Blog Posts by Chris Morris

(Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)Nintendo has seen its share of rough patches over the years, but the past 12 months have been a doozy.

After revolutionizing the video game industry with the Wii, the company's follow-up console has consistently failed to connect with core gamers, casual gamers and, perhaps most worrying of all, game creators themselves.

Even the DC universe's mightiest superheroes couldn't fight off yet another month of poor retail sales for the video game industry.

(Credit: Warner Bros. Interactive)

April was the latest in a long string of sales disappointments, with brick and mortar sales of video game software falling 17 percent as compared to the same period in 2012. Hardware sales, predictably, were drastically lower as consumers start to save their money for the looming next-generation systems.

Sales of game consoles, in fact, were down 42 percent to $109.5 million, while game sales dipped to $254.3 million. Overall, the industry was down 25 percent compared to a year ago.

Electronic Arts was the first company to institute the online pass. It was, at the time, a revolutionary idea that allowed the publisher to make money from used game sales.

Now, it's walking away from the practice -- and players are celebrating.

Credit: Polyphony/Sony

It's been three years since Gran Turismo last revved its engine - but it's finally ready to pull up to the starting line once again.

The hit driving franchise will release its latest installment - Gran Turismo 6 - later this year, Sony and developer Polyphony Digital announced today. Even better, players will be able to get a taste this July, with a playable demo.

Gran Turismo is the best-selling PlayStation franchise around - with fans buying more than 70 million copies to date. And Gran Turismo 6 is looking to be the biggest installment yet.

Credit: Sony

Julian Knight is one of the most notorious criminals in Australia. And he might be about to become the country's most dangerous gamer.

In documents filed with Australia's Supreme Court (via Kotaku), Knight is suing the prison system because no one will let him have a PlayStation. Knight says he is being treated unfairly by prison officials with no rational justification.

Caption: Chess champ Gata Kamsky, right (Credit: US Chess Championships)

If you think chess isn't a spectator sport, you obviously haven't been watching the right matches.

Gata Kamsky retained his title of U.S. chess champion Monday night in a marathon game that proved so challenging and suspenseful, it went into the chess equivalent of extra innings.

Dueling grandmasters Kamsky and his opponent Alejandro Ramirez battled one another for more than three hours, making over 150 moves each. After two head-to-head rounds, they were tied.

And that's when it got cool.

Diablo III (Credit: Blizzard)Blizzard Entertainment is turning a potential PR disaster into a PR coup.

Last week, the developer discovered a programming bug that let players of the blockbuster role-playing game Diablo III duplicate their in-game gold, resulting in inflated prices in the game's auction house, which uses real-world money.

This weekend, Blizzard announced the bug has been fixed, the people who took advantage of it have been suspended or banned from the game, and the money those less than savory players raised is being donated to charity.

You’ve played plenty of video games using fake electric guitars, but how about something a bit…classier?

Cello Fortress -- yes, cello -- combines video games, classical music and concert tours to create what very well may be the most unique multimedia experience to come around in years.