Buying a Videogame Console on Black Friday? Here’s What You Need to Know.

A buyer’s guide to the deals you can get — and the differences among the game consoles — for anyone partaking in America’s consumerist holiday.

Some People Take the PlayStation 4 a Lot More Seriously Than Others (Slideshow)

Photos from the midnight launch of the PlayStation 4 in San Francisco.

Unu, Yet Another Android Gaming Device, Ships by November

Here comes another one!

News Byte

Android Microconsole GameStick Planned for September 30 Worldwide Release

GameStick, an Android-based gaming microconsole made by PlayJam that plugs into a TV’s HDMI port, will be released on Sept. 30, according to its Amazon and GameStop pages. Liliputing was first to blog about the release dates. The GameStick raised $647,658 on Kickstarter earlier this year — more than six times its original goal — but shipments to backers were delayed beyond the originally expected April 2013 window. According to a post on the GameStick blog, Kickstarter backers should receive their units by mid-September at the latest.

News Byte

Kickstarted Android Gaming Console Ouya Comes to Retail Shelves, Amazon

Ouya, an Android-based videogame console that raised $8.6 million on Kickstarter last year, is available today on Amazon and at GameStop, Target and Best Buy. Some of the people who preordered the $99 Ouya online have already received their consoles in the mail. The device connects to the TV, and can currently play more than 150 games developed specifically with the big screen in mind. To date, Ouya says more than 12,000 developers have signed up to publish games on the console’s Discover Store.

Mind Games: Will Brain Power Be the Future of Play?

The search for a game-changer at a neurogaming conference this week in San Francisco.

Voices

All I Want for Christmas Is My Apple TV

It’s all about the apps.

News Byte

New Mobile Game Incubator Execution Labs Opens in Canada

Execution Labs, a new incubator focused on the development of mobile games, has launched in Montreal. Participating companies will get funding, shared work space and access to the founders, mentors and marketing partners like GameStop, in return for a revenue share and equity stake. The co-founders are Jason Della Rocca, former director of the International Game Developers Association; Alexandre Pelletier-Normand, former head of deployment at Gameloft; and Keith Katz, former VP Monetization at OpenFeint (now Gree). The incubator has raised more than $1 million from investors, including BDC Venture Capital, Real Ventures and White Star Capital.

Kaboom! Activision Likely to Blow Away Third-Quarter Expectations.

The Call of Duty videogame publisher is expected to have another quarter of explosive growth.

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Halo 4 Passes Its First Crucial Test: Metacritic

Microsoft Corp. has a lot riding on its new alien shooting videogame, Halo 4, which is part of the blockbuster Halo franchise and debuts Nov 6. But there’s one thing over which Halo 4′s creators can breathe a sigh of relief: The game’s review score from Metacritic.com.