Gamers can now stand out from the crowd and let your true performing talents shine. The Maxis label of Electronic Arts announced that The Sims 3 Showtime Expansion pack is now available at retailers nationwide and for digital download on PC and Mac. The Sims 3 Showtime is the newest expansion pack to the wildly popular The Sims 3 and gives players a new outlet to play with life in the glamorous world of Starlight Shores. Also available is the much anticipated The Sims 3 Showtime Katy Perry Collector’s Edition Expansion pack, featuring in-game Katy Perry-themed outfits, props and objects.

Video pinball has gone through resurgence over the years.  No longer is about putting together some cruddy overhead table with questionable ball physics and more focus on the gimmick than the actual play.  (We’re looking at you, Crue Ball.)  It’s starting to get more like the classic style of play, where you actually stood over a machine and flipped to your heart’s content.  No one knows this better than Farsight Studios, as you’ll plainly see from its recently released The Pinball Arcade.

Consoles and PC's have had a slow month interms of new AAA quality games arriving for your respected platform. While January got off to a slow start, it quickly recovered to bring us high quality tittles through digital distribution. Plenty of great downloadable arcade tittles were made available through XBLA, PSN and Steam, giving us many hidden gems on the digital marketplace. Let's look back at the games we reviewed over the past month.  

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...

I consider myself a pinball enthusiast.  Hell, how else could you explain my addiction to Zen Pinball 3D since its release last week?  Or, for that matter, my editorial that talks about the sheer importance of a rock and roll pinball machine with Stern Pinball’s upcoming AC/DC table?  And every time I’m in San Francisco or Las Vegas, I find myself visiting vintage arcades just to get a good game of flippers going.  That’s the sort of curiosity that led me to purchase 101 Pinball World in Nintendo’s eShop for the DS/3DS…a purchase I have since regretted.

Microsoft's Kinect device has already done a serviceable job connecting kids with their favorite characters.  Just look at the success of Once Upon a Monster from Tim Schafer and his team at Double Fine Productions.  But it looks like that's just the beginning of the team-up between Microsoft and Sesame Street, as the company introduced a whole new level of interactive programming for kids last night during its CES keynote.

Every Tuesday, Sony brings its Playstation faithful new content, add-ons for your favorite games, Themes and avatars for your PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable. For those who have the Playstation Plus, you can now get telltale's Back to The Future game for free. Ever wanted to find out what happened and wanted to continue your adventures with Marty Mcfly and Doc? Now is your chance, as you get all the six episodic for free. Another game you can get thanks to your PSN Plus membership is Sword & Soldiers. It's an enjoyable 2D sidescrolling strategy game that is highly replayable with a group of friends.