AFP - Sony will launch a new PlayStation Portable in October with a high-resolution screen and a built-in microphone that enables it to be used as a telephone, the company said Thursday.

AP - For PlayStation 3 fans who want to do more than mash buttons when playing games on the console, Sony Corp. is introducing a wireless keypad that can be attached to the system's controller for typing and Web browsing.

AP - EatDrinkOrDie.com is hoping to find the culinary equivalent of Paris Hilton's political campaign ad.

AFP - US videogame giant Electronic Arts (EA) confirmed Wednesday it shifted from a hostile bid for "Grand Theft Auto" maker Take-Two Interactive to friendly talks about its two-billion-dollar offer.

AFP - A US firm said Wednesday it had filed legal actions against Japanese-based Nintendo claiming patent infringement by the wildly popular Wii game console.

Reuters - Hillcrest Laboratories asked a trade panel to determine if Nintendo Co (7974.OS) and its U.S. subsidiary have infringed four patents to make its top-selling Wii game, according to a filing on Wednesday and a Hillcrest statement.

AP - Nintendo's hit Wii console with its wandlike remote controller has been targeted in patent infringement complaints by a U.S. technology company.

Reuters - Video games publisher Electronic Arts set a launch date of February 20, 2009 for the latest installment of its biggest-selling franchise, the Sims, on Wednesday.

Reuters - U.S. antitrust authorities would approve a combination of Electronic Arts Inc with rival video game publisher Take-Two Interactive Software, according to letters from the Federal Trade Commission posted on the agency's web site.

AP - Your kids can learn math, how to tell time and other skills needed for school — and you don't have to pry them away from video games.

Reuters - Hillcrest Laboratories asked a trade panel to determine if Nintendo Co (7974.OS) and its U.S. subsidiary have infringed four patents to make its top-selling Wii game, according to a filing on Wednesday and a Hillcrest statement.

NewsFactor - The Electronic Arts, Take-Two Interactive Software acquisition drama continues as the mammoth video-game publisher said it won't extend a Monday deadline for its $2 billion offer to buy Take-Two, maker of the Grand Theft Auto franchise series.