As the PlayStation Network outage 
inches closer to the one-month mark, the extended downtime is testing more than just the patience of some players.
It’s testing their loyalty.
Author Archives: Chris Morris
App Review: ZombieSmash HD
While its excessive use of cartoon gore makes 
ZombieSmash HD a poor choice for young players, older players may be charmed by the game. It’s a slightly different take on the reliable tower defense genre, where waves upon waves of enemies rush your stronghold, but flicking them away is fun. The game also requires a bit of strategy in determining when best to use the weapons in your reserve. (There’s something satisfying about flattening zombies with wrecking balls.) It’s frenetic action that doesn’t get boring — and the game offers several different modes (campaign, endless siege, and sandbox), that offer a good bit of variety.
Analysts Predict Upswing in April Video Game Sales
While April was an awful month for Sony, 
the Easter Bunny may have brought some good news for the video game industry as a whole.
The NPD Group will report monthly sales figures after the market closes Thursday and analysts expect sales to rebound solidly, with software sales (the industry’s most closely tracked number) poised to increase by up to 15 percent over April 2010.
Nick Jonas scores ‘Wizard 101’ expansion world
For the past few weeks, the online multiplayer 
game “Wizard 101” has been toying with its users. The expansion pack – called “Wintertusk” – came with a soundtrack that the developer teased was from a well-known musician, but it wouldn’t say who.
The guessing game can now end, though: Nick Jonas is the artist behind the music.
The Money Making Game #8: The Sony Situation
We certainly have no problem getting caught up in the fun of playing 
games, but the people who create them have their pocketbooks to worry about, too. In this column, finance expert and GameSpy contributor Chris Morris guides you through the tricky corridors the gaming industry’s financial side, touching on big-time business decisions and how they matter to the common gamer.
Sony’s not in an enviable position these days. New data breaches are still coming to light after an unprecedented cyber-attack on the company’s online systems. Personal information for over 100 million user accounts is in the hands of possible identity thieves. And the company, after a seemingly endless series of public relations disasters, announced recently that it frankly didn’t know when the PlayStation Network would be fully operational once again — though it was hoping to achieve that by the end of May. Ultimately, this rollercoaster ride from hell has to come to an end. And believe it or not, that’s when the real hard work begins.
Certainly, rebuilding a complex network from the ground up and uncovering the carefully concealed tracks of a sophisticated hacker (or group of hackers) isn’t easy, but it’s goal-driven work that Sony has some semblance of control over. When it comes to repairing its reputation and restoring people’s faith in the company, Sony will encounter a flood of external factors — some fair, some unfair.
Lady Gaga hits the virtual farm with — wait for it — GagaVille
Not content being the queen of social 
media, Lady Gaga is now taking her act to social gaming.
The iconic pop star has teamed with social games maker Zynga to create GagaVille, a newly created FarmVille farm which will give her little monsters the chance to hear unreleased songs from her forthcoming album, “Born This Way,” before anyone else.
Now Legal in Scrabble: Thang, Blingy and Grrl
You still can’t use people’s names in 
Scrabble — but according to the latest update of one major Scrabble dictionary, words like “Grrl” and “Innit” are just fine.
The publishers of the Collins Official Scrabble Words book have added 3,000 allowed words to the game’s vocabulary, including several slang terms, tech jargon and familiar corporate names.
‘Civilization’ for Facebook due this summer
As if Facebook weren’t a big enough time 
suck, one of the most addictive titles in the video game industry is set to invade the social network.
“Civilization World,” which has been development for years and in closed beta testing for months, may finally go live to the general public this summer, says developer Sid Meier.
Internet, Magazine Porn Company Prices IPO
After a series of false starts, the owner 
of Penthouse magazine and over two dozen adult Websites is finally going public.
FriendFinder Networks says it expects to raise $50 million from the public offering of 5 million shares (priced at $10 each). The company said it expects trading to begin Wednesday on the Nasdaq market under the symbol FFN.
Google launches cloud music service
After months of rumors, Google has 
made its entry into the cloud music space official, testing an online storage system called Google Music.
The search giant unveiled the service Tuesday at its input/output developer conference, putting Apple and Amazon squarely in its sights.
Chris Morris: Journalist 