While there’s no end to the people who steadfastly 
maintain that things were better in the ‘80s and ‘90s, there’s one fact they can’t dispute: It’s safer these days.
Violent crime in the U.S. has dropped precipitously since 1991; robberies and murders are the lowest since the mid-1970s. And the BBC says video games could be partially responsible for the improvements.
In late April, there wasn’t a company 
in the world — inside or outside of the video game industry — that wanted to be Sony. By the end of December, though, there are likely to be several willing to switch places.
While there’s no denying that 2011 will not go down as the PlayStation’s greatest year, Sony actually seems poised to bounce back significantly from its hacker problems (and the accompanying PR disaster) by the time we’re singing Auld Lang Syne.
Given the breakout success of Microsoft’s 
Kinect voice and motion controller, it was only a matter of time before the ad weasels took an interest in the platform.
On Tuesday, Microsoft introduced NUads, which allows viewers to interact with ads in games, videos and the Xbox Dashboard via their Kinect controller.
Bob Hoskins sports a resume that 
most actors would envy. Best known, perhaps, for “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?,” he also played key roles in “Brazil,” “Mona Lisa” and “The Cotton Club.”
He has appeared in nearly 100 films and television shows — but there’s one he’d like to erase from that list: 1993’s Super Mario Bros.
The retail availability of video 
games just grew dramatically.
Redbox, whose movie rental vending machines are scattered in all sorts of unlikely locations — from convenience stores to pharmacies to fast-food restaurants — has added video games to its selection.
The curse that has plagued Duke 
Nukem Forever over its infamous 14-year development cycle is adding new victims.
Less than a week after its release, the game has torpedoed a PR firm and dinged the stock of a publisher whose investment was minimal. And, in a sad, ironic twist, it’s still likely to qualify as a hit.
Plenty of publishers have done a lot of saber 
rattling when it comes to selling direct to consumers, but that’s generally as far as it goes. So when EA began touting its Origin service a few weeks ago, no one was quite sure how serious the company planned to compete.
These days, though, it’s looking like EA intends to put its full efforts into the fight.
Nintendo’s Wii U saw plenty of 
excitement at E3. Lines at the company’s booth for a few moments of hand-on time were five hours long, as people jockeyed to be among the first to tinker with the next-generation system.
But outside of the Los Angeles Convention Center, the attitude towards Nintendo’s new machine was decidedly cooler — and in the days following the show, things haven’t warmed up at all.
Everyone hates a copycat, but the cyber 
attack on Sony’s PlayStation Network has created more than a few. For hackers seeking notoriety or fame, there is no easier target these days than gaming companies.
The latest victim is Bethesda Software, makers of hit games like Fallout 3 and the Elder Scrolls titles. LulzSec, the group that has claimed responsibility for the Memorial Day weekend takeover of PBS Websites (posting false news stories that rapper Tupac Shakur was still alive and living in New Zealand), says it has breached the company’s servers and plans to release the data today.
E3 is a three-ring circus — and 
like any circus, it’s filled with spectacular sights and things of wonder. (And, thanks to Twisted Metal, it also has a few freakish, scary clowns.)
But it also has a slew of attractions that are just downright weird. We didn’t see any lines of dancing poodles at this year’s show, but here are a few of the less common things on and around the show floor.
Chris Morris: Journalist 