Video game fans are always seeking new and improved ways to beat their opponents, making them an easy target for gift givers. In the spirit of the holidays, we looked at some of this season's must-have games and gadgets. But first, the basics.

CASA GRANDE — A Casa Grande man who is a former U.S. Border Patrol agent created and patented a video game controller for people with severe spinal cord injuries.

The door to Adam Coe’s workspace reads “Evil Laboratory” and has a picture of a mad scientist looking at beakers. 

Xbox Kinect

Xbox Kinect

WASHINGTON - After years of promises and high expectations, consumers will finally be able to purchase nextgeneration video game consoles as the industry’s painful transition to the latest technology comes to an end later this year.

WASHINGTON - After years of promises and high expectations, consumers will finally be able to purchase nextgeneration video game consoles as the industry’s painful transition to the latest technology comes to an end later this year.

Lou Petti is playing softball again - and video games helped him do it. Since working with a device called the Hand Mentor Pro, Petti - a stroke survivor - has mostly recovered the use of his right arm.

LOS ANGELES - "This song is dedicated to Debbie Harry," flinty-eyed Lisa Hsuan purrs into a microphone on the red-lit stage of Hyperion Tavern. It's a cozy dive where patrons drink Coke and beer from bottles and a fading chandelier dangles overhead.

LOS ANGELES - "This song is dedicated to Debbie Harry," flinty-eyed Lisa Hsuan purrs into a microphone on the red-lit stage of Hyperion Tavern. It's a cozy dive where patrons drink Coke and beer from bottles and a fading chandelier dangles overhead.

Diabetics, cancer patients and even smokers trying to quit may all benefit from new developments in medical science: healthy video games.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Professional video gaming is set to debut on cable television later this year, potentially paving the way for the kings and queens of game controllers to become as familiar to American households as the faces of Johnny Chan or Annie Duke in televised poker.

LOS ANGELES - For years, video game players have hunched in front of flickering television sets, blasting asteroids, piloting starships and stealing cars.

CHIBA, Japan - In the three-way struggle among Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo for year-end shoppers of nextgeneration video game consoles, price is turning out to be a key weapon.

The National Football League has picked another fight this year with the news media that have helped make it the world’s most profitable sports franchise.

When Apple introduced the iPhone, it shook up the cell phone business but it also changed the way people play video games. About a quarter of the 100,000 applications that you can download to the iPhone are games, ranging from the simple "Doodle Jump" to a version of "Grand Theft Auto."

LOS ANGELES — No Doubt on Wednesday sued video game maker Activision for putting words in band members' mouths.

January 28, 2005

Unless they've dropped some clear hints, choosing a gift for the die-hard video gamers in the family could be overwhelming this holiday season.

CHIBA, Japan - Nintendo thinks it has the answer for people scared off by all the complex switches and buttons on home video-game controllers - a simpler device that looks like a TV remote control and can be waved like a wand or a baseball bat.