"Real news from the virtual world:

_BEST OF 2008 (SO FAR): E3, the video-game industry's big trade show, is next week, and you'll be hearing a lot about all the new software coming between now and Christmas. But there's a bit of a lull until Aug. 12, when "Madden NFL 09" unofficially marks the beginning of the fall game season. July is a good time to catch up on some of the games you may have missed. Here are the best of the year so far:

1. "Grand Theft Auto IV" (Rockstar, for the Xbox 3..."

"U.S. Video Games Industry - April 2008

April 2007 April 2008 YTD Apr 07 YTD Apr 08
Video Games $839 million $1.23 billion 47.0% $4.18 billion $5.47 billion 31.0%
Video Games Hardware $339.2 million $426.2 million 26.0% $1.62 billion $1.84 billion 13.0%
Video Games Software $389.4 million $654.7 million 68.0% $1.97 billion $2.88 billion 46.0%
Video Game Accessories $110.4 million $154 million 39.0% $584.4 million $750.6 million 29.0%

Hardware
PlayStation 2 124.4K
PlayStation 3 1..."

"Most gamers out there would probably agree that the world of role-playing games has been stuck in a specific rut for quite a while. We're not talking down on games like Fire Emblem and Advance Wars on DS (RPG-like tactical games), or the still-remarkable Final Fantasy series, but rather the hundreds upon hundreds of RPGs out there that don't dare to be different. We can understand a few "period piece" role-playing games, but does every story-heavy adventure out there need to revolve around sw..."

"It's not often that Square Enix comes out with some genuinely new IP. Which is hardly a criticism, since the vast majority of all those Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest games and spin-offs are nothing short of utterly brilliant. It's just that, after playing The World Ends With You, you'll wish the company would do more of this sort of thing, because it's really, really good. And in many ways it's a bit of a departure for the company. Having built its reputation as one of the world's leading pu..."

"Though we did have a few quibbles with the game, the gameplay and overarching story had us coming back for more. Whether or not the final product is worth the price of entry is anyone's guess at this point, but from what we've seen it's looking very promising."

"Available in Japan since June 2007 and already dated for release on April 22 in North America, Square Enix has confirmed today that The World Ends With You for the Nintendo DS will arrive in PAL territories (Europe and Australia) on April 18."