Some 
of the biggest titles in the Wii U’s initial lineup have met with some big delays.
Nintendo today announced the delays of Game & Wario, The Wonderful 101 and Wii Fit U – which, alongside the previously delayed Pikmin 3, were initially promised to hit stores by the end of March. The company now says they’ll arrive in the “first half of the year.”
President 
Barack Obama, as part of a wide ranging proposal to reduce gun violence, has ordered the Centers for Disease Control to launch a study into the correlation between violence in video games and the real world.
The order, which does not require Congressional approval, was part of a Presidential Memorandum that laid out 23 actions designed to curb violence.
In 
the wake of the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, CT, the National Rifle Association squarely pointed a finger of blame at the video game industry. But that isn’t stopping them from releasing their very own game.
On Monday the group released NRA: Practice Range, an iOS app that’s rated not for mature users, but for anyone ages 4 and up.
While 
the town of Southington, Connecticut decided at the last minute to cancel its controversial plans to collect and destroy violent video games, a Massachusetts town is following in its footprints.
The town of Melrose, Massachusetts is planning to launch a program that would encourage kids to turn in violent video games in exchange for gift certificates and homework-free nights. The city’s mayor, Robert Dolan, says he hopes to have things up and running by the beginning of February.
When 
Activision-Blizzard launched Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure in 2011, there were a lot of questions about its chances of success. A hybrid toy/video game based on an aging franchise? Would people be interested?
The answer, of course, was yes. Skylanders has been a hit for toy companies and Activision alike. A really, really big hit, as life to date sales have now topped $500 million, reports Activision.
It 
was hardly a secret that 2012 was a rough year for the video game industry. But exactly how bad was it?
The NPD Group has the answer — and it’s not encouraging.
The 
Connecticut town that raised the ire of gamers when it announced plans to collect and destroy violent video games has changed its mind.
Officials in Southington, which is located just 30 miles northeast of Newtown, the site of last year’s horrific school shooting, opted to cancel the Violent Video Games Return Program amid widespread criticism from both psychologists and leading family-focused sites (including Common Sense Media).
In 
many families, Monopoly fights start long before the property is purchased. Inevitably, every player wants the same playing piece.
Well, it’s time to stand up for your beloved old boot or Scottie dog or thimble, because Hasbro is aiming to get rid of it.
Valve, 
the creators and caretakers of the incredibly successful PC game distribution service Steam, has been hinting around its plans to move into the living room for more than a year. Apparently, the company has finally put its money where its mouth is.
Valve has invested in the fledgling hardware company Xi3, the maker of small desktop PCs, to create a mini gaming PC.
While 
Nvidia has been an important player in the video game industry for years, it has never been a direct competitor to console manufacturers.
That’s about to change.
Chris Morris: Journalist 