Burbank, Calif. - Disney (NYSE: DIS) Interactive Studios on Thursday launched DGamer, its online community exclusively for Disney video games, in North America. The service is available both at DGamer.com and via Wi-Fi on the Nintendo DS, and was launched in conjunction with the release of "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" for the handheld. DGamer, set to expand internationally next year, lets gamers create avatars, chat, post scores and access locked game content.

Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) has announced that its Xbox 360 beat out rival next-generation video game consoles from Sony (NYSE: SNE) and Nintendo to become the first to sell over 10 million units in the U.S.

Lufkin, Texas - Nintendo of America has been ordered to pay $21 million in patent infringement damages to Texas-based Anascape, which sued the company over the design of its Wii Classic, WaveBird and Gamecube controllers, the Associated Press reports.

Midlothian, Va. - Completing a deal first announced last month, video game publisher SouthPeak Interactive said on Wednesday that it has gone public by acquiring a majority stake in Global Services Partners Acquisition Corp. (GSPAC), a shell company that trades on the OTC Bulletin Board.

San Francisco - Greystripe, a distributor of free, ad-supported mobile games, on Tuesday announced a deal to offer free mobile games from Sega. Three Sega titles will initially be offered on GameJump.com and through Greystripe partners, to include "Sonic Jump," "Afterburner II" and "Golden Axe."

Palo Alto, Calif. - Social Gaming Network (SGN), a developer of social media games whose titles include "Warbook" on Facebook, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $15 million in its first round of funding, led by Greylock Partners, Founders Fund, Columbia Capital and Novak Biddle Venture Partners.

San Francisco - Independent animation network Aniboom said on Monday that it has partnered with casual games publisher I-play to develop animated serial content for mobile, online and television based on I-play's most popular games. The first series in development is based on "Turbo Subs," a restaurant franchise-building game that counts millions of downloads.

Redmond, Wash. - Nintendo of America on Monday debuted its WiiWare service, which allows owners of its Wii game console to download new games over an Internet connection from a range of large and independent publishers.

Austin, Texas - Bigfoot Networks, a provider of technology that decreases lag time for networked online gaming, has raised an $8.75 million second round of funding, led by North Bridge Venture Partners and Palomar Ventures, Austin Business Journal reported.

Los Angeles - Electronic Arts will acquire Rupture, a games-focused social network launched by Napster founder Shawn Fanning, for $30 million, according to a report from TechCrunch, which cited sources with knowledge of the deal.

New York - Take Two Interactive's (NASD: TTWO) 2K Games label announced on Friday that it has signed a deal with Universal Pictures to develop a movie based on its "BioShock" game, to be directed and produced by Gore Verbinski ("Pirates of the Caribbean"). Financial terms of the deal, or a timeline for the project, were not disclosed.

New York - Video game publisher Atari (NASD: ATAR), which last week agreed to merge with its major shareholder, France-based Infogrames, announced on Friday that the Nasdaq has delisted its shares, effective today.

Redwood City, Calif. - Electronic Arts has launched a new sub-brand, EA Sports Freestyle, which will target what it says is the growing casual sports games audience. The label will publish at least three new games in the next 12 months, including an arcade-style boxing game called "FaceBreaker," and a title for Wii Fit, the new balance board accessory for the Nintendo Wii.

New York - Marvel Entertainment said on Thursday that it has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with video game developer THQ (NASD: THQI), which will create video games based on the Marvel's kid-friendly Super Hero Squad franchise. The initial game is scheduled for release in the fall of 2009. Separately, THQ said it signed a deal with DreamWorks Animation to publish games based on the studio's 2010 fall animated feature film, currently under the working title "Master Mind." The film is billed as a satirical send-up of the superhero genre.

Seattle - RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) announced on Thursday that it will spin off its casual games business, and distribute shares in the newly created company to its shareholders.

Washington - The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) annual undercover sting operation where underage consumers try to buy R-rated movie tickets, DVDs and M-rated video games has found a dramatic improvement at video game retailers, where its secret shoppers were able to buy M-rated games just 20% of the time -- down from 42% in 2007 and 85% in 2000. The video game industry and retail partners also fared better than movie theaters, where secret shoppers gained access to R-rated films 36% of the time, and DVD retailers, where R-rated title purchases were successful 47% of the time.

New York - Take-Two Interactive (NASD: TTWO) announced on Wednesday that its "Grand Theft Auto IV" broke all-time day one and week one sales records, posting 3.6 million global unit sales on April 29, with a retail value of $310 million, and 6 million in sales for its first week, with an estimated retail value of more than $500 million. "Grand Theft Auto IV's first week performance represents the largest launch in the history of interactive entertainment, and we believe these retail sales levels surpass any movie or music launch to date," said Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick.

Burbank, Calif. - Dreamer, a Korea-based interactive TV developer, said on Tuesday that it has opened an office in Burbank, Calif. to market its Biddle technology, a platform that lets content distributors deliver customized, interactive programming and services to networked Blu-ray Disc players or PlayStation 3 consoles. Dreamer said its Biddle platform is currently in use by over one million subscribers in Korea.

New York - Video game publisher Take-Two Interactive (NASD: TTWO) has sued the Chicago Transit Authority and sales agent Titan Outdoor for pulling ads for its "Grand Theft Auto IV" game without any explanation, Reuters reports.