taitran:

Microsoft dominated the videogame industry last year, with the Xbox capturing nearly half of all consumer spending from physical sales in 2011.

According to NPD data released today, about $6.7 billion, or 40 percent of consumer retail spending, was spent on the Xbox, breaking down into two…

Now both Zynga and Nexon will have an extra billion dollars to buy some of those rivals, spreading around some of the holiday cheer. And the worldwide publicity from the offerings will bring new recognition that gaming is a big business and that social and online games have reached the mass market.

Zynga will be more valuable than Electronic Arts: $8.9B vs $6.9B

Facebook may reach $1B profits this year, has $3.5B in cash, says report