Last weekend, 350 
of the world’s fastest “speedcubers” gathered in Bangkok at the World Rubik’s Cube Championship in hopes of setting a world record.
None did — but even if they had, it would have been a tainted victory, as a robot invented by a pair of engineers just stole the crown.
Video game industry 
critics have long held that people who play violent games become less affected by real world tragedies. Now they might have some science backing them up.
Researchers at the University of Bonn in Germany say a new study finds brain activity from heavy gamers is noticeably different than that of non-players — and that violent games could be “emotionally desensitizing” after extended exposure.
After setting five-year 
retail sales lows for the past three months, the video game industry finally showed signs of life in September — although those vitals weren’t as strong as some industry observers were expecting.
Year-over-year sales were down 4 percent overall, but game software sales (the most closely followed statistic) were up 3 percent, the first positive growth in months.
Reports last week 
that the Air Force’s drone program had been hit by a virus raised all sorts of concerns about cyber-terrorism infiltrating the military. It turns out, though, that the whole thing could be Facebook’s fault.
Pentagon officials say the virus wasn’t something that specifically targeted military systems, but was instead a fairly common piece of malware that’s used to steal people’s online gaming passwords.
Everyone needs a 
work break now and then. Between meetings, meetings to prepare for other meetings, and meetings to discuss what happened in those other meetings, even the most dedicated employee needs to shift his or her focus away from the grind, if only for a few minutes.
And games are a great way to clear your head.
Tim Schafer is 
responsible for some of the most critically-acclaimed titles in the video game industry. But when word came down that he and his team at Double Fine Productions would be making a Sesame Street game for Microsoft Kinect, it caught everyone by surprise.
Schafer’s games — which include cult-hit Psychonauts and heavy metal adventure romp Brütal Legend — are known for their quirky, adult sense of humor, making the jump to the most famous name in children’s programming a little bizarre.
Nolan Bushnell is 
a man with big ideas.
In 1972, he founded Atari, laying the foundation for the video game industry we know today. Five years later, he bought a pizza chain from Warner Communications and built it into Chuck E. Cheese.
Now, the serial entrepreneur and tech visionary says mind control could be the next big step for video games.
Plenty of people 
are celebrating Netflix’ decision to scrub plans to separate its DVD-by-mail and streaming services, but nowhere are the cheers louder than at the corporate HQ of leading video game rental company, GameFly.
In his note announcing the reversal of the controversial decision, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings made no mention of earlier plans to add video games to the company’s rental collection — and many think the plan might have been abandoned.
Electronic Arts, which 
has struggled with its basketball titles for the past couple of years, now has another hardwood woe: One of the game’s all-time greats.
Former Boston Celtic center Bill Russell has sued the company over the use of his likeness in its “Tournament of Legends” feature in the NCAA basketball franchise.
Long before home 
consoles were a staple in every living room, game geeks looking for a fix would head down to the local mall to feed quarters into coin-op acade machines, happily wiling away the hours. Unfortunately, the glory days of the arcades — the 70s and 80s — are a distant memory.
You can thank the evolution of the video game industry for that. The rise of the home console fundamentally changed the way we played, just as mobile and social games are now clawing into time spent staring at the TV on the couch. But in the past few years, an unlikely resurgence has started taking shape. Arcades are once again becoming en vogue.
Chris Morris: Journalist 