The move to a controller-less gaming culture might open up the industry to an even wider audience, as Microsoft (MSFT) hopes — but if Project Natal lives up to its hype, it could negatively impact some significant industry players.

Booth babes are typically a part of a gaming convention's scenery. They’re there to draw attention to the exhibitor — and perhaps pose for pictures — and not much more. But this agency owner says she believes having a model that's enthusiastic about the product can ultimately boost interest in the product.

While it owns one of the most successful franchises in gaming, Take Two Interactive Software has taken its share of hits over the past year.

While Microsoft is still riding a wave of goodwill after its unveiling of “Project Natal” to consumers, the company says it does not plan to rush the technology — and is willing to wait as long as necessary before putting the new gaming control system on store shelves.

A lot of people were looking for some good pricing news to come out of this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.  Not going to happen. And because of that, we’re unlikely to see any improvement in industry sales figures or publisher earnings in the immediate future.

The iPhone and iPod Touch have nearly 11,000 games available via the Apple App Store. And many show more creativity than anything coming from any of the major video game companies.

In its two-month history, the Nintendo DSi has already sold more than 1 million units. It is, by any definition, a runaway hit in the video game industry. But it wasn’t the company’s first effort at extending its lead in the handheld marketplace.

One day after Microsoft unveiled its new motion sensing technology, Sony has joined the battle. The company on Tuesday showed its new motion capture device — a new controller that works in concert with a video camera that it says it plans to launch in the spring of 2010.

Sony is not backing down in the increasingly competitive field of portable gaming devices. The company today officially unveiled the PSP Go, a completely revamped version of its PlayStation Portable gaming device, which it hopes will better compete against the Nintendo DSi and Apple iPhone.

While its competitors focus on new hardware and new peripherals, Nintendo is focusing entirely on the games.

Microsoft debuted a number of new partnerships and gave the world its first look at Project Natal, a new motion-sensing camera that allows players to control on screen action without any handheld controller.

Make no mistake, business gets done at the Electronic Entertainment Expo – lots of it – but since it serves as the industry’s rallying point for fans and the general public, the fun factor is given a massive dose of steroids. This year’s extravaganza runs June 2 through 4.

Superhero games on the whole have a pretty sorry history in the video game world. Batman, in particular, has had to endure some really crappy titles bearing his name. That inauspicious streak could end with "Arkham Asylum," though.

The game is a standalone expansion, and will certainly be shorter than previous "Halo" installments. Exact length of play and pricing hasn’t been determined, but Bungie has been quoted as saying they don’t view "ODST" as a $60 title.