Odds are you’ve got certain days circled on your 
kitchen calendar. A birthday, an anniversary, perhaps the annual family trip to Disneyland — whatever it is, it’s something that happens the same time every year and it’s a day worth remembering.
Turns out the gaming world works in a very similar fashion. While the precise dates are a little more flexible, the industry has an uncanny knack for releasing new versions of hit games right around the exact same time each year.
[In this opinion piece, Gamasutra editor-at-large 
Chris Morris discusses why the latest delay to Gearbox’s Duke Nukem Forever is actually a good thing, with other upcoming gaming releases taken into account.]
Given the game’s long, dubious history, the latest delay of Duke Nukem Forever shouldn’t have come as a shock to anyone.
It’s certainly not a long one, by Duke standards. And while some doubters in gaming forums across the internet have seized on this as a chance to say “I told you so!,” most fans and developers have barely blinked at the news, except perhaps to tip their hats at the clever way Gearbox announced the news.
With increasing competition from Apple, and a customer 
base that’s more price-conscious than ever, Nintendo has a lot riding on the 3DS.
The new handheld device, which launches Sunday, represents a leap of faith on the publisher’s part. With cheap and free games available on so many other platforms, will eye-popping effects and the lure of the strongest collection of franchises in the video game industry be enough to keep consumers interested?
The most delayed video game of all 
time is adding to its record.
Duke Nukem Forever, which has been in development for over a dozen years and very nearly died in 2009, won’t make its targeted May 3 release date. Instead, developer Gearbox Software has announced (via a clever, but not entirely work safe YouTube video) that it will ship to U.S. players on June 14.
While the Halo series might be one of the biggest 
names in the gaming universe, the Master Chief falls a bit short when it comes to his peers. Microsoft’s biggest franchise is nowhere to be found in the ranking of the industry’s best selling games, as ranked by life-to-date sales.
The list, calculated by the NPD Group, uses data that reaches back to 1995 is not inflation adjusted. (It looks at gross sales.) But it still shines some light on the biggest individual titles the industry. CNBC.com looks at the 10 biggest.
Activision-Blizzard has come 
a long way in the past few years.
It wasn’t that long ago that the company was an also-ran in video game industry, making some strong franchises, but never really dominating the sales charts. These days, though, the company is responsible for five of the 10 highest grossing games of all time.
The name’s a mouthful, but ABBY MONKEY – Animal Games 
For Kids HD by 22learn is a good collection of educational games for children with a good variety of settings so parents can gradually ramp up the difficulty to keep kids challenged. For example, the number of cards in the Animatch game (essentially the classic card game of concentration) can range from 8 to 18. And the reading of words can be toggled off and on for kids who know the words. The cartoon critters you’ll encounter are charming, and the game greatly encourages children as they get answers right. The promotional links at the start of the app are a bit too much, but it’s not enough to detract from the quality of the games. By the time they tire of this app, kids can learn up to 80 different animals.
Steve Jobs will remain on the 
board at Disney.
Investors voted Wednesday to re-elect the CEO of Apple (and one-time owner of Pixar), despite proxy advisors who lobbied against the action, citing continuing concerns about Jobs’ overall health.
As recovery efforts continue in Japan after a 
devastating 8.9 magnitude earthquake and accompanying tsunami, the video game industry is rallying to aid in the relief.
Some publishers are reaching into their own pockets to donate, while others — along with select members of the development community — are leveraging their customer base to raise money.
[Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris talks to PopCap CEO 
David Roberts about the rise of casual gaming, the possibility of an initial public offering for the company later this year, and why Bejeweled’s popularity rises from the fact that “good games are good games.”]
PopCap Games, to borrow (and slightly mangle) a phrase from Barbara Mandrell, was casual when casual wasn’t cool.
Long before companies like Rovio and Zynga were dominating headlines, the Seattle-based development house was building a loyal following with titles like Bejeweled and Bookworm. And that gives it some perspective in this fast-growing market.
Chris Morris: Journalist 