Video game sales fall ahead of PlayStation Vita launch

Sony's incoming chief executive, Kazuo Hirai, hopes the Vita will help Sony return to profit Video game sales slumped in the US - their biggest market - in January.

NPD group said stores sold $1.14bn (£720m) worth of games over the month, down 34% on the previous year. It added that hardware sales were down 38%.

The consumer data provider linked the drop to a lack of major new releases. Other analysts also pointed to worries about the economy and said this might have an impact on the upcoming launch of Sony's PlayStation Vita console.

EA wants 'open gaming platform'

Games are exploiting the increasing power of games consoles

Rival gaming systems should make way for a single open platform, a senior executive at Electronic Arts has said.

Gerhard Florin said incompatible consoles made life harder for developers and consumers.
"We want an open, standard platform which is much easier than having five which are not compatible," said EA's head of international publishing.

Halo 3 Downloadable Map Packs Available Now

Halo3 game's screenshot

Today, everything Halo 3 is new again.
Bungie has released a downloadable pack of new multiplayer maps for the blockbuster Xbox 360 shooter.

For $10, Xbox Live members can download three brand-new areas called Standoff, Rat's Nest and Foundry.

If you don't want to put down the $10, just wait -- Microsoft says the maps will become free whenever the next Halo 3 map pack is released, which should be sometime this spring.