Shigeru Miyamoto has an impressive record when it comes to successful games. The Mario franchise alone is as big a cash cow as a game franchise can get. Still, the man has his share of disappointments. The Star Fox series is one of them.

Gundam creator Yoshiyuki Tomino thinks games are evil. He's said it before, and he's not afraid to say it again. This time, however, he does give credit to what he believes are technological advancements brought forth by video game hardware.

The DS may still be selling like hotcakes, as evidenced by its consistent chart-topping numbers, but truth of the matter is, it isn't as recession-proof as it may seem. Ubisoft is making their opinion known that yes, the DS market definitely has been on the downturn for the year 2009.

"Consumers are back out spending again." That's what Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn said as he described his anticipation for the forthcoming holidays. Even with the economy going the way it is, the industry seems to have won them over, getting them to spend on their toys again. More after the jump.

Take this from a guy whose brilliant mind turned figments of the imagination into glorious cultural icons. No less than the man behind Marvel himself, Stan Lee, has expressed his admiration and respect for gaming development. His exact words: "It's lke a miracle."

Don't let his robes fool you - you may have more in common with Trinley Dorje than you think. He's only 24, listens to hip-hop on his iPod, and enjoys a good round violent video games. Yes, you read that right - this Buddhist leader enjoys good old-fashioned pwnage as much as the next guy. In fact, despite his disposition, Dorje believes that this type of games can even be therapeutic.

When a guy of Keiji Inafune's caliber agrees to have an interview with you and says he's interested in a collaboration, you will need more than a pinch and a slap across the face to get you back down to Earth. The guy is, after all, a legend. That's what happened to the guys at Bungie, who managed to sit down with Capcom's legendary R&D man.

Plants vs. Zombies, released for PC and Mac a couple of months ago, is a quirky little tower defense game from PopCap Games that has players using plants to defend their house against a zombie invasion. If that sounds right up your alley, then here's some good news.

Remember all that hoopla last year about the sex scene in Mass Effect (Xbox 360, PC)? That's what happens when clueless critics weigh in on a subject they know less than nothing about. That episode also raised the question of whether or not scenes of a sexual nature have a place in videogames. Here's BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuk's take on the matter.

We've already seen various example of successful shooters that integrated RPG elements into the gameplay such as BioShock (PS3, Xbox 360, PC). Cliff Bleszinski thinks this isn't just a passing thing. He believes that RPGs are the future of first-person shooters.