It's that time of year when the world looks ahead to 2012 and takes one last glance back at 2011. With the new year here and a record year of gaming now in the rearview mirror, Michael Gallagher, president of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), addressed gamers in the letter below this video interview with him from E3 2011. The ESA puts on the E3 show and represents the game industry in legal battles, including the recent Supreme Court victory.

Gearbox Software is developing a cel-shaded sequel to its Unreal Engine 3 hit, Borderlands. One of the big games of 2012, 2K Games will ship Borderlands 2 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Combining invention and evolution, the sequel features all new characters, skills, environments, enemies, weapons and equipment, which come together in an ambitiously crafted story. Players will reveal secrets, and escalate mysteries of the Borderlands universe as they adventure across the unexplored new areas of Pandora.

Seattle – Bethesda Softworks kept things simple at PAX Prime 2011, focusing all of its efforts on Rage and Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Tim Willits, creative director of the new first-person shooter and driving open world game, talks about what’s in store for gamers when Rage hits store shelves this Christmas in this exclusive interview.

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.

Disney Interactive Studios is taking Cars 2 to the third dimension on PlayStation 3. After opting out of 3D for last year’s Toy Story 3 and TRON: Evolution games on the PS3 front, the game publisher is bringing PS3 gamers the same type of 3D experience that filmgoers will have access to on the big screen. Only the game will be a completely original experience from the John Lasseter-directed sequel. The game developer, Avalanche Software, explains what 3D adds to the game in this exclusive 3D video below.

LOS ANGELES – According to the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), 46,800 video game industry professionals, investor analysts, and retailers attended E3 2011. The leading global computer and video game trade show closed after more than 200 exhibitors unveiled the latest interactive entertainment hardware and software that will hit store shelves this holiday season. ESA also revealed that E3 2012 will occur June 5-7, 2012, in Los Angeles at the Los Angeles Convention Center. E3 2011 contributed more than an estimated $25 million in revenue to the city of Los Angeles.

The computer and video game industry added nearly $5 billion to the U.S. economy in 2009, according to a new study released today by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). The study, Video Games in the 21st Century: The 2010 Report, also found that the entertainment software industry's real annual growth rate from 2005 to 2009 exceeded 10 percent, more than seven times the growth rate of the U.S. economy as a whole.