadio

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What was threatening to be one of the nastiest legal battles in the history of the video game industry has ended peacefully.

Game publisher Activision and the founders of Call of Duty developer Infinity Ward, Jason West and Vince Zampella, have settled their legal differences at the very last minute. The case was expected to go to trial tomorrow.

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Less than nine months after Gears of War 3 hit store shelves, the next installment of the series is set to make its debut.

Microsoft and Epic Games will formally reveal the next Gears of War on Monday, June 4th, during Microsoft’s annual E3 press conference. The big question is: What system is it for?

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Remember when Amazon.com was just an online bookstore?

As the Internet has evolved, Jeff Bezos and company have transformed with it. And while the site is certainly a retail powerhouse and dominates the publishing (and ePublishing) industry, Amazon has become a company with deep interests in other forms of entertainment — and those efforts are starting to bear fruit.

Read more at Daily Variety

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Learning the alphabet is always easier for kids when there’s some fun attached. Alphabeast is a flash card app that has received several awards for its clever extras, which range from playable musical instruments to spinning bow ties. It’s all wrapped together by illustrations from children’s author Chris Judge.

Read more (and listen) at KYW NewsRadio

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Everything old is new again — even hell demons.

Eight years after its initial release, the first-person scarefest Doom 3 is about to hit store shelves again. Bethesda Softworks has announced the Doom 3 BFG Edition — a remastered version of the horror/shooter that includes all of the previously released expansions as well as seven new levels.

Read more at Yahoo! Games

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