For years, Microsoft 
has used the Xbox 360 as a Trojan horse to get into people’s living rooms. Now, it’s launching a full-scale attack on your other entertainment devices.
Starting Monday, Xbox 360 owners are being prompted to download a free new user interface for the console, which expands Kinect voice control, introduces a broad entertainment search option and adds a slew of new content options that have nothing to do with gaming.
FarmVille has a 
date with Wall Street on December 16. And we’re all invited.
Four months after signaling its intention to go public, Zynga has finally updated the paperwork to let investors know the date is imminent, with shares set to begin trading in two weeks. But despite speculation about Zynga instantly becoming the highest valued company in the gaming industry, that’s likely not going to be in the cards.
If your family 
hasn’t made the jump to the current console generation yet, there are plenty of incentives to do so this holiday season. Prices on all of the major gaming systems are low and you don’t have to look too far to find them.
Showing up late to the game might save you cash, but it comes with a number of disadvantages, too. The peripheral market is so crowded these days that it’s hard to figure out what’s essential and what’s the retail equivalent of setting your wallet on fire. Here are a few add-ons and extras you can safely bypass.
One of the 
oldest video game magazines around is closing up shop.
GamePro, which has been covering the video game industry for 22 years, has announced its November issue will be its last, due to declining ad revenues. The magazine’s website will also be shutting down, redirecting visitors to PCWorld.com starting December 5.
Hackers 
have struck again in the video game world — and the latest incursion is a big one.
Tokyo-based game publisher Nexon says a security breach discovered last week has put personal information from millions of accounts at risk.
Guys, be careful 
how involved you get with this season’s awesome crop of video games. Your wife may try to sell you off.
Kyle Baddley learned this the hard way earlier this month, when his wife Alyse got frustrated by his constant Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 playing and offered him up to the highest bidder on Craigslist.
If Ralph 
Edwards were alive today, there’s a good chance he’d be working at Amuse Me.
The French company is offering a modern twist on the classic “This is Your Life” formula by customizing games for individuals.
Those brave 
enough to dive into the early morning insanity of Black Friday can find TVs, computers and smart phones for mere pennies on the dollar.
This year, though, some of the best bargains will be found on video games. As the industry struggles to boost retail sales and consoles hit middle age, the discounting on some of the year’s best titles will be hard to resist — assuming you’re willing to wake up early for the doorbuster specials.
The NFL 
has blitzed Blitz.
Late hits, one of the signature features of the bone-jarring arcade football franchise, won’t be a part of its next iteration. The league has asked EA to remove them from the game.
The retro craze 
is going big.
New Line Pictures has announced that it plans to make a cinematic adaptation of Rampage, the 1980s arcade game that centered entirely around three giant monsters with a penchant for demolishing buildings, punching tanks, and eating people, food, and toilets.
That said, it still sounds better than Jack & Jill.
Chris Morris: Journalist 