Blog Posts by Chris Morris

Tom Curtin didn't get what he was asking for one of the rarest video games ever found, but you won't hear him complaining too much about that.

Earlier this week, Curtin launched an eBay auction for an exceptionally hard-to-find The Legend of Zelda prototype cartridge. The price? A whopping $150,000. That proved too steep, but a buyer quickly stepped forward and offered $55,000 — and just like that, there was a new record for the most expensive video game in the world.

Sony at E3 2012 (Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)The length of this console life cycle continues to haunt Sony. The company saw a wider loss in its fiscal first quarter with poor PlayStation sales dragging the numbers down.

The games unit saw a notable decline in sales last quarter (from April 1 to June 30), selling 800,000 fewer hardware units and coming in at an operating loss of $45 million. Software sales were down as well. It was a discouraging performance for the division Sony is hoping will help guide the company out of its financial woes.

Jay Z (Credit: Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images)He's a music mogul, clothing designer, real-estate developer and author.

And now Jay-Z is adding 'video game producer' to the list.

Take-Two Interactive has drafted Jay-Z to be an executive producer for the upcoming NBA 2K13. Chief among his duties will be hand-picking the soundtrack for the game, which will include a half-dozen of his own songs, as well three numbers from Kanye West and others from well known names such as Puff Daddy and the Family, U2, and Coldplay.

One of the most beloved games of all time is now one of the most insane auctions of all time.

An exceedingly rare prototype cartridge of the NES classic The Legend of Zelda has popped up on eBay, along with a sealed copy of the original game. The asking price for this pair? $150,000. That's in U.S. dollars, not rupees.

Nintendo at E3 2012 (Credit: Getty Images)After weeks of uncertainty, the video game industry finally knows where the next E3 will be held.

The Entertainment Software Association (which owns E3) and the City of Los Angeles have settled their differences and signed a deal that calls for the video game's premiere trade show to be held in the city for the next three years.

E3 2013, which is expected to see the introduction of new console systems from Microsoft and Sony, will be held June 11-13.

(Credit: Getty Images)Things aren't rosy for those hoping to make big bucks in video games.

Five years ago, the idea of a 29 percent year-over-year decline would have sent shock waves throughout the industry. But when NPD reported that shortfall a few weeks ago, publishers, gamers and investors shrugged briefly, then promptly forgot about it.

But the problem isn't going away. Sales of traditional video games are clearly suffering. Game studios are closing left and right. Even game makers who used to print money are backpedaling. Monthly sales numbers at brick and mortar retailers have declined steadily for the past seven months, and while apologists argue that digital distribution is making up that gap, the numbers don't back that up.

The history of films based on video games is a spotty one -- and that's being generous. Even big-budget flicks like Angelina Jolie's "Tomb Raider" or Jake Gyllenhaal's "Prince of Persia" still left fans disappointed.

But after something of a break, Hollywood is gearing up to once again try its luck with video game source material. From huge new franchises to some odd throwbacks, a handful of video game film adaptations are coming along in the next couple of years. Which sound promising, and which should see a preemptive 'game over' screen?

Fez (Credit: Polytron)The developers of indie game darling Fez have a problem: there's a major bug in their game. But they're not going to fix it — and they say that's Microsoft's fault.

Released in April on Xbox Live, Fez garnered terrific reviews from critics. But as players explored the game, they found a number of issues. Save files were being corrupted and the game was crashing regularly. A fix was issued last month, but it was quickly yanked because it reportedly caused even more problems.

And now the developer says it will simply cost too much to issue another one, due to fees from the Redmond-based company.