Good News for Hard Core Gamers

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Welcome back gamers and investors, getting a first look at tomorrow's must have video games today. Innovation is the name of the game at the industry's biggest show of the year. First, check out the share of the big gamers higher across the board today. CNBC's Jim Golman is at the conference today in San Francisco.

Hey Maria, good afternoon to you. Last year, with the painful upgrade cycle for consoles, you would think this industry was all about "game over" but the message here is clear: it's more like "game on".

Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo, forcing a 28 million dollar a year electronic gaming business into its most wrenching upgrade cycle ever but volatility, well, that could mean opportunity.

"We're seeing more interest in the investment side of the world. We're seeing more casual games on handhelds, the PC, on the console."

Intel, AMP, HP, Motorola, Nokia, all the big boys are here with 15,000 attendees trying to get a sneak peak at what's coming next in gaming.

"The headset works by detecting your brain waves." Yeah! Brain waves like this -- a new generation of games controlled by your brain. Emotiv systems using electoencephalography to turn brain waves into commands that control the action on the screen three years in development. "Being able to interact with a game by using your thoughts or the game understanding how you feel is a way for those experiences to be more personal and more enjoyable as a result."

A fast growing trend this year: consumer created online video games played on special new websites, using new software from Microsoft building on XBox Live and Sony and its new little big planet online game service, YouTube and MySpace meet the gamers.

"We saw it with music. We saw it in movies. But the key is you have to enable people with easy to use tools and we provide the very best tools for people to use. If you don't have those tools, you really can't spur that creativity."

The push toward mobile and casual gaming is also gaining steam. Mobile gaming is a rapidly growing part of the market. Electronic Arts, Activision, all the major publishers, well, they are looking a different publishing platforms, while the console wars continue to rage. When we look at the cell phone side, we are really excited about casual gaming as opposed to immersive gaming on the cell phones -- games that you can pick up and play, play with other people for the more social, casual side.

Generating big time interest in Glu Mobile. Going public any day now, trying to become the Electronic Arts of the mobile gaming world. Quality, accessibility, and price. So the games have really improved in quality since I've been in the industry. For three years, the games have improved exponentially.

...which might be the rallying cry for the entire electronic gaming industry.

Yeah, the kind of good news for game developers, game players, game sellers, and investors looking for a bright spot in tech. Maria, back to you.