Microsoft still 
isn’t talking about the successor to the Xbox 360, but that’s not stopping the grapevine from speculating about the new features it will offer.
The company received a patent late last year for a device that would serve as both a game console and a digital video recorder — and that has people wondering if the next Xbox will have an even bigger role in the living room.
Anonymous, 
the hacker group behind a rash of massive security breaches, might be turning its attention back to Sony.
In the fading days of 2011, the loosely collected group released a YouTube video expressing its outrage at Sony’s support of SOPA, a controversial piece of legislation aiming to curtail online piracy. That’s got some people concerned, since the last time Sony and Anonymous clashed, it opened the doors for the largest data breach in online history.
The week between 
Christmas and New Year’s Day is gaming nirvana. You’ve got a stack of holiday games, no pressing responsibilities and Domino’s on speed dial. You’re all set.
That is, until you get stuck on some ornery puzzle or impossible mission. Forward momentum, gone.
Relax. The internet is here to help.
He might be 
great at keeping state secrets, but when it comes to the holidays, Barack Obama does a pretty lousy job of maintaining gift-giving surprises.
The President did a little Christmas shopping Wednesday — and brought the press corps along. And it looks like Sasha and Malia will find Just Dance 3 and The Sims 3: Pets under the tree this year.
Christmas is 
looming and you don’t have a gift for the gamer on your list. At this point, heartfelt is pretty much out the window. You just need something to put under the tree.
Last minute gifts tend to be stinkers, though. Combing through the dregs of whatever serious holiday shoppers have left behind usually nets nothing but trouble. And for gamers, that means they’re stuck with things like Wii classic controllers and 101-in-1 Sports Party Megamix or PlayStation Move Ape Escape.
Sony’s next big 
hope for the handheld gaming market has made its debut in Japan, and while the numbers aren’t awful, they aren’t exactly stellar, either.
More than 321,000 Vita units were sold in its first two days on store shelves, according to Famitsu. That’s a bit shy of launch figures for Nintendo’s 3DS (371,000), though it nearly doubles what the original PSP boasted when it went on sale seven years ago.
It took 
more than 24 hours for the world’s news organizations to learn of the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.
But a video game saw it coming nine months ago.
It’s easy to be 
tempted by low prices, especially during the holidays. Often times, deals are so good that you grab an item without thinking it through just so you can check someone off your shopping list.
The problem? Your friend or loved one winds up with a gift that sounds great in theory, but ends up having a shelf life shorter than a piece of bread. It might be good for a day or so, but you’re not going to be real happy with it after that.
With that in mind, we’ve put together a cautionary list of gaming choices that might sound tempting to bargain-hunting shoppers, but may not be the wisest use of your money this year.
Zynga’s debut 
on Wall Street Friday is the largest from a U.S. company since Google went public in 2004 — and it has been one of the most widely anticipated stock offerings of the year.
But if early trading is any indication, anticipation doesn’t translate into interest.
Chalk up 
another bragging right for Modern Warfare 3.
Fresh off becoming the fastest game to reach $1 billion, the latest installment in the Call of Duty franchise has been named the year’s top video game rental by film and game rental service Redbox, beating out dancers, zombies and Pixar.
Chris Morris: Journalist 