After riding high from the thrill of 
E3 last week, the video game industry got a harsh slap in the face Monday.
As reported by the NPD Group, sales of video games in the month of May were down 19 percent compared to a year ago — the worst performance for the industry in nearly five years.
After a surprisingly strong April, 
the video-game industry crashed and burned in May.
Software sales, the most closely tracked number by investors, were off 19 percent according to the NPD Group, the industry’s worst monthly performance since October 2006.
No one expected May to be a particularly 
stellar month for video game sales – but no one expected it to be a disaster either. Unfortunately, disaster doesn’t begin to describe the month.
Software sales nose dived 19 percent in May, the industry’s worst performance since Oct. 2006. Overall, brick and mortar sales were down 13 percent to $718.8 million. Year to date, the industry is 14 percent off of 2010’s retail sales pace, according to The NPD Group.
Police in Spain have arrested 
a trio of hackers who officials say could be a part of the recent attacks on Sony’s PlayStation Network.
Reuters reports the three suspected members of the loose hacker alliance known as Anonymous are being charged with cyber-attacks against Sony, governments, businesses and banks.
E3 is a magnet for c
elebrities each year. Steven Spielberg regularly shows up. Robin Williams has been seen sneaking into demos. And earlier today, Snoop Dogg was at the YooStar booth to promote the company’s latest game – “YooStar on MTV”.
Before going out to shill the game, the rapper talked with me about his thoughts on piracy after the Sony data breach earlier this year as well as his favorite games.
Jack Tretton has 
been in an unenviable position for the past month-and-half.
As the president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, he is one of the most recognizable personifications of the PlayStation brand – but throughout the extended drama surrounding the hacker attack that resulted in the theft of personal information from over 100 million accounts, he has been forced to sit on the sidelines and remain silent. At this year’s E3, though, he’s finally getting a chance to address the situation.
The NGP has 
a real name at last.
Sony, at its pre-E3 press conference Monday, announced that the next generation handheld system, which was previously codenamed NGP, would be called PlayStation Vita – and would carry a price of just $249 for the Wifi version and $299 for the 3G-enabled version. The system will hit store shelves this holiday season.
The videogame industry 
is at a crossroads of whether to reinvent itself or continue hyping what’s working.
While Nintendo and Sony are expected to unveil new hardware at this week’s Electronic Entertainment Expo, the videogame biz’s biggest tradeshow, which kicks off Monday from various venues around downtown Los Angeles, Microsoft is putting more promotional muscle behind its Xbox 360 console.
Sony Pictures has confirmed that it was the victim of a large scale hacking operation this week and says it has called in law enforcement officials to help find the people responsible.
“The cybercrime wave that has affected Sony companies and a number of government agencies, businesses and individuals in recent months has hit Sony Pictures as well,” said Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and co-chairman Amy Pascal in a joint statement. “[Thursday] afternoon a group of criminal hackers known as ‘LulzSec’ claimed to have breached some of our websites. We have confirmed that a breach has occurred and have taken action to protect against further intrusion. We also retained a respected team of experts to conduct the forensic analysis of the attack, which is ongoing.”
As the video game industry 
prepares for its annual trade show, known as E3, it’s carrying a lot of baggage.
Social networking and mobile games continue to eat away at the market share of traditional publishers. A crucial Supreme Court decision, which could fundamentally change the way the industry operates, looms over its head. And many companies find themselves at a critical juncture in their evolution.
Chris Morris: Journalist 