One 
of the most famous names in video games has run out of lives.
Iconic video game company Atari has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and plans to auction off all of its assets, including its famous logo.
Monthly Archives: January 2013
Scenes From the Adult Entertainment Expo
Every 
January, the adult entertainment industry converges on Las Vegas, bringing its biggest stars, new companies hoping to break into the big time, and thousands upon thousands of fans.
It’s a carnival of flesh — with films looping hardcore scenes, women in barely-there outfits and lingerie, and people jostling in line to get a moment, perhaps a smile and a hug, from their favorite actress (or, occasionally, actor).
The Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE) is also a place where deals are signed. Toy companies court distributors to carry their new lines and big mergers have been known to happen here.
While the industry’s most ardent fans make a pilgrimage here each year, not everyone is able to make the trip. For those people, here’s a slice of life in a day at the porn show.
Adult Toys are All the Buzz at Wal-Mart and CVS
Only 
a couple years ago, anyone in search of adult novelties had to brave the local porn store or hop online and hope the packaging was discreet. But times have changed – and quickly.
Today, you’re just as likely to find a vibrator at your local drug store, local mall or Wal-Mart. And they’re likely to become even more prevalent in the years to come.
Texas gamers build real-life Mario Kart
It’s 
one of the best-selling video game franchises in the world, but what if you could play Mario Kart for real?
A group of Texas gamers/engineers from Waterloo Labs decided to give it a go, and the results are pretty amazing. This real-life Mario Kart racing track features actual power-ups, including mushrooms, lightning bolts and even those pesky turtle shells.
Do video games have a future at CES?
The 
circus has left town here in Las Vegas. The 100-inch Ultra high definition sets have been packed up. The tens of thousands of unread show dailies have been recycled. And the folks at Razer are back at their headquarters gleefully polishing their Best of CES award.
As the hangovers dim and perspective starts to set in, though, it’s worth taking one look back at CES and seeing what it means – and could mean – for the video game industry as a whole.
CamGirls: The New Porn Superstars
It’s 
not just porn films that have been disrupted by the Internet. It’s porn stars, too.
Ten – or even five – years ago, the highest earners of porn were the actresses whose names marqueed big films. Today, they’re more likely to be models who will never perform a hard core sex scene on camera – and whose face will never appear on a DVD cover.
Big games slip out of Wii U’s launch window
Some 
of the biggest titles in the Wii U’s initial lineup have met with some big delays.
Nintendo today announced the delays of Game & Wario, The Wonderful 101 and Wii Fit U – which, alongside the previously delayed Pikmin 3, were initially promised to hit stores by the end of March. The company now says they’ll arrive in the “first half of the year.”
Obama orders CDC to investigate video game violence
President 
Barack Obama, as part of a wide ranging proposal to reduce gun violence, has ordered the Centers for Disease Control to launch a study into the correlation between violence in video games and the real world.
The order, which does not require Congressional approval, was part of a Presidential Memorandum that laid out 23 actions designed to curb violence.
Porn’s New Market: Women
Porn, 
historically, has been an industry that caters to the male audience. Women weren’t interested in the product – or so the theory went.
But 2012 saw books like “50 Shades of Grey” and films like “Magic Mike” strike a chord with women. And the porn industry was ready to welcome those readers and viewers to the next level.
Condoms in Porn? Just Another Day at Wicked Pictures
Now 
that voters in Los Angeles have passed a resolution mandating condoms be worn in any adult films shot in the county, porn companies are scrambling to fight the law.
Among their arguments is that the presence of prophylactics ruins the fantasy elements of their films – and that using them will cause further declines in already slumping DVD sales. But that reasoning conveniently ignores Wicked Pictures. Since the late 1990s, the studio has been using condoms in all of its films, yet it is still one of the biggest filmmakers in the porn industry.
Chris Morris: Journalist 