The 
film world’s not the only segment of the entertainment industry that’s rebooting its greatest hits. It’s pretty common practice in the video game world as well.
In the not too distant past, we’ve seen the rebirth Tomb Raider, Thief, and Panzer Dragoon, to name a few. Publishers are digging through their catalogs to find franchises that need a restart. Here’s a look at what’s new and what’s just down the road.
Pong 
was the video game industry’s equivalent of the Big Bang. Without it, it’s impossible to know where – or if – things would be today.
That makes it all the more remarkable to hear that Pong was never meant to be seen by the public.
The 
second quarter – those days that run from April 1 through June 30 – don’t tend to be big saleswise for video game companies. But this year (at Microsoft, at least) seems to be an exception.
The company, as part of its quarterly earnings statement Tuesday, announced it had sold 1.1 million Xboxes in that period – about 100,000 more than it did in the same time a year ago.
Did 
Madden rank this year’s crop of players by the numbers?
Some fans are questioning the methodology of the storied franchise after seeing how the game stacked up certain high-profile players.
Wreck-It 
Ralph’s no longer the only film that can boast some major cameos from the video game world.
Adam Sandler’s upcoming Pixels has nabbed some iconic characters – all from gaming’s classic coin-op days – including Pac-Man and Donkey Kong.
Clint 
Dempsey led the men’s U.S. soccer team further than many people expected it would go in the 2014 World Cup. Now Electronic Arts is hoping he’ll lead people to the latest installment of FIFA.
EA has named Dempsey as the cover athlete for FIFA 15 in America (which will also feature Lionel Messi of Argentina).
There’s 
a lot that’s familiar about Doom – the game many people still think of as Doom 4. Hellbeasts and cyberdemons? Yep, they’re there. Gibs? Tons of ‘em. Fast paced action? You betcha!
But the re-imagining of this classic shooter from id Software doesn’t aim to simply be a rehash of what we’ve played before. Instead, it’s a slick-looking next generation game that stays true to its old school roots.
Never 
underestimate the power of a price cut.
On the heels of Microsoft lowering the cost of the Xbox One by $100, video game hardware sales in June more than doubled the totals of the prior year, coming in at $292.7 million last month, according to the NPD Group.
The 
throwaway dialogue line that became a gaming meme in the early build of Bungie’s Destiny has been jettisoned into space as the game enters its beta phase.
Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage’s “so bad, it’s campy” reading of the already-dumb line “That wizard came from the moon” was a standout part of the game’s early trial. And while people still widely praised the game as a whole, the gaming world – as it’s wont to do – fixated on that line, which quickly took on a life of its own.
Call 
it a good news/bad news situation for Microsoft.
The good news: sales of the Xbox One “more than doubled” in June, compared to the May figures. The bad news: It’s becoming increasingly clear that no one cares about Kinect, which was the console’s big differentiator this generation.
Chris Morris: Journalist 