“World of 
Warcraft” creator Blizzard Entertainment, which had been immune from broad staff cuts throughout its 20-plus-year existence, announced plans Wednesday to slash 600 positions from its payroll.
Roughly 60 of those jobs will be game developers, with the rest coming from other divisions. While the company did not specify precisely where it will trim the extra workers, industry observers expect the majority to come from the customer-service unit.
As studios 
continue the transition from film to digital, the indie filmmaking community is going through a metamorphosis of its own.
The introduction of video recording options on Digital SLR cameras opened a lot of doors for budding auteurs on a budget, but advances to the camera quality of the latest iPhone could bring a flood of new offerings from people who haven’t previously been able to afford quality video equipment.
Video game 
publisher THQ, which has worked closely with several Hollywood studios throughout the years, is facing a delisting on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
The company, which has partnered with many Hollywood studios, including Dreamworks and Disney in recent years, has filed an 8K form with the Securities and Exchange Commission, announcing it has received a stock delisting notice from the stock market.
Typically, 
the entertainment highlight of the annual Game Developers Conference in San Francisco is the Game Developer’s Choice Awards – one of the video game industry’s more prestigious award ceremonies.
Those will still be handed out this year, but attendees are likely to be more excited about the announcement that Indie Game – The Movie will be screened at the show on March 5 at 6pm.
Google Music 
hasn’t been making a lot of noise lately and is, in some ways, in danger of being overshadowed by other cloud music sites. But the Internet giant has roared back with the addition of a key backup feature for users.
Starting immediately, Google Music users are able to instantly restore their music collection with a single click. That applies to both purchased music and any songs they’ve added from their own library.
Nintendo’s financial 
year won’t end until the end of March, but the company is bracing investors for its first-ever financial loss – and it’s going to be a massive one.
By the time the year ends, the company expects to post an $837 million loss – a much worse number than the $258 million shortfall it had previously predicted.
Rhapsody 
is invading Europe.
The music-streaming service has acquired Napster Intl., which will notably expand the company’s footprint in Germany and the U.K — both important beachheads as the company joins the larger fight for international auds.
While Netflix 
saw its net income take a hit in the fourth quarter, the news wasn’t all-bad.
The company beat estimates and more importantly saw its streaming business grow, despite a series of events in 2011 that were one PR disaster after the next.
Apple’s 
latest announcement may have nothing to do with the entertainment industry, but it’s a clear signal that this tech giant is interested in branching out far beyond its current fields of interest.
At a press conference today in New York, the company rolled out a new version of iBooks that is squarely targeted at the educational marketplace – specifically primary and high school.
While LED 
TVs provide a brighter (and arguably better) picture than their LCD counterparts, consumers aren’t embracing them at a pace the industry or analysts have been expecting.
That’s likely to result in some changes to the sets – and they don’t sound especially encouraging. NPD reports set makers are reducing the number of LEDs per TV set which will lower brightness and veer away from the slim designs and picture quality that have helped LED backlit sets.
Chris Morris: Journalist 