Everyone needs a 
work break now and then. Between meetings, meetings to prepare for other meetings, and meetings to discuss what happened in those other meetings, even the most dedicated employee needs to shift his or her focus away from the grind, if only for a few minutes.
And games are a great way to clear your head.
Tim Schafer is 
responsible for some of the most critically-acclaimed titles in the video game industry. But when word came down that he and his team at Double Fine Productions would be making a Sesame Street game for Microsoft Kinect, it caught everyone by surprise.
Schafer’s games — which include cult-hit Psychonauts and heavy metal adventure romp Brütal Legend — are known for their quirky, adult sense of humor, making the jump to the most famous name in children’s programming a little bizarre.
Nolan Bushnell is 
a man with big ideas.
In 1972, he founded Atari, laying the foundation for the video game industry we know today. Five years later, he bought a pizza chain from Warner Communications and built it into Chuck E. Cheese.
Now, the serial entrepreneur and tech visionary says mind control could be the next big step for video games.
Plenty of people 
are celebrating Netflix’ decision to scrub plans to separate its DVD-by-mail and streaming services, but nowhere are the cheers louder than at the corporate HQ of leading video game rental company, GameFly.
In his note announcing the reversal of the controversial decision, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings made no mention of earlier plans to add video games to the company’s rental collection — and many think the plan might have been abandoned.
Electronic Arts, which 
has struggled with its basketball titles for the past couple of years, now has another hardwood woe: One of the game’s all-time greats.
Former Boston Celtic center Bill Russell has sued the company over the use of his likeness in its “Tournament of Legends” feature in the NCAA basketball franchise.
Long before home 
consoles were a staple in every living room, game geeks looking for a fix would head down to the local mall to feed quarters into coin-op acade machines, happily wiling away the hours. Unfortunately, the glory days of the arcades — the 70s and 80s — are a distant memory.
You can thank the evolution of the video game industry for that. The rise of the home console fundamentally changed the way we played, just as mobile and social games are now clawing into time spent staring at the TV on the couch. But in the past few years, an unlikely resurgence has started taking shape. Arcades are once again becoming en vogue.
When the deluge 
of tributes to beloved tech giant Steve Jobs are over and the world has moved on as it always does, the founder of Apple and Pixar will be remembered as a man who radically altered the computer, music and animation industries.
But those impressive achievements will overshadow the enormous impact he had on the video game industry.
Microsoft, which tried 
unsuccessfully to acquire Yahoo in 2008, is thinking about making another run at the company. This time, though, a merger of the two companies could impact the entertainment landscape.
To be clear: There’s no offer at this point and there’s apparently a lot of internal debate about whether to make one at Microsoft headquarters these days. And, technically, Yahoo hasn’t announced it’s for sale – though it has been talking quietly with potential bidders.
Microsoft’s plans to 
add television content to the Xbox 360 just took a major step forward.
The company unveiled an extensive partner list Wednesday, announcing that nearly 40 global content providers will stream programming through the game console starting this year. Included in the list are heavy cable hitters Comcast, HBO and Verizon FiOS.
One of the best 
looking mobile games ever is getting a sequel.
Epic Games took to the stage today during Apple’s iPhone 4S event today to show off Infinity Blade 2, which is due out December 1. And the update goes far beyond graphical tweaks.
Chris Morris: Journalist 