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42% Of Americans Play Games Online

Participation in gaming increased in 2007 over 2006, from 64 percent of the population to 72 percent of the population according to a new report from The NPD Group, "Online Gaming 2008."More than half play games online, with 90 percent of online gamers saying they use a PC to play games and 19 percent said they use a video game console with 3 percent saying they use a cell phone.The number of online gamers relative to the total U.S. population is 42 percent so far this year, up from 40 percent in 2007.

Nintendo Wii To Launch Pay Service

Nintendo has announced that it will begin charging Wii gamers for some of its online offerings.Called the Wi-Fi Connection Pay and Play, the service will feature red stickers on the titles that users must pay to play online. A pricing plan has not been released but Nintendo said that gamers could pay for titles using Wii points, the consoles virtual currency.

N.Y. Giants Move Into Online Gaming

The New York Giants and the Global Gaming League (GGL) are partnering to offer a new online video game competition and community portal for Giants fans. The new Giants Game Day Live portal will allow users to compete in multiple and interactive video game tournaments Users can track stats, rankings and leaderboards online and can play Game Day Live on Xbox 360 and PlayStation3.

NASA To Recruit Via Online Gaming

NASA is shopping around for companies to help them develop a massively multiplayer online game for use as a recruiting tool. Now it's certain Google and NASA are spending too much time together.

China To Clamp Down On Online Gaming

China said it would issue stricter regulations on online gaming in an effort to clamp down on the undesirable aspects of the industry." In the next five years, China's online gaming industry will reach a turning point where 'green' games will be appreciated and encouraged," Kou Xiaowei, deputy director of the audio-visual and Internet publication department of the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) said according to China Daily.

Casual Gaming: An Untapped Market

At the first of the year, I wondered if 2007 or 2008 would be the year of the online game. 2007 is nearly gone, and not a peep out of anybody except the Casual Games Association, which says 150 million people play free, casual games online, outpacing game consoles, first-person shooter games, and massively multiplayer games.

Online Gaming Remains Popular

Playing games online is still a more popular activity in the U.S. than watching short video clips or visiting social networking sites, according to Casual Gaming market Update report from Parks Associates

China Puts Limits On Online Gaming

Kids are creative, so it's difficult to enforce any rules without the smart little…minxes finding a way around them. You know that tone that only teenagers can hear and drives them crazy? They turned that around by making it a ring tone the teacher wouldn't hear in class.

Will Users Kongregate At The YouTube For Games?

It's spelled as if it comes straight from the Kaiser, or the Kremlin, and red like the Cold War (which Putin, apparently, is looking to put back in the cooler), and maybe, since it's somewhat communal, this online sharing thing, it's appropriate – Kongregate is being touted as "the YouTube for games."

Google Patents Profiling of Online Gamers

In March Google acquired the in-game advertising technology firm Adscape Media. Though some have their doubts, advertising within video games is seen as an effective way to reach the coveted demographic of men 18-34. According to Google: