Blog Posts by Chris Morris

While the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Tiger Woods 12: The Masters have been received fairly warmly, the PC version is in the rough. The thick stuff.

Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 (EA Sports)Graphics are subpar. The features are lacking. And fans, who have been waiting for a new PC version of the game since 2008, are livid. Now it appears that publisher Electronic Arts is trying to sooth the angry masses.

Eurogamer reports the company has offered refunds to select customers who felt misled by the game.

The list of grievances from PC fans is a pretty lengthy one. Topping the complaints is the game's multiplayer mode, which is only free for three months. Additionally, players who want to upgrade their player's wardrobe or equipment can only do so via in-game purchases -- using real world cash.

While rumors of a redesigned 3DS didn't pan out, Nintendo had plenty to say about the future of its latest handheld system at a pre-Tokyo Game Show press conference on Tuesday.

Super Mario 3D Land (Nintendo)The Kyoto-based company is going all-in with the 3DS this November and early December, offering a system update that will add several new features (including video recording) as well as two major titles to help boost holiday sales. But analysts still think the company will fall short of its goals.

The games, while previously announced, are big ones. Super Mario 3D Land, put together by the same team who made Super Mario Galaxy, will hit store shelves Nov. 13. Three weeks later, on Dec. 4, the 3DS-enabled Mario Kart 7 will go on sale.

GameStop is joining the iOS revolution.

The country's largest video game retailer -- and the biggest seller of used games and game hardware -- has now started accepting iPods, iPhones and iPads for trade-in for store credit, which can be redeemed for games, hardware, downloadable content and more. The company claims to offer 'competitive' trade values on the systems.

President Tony Bartel noted that the move was "especially significant with the great title line-up slated for this fall."

Kenny Rogers offers some great advice about knowing when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em, but when it comes to putting together a world-class poker night for you and your buddies, he's pretty useless.

Don't fold 'emThe key to throwing a great poker night is to remember that it's not just about the game — it's about the people. Instead of silently staring at the TV, you're gathered around a table eating, drinking and relaxing (sort of), the perfect ingredients for a good conversation. And the cash on the table ensures that everyone stays on their toes.

Your particular group of friends will determine the specifics, but here are a few of suggestions on how to both prepare for and throw a winning poker night.

What a difference a price cut makes.

Sales of Nintendo's beleaguered 3DS handheld were up a whopping 260 percent in August (compared to July) after the system's $70 price cut went into effect. Even more impressive, that price cut was only in effect for part of the month.

In a statement, Nintendo said it sold more than 235,000 3DS units last month -- 185,000 of which were moved following the Aug. 12 reduction.

Everyone wants to knock the wedding proposal out of the park by doing something truly special. Hire a skywriter to scrawl a message at 10,000 feet, perhaps? Or maybe you'll just carve out a note in the sand during a romantic island vacation?

Fine ideas, for sure, but if you want to really go big with your wedding plans, look to the gamers. Often eschewing the standard sunset-on-the-beach locale for something more…original, the more romantic geeks out there have gone to great lengths to make that special moment all kinds of fun. When it comes to romantic gestures, they're a hard bunch to top.

Everyone was expecting bad news from video game retailers in August.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution (Square Enix)And everyone was right.

The NPD Group reports that year over year sales were down 23 percent, with software sales tumbling 37 percent. August, historically, has been a rebound month for the industry, but EA's decision to move the release of the annual Madden entry to the end of the month torpedoed any chance of that happening this year.

2011 really hasn't been Nintendo's year.

Wii Sensor (Nintendo)The company's stock has plunged 40 percent. The 3DS fell on its face after its launch. And despite a price cut to $150 in May, the Wii is still dead in the water.

Now the company is adding new legal battles to that list of woes.

ThinkOptical, the maker of the Wavit remote, is suing Nintendo for patent infringement, saying it holds a patent (called 'Electronic equipment for handheld vision based absolute pointing system') that covers the technology powering the Wii's remote.