Cisco is calling it quits
on its Flip video unit.
The company has announced a realignment of its business operations that will result in it scaling back its consumer facing divisions. The Flip, which was a red-hot item just a couple of years ago, is the highest profile casualty of the move. Also being cut is the company’s Eos media solutions business.
The Grammys are getting 
into the game.
The Recording Academy, which oversees the annual music awards, has made changes to four of the ceremony’s categories, putting video games on the same playing field as television and movies in an effort to solicit more submissions from the industry.
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.
The king of the brick-and-mortar gaming world is finally embracing the digital. GameStop’s recent purchases of the Impulse digital distribution service and Spawn Labs streaming service won’t solve all of its problems, but it sets a course for the company as it prepares for the coming transition — and it gives investors some much needed clarity into GameStop management’s long-term thinking.
These days, GameStop sees annual digital revenues of $290 million from video games. As it expands, though, it expects those numbers to hit $1.5 billion by the end of 2014. “Our customers are beginning to consume games in a hybrid manner, both physical and digital, so we are becoming a hybrid company to meet their needs,” says Tony Bartel, president of GameStop. “Both of these programs are designed to sell more of the games we sell today.”
Physics games and iOS devices go 
together, but so far the emphasis in these games has been on cute and funny cartoon characters. Saving Seeds HD : doodle physics takes a different, slightly more mature, approach. It accomplishes this by offering a series of increasingly tough puzzles and rewarding you with a zenlike moment of peace when you succeed, with calming music playing as you watch your seed(s) turn into flowers. It is, in fact, hard to get truly frustrated with the game, as the omnipresent lulling music is so effective at calming the player — and perhaps sharpening their game. With more than 120 levels, there’s a lot to play here. And like the titans of OS gaming, even when you finish, you’ll want to go back and play it all over again.
Earlier this year, Christopher Tin won 
the first Grammy award for a song featured in a video game. Now the floodgates may be about to open.
The Recording Academy has announced a restructuring of its awards that will put games on equal footing with film and television for the first time.
If you’ve bought a copy of Madden or NCAA 
Football in the past six years, you might have found an interesting email in your in-box over the last few days.
A pair of disgruntled gamers have filed a class action suit against Electronic Arts over the games, accusing the publisher of overcharging customers and stifling competition, via its exclusivity agreement with the NFL, NFL Players Association and other leagues.
An Amazing Day At The Zoo isn’t exactly amazing, 
but it’s not bad. The app’s use of video footage of real animals is a nice surprise, versus the usual still or animated pictures so many other apps offer. The information, however, is basic and likely will only interest very young children. Older kids will already know most of the facts (i.e. pandas are from China, baby kangaroos are called joeys, crocodiles have strong tails). The narration might also appeal to young viewers, but it could quickly grate on adult ears. Most disappointing, though, is the app’s lack of interaction. Aside from flipping pages, there’s nothing for users to do but sit and watch — which puts this behind the curve in the educational app space.
The developers may not know how to put together a succinct 
app name, but when it comes to fun ways to educate children, the team knows what it’s doing. First Words is a good head start for children who know their ABCs and are curious about what to do with them, showing them how to spell more than 80 animal names and rewarding them with cute animations. The matching puzzle is aimed at slightly older players. As with other entries in the series, parents can adjust the difficulty of any part of the app to give it longevity. The promotional links at the app’s start-up page are oppressive, though, and are out of place in something that is so targeted to a young audience.
3D TV may finally have gotten a universal 
standard – kind of.
French company Volfoni will showcase ActivEyes, a hybrid active/passive 3D solution at the upcoming National Association of Broadcasters show. The company, which unveiled the product at this year’s CES, says it can be used on any 3D screen.
As winter begrudgingly surrenders to spring and 
you begin that annual task of cleaning out all the detritus that has accumulated in your closets over the past year, you might want to start with your game collection.
Everyone has a few favorites they’ll hang on to forever, whether for sentimental value or because they enjoy replaying them from time to time. But most video games simply gather dust — and while some of those games on your shelf might have limited value, others are in high demand.
Chris Morris: Journalist 