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First Dell grabbed Alienware. Then HP picked up Voodoo PC. Today, we learn that Velocity Micro has acquired superfast PC maker Overdrive PC.

While neither Velocity Micro nor Overdrive PC may have the same name recognition as the companies involved in other recent acquisitions, this deal definitely makes the competitive landscape more interesting. The founder of Voodoo PC said earlier this spring that it's working on a game performance-oriented retail brand. That's a direct shot at Velocity Micro and its already considerable retail shelf presence.

By scooping up Overdrive PC, Velocity Micro has made a move to protect … Read more

Last week, the Guitar Hero truck was on the streets of San Francisco. This Saturday, it was spotted across the country in Manhattan's crowded Union Square, outside the Virgin Megastore.

(For the sake of environmental awareness and fuel efficiency, I hope it wasn't actually the same truck.)

The truck is equipped with giant video screens and speakers so that random passersby can participate in the wildly successful video game that, as I'm sure you know already, lets you rip it up to the tune of classic, and not-as-classic, rock songs from artists ranging from Cheap Trick to … Read more

Nintendo said Friday that it would address shortages of its hit Wii video game console by ramping up production.

According to the Associated Press, the video game giant's president, Satoru Iwata acknowledged that "we have not been able to properly foresee demand."

The company said it would boost sales of the Wii--which has dominated the next-generation console battle against Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3 since it was released in November--so that deliveries would increase by next month.

The news came a day after Nintendo released fiscal 2007 results showing that revenue had … Read more

World of Warcraft has been a goldmine for Blizzard, but that can't be all it's working on. Back before WoW ate countless lives with its grinding, raiding, and leveling, Blizzard was known for awesome strategy games such as Warcraft and Starcraft, awesome action RPGs such as Diablo and Diablo II, and even awesome platform-puzzlers such as The Lost Vikings. All of these games seem to have been left at the wayside while Blizzard focuses on keeping its WoW servers up and running, and its players chipping in their monthly fee.

That can't be the whole story. Rumors … Read more

GamePolitics.com is reporting that U.S. District Judge Paul Huck has dismissed anti-video game crusader Jack Thompson's lawsuit against Gawker Media, the publisher of game blog Kotaku. Thompson had claimed that Kotaku and Gawker Media had failed to honor his requests to remove "threatening" comments from several of their blog posts that were critical of his eagerness to blame video games for the tragic Virginia Tech shootings earlier this month.

On Wednesday, Thompson had added the blog-publishing company, which also operates other popular blogs like Gizmodo, Wonkette, and Valleywag, to a list of defendants in a … Read more

Anti-video game advocate Jack Thompson has sued Gawker Media, the parent company of gaming blog Kotaku, according to GamePolitics. The reason for the suit, which was filed in a federal court in the Southern District of Florida, was a number of reader comments on recent Kotaku posts that Thompson deemed "threatening" and which he claimed Kotaku and Gawker Media declined to remove from the site.

Thompson, a Miami-based attorney, has been a high-profile crusader against video games and their alleged negative influence on children for some time now, but gained new notoriety in the wake of the Virginia … Read more

Sony has revealed its follow-up to the PlayStation 2's EyeToy, and it looks pretty impressive for a glorified Webcam. The PlayStation Eye will let your PlayStation 3 watch and listen to you as you watch and listen to it. The Eye can capture VGA video at 60 frames per second, or QVGA (320 X 240) video at 120 frames per second. It records sound through a four-microphone array, and can save photos, videos, and audio clips to your PS3's hard drive with the included EyeCreate software.

The upcoming PS3 title The Eye of Judgment will take full use … Read more

I want to come clean about something. Not many people know this about me. It recently came out at work, and it's caused no end of grief from my co-workers. Still, I refuse to be ashamed of it anymore, so here it goes.

I like Pokemon. And I'm not the only one.

Before you judge me too harshly, I want to clarify this: I like the Pokemon games. That's it. I don't watch the anime or collect the toys or anything obsessive like that. I just really enjoy the game itself. I've been playing Pokemon Diamond … Read more

Microsoft was out Friday helping people channel their inner Jimi Hendrix or Eddie Van Halen.

To promote the availability of Guitar Hero II on Microsoft's Xbox 360, the software company rigged up two moving vans' video screens and invited the public to rock out in front of real crowds.

The Microsoft vans made stops this week in San Francisco, including in front of CNET's South of Market headquarters. Another van cruised the streets of Boston.

Next week, the vans will be in Los Angeles and New York.

Guitar Hero is a guitar-playing simulation game that challenges users to … Read more