Throughout the history of video games, the oldest stereotype surrounding the industry has always been do violent video games affect player behavior and personality. It is a known fact that people who play games are exposed to more violence than the average consumer. From nuking entire civilization to obliterating players online, it’s has become more and more common now that games are more focus on squarely providing violent action. For this reason alone, parents have long held an underlining negative attitude towards the industry and those who stand by it, but is this criticism injustice or have developers gone to far? Should government step in?

“The Art of Video Games” is one of the first major exhibitions to explore the 40-year evolution of video games as an artistic medium, with a focus on striking graphics, creative storytelling and player interactivity. The exhibition features some of the most influential artists and designers across five eras of game development, from early pioneers to contemporary designers. Video games use player participation to tell stories and engage audiences. In the same way as film, animation and performance, video games are a compelling and influential form of narrative art.

It's a novel idea that's really catching on in the App Store -- re-releasing old-school arcade games as part of a collection, then offering potential buyers the option to choose what games they want to keep.  Capcom's done it, Atari has done it, and Farsight is working on it with its Pinball Arcade (which we previewed).  But we're surprised that Namco has taken so long to warm up to the idea, especially with its countless Museum releases.  Well, it finally came through with Namco Arcade, a game that has the "try before you buy" method with a few of its offerings.  So why does it feel like it wasn't fully thought out?

Ion Audio turned a Thinkgeek joke into an actual product in 2011 when it released the iCade game cabinet, which turned your touch screen device into a stand-up arcade unit.  It was a pretty cool device, to be honest, but it doesn't look like the company is done yet.  It's introducing three new peripherals this week that will turn your mobile device into a portable gaming unit...no matter what type of gaming you prefer.

Black Friday.  It's a day for folks to go out and splurge on mad stuff they've always wanted, but with a price that's definitely more reasonable to withstand.  Best Buy, Target and Toys R' Us have their deals set to go Friday morning around midnight-ish, but Steam has got the jump on all of them.  The online gaming service has already begun selling games like mad RIGHT NOW.

Despite a recent string of down months in U.S. video game sales at retail this year, a new report from research firm Gartner paints a very rosy picture for the global video game industry. When adding in revenues from burgeoning online, mobile and digital gaming sectors, Gartner estimates that worldwide spending on the gaming ecosystem will exceed $74 billion in 2011, up 10.4 percent from the $67 billion spent last year. By 2015, spending is expected to reach $112 billion.

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) welcomed the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that underscored constitutional protections for video games, developers, and video game industry artists. At issue was a 2005 California statute restricting the sale and rental of computer and video games. The ESA, the lead party in the case Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association/Entertainment Software Association, argued that the statute presented unconstitutional limitations on expression, and the U.S. Supreme Court agreed, holding the California law unconstitutional under the First Amendment.

LOS ANGELES– For the first time ever, GamerLive.TV will broadcast 3D video coverage of the E3 Expo, the premier game trade show in the U.S., to gamers and tech enthusiasts around the world.  The high-quality, stereoscopic 3D video will be viewable via the YouTube video player for users with NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ PCs.

Atari's The Witcher 2 hits stores on May 17 exclusively on the PC, and some areas of the world are taking the promotion to the next level. Sure, here in the United States, players who purchase the Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings Collector's Edition will get a bust, some playing cards, DLC and various other trinkets lucky gamers over in Russia are getting someting more, well, a little more risque.