Ben Schefers bought his first Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Xbox 360 console four months ago to play games remotely with his friends. But the 33-year-old database manager now spends more time using it to play movies, television shows and documentaries.

“It’s something that my wife and I can both agree on,” he says, adding that he plays Xbox 360 games only a few times a week–and often only after his wife is asleep. Each night, he and his wife, who live in Berkeley, Calif., spend an hour or two catching up on TV shows with the console. “It’s kind of taken over from our DVD player,” says Mr. Schefers.

Videogame consoles like the Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.’s (SNE) PlayStation 3 were designed primarily to play games, but the gadgets are increasingly evolving into multimedia home-entertainment devices as manufacturers add nongame features.

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Satoru Iwata, the president of Nintendo Co., is a self-proclaimed Apple Inc. (AAPL) fan. He carries an iPhone and uses a Mac laptop. So when Mr. Iwata says Nintendo and Apple aren’t competitors, he should know what he’s talking about.

Nintendo, whose gadgets and software dominate the portable-videogame market, faces the greatest risk from the emergence of Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch as gaming platforms. But Mr. Iwata says attempts to create a rivalry between the two companies make him “uncomfortable,” because he says it isn’t true. He argues the companies appeal to different consumers.

Yet Apple has made clear that it intends to go after Nintendo’s turf.

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Blowing away terrorists, apparently, never gets old.

The new videogame Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, set to hit stores Tuesday, is a sequel spawned by sequels. But rather than following the frequent pattern of franchises fading as they age, Modern Warfare 2 is the most highly anticipated game of the season.

“It’s the biggest launch in our history, bigger than Halo 3,” said Tony Bartel, merchandising and marketing chief for videogame retailer GameStop, which has been taking pre-orders since April.

The manufacturer, Activision Blizzard Inc. (ATVI), has been advertising the first-person shooter game since March.

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Activision Blizzard (ATVI) this afternoon posted slightly better-than-expected Q3 results, and reiterated its previous guidance for the full year.

For the quarter, the video game publisher posted non-GAAP revenue of $755 million and non-GAAP profits of 4 cents a share; previous guidance had been for $700 million and 3 cents.

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The turf battle between two Chinese bureaucracies appears to be escalating, with NetEase and the World of Warcraft videogame at its center.

According to a statement, China’s General Administration of Press and Publications said it rejected NetEase’s application to operate Burning Crusades, the latest version of World of Warcraft. NetEase acquired the license to the popular game after Activision Blizzard (ATVI) dropped its previous China licensee, The9.

The regulator demanded, however, that NetEase stop taking payments and registering new game accounts, or else face punishment that includes “suspension of its Internet service.”

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When MTV Networks’ Harmonix Music Systems developed the videogame The Beatles: Rock Band, it made many small changes to some of the most beloved songs in rock history. All of them were made in consultation with Apple Corps, the Beatles’ management company, but some of the changes have come as a shock for fans.

One that is causing a particular stir is a change in “Her Majesty,” the final song on the final album that the Beatles recorded. In the album “Abbey Road,” the song starts and ends with distinction: a surprisingly loud opening and an abrupt end. To many Beatles fans, the unresolved ending conveys special meaning, a sense that the iconic band’s music has no end to it.

Well, not anymore.

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Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) this afternoon posted revenue for its fiscal third quarter ended July 31 of $138.6 million, down from $433.8 million a year ago, but ahead of the Street consensus at $125.3 million. The video-game company suffered a non-GAAP loss in the quarter of 66 cents a share, two cents less than the consensus at 68 cents.

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Never heard of Jeremy Roenick? That’s okay. We don’t judge here. The hockey jocks at ESPN may think differently, though.

Writer Patrick Hruby calls the planned retirement San Jose Sharks player Jeremy Roenick a blow to videogame players the world over.

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T S Eliot wrote of Dante that “there seems really nothing to do but point to him and be silent”. How very wrong T S Eliot was. In perhaps the most bizarre literary cameo since Geoffrey Chaucer was shown singing along to Queen tunes in the 2001 film A Knight’s Tale, Florence’s most famous son will soon be crashing into your living room as the growling, cross-wielding hero of his very own video game.

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This essay ends with cheating. Specifically, my friend Greg and I, after playing a particular videogame for 11 hours straight, are stuck. We call a fellow gamer to learn what moves we need to make to get to the next level. With the new information in hand, we finally complete the game.

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Is the video game sector hitting a wall?

That’s the obvious conclusion of the latest monthly sales data from research firm NPD Group.

According to data released late Thursday, video game industry overall sales fell 17 percent in March from a year ago, with hardware down 18 percent, software off 17 percent and accessories off 15 percent. For all of Q1, overall industry sales were flat, with hardware up one percent year over year, software down two percent, and accessories down three percent.

Wait, wait. How did this happen? NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier asserts that the steep fall off reflects two unusual factors. One, she explains, is that Easter last year fell in March, whereas this year it fell in April. And secondly, she notes that last March included the release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which she points out was the fourth-best selling game in 2008.

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Videogame creator Will Wright’s employment at Electronic Arts (ERTS) is toast–the very breakfast food that’s helped to inspire the next stage of his career.

On Wednesday, the man behind games such as Spore and Sim City resigned from the Redwood City, Calif.-based company to concentrate on his eight-year-old think tank, Stupid Fun Club, which aims to bring games to a host of new platforms.

Potentially among them: Toasters.

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THQ (THQI) shares are posting a fat gain today after the videogame company announced that it has completed a previously announced cost-reduction plan designed to chop its annual spending by $220 million.

THQ CEO Brian Farrell said in a statement that the company’s goal is to return to profitability and generate positive cash flow in the March 2010 fiscal year, and to position the company for long-term sustainable growth.

The company said March quarter results will include $45 million in “realignment expenses,” including $4 million in cash costs. The restructuring includes cutting its SKUs by about 20 percent and closing or selling four of its game development studios. The plan: producer fewer, better games.

Kaufman Bros. analyst Todd Mitchell this morning pounded the table on the stock, repeating his Buy rating and $6 target price, and asserting that there are near-term catalysts ahead for the stock. Weirdly, the note actually says that the company will “soon announce its restructuring is complete,” and of course they announced exactly that this morning. (He should have issued the note a day earlier, I’d say.)

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Activision Blizzard (ATVI) shares are down sharply for the second straight day after CEO Bobby Kotick disclosed the sale of a large block of shares.

Kotick personally sold one million shares at an average price of $10.1834 a share; he received the shares after exercising 260,558 options with a strike price of 51.04 cents, and another 739,442 options with a strike of $1.0315. He also sold another 242,425 shares held by a trust he controls.

Two analysts bullish on the videogame publisher weighed in today to defend the stock.

Cowen’s Doug Creutz said he doesn’t believe the sales are a signal that management is concerned about near-term operating results. “On the contrary, we continue to believe current management EPS guidance is conservative,” he writes. Creutz notes that appears to be “lingering investor concern” about insider selling due to a 2002 sale of shares by Kotick prior to a downturn in ATVI’s stock price.

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The morning after top U.S. videogame maker Electronic Arts (ERTS) missed sales and profit estimates for its fiscal third quarter, cut its forecast for next year, and said it will cut 1,100 jobs, or 11 percent of its workforce, the stock is up $1.75, or 11 percent, at $17.25. Perhaps reduced expectations have convinced some the stock has bottomed. After all, the shares were down 72 percent from their 12-month high of $54.81 at yesterday’s close.

However, the analyst community still finds much to fret over.

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