Following the disclosure on Monday that Apple CEO Steve 
Jobs will be taking his third medical leave in six years, Apple shares fell 4% in early trading on Tuesday, or $14 to $334.35.
Since the markets were closed on Monday due to the holiday, this is the first glimpse at how U.S. investors are reacting to the news. Some analysts late on Monday had predicted shares could fall by 10% in early trading. Apple is expected to release its quarterly earnings after the market closes on Tuesday.
Kongregate is launching its ‘Kongregate Arcade’ 
app for Android devices. Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris Morris talks to CEO and co-founder Jim Greer about discovering opportunity on that platform.
With its presence already well-established in the Web space, Kongregate is branching out into the world of mobile. The Gamestop-owned game portal on Tuesday announced the launch of the ‘Kongregate Arcade’ app for Android devices.
With an initial library of 300 games, the app represents one of the biggest collection of games on the platform. And Jim Greer, CEO and co-founder of the company, says Kongregate plans to build that number rapidly – conservatively estimating the company will add “dozens” of games per month (versus the 1,500 or so that the desktop client sees in the same amount of time).
Apple CEO Steve Jobs is taking a medical 
leave of absence from the company to focus on his health, the company announced Monday.
Jobs will continue as the company’s CEO and said he would continue to be involved in major strategic decisions for the company – but chief operating officer Tim Cook will be responsible for day-to-day operations at Apple.
It’s rough being a video game icon 
in the transmedia age.
With titles like “Red Faction” and “Halo” starting to expand beyond their gaming roots into novels and television, some of the rights owners for the games that made the industry big in the first place are exploring their options. And it’s not a pretty picture.
[In a Friday opinion piece, Gamasutra editor-at-large Chris 
Morris looks at Satoru Iwata’s musings on possible video recording for Nintendo’s 3DS to look at the stealth non-gaming elements of the 3DS and how they might truly ‘future-proof’ the handheld.]
While it has had to endure its fair share of navel gazing and questions from the media over the 3DS — including from me — Nintendo is starting to show once again why it’s always foolish to bet against the company.
There’s no doubt the 3DS will be a hot seller when it hits shelves. Most new game technologies from major players in the industry usually are. The question that has always loomed over the 3DS’s head, though, was is it enough to lure people who are spending more and more time with their iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
Judged solely on the gameplay elements, Tap Tap 
Revenge 4 is a wonderful app. The familiar tap-the-screen-in-time-with-the-music style of play doesn’t get old, and the developers have picked a good selection of songs as a starter pack. Unfortunately, other elements, such as out of control commercialism and a chat room that resembles the wild west make it entirely inappropriate for young players. Ads are plastered everywhere, and the game regularly tries to convince players to buy additional songs. Chat rooms, meanwhile, are self-moderated — and offensive actions generally aren’t reported, since so many people are doing the same thing. That’s sad, because online gameplay is actually a lot of fun, letting you compare your skills to others.
Read more at Common Sense Media
TRON: Legacy focuses on the right things — Light 
Cycles and Recognizers — but suffers from poor controls and apparent game bugs that cripple the title. Driving and racing Light Cycles can be a breathtaking experience, but because the controls are slow to respond to your actions, it’s akin to a drunk driver hopping onto a motorcycle. You’ll wobble across the road and bump into walls regularly. The game’s shooting sections — using those Recognizers — are fun, but again stumble, since you’re not able to control the vehicles as precisely as you would like to. The game’s multiplayer option is one of its stronger elements, as playing against a live opponent is more fun than challenging the app. And visually, the game is quite impressive. With more polishing, this is a title that could have life long after the movie is gathering dust in your DVD collection.
Nash Smasher! is a fun, funny story that’s also 
surprisingly effective as a lesson in social skills for youngsters. The book is written by Bill Doyle of television’s Sesame Workshop, who has some experience communicating lessons to young children in an entertaining fashion — and knows how to keep adults interested simultaneously. In this case, that’s done via the story’s interactive elements, which are full of surprises and really make the book app something that’s fun for families.
Read more at Common Sense Media
Grimm’s Rapunzel – 3D Interactive Pop-up 
Book is a superb interactive version of the classic story that features all of the bells and whistles you would expect. Users can have the story read aloud to them (with them choosing the pace of the page turns), read it themselves, or watch the story in autoplay fashion. The pop-up elements not only let children explore the pages at their own pace, but also offer tasks to complete, such as planting and watering seeds to grow flowers or picking flowers. Young children will love the story, which is less frightening that many other Grimm fairy tales.
Read more at Common Sense Media
For the second year in a row, retail sales 
were down in the video game industry — the first time it has recorded negative growth in back to back years.
The industry, as a whole, was down 6 percent compared to the 2009 figures, with sales of $18.58 billion. Software sales, which investors consider the best barometer of the industry’s health, were down 6 percent as well to $9.36 billion. (Adding in PC sales, the amount climbed to $10.1 billion, a 5 percent drop from last year.)
Chris Morris: Journalist 