The digital pinball market is on the rise again, thanks to some savvy developments being handled by development teams.  No longer is it an embarrassing affair of crappy ball physics or lame table design.  No, these guys are dedicated.  Take Zen Studios, who have been pumping out quality releases with their Pinball FX 2 and Zen Pinball compilations.  And that's just the beginning, as Farsight Studios is preparing for its own pin assault later this spring with The Pinball Arcade.  Luckily for us, we got a taste of what the company has in mind...

LAS VEGAS -- At CES 2012, Parrot debuted the AR.Drone 2.0, the new generation of its high-tech quadricopter that can be controlled by Wi-Fi using a smartphone or tablet. With a new high-definition camera, video recording, flight data sharing, new piloting mode, increased stability and brand-new look, the AR.Drone 2.0 will be available for purchase at selected retailers in Q2 2012 in the United States for $299. Check out this cool new toy, which comes with an assortment of videogames, in the exclusive video below.

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2012) in Las Vegas, more companies were entering the Android smartphone and tablet spaces. And for good reason, Google is winning its battle against Apple for consumers interested in upgrading to the latest smartphones and tablets. This past Christmas saw Google overtake Apple for the lead in smartphones. And there appears to be no end in site with lower-priced devices entering the market throughout this year, including new NVIDIA Tegra 3 devices from Asus for just $250.

LAS VEGAS – The Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2012) opened its doors to press, analysts and buyers featuring a record number of exhibitors, more than 3,100 companies on a show floor that will exceed 1.85 million net square feet of exhibit space. Pre-show media events with innovative product launches kicked off the 2012 CES, with cutting-edge products including ultrabooks, voice and gesture-based technologies, smartphones and OLED TVs. Owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association, the 2012 International CES, the world's largest tradeshow for consumer technology, opens today and runs through Friday, January 13 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

LAS VEGAS -- AT&T's President of Emerging Devices Glenn Lurie and Sony's SVP Kuni Suzuki announced together on stage the new data plans for the soon to be launched Playstation PS Vita portable gaming console here at AT&T's Developer Summit being held at the Palm's Hotel & Casino at CES 2012. Plans will be similar to the iPad and iPhone with two tiers - $14.99 for 250MB and $25 for 2GB. The Playstation PS Vita will have 3G and Wi-Fi support to allow PS Vita's gamers to access the Playstation Network. Unfortunately, the PS Vita will not support of AT&T's new and faster 4G LTE network nor will it have unlimited data. The Playstaton PS Vita will be available February 22nd in North America.

"Basketball is my favorite sport, I love the way they dribble up and down the court." Every time I turn on my Xbox 360 and boot up NBA 2K12, I absolutely love hearing that song. Yes, I'm a lifelong basketball fan, and yes, I can name each and every single player in that intro scene. Even though I'm an all around gamer at heart, I truly enjoy playing sports titles the most--as I'm an avid sports fan as well. And while I've forgiven the NBA for their incredibly petchulant ways this past offseason, NBA2K12 was what keep my interest piqued. So, while NBA 2K12 is still fresh on my mind, I want to make some predictions/suggestions for 2KGames as we inch closer to NBA 2K13 later this year.

LucasFilm is drumming up marketing support for its first 3D Star Wars theatrical released, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is adding the third dimension to all six films over the coming years, starting with the February 10th release. But the saga begins today as the Brisk mobile game app, Brisksaber, brings the iconic Star Wars lightsaber battles to smartphones. The free app will feature a progression of content that allows fans to incrementally unlock new characters and objects based on the nationwide redemption of codes found on specially marked packages of one-liter Brisk Iced Tea. 

Telltale Games is bringing back the longest-running show in TV history. In conjunction with Universal Partnerships & Licensing, the new game Law & Order: Legacies is available for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch on Apple’s App Store. Based on NBC Universal’s Emmy-winning “Law & Order” TV series, Law & Order: Legacies brings together an all-star cast of investigators and prosecutors from both “Law & Order” and “Law & Order: SVU”. Check out the unique cel-shaded gameplay in the video below.

With 2011 coming to a close and CES 2012 just around the corner, opinion-based website SodaHead.com asked its community to vote on the top new gadgets of the year. Not surprisingly, Apple took the top two spots, as the iPhone 4S was the winner with 39% of the vote, followed by the iPad2 with 25%. Rounding out the top five were the Kindle Fire (17%), Nintendo 3DS (12%) and the Nook Table (7%). The full list can be seen below the video showcasing Nintendo’s hands-free 3D device.

Back at E3 of this year, I wandered in to what I like to call the "doldrums." The little booths filled with smaller companies, people attempting to get you to sign up for a credit card amid all the hooplah and confusion. Once in a while, you'll stumble upon something interesting--as was the case with GAEMS G155 Portable Entertainment System. And while I was immediately impressed with the design of this case, and I still am, I can't shake the pricetag or get past the lack of practicality with the G155.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment is experiencing record sales for Rockstar Studios’ critically acclaimed Batman: Arkham City this Christmas season. And the new trailer for Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ The Dark Knight Rises has smashed the record for most combined downloads through the iTunes Movie Trailers site and the iTunes Trailers iOS app for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The trailer was viewed more than 12.5 million times in its first 24 hours on December 19, breaking the previous record by well over two million. The HD trailer can be viewed below.

Epic Games’s Chair Entertainment has had great success with its Infinity Blade franchise, which now includes a hit novella from Brandon Sanderson, a soundtrack, and two games. The developer decided to offer some tips and tricks to help gamers make the most of Infinity Blade II. Check out the advice below this behind-the-scenes video of how they made the game from Geremy Mustard.