Stardock’s recent sale of its Impulse digital 
distribution service to GameStop is in the history books now, but the retailer was hardly the only bidder for the service.
Brad Wardell, CEO of Stardock, says there were conversations with dozens of companies – with roughly a half-dozen of those presenting term sheets – before Stardock made its final decision. And even then, it took a lot of convincing on GameStop’s part.
You can’t turn a corner these days without 
running into the debate over whether 99 cents is too cheap for a game or $60 is too high. Ultimately that comes down to the quality of the game, and as it happens, some of the best games of all time — as well as some innovative new titles — can be found for less than $10.
Here are 10 you simply can’t miss.
There’s no love lost between leading game 
publishers Activision and Electronic Arts, but this November the studios are planning their biggest battle yet.
EA CEO John Riccitiello, speaking at the Ad Age Digital Conference this week, confirmed that upcoming shooter Battlefield 3 will be released in November, putting it in a head-to-head battle with the latest Call of Duty game — widely expected to be Modern Warfare 3.
YouTube, historically, has been the playground of things like 
the Chinese Backstreet Boys and the Numa Numa guy, but Google may be thinking about adding another layer to the popular video destination.
Officials at the search giant, which owns YouTube, are reportedly planning to add up to 20 ‘channels’ of original, professionally produced content, which will fill between 5-10 hours per week.
Sony’s efforts to stay competitive in the 
handheld gaming space have hit a snag following the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Sony officials say the disasters may delay the release of their NGP handheld, with the system releasing in just one region of the world this year instead of all three. That could give Nintendo and Apple a chance to cement a solid lead in an increasingly competitive space.
Astronomy isn’t a scientific path for weaklings, but with 
Redshift – Astronomy by your side, you’ll be better armed to explore the mysteries of the cosmos. With an incredibly deep catalog of heavenly bodies and more data about each than you know what to do with, this app is an exciting, interactive way to learn about the universe. Rather than just being a data dump, it’s also an interactive tool, showing you what’s above you in the night sky and helping you identify constellations and planets. Kids who want to learn more about planets and stars can use the app’s “travel” mode to “fly” to a location and orbit the planet or star. It’s a bit pricey, but it’s a perfect companion for stargazers — and an embarrassment of riches for students looking to learn more on their own or for a tricky homework assignment.
In 2010, Electronic Arts waited until the 
last second to cancel its flagship NBA game. This year, it’s bowing out long before the season begins.
The leader in video game sports has quietly announced plans to bypass this season and release its next installment of NBA Elite (formerly called NBA Live) in the fall of 2012. That will create a three-year gap between releases, a significant fall for what used to be the leading basketball sports simulation.
Glasses-free 3D is something of the 
Holy Grail for television manfucturers – and Toshiba is making some pretty big claims about finding it.
The manufacturer announced at its Toshiba World conference in Rome that it plans to launch a glasses-free 3D set within the next 12 months. Toshiba officials didn’t offer a lot of details, but did say the sets will be 40-inches or bigger.
Activision and EA aren’t going away anytime soon, 
but the never ending clash of the video game publishing titans has opened the door for a newer, more nimble type of competitor.
Their names — Zeptolab, Mojang, LimaSky — certainly don’t demand attention like the major console publishers. But their products are as familiar to the gaming world as many titles from the big guns. And, in some circles, they’re perhaps even better known.
For the past four years, Nintendo and Apple have 
been grappling for control of the mobile gaming market — but last month, the stakes got higher.
The 3DS, a handheld system that presents games in stereoscopic 3D without glasses, hit shelves March 27, representing one of Nintendo’s biggest bets in years. And early indications are it was a winning one.
Chris Morris: Journalist 