While the 
handheld gaming market has evolved dramatically in recent years, Sony’s betting there’s still money to be made there – and it’s betting a lot.
The PS Vita, the company’s next generation handheld gaming system, went on sale in the U.S. today. And though the electronics giant remains optimistic about the market, analysts are significantly less certain.
EA social 
and mobile vice president Bernard Kim explains to Gamasutra why America’s most treasured dysfunctional family just might give the company the Smurfs’ Village its portfolio lacks.
When a franchise has aired 500 different episodes on television (and that’s not counting the three years it ran as a series of shorts) and 24 separate video games, figuring out the next move can be tricky.
A big console game is a risk for a licensed property these days. A $2 or $5 iOS game might make an initial splash, but its sustainability is questionable given the constant flood of new titles. But freemium? That’s something The Simpsons hasn’t tried before.
Usually, 
there aren’t a lot of deals to be found on a system’s launch day.
As early adopters and die-hard fans scramble to be the first on their block to have the latest gadget, companies capitalize on that fervor and have no trouble commanding full retail price, usually for several weeks or even months.
But the launch of the PlayStation Vita is a bit different than other devices.
You know 
a game is a hit when it sells on eBay for higher than its retail price. You know it’s a smash when pieces of that game are commanding premium pricing on the auction site. But when six of those pieces sell for well over $1,000? That’s when you’ve officially got a monster on your hands.
Activision is in that fortunate position as six Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure figures in the U.K. have sold for £797, roughly $1,260. And the winner will have to toss in another $50 or so for shipping.
Most 
mice only live a few months. But Chuck E. Cheese’s turns 35 today.
The kid-friendly restaurant chain was launched this day in 1977, bringing its curious blend of animatronic rodents, arcade games, Skee-ball and pizza to millions. It’s faced more than a few hurdles over the years, but it’s still going strong, with over 500 stores around the world and quarterly revenues of nearly $200 million.
A hit 
game sequel is a powerful thing indeed, but it can be tricky to pull off. Do you just repeat the first game? Come up with something new? Split the difference?
Maybe you should ask Zynga, who have managed to follow up their blockbuster Words With Friends with a Boggle-like game using the same elements. And it’s hitting just the right notes.
While 
Mitt Romney might be giving Rick Santorum a bruising fight in the race for the Republican party’s bid for the White House, there’s one platform where Santorum is sure he tops his opponent: gaming.
The former Pennsylvania senator, it seems, has a passion for the iPhone game Temple Run, a title that has players endlessly fleeing a band of screaming, angry simians after defiling their temple.
Sony’s 
hoping for a big splash when the PlayStation Vita goes on sale in the U.S. next week, but the news from the company’s homeland is pretty discouraging.
Sales of the handheld gaming system in Japan for the week ending Feb. 12 hit an all-time low, with less than 14,000 Vitas being sold. That’s a drop of more than 3,000 from the previous week.
When Sony 
announced that customer data from its PlayStation Network was accessed by hackers, gamers and the media were furious. So why did Valve seem to get a pass under similar circumstances?
Like a lot of people in the gaming world, I got an interesting email from Gabe Newell last week.
The Steam hacking incident of last November, he said, was worse than they initially thought it was. And while there still was no direct evidence that credit card information had been accessed, a backup file containing that information (albeit encrypted) was obtained by the person or persons who had broken into the system.
Right 
around this time 50 years ago, the world of gaming was forever changed.
Spacewar! was launched in mid-February 1962 (the exact date is a matter of debate, though most people agree it was between the 13th and the 15th). And while it wasn’t the first video game ever created, it was the first to strike a chord with people, effectively kicking off the era of video games.
Chris Morris: Journalist 