Valve Software’s Steam has been the big dog 
in the PC digital distribution space for a while now, but one of the industry’s biggest publishers is ready to take it on.
Electronic Arts has announced Origin, an updated “direct-to-consumer gaming platform” that will let people buy titles directly from the company, rather than via retail or another service. Given how heavily EA is betting on PC games in the year to come, it’s not an altogether shocking move.
If you live in Tennessee and a buddy 
offers to loan you his or her login to Netflix, it might be wise to politely decline.
A new law in the state, signed into legislation yesterday, makes it a crime to use another person’s log-in to stream video or music – even if that person has given you permission to do so.
Granted, E3 is a video game trade show, but in between all
the talk about Kinect and “Gears of War 3” at its pre-show press conference this year, expect Microsoft to have plenty to say about the non-gaming world.
The Xbox 360 has been a leader in general entertainment among the major consoles – but other devices, particularly Sony’s PlayStation 3, have been playing a good game of catch up. A recent statement by the company’s VP of corporate communications, however, indicates the company is hoping to ready to jump back out in front.
Just days after hacking the PBS servers, the 
hacker group that calls itself LulzSec says its is turning its attentions to Sony.
The group, which also claims responsibility for an attack on Sony’s BMG Website in Japan over a week ago, said via Twitter that it was “working on another Sony operation” – adding “this is the beginning of the end for Sony.”
Roughly a year after Voltage Pictures 
filed suit against alleged pirates of its Best Picture-winning film “The Hurt Locker,” the company has updated the complaint – and it’s a whopper.
The suit has grown from the original 5,000 users to a record-breaking 24,583, topping the number of people being sued for illegally downloading “The Expendables”.
While there are a handful of 3D videos on 
YouTube already, they’re anything but cutting edge.
The only 3D format the service supports is anaglyph – requiring the old-school red and blue glasses to see the effects. That’s hardly ideal for studios looking to promote upcoming films or publishers looking to showcase 3D video games. But that’s all about to change.
With a valuation of $10 billion, Zynga is by 
far the largest private game maker in the industry. Now investors hoping to get a piece of that pie may have their chance.
Tech blog AllThingsDigital reports the company could file for a public offering as early as this week. Once that IPO takes place, the company is widely expected to be the second biggest publicly-traded publisher in the industry, far surpassing Electronic Arts and Take-Two Interactive Software.
Apple is certainly the biggest music/tech company
around, but Amazon has been very clear in its intention to up the stakes in the fight with the company – and today, it threw a haymaker.
Amazon is offering a daily special for Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way,” offering the entire album as a digital download for 99 cents. That’s less than the cost of a single track on iTunes.
Nothing has been formally announced yet, but 
if online reports are to believed (and they’re coming from reputable outlets) Apple has most of its ducks in a row for its long-awaited cloud music service.
Warner Music Group, Sony Music Group and EMI Group have all reportedly gotten onboard with the Cupertino tech giant, though it’s still not certain if the agreements are in principle or if they’ve been signed. The status of a deal with Universal Music Group is unclear.
We’re about two-and-a-half weeks from the start 
of E3, but if you weren’t able to get a pass to the video game industry’s annual trade show, you’ll still be able to see some of the big moments.
Spike TV and Microsoft have struck a deal for the network to broadcast the Xbox 360 E3 media briefing on June 6.
Chris Morris: Journalist 