The latest in a series of changes in corporate strategy and public relations, gaming apparel company LXG (LastActionGamer.com) has entered into an alliance with GamePartisan and will sponsor the site’s reviews indefinitely.

A pairing of companies with equally distinctive visions, the move looks to mutually benefit both parties, with further details to be released as soon as they are confirmed. What is now public knowledge, however, is that both LXG and GP are very excited and optimistic about the future, especially as pertains to their cooperative efforts. LXG being the latest entity to join the GamePartisan Network serves only to benefit the respective audiences of each company.

Further information will likely become available via corporate press release.

As it so happens, LXG has obtained exclusive rights to reproduce the GamePartisan logo on its apparel, with their chief executive stating, "Look for it in mid-summer".

And yes, Tony is offensive to my person.

Having once been thought of as a fad, one relegated to the domain of the acne-riddled nerd, video games continue to come a long way. With the market having surpassed both the motion picture and music industries in finance, few question the validity of the business anymore. The overall socio-political impact, however, remains cloudy.

Video games do not appear to have nearly the same sphere of cultural influence as that of movies and music, specifically. While Mario and Master Chief are very recognizable figures, the actual creators of those games do not hold a candle to the marketability or renown of Matt Damon, Al Pacino, Ridley Scott, David Bowie or Paul McCartney. A growing topic of concern amongst both gamers and the industry itself is the recognition of the entertainment medium as art. Furthermore, there appears to be an expanding desire for a lobbying group to represent the industry’s voice on Capitol Hill in Washington.

With all of this talk of arts and entertainment, societal issues and politics, this begs the economics question, “where is the recession?” If in fact a recession is upon us, and video games are indeed considered a luxury good, why are revenues higher than ever, the stakes in buyouts and mergers ever raised, and growth moving further into record territory, where is this alleged recession?

If there is a recession approaching, or if we are in the middle of one, where is its’ supposed profound impact upon gamers and, accordingly, the video game industry itself?

Apparently, if there’s a recession anywhere around, this industry is either ignorant of that fact, immune to its effects, or the talk of this much-ballyhooed bear market is being greatly exaggerated.

According to more than a few members of the video game industry, Epic would be better suited not joining a games division that some label "a sinking ship".

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The likely merger of MSN and Yahoo!, plus having Epic and Rare in the same development community, would almost certainly have a major impact on Microsoft as we know it.

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With the UFL (United Football League) being the latest in a series of spring football leagues to have challenged the dominance of the NFL, this emergence begs the question: who will do the honors of producing a video game based on Mark Cuban’s latest brainchild?

Of all of the wild items emanating from the proverbial rumor mill at this point in time, this is perhaps the most bizarre yet: that Visual Concepts/2k Sports will pick up the contract, thereby providing a semi-legitimate contender to the gridiron gaming realm heretofore monopolized by Electronic Arts. Or so it could be argued. While there is admittedly little beyond this to report at this time, we certainly intend to stay on top of this matter. We may pay futebole a modicum of respect around GamePartisan HQ, David, but football is king.

U.S. console software developer Atari has confirmed that it has received an offer from French parent company Infogrames to acquire all of its outstanding stock, enveloping the smaller American developer full into its parent company.

In breaking this story, Gamasutra has aptly suggested that Atari’s fortunes have begun to change for the better in the most recent of times, largely due to its sale of assets to relieve financial pressure and the hiring of Sony expatriate Phil Harrison.

The only comment offered by Atari’s board of directors was that they will give the proposal a "thorough evaluation".

In yet another move lending further credibility to the long-term efforts of GamePartisan and its parent company, Campione-DeViney Enterprises, Cedar Creek Homes, a custom homes builder out of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, has agreed to become an ongoing sponsor of the online operations of GamePartisan. The corporate logo of Cedar Creek Homes will be a visible part of future GamePartisan features, and while final details of the deal remain to be published, this latest in a series of continuing moves behind the scenes has been quickly labeled a positive move by the respective management of each company.

Further details will be released upon finalization; in the mean time, look for the Cedar Creek Homes logo to begin appearing on certain GamePartisan editorial productions.

Cedar Creek Homes & Construction, LLC. is a custom homes builder based in the Gulf South region that is owned and operated by a management team with over twenty years of real estate construction, development and sales experience. Their wholly-owned subsidiary, West Laurel Millwork Services, crafts custom cabinets and trim in a plethora of designs, both antiquated and modern, suited to the needs of the homeowner.

For further information on GamePartisan sponsor Cedar Creek Homes & Construction, LLC., you may easily reach them at 601-450-1720.

In the latter half of February, I accepted the resignation of interim editor-in-chief, Ben Paddon, and assumed the role of executive editor as we pressed on in this era of transition for GamePartisan. Following our corporate meetings in April, the long-term role of editor-in-chief will be addressed. For now, I will continue with my efforts directing the business and public relations aspects of the site, as well as being the primary agent behind the ongoing progressive editorial policy we have so decidedly embraced via the democratic process of our editorial staff.

Furthermore, I have accepted the resignation our chief legal counsel, Patrick Falco Midian, senior editor Jonathan E. Ginese and staff writer Michael Morgese.

The current roster of senior editors will be working closely with me on the day-to-day aspects of site operations as we head into a critical period of our history this spring and summer.

That having been said, editorial updates are indeed pending and set to get us back on track. Thank you, and good night.

At last, the game that has been talked about since E3 2005 is almost done! 

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Games Publisher and all ’round mega conglomerate Electronic Arts have released figures detailing their estimates for console sales in 2008.

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As promised by columnist Ben Paddon, I am preparing my own recollection of the wild series of events connected to his debacle with Microsoft. In the meantime, however, we would very much enjoy centering the first edition of our mailbag (since the relaunch of the site) around your response(s) to this issue.

My GP e-mail is jam-packed at the moment, so feel free to drop us a line at my personal e-mail account: jddeviney@hotmail.com

After over three hours of endless debate, the democratic process of the GamePartisan Editorial Staff produced a narrow 8-6 vote confirming four-year staff veteran Paul Willis as the new senior editor and director of Microsoft-related content. His opponent, staff writer Jonny Ginese, while an industry veteran, is a relative newcomer to the editorial operations of GamePartisan, and expressed appreciation and gratitude for those who supported his nomination for the position.

The controversial 8-6 tally in favor of Willis was accepted as final by the entire voting staff. It was the closest confirmation vote on record in the history of the site.

In other GamePartisan news, former news editor David Rogers, originally recruited to the editorial staff by Frank Campione in 2004, has agreed to return to our camp as a columnist. The return of Rogers provides an infusion of experience and further credibility to the staff. His return to the staff furthermore hearkens back to the earlier days of the Campione-DeViney partnership.

That said, we’re done with our internal struggles and back on track. We’ll be back tonight with a content update.

The media persists in trying to convince the Western public that China is really an emerging capitalist state…but is that really the truth?

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Atari’s North American branch to cease game development altogether.

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In spite of better margins, Wall Street was looking for $0.23 in profit per share, as opposed to the $0.12 reported by the company.

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