There’s 
already a ton of critical praise for Journey, the soothing — almost meditative — PSN adventure title. But the latest kudo carries a bit more weight.
Austin Wintory has been nominated for a Grammy for his work on the game’s soundtrack. This marks the first time a video game has been nominated for a Grammy.
For the most part, 2011 
has been a pretty crummy year for video game sales.
Other than April, every month has shown declines. For the year, the industry is 10 percent behind 2010’s pace. That puts video games retail on track for its third consecutive year of negative growth — the first time that has ever happened in the gaming world.
As retail sputters, more and more publishers are looking to downloadable games to help fill the gaps.
Early adopters of the Nintendo 3DS have been a pretty 
patient bunch. New games for the system haven’t exactly been rushing to retail, and there’s only so much you can do with that 3D camera. But relief is on the way.
Nintendo says the long-awaited 3DS eShop will launch June 6 — and to celebrate, the company is letting owners of the handheld system download a copy of Excitebike 3D Classic for free, if they grab it within the first 30 days.
Chris Morris: Journalist 