Blog Posts by Chris Morris

A group of Chinese workers that make the Xbox 360 are unhappy with their jobs. Really unhappy.

Foxconn Technology (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)Roughly 150 employees of a Foxconn Technology plant in Wuhan, China threatened mass suicide earlier this month in protest of job transfers. No workers followed through with the threat, though 45 did ultimately decide to quit, reports The New York Times.

At issue was a decision to transfer all employees to an alternate production facility. Workers insist they were initially offered severance pay if they chose not to relocate, but that Foxconn later backed out of that promise. Foxconn says they made no such severance promise in the first place.

ePawn Arena (ePawn)The Consumer Electronics Show isn't just about a bunch of drool-worthy TVs and doomed-before-they-launch tablets. Gaming is a big part of the show.

While new games aren't announced or showcased and major new hardware announcements by big industry players don't typically happen (even rumored ones like the Xbox 720), there's plenty of gaming on hand. Sony and Nintendo have been busily showing off the PlayStation Vita and Wii U, respectively, and many of those fancy sets and mobile devices are geared towards those who like to play.

[Photos]: New tech gadgets of CES 2012

But if you like your gaming with an extra helping of weirdness, it's a virtual smorgasbord. There's no end to the companies showcasing quirky, unusual, or downright head-scratching pieces of gaming technology. Here are five of the most interesting game gadgets of CES 2012.

While there are plenty of rumors about the next generation of consoles making an appearance at this year's E3, don't expect Sony to join the fun.

Sony's Kaz Hirai (Getty Images)Kaz Hirai, who lords over the company's consumer entertainment division (which includes the PlayStation unit), has definitively shot down the whispers, saying the PlayStation 4 will not be introduced at this year's premier video game trade show.

Andrew House, head of the gaming division, was the first to deny the rumors a few days ago. But in a roundtable Q&A with reporters at CES, Hirai underscored what House said, noting that the company feels it's too early to launch or even start talking about a next generation.

If you're planning to get a 3G-enabled PlayStation Vita when it launches next month, be prepared for monthly data fees that are on par with the iPad.

Playstation Vita (Sony)AT&T has revealed its pricing plans for the system, detailing a pair of options designed to accommodate light and heavy users of the network.

No-contract plans will start at $14.99 per month for 250MB of data. For $25 a month, the data cap extends to 2GB. That's about on par with what AT&T charges users of Apple's tablet. And, just like iPad owners, people who use AT&T's service will get free WiFi at AT&T hotspots around the country.

Hit military shooter Battlefield 3 is a very realistic game. Maybe too realistic.

Battlefield 3 (EA)Electronic Arts has found itself in the midst of a legal battle with Bell Helicopter parent Textron over the game maker's use of images of real world helicopters in the game

EA says its use of the choppers — specifically the AH-1Z Viper, the UH-1Y, and the V-22 Osprey — are protected under the First Amendment and constitute fair use. Textron argues they were used without permission and EA failed to pay licensing fees.

The Force is strong with this one. And chatty.

Star Wars: The Old Republic (EA)Already a hit with fans and critics, EA's new massively-multiplayer game Star Wars: The Old Republic has been awarded a Guinness World Record for being the Largest Entertainment Voice Over Project ever. Apparently those Jedi and Sith were a gabby bunch.

All totaled, there's more than 200,000 lines of dialogue in The Old Republic. To put that in perspective, the immense single-player role-playing hit The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, which is packed with yammering characters, only has 60,000 lines of dialogue. The number also trounces anything seen in a television or film project.

The Dark Knight is getting the Lego treatment once again.

Lego Batman 2 (Warner Bros. Interactive)Warner Bros. Interactive has announced that Lego Batman 2 is on the way, with a blocky Batman and Robin hitting store shelves this summer. And they're bringing some super friends — and enemies — along for the ride.

The Joker, of course, will be causing troubles once again, but this time he'll be joined by none other than follicle-challenged villain, Lex Luthor. Batman's allies will include Superman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern, making Lego Batman 2 something of a mini-Justice League.

Microsoft still isn't talking about the successor to the Xbox 360, but that's not stopping the grapevine from speculating about the new features it will offer.

The company received a patent late last year for a device that would serve as both a game console and a digital video recorder — and that has people wondering if the next Xbox will have an even bigger role in the living room.

The patent, which was granted on Dec. 27, describes the device as one that will let owners record programming while they play a game. And while television shows are certainly included in the mix, they'd also be able to record their game, both local and online.