It has been 28 years since Don Bluth 
made a video game, but the film and gaming legend is ready to hit “play” once more.
Bluth is teaming with Square One Games for Tapper World Tour, an iPhone/iPad game that updates the classic Tapper arcade quarter-gobbler and blends it with Bluth’s distinctive animation style.
Nintendo is expanding the multimedia 
functions of the 3DS — and bringing a familiar face to the platform.
The company announced that it is working on a new Super Mario game for its latest handheld system, with the development team behind the successful Super Mario Galaxy titles leading the charge. Also, U.S. owners will be able to stream Netflix films to the device starting this summer.
Panasonic finally saw the Jungle
for the trees.
The consumer electronics company has abandoned its plans to create a handheld gaming device – which was codenamed ‘Jungle’ – that would have focused on massively-multiplayer online games for the portable audience.
Nintendo’s latest handheld 
is a hit in its home country.
A big hit.
The Nintendo 3DS went on sale Saturday in Japan and has already virtually sold out throughout most the country, with more than 371,000 units reportedly purchased in the first two days. That puts the system on a faster sales track than the indomitable Nintendo DS, according to some calculations.
With its next generation portable system 
looming, Sony is giving the PSP one last moment in the spotlight. Effective this Sunday, the company will cut the retail price of its portable gaming system by $40, from $170 to $130.
The move not only lets Sony access a new audience with the PSP, it lets the company get out in front of the launch of the Nintendo 3DS, which will hit shelves on March 27.
It’s not often that the Smurfs can
trigger an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission.
Amid stories of parents being shocked to see their children inadvertently racking up huge bills while innocently playing apps like Smurfs’ Village (a Farmville-like game centering on the little blue folk), the FTC reportedly plans to review the marketing and delivery of apps that include in-app purchases.
September is shaping up to be a bullet-ridden
month for the video game industry — with three of the year’s most anticipated shooter games scheduled to land at retail.
Microsoft announced Wednesday that Gears of War 3 will release on Sept. 20. That’s just one week after id Software’s long-in-the-works shooter Rage is expected to hit the streets and a little over two weeks after Sony will release Resistance 3.
In terms of big splashes, the Game Developer
Conference generally pales in comparison to E3. But even though it might lack a circus atmosphere and onslaught of new product announcements, that doesn’t mean there’s a lack of news.
This will be the 25th time industry developers and executives have gathered to network, seek inspiration and learn more about the industry of making games. Started in a developer’s living room in 1988 with roughly 25 people attending, this year’s show is expected to welcome more than 18,000 attendees to the Moscone Center in San Francisco when it kicks off on Feb. 28.
Here are a few of the topics you’re likely to see make the headlines:
If you’re planning to pick up a Nintendo 3DS when it goes on sale March 27, you’ll have a solid 18 games to choose from for your starter collection — but they’re going to cost a bit more than regular DS titles.
Nintendo has unveiled its launch day line-up for the handheld gaming system as well as a $40 price tag for games — $5 more than titles for the existing DS platform.
3D hasn’t exactly taken the gaming world by storm 
so far, but that’s not stopping Sony from giving the technology another big push.
Killzone 3, due out this week, is the latest installment in the company’s eye-popping shooter series. And Sony’s pulling out all the stops this time. Arguably the best graphics to appear in a PlayStation 3 game to date? Check. Integration of the PlayStation Move controller? You bet! 3D? Oh yeah — it’s in there, too.
Chris Morris: Journalist 