Twenty-eight 
years ago, Rob Gerhardt set a high score of 33 million in a single game of Q*bert. And while countless gamers have set their sights on topping that in the following decades, they’ve all fallen short.
The latest attempt came this weekend, when one gamer spent 59 hours playing the platform jumper, but still fell far short, racking up a total of just 28 million.
It’s a pretty fair 
bet that someone on your shopping list is a gadget hound. While the odds aren’t quite as good, it’s still better than average odds that you’re going to indulge them.
Nearly one-third of the money spent on gifts this year will go towards consumer electronics, according to the Consumer Electronics Association. But sorting out the hot items from the ones destined to end up in the clearance bin can be tough. If you’re looking for a perfect tech gift for a friend or loved one, here are a few can’t miss suggestions.
With mature titles 
like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3 dominating retail shelf space, it might be a little difficult finding the right gift for the younger gamer on your list.
Fortunately, there are loads of great game choices for kids this year. Even better, there are some new, very cool kid-centric gaming systems that cater to the young ones, as well as some wonderfully creative selections for your geek-in-training.
Playing video games 
can be a punishing hobby. From the grueling difficulty of old legends like Contra to the fiendish trials of new nightmares like Dark Souls, gaming is rife with moments that make even the most dedicated player wonder why, for the love of Mario, they put themselves through this.
That doubt, of course, is erased the moment you make it through a seemingly impossible segment or unlock an achievement that few others can manage. It may be fleeting, but that natural high is the stuff gamers live for. If you’re looking for such a rush — and believe you have the skills to handle any game — try testing your might against these seven insane challenges.
James Noir’s 
Hollywood Crimes isn’t a great game, per se, but it’s one that has that magical quality of wanting to play just one more round. The puzzles are intriguing and the game show motif it uses (along with lots of audio and Max Headroom-like animations) is oddly captivating. The story itself isn’t especially interesting, though — and even with the threats you’ll face, there’s not a real sense of urgency to the game. The juxtaposition of leisurely puzzle-solving and catching a serial killer is an awkward concept that never quite gels.
The Kindle Fire 
is on the way to customers – and with it, Amazon’s hoping to revolutionize the tablet business.
The $199 entertainment-focused device is actually shipping a day earlier than planned, as Amazon looks to build on the substantial buzz the Kindle Fire has generated since it was first announced. The company also plans to ship the Kindle Touch and Kindle Touch 3G eReaders tomorrow – six days ahead of schedule.
The news that 
Nintendo will lose money this fiscal year for the first time in its history as a publicly traded company wasn’t entirely unexpected, but that didn’t make it any less shocking.
It was a rapid fall from the top of the gaming hill for the company, hastened by weak sales of the Wii and DS and the tepid reception to the 3DS. Investors weren’t happy, raising some questions about whether president Satoru Iwata’s job might be at risk.
For a detective 
whose star is rising at a phenomenal rate, Cole Phelps sure is angry.
There’s no crime in L.A. Noire he can’t solve, but his people skills are a bit lacking. Even when a witness is cooperating with his investigation, he’ll inevitably start shouting at them, a behavior that always mystified players.
It’s a three-peat.
Modern Warfare 3, the latest installment in Activision’s juggernaut shooter franchise, has set a new entertainment industry record for the biggest product launch of all time, selling 6.5 million copies in the U.S. and U.K. in its first 24 hours and earning $400 million in the process.
Blizzard’s cash cow 
is starting to produce less milk.
Subscriptions for World of Warcraft fell to 10.3 million at the end of September, the company announced in its quarterly earnings call Tuesday. That’s a drop of 800,000 subscribers — or more than 7 percent of its customers — in just three months.
Chris Morris: Journalist 