With Apple taking an increasingly large bite of the 
mobile gaming space, Sony has taken out the big guns in an effort to win back market share.
The company has unveiled the Xperia Play — better known as the PlayStation Phone — at the ongoing Mobile World Congress.
Due in March, the device will be available exclusively through Verizon in the U.S. market and will lead the charge of cell phones capable of playing PlayStation titles.
While Wednesday’s announcement that 
Activision-Blizzard was pulling the plug on “Guitar Hero” might have turned heads in the gaming world, it was the company’s other announcement that might have bigger repercussions for investors.
As it cancelled games and the long-standing franchise, the publisher also announced plans to double down in the digital space and increase its focus on the lucrative “Call of Duty” franchise, two steps analysts say could significantly raise the company’s margins.
As the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers 
clean out their lockers and the nation debates which Super Bowl commercial was the best, there’s a big cloud hanging over the 2011-2012 NFL season.
A work stoppage is looking increasingly likely — and the effects of that could reach far beyond the gridiron. One company that’s undoubtedly monitoring the situation closely is Electronic Arts.
The last couple of years have been rough ones 
for Electronic Arts and THQ. Rapid changes in the video game landscape and an unlucky string of underperforming titles has taken its toll on both companies’ stock prices.
This week, though, both companies showed some signs of life as they reported earnings, giving investors hope that the long awaited turnaround for each company might be about to begin.
As Apple and Nintendo 
prepare for a showdown in the portable gaming space,Sony won’t be sitting on the sidelines.
The company unveiled its next generation handheld system Thursday – the successor to its six-year old PlayStation Portable (PSP) device. Additionally, Sony announced a new initiative that would bring PlayStation games to Android-based devices, marking the first time the company has opened up its catalog to third-party systems.
Walt Disney on Monday laid off a significant 
portion of its gaming studio employees, sources familiar with the situation have told CNBC.
The company declined to comment on the layoffs or disclose how many people were affected by the move, but some insiders said the number could be nearly half of the 700-person division.
The war of words between Activision-Blizzard 
and Electronic Arts has moved to a new plateau. Activision has added the rival publisher to its $400 countersuit against the creators of the “Call of Duty” franchise.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge approved the amendment to the suit Thursday, acknowledging Activision’s allegations that EA wooed Jason West and Vince Zampella, the heads of the wholly-owned Infinity Ward subsidiary, while they were still under contract with Activision.
Nintendo hopes to kick the 3D 
revolution into overdrive on March 27.
That’s the date its eagerly awaited 3DS portable gaming system will go on sale in North America. The device will be the first mass market consumer device to offer stereoscopic 3D images without the need for special glasses – something analysts see as critical to the success of 3D in the market.
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.)
After a turbulent and revolutionary 
year, the video game industry is bracing itself for 2010’s holiday and total-year retail sales figures.
Buoyed by continued strong sales of titles like “Call of Duty: Black Ops” and Microsoft’s Kinect, many analysts expect December sales to show more positive momentum when the numbers are released after the market closes this afternoon.
Chris Morris: Journalist 