East Carolina University reveals the results of a 6-month randomized, controlled study that confirms positive health benefits of so-called "casual" video games, such as Bejeweled 2, Peggle and Bookworm Adventures.

Sierra announced The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon, the third chapter in the popular Legend of Spyro trilogy. Reprising their roles as the characters of Spyro and his mentor Ignitus, are Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Gary Oldman (Sirius Black from the Harry Potter films), as well as Christina Ricci, Blair Underwood, Mark Hamill and Wayne Brady, rounding out an all-star voice cast.

Valve's physics-focused puzzle game Portal has been denied access to Xbox Live Arcade according to Valve marketing director Doug Lombardi. Currently part of the Orange Box, Microsoft was approached to have Portal downloadable through XBLA but turned it down due to "size limit and all kinds of other things," although Doug did say it might be possible somewhere down the line, "I think it's a trade-off, we'll see it one day."

In Crash Bandicoot: Mind over Mutant, a rejuvenated Neo Cortex is taking over the world one brain at a time! Cortex and N. Brio devise a new kind of evil — a text-messaging, do-anything device that controls both mutant and bandicoot minds. Armed with his wits and lightning agility, Crash must free his friends, the titans, and save the day!

Another day, another batch of games shipped to stores. Instead of giving them all their own posts, we grouped them, and so far there are announcements for:

• Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
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  We will update this throughout the day when new announcements become available. Read more for details ...

SOCOM Confrontation focuses on online play and the global community and clans that support it, with support for Tournaments, Clan Ladders, and Leader Boards. Additionally, players will be able to modify their appearance through facial and physical customization.

Today Nintendo added yet another classic game to the Wii's Shop Channel. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet access can redeem Wii Points to download the following title: Double Dragon.

JoWooD announced it is soliciting proposals from independent developers who wish to create a new Action RPG game for Xbox 360, PS3 and PC, based on one of JoWooD’s established brands, known for its epic background story as well as exceptional graphics and polish. Deadline for the submission is May, 16th 2008.

Samurai Warriors 2 is a beat-'em-up features 20 characters to select from, each offering different ways of fighting, no load times when the action changes from interior to exterior battles, and new combo configurations and better special attacks. KOEI continues its recent trend of bringing its lineup to PC.

Digital media company SilverBirch Inc., known for announced an agreement to acquire Netherlands-based Lighthouse Interactive with offices in Montreal, Toronto and London, England.