OMG! 
Texting is 20!
What’s now the communications standard for the teen and tween set got its start 20 years ago today, in the little town of Newbury, Berkshire.
While America was learning who won “The Contest” on Seinfeld and watching Jay Leno take over The Tonight Show, a British researcher by the name of Neil Papworth was busy changing the world using a new technique called “Short Messaging Service” to send a message to a friend.
Enjoy 
that time as the only next-generation console on the market, Wii U. The competition is coming sooner than you might think.
Bloomberg reports Microsoft will release its next generation Xbox in time for the 2013 holidays. While the date has been widely expected, the news service says unnamed company insiders have now confirmed the time period.
“Insert 
quarter. Avoid missing ball for high score.”
That was the extent of the instructions for Pong, the first video game blockbuster.
Pong wasn’t the very first video game, by any means (that honor arguably goes to 1947’s “Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device”), but it was absolutely the first commercially successful one and remains of one the industry’s most iconic titles. Released on November 29th, 1972, it turns The Big Four-Oh today.
Nintendo’s 
global president is apologizing to gamers for the hefty, mandatory system update they’re forced to endure upon setting up their Wii U.
In a wide-ranging interview with IGN, Satoru Iwata said he regretted the need for the update, which enables the online functionality of the system.
Shopping 
for the gamer on your list should be the easiest part of your holiday gift gathering. Buy a good game and, bam! You’re finished, right?
Not necessarily. Gamers have the annoying habit of buying the best games right when they come out, ruining the plans of well-meaning gift givers. And if you don’t know precisely what game they’re looking for, you could inadvertently pick out a dud.
Gaming culture, thankfully, extends beyond games …
Nintendo 
was rightfully proud of the 400,000 Wii U consoles it sold in the system’s first week, which included Black Friday. But Microsoft has reason to be even prouder.
The Redmond-based company says some 750,000 Xbox 360s were sold over the same six-day time period, surpassing its own expectations and showing that there’s still life left in the console, which has now been available for eight Black Friday shopping frenzies.
Just 
over a week after Nintendo rolled out its new Wii U console, the video game company is introducing another one. U.S. shoppers, however, won’t be able to get their hands on it yet.
The Wii Mini, a shrunken version of the now-officially-last-generation console, is going on sale December 7th exclusively in Canada. It will cost Great White North gamers (and those Yanks who slip across the border) a mere $100.
The 
Madden video game franchise has always prided itself on its realistic play. Now the NFL is looking to ratchet up that realism by several degrees.
Over the past few years, the NFL has been exploring ways to gather all sorts of new data points from players during games. But this season it’s getting serious about it — and that could dramatically impact the biggest football video game franchise on the planet.
Year 
after year, a Call of Duty game hits store shelves and within about 24 hours, Activision’s PR team is shouting from the rooftops about the series setting a new entertainment industry sales record. The most recent release, Black Ops II, is no exception.
But several other gaming franchises have had blockbuster opening weekends as well, earning more in a one- or five-day period than most games make in their entire lifespan.
Here’s a look at the 10 biggest debuts in gaming history.
If 
you’ve ever been to a video game retailer, you know how persuasive those clerks can be.
One Denver salesperson, though, tops them all. He managed to talk a would-be robber out of committing a crime by pointing out to him that it was “messed up” to attempt to rob a locally-owned company.
Chris Morris: Journalist 