Microsoft’s 
invasion of the living room is going into overdrive.
Comcast’s Xfinity on-demand service, HBO Go and MLB.tv are now available through Xbox Live — and they’re arriving right as the console undergoes a major transition in how people use it.
Mitt 
Romney aide Eric Fehrnstrom’s offhand comment likening his boss’ presidential campaign to an Etch A Sketch is being referred to as a “disaster” among political pundits.
Romney’s opponents are taunting the candidate openly, with Rick Santorum tweeting a photo of himself playing with the toy and Newt Gingrich bringing one out at a rally. It’s ballooned into an internet meme, and the makers of Etch A Sketch are seeing sales skyrocket.
The 
Angry Birds have a pretty good reason to be happy this week.
Rovio’s juggernaut game franchise is showing absolutely no signs of waning popularity, with the developer tweeting that the most recent release, Angry Birds Space, has racked up 10 million downloads in less than three days.
Never 
underestimate the power of an outraged fan base.
Bowing to pressure from a loud segment of players, Bioware has announced that changes are in the works for the controversial ending to role-playing smash Mass Effect 3. Details about those plans will be revealed next month.
Today’s 
launch of Angry Birds Space isn’t just the rollout of the fourth game in the wildly popular pig-smashing series. It’s a multimedia event.
NASA is celebrating alongside Angry Birds creator Rovio. Wal-Mart is selling a bazillion bits of Angry Birds merchandise. MTV is using the game to help fight online bullying. And in Seattle, they’re turning the Space Needle into a 300-foot tall slingshot. Seriously.
But all that sizzle means nothing without the steak. Is Angry Birds Space worth buying? Or is it just more of the same from a franchise that has, at this point, been emulated (or downright copied) by dozens of other app makers?
Kids 
are stressful — and no one can testify to that better than a mother.
That tension has been a boon to countless spas and gyms in the past, but now it looks like the video game industry might be the latest beneficiary. A new survey from a leading Mommy blogger site finds that more and more moms are unwinding with a controller or iPad in their hands.
The 
Sith are doing a number on the Horde.
Blizzard Entertainment has acknowledged that the December launch of EA’s Star Wars: The Old Republic is a notable part of the reason subscriptions to World of Warcraft have been on the decline lately.
Just 
days after the Smithsonian opened an exhibit celebrating the art and cultural achievements of video games, a pair of U.S. representatives is renewing the effort to restrict them.
On Monday, Reps. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) and Frank Wolf (R-Va.) introduced The Violence in Video Games Labeling Act (H.R. 4204), a bill that would force games ranging from “Grand Theft Auto” to “Tetris” to carry a warning label for parents.
While 
Apple has a well-earned reputation as the inventor of new markets, it’s also something of a serial killer.
The company’s advances in digital music players made the Walkman an afterthought. The introduction of iTunes sounded a virtual death knell for many record retailers. The iPad cut the legs out from under the once fast-growing netbook PC market. And the iPhone has put Motorola in a fight for its life.
Bioware’s 
Mass Effect 3 has earned plenty of praise from gaming critics, but a small, vocal percentage of players aren’t thrilled with the game’s ending, to put it mildly.
And now they’re bringing their issues to the Feds.
Chris Morris: Journalist 