Last week Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) sent a letter to entertainment streaming service Netflix asking the company to weigh in on the proposed merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable. This week Netflix gave its opinion... to shareholders.

"If the Comcast and Time Warner Cable merger is approved, the combined company’s footprint will pass over 60 percent of U.S. broadband households," Netflix CEO Reed Hastings wrote in a letter to shareholders, adding, "Comcast could control high-speed broadband to the majority of American homes."

China-based MMO developer and publisher Perfect World Entertainment announced this morning that it has entered into an agreement to purchase more than 30 million shares of Chinese MMO outfit Shanda Games Limited for $100 million in cash.

Online game maker NCsoft has invested an estimated $4.8 million in South Korean web comics firm Lezhin Entertainment, according to GII.

NCsoft said that the ₩5 billion ($4.8 million USD) investment in Lezhin will offer opportunities to leverage its IP in new ways, and that it will also allow Lezhin to leverage its portfolio of intellectual property for creating interactive entertainment.

Sony Computer Entertainment announced this morning that it has sold all of its holdings - its entire 9,520,000 shares - in Square Enix to SMBC Nikko Securities. An income of nearly 4.8bn yen will be marked down in Sony's financial report for the year ending 31st March 2015, with the exact sale price of the shares to be revealed tomorrow. Sony's annual financial report for the year ending March 31, 2014 will be released on May 14 and will likely contain a forecast for the year ahead that will include the sale of the shares.

CCP Games recorded a loss of over $21 million for financial year 2013, the company announced today. This is a major decline from a profit of $4.6 million in the previous year. Revenues for the company rose to $76.7 million from $56.3 million. So what caused the massive drop for 2013? According to CCP, a massively increased R&D budget. That budget climbed from $16.5 million in FY 2012 to $56.5 million in FY 2013. The costs are likely related to the development of Eve: Valkyrie, Eve Online, Dust, and costs related to the now cancelled World of Darkness MMO.

Capcom announced that it is building two new research and development facilities in Osaka, Japan. The cost of these new facilities is estimated at around eight billion yen, or $79 million. Construction of the first building (R&D Building S) began in May of 2013 and is expected to be completed by January 2015 at a cost of 2.5 billion yen, or $24.6 million. Construction on the second building (R&D Building N) began this month and is expected to be completed in February 2016 at a cost of 5.5 billion yen, or $54.1 million.

Last week we asked our readers, "How Will Oculus Rift Be Affected By Facebook's Acquisition of the Device?" A slim majority of our readers believe that the Facebook acquisition of the popular VR gaming technology company is very bad news.

Wargaming CEO Victor Kisyli has pledged that his company will invest $10 million into improving and developing features that support eSports in 2014. At a press conference in Warsaw, Poland, Wargaming CEO Victor Kisyli said that there has been a huge upswing of interest in World of Tanks for eSports in the last two years. In 2012, 30,000 pro players took part in 120 World of Tanks tournaments, while in 2013 that number climbed to 200,000 players across more than 1,000 World of Tanks tournaments, according to Wargaming's calculations.

Activision Blizzard announced today that its first expansion for Diablo 3 is selling like hotcakes. Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls topped 2.7 million units in the expansion's first week of availability, according to Activision Blizzard.

The data is based on internal company sales tracking and reports from key distribution partners. We assume that these numbers also include digital direct-to-consumer sales by Blizzard.

Diablo 3's first expansion pack launched on PC and Mac on March 25.

In late February Sega announced that it would split Atlus away from its parent company, Japan-based Index. Sega acquired the original North American publisher of Tactics Ogre, Disgaea, Steambot Chronicles, Trauma Center, the Persona series, and many other popular Japanese games in September 2013 in a deal that cost the company an estimated $140 million.

Phil Spencer has been named the new Head of Xbox at Microsoft. In his new role he'll be in charge of Xbox Live, Xbox Music, Xbox Video and Microsoft Studios. Spencer says that he will employ a "gaming first" philosophy at the Microsoft division, making sure that video games are the most important component of the Xbox One.

Last week former id Software programmer and founder had very little to say about Facebook acquiring the company he recently joined (save that having some financial backing would help them avoid future scaling issues).

But over the weekend, Carmack responded to a post on the blog of Peter Berkman, detailing why he thinks Oculus VR being owned by Facebook isn't such a bad thing. Carmack sympathizes with fans who wanted Oculus Rift to follow a model similar to what Valve did with Steam, he says that virtual reality is too significant a technology to remain at that level.

eSports brand Electronic Sports League (ESL) announced that parent company Turtle Entertainment GmbH, has entered into an agreement to acquire U.S. -based ESS Agency and that it would open a full production studio and offices in Los Angeles, California. This will mark the seventh international office for the eSports company to date. ESL’s North American operations will be conducted from two U.S. offices, New York and Los Angeles.

In an interview with Game Informer, Oculus VR vice president of product Nate Mitchell expressed his surprise to the publication about the general negative reception it received from fans concerning the acquisition by Facebook earlier this week.

King Digital Entertainment went public this morning on the New York Stock Exchange after raising about $500 million in an IPO that valued the company at about $7.6 billion.

But the Candy Crush maker and litigious patent and trademark holder fell short of its valuation with a tepid response from the market; shares opened at $20.50 well below the expected $22.50, and are - as of this writing - trending downward ($20.29).

Facebook announced this afternoon that it would purchase VR headset maker Oculus for $2 billion with a combination of cash and stock. The company will pay $400 million in cash and 23.1 million shares worth about $1.6 billion. Oculus employees will also eligible for an additional $300 million if the company achieves certain targets.

"This is a long-term bet on the future of computing," said Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg Tuesday on a call with analysts. "I believe Oculus can be one of the platforms of the future."

Disney has acquired YouTube video network Maker Studios. The company has paid $500 million to acquire the outfit, which is best known for carrying the videos made by YouTube star 'PewDiePie.' Last year PewDiePie beat such stars as Miley Cyrus and One Direction to become YouTube’s most watched star in H2 2013.

Chinese online game company Giant Interactive Group Inc. (also known as Giant Interactive has become a private company again, thanks to a buyout deal involving the company's Chairman and two investment firms. The company has been publicly traded for seven years. The deal was led by company chairman Shi Yuzhu and included investments from Hony Capital and Baring Private Equity Asia.

Majesco continues to have financial challenges, as evident by its fiscal quarter 2014 results. For the quarter ended January 31, 2014, Majesco reported earnings of $21.9 million in revenue, down slightly from the $23.5 million earned in the same quarter last year. The company also posted a net loss of $4.5 million, compared to a loss of $2.1 million in the same period a year ago. On a non-GAAP basis, Majesco realized a Q1 loss of $4.1 million, versus $1.1 million in the same quarter last year.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Candy Crush Saga maker King today said that it plans to price its shares between $21 and $24 for its initial public offering and that it plans to sell 22.2 million shares.

Hot on the heels of a new round of layoffs, YouTube entertainment channel Machinima has managed to secure new funding to the tune of $18 million in a funding round led by Warner Bros.

Long-time Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Jack Tretton is leaving the company, on March 31, 2014. According to what SCEA tells GamesIndustry International, it was mutually agreed to that Tretton's contract would not be renewed. Shawn Layden, the current SCEA executive vice president and COO of Sony Network Entertainment International will become President and CEO of SCEA on April 1. Tretton has worked for SCEA since 2005.

Funcom reported less-than-stellar revenues for the fourth quarter of 2013, citing a drop in the performance of its MMO, The Secret World. In the quarter that ended December 31, 2013 Funcom reported $4.3 million in revenue, down from the $7.8 million it generated in the same period a year earlier. Funcom's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were $233,000, down from $2 million the prior year. The company also reported a $4.2 million impairment on The Secret World and its underlying technology due to a decrease in its projected revenue.

OnLive isn't back because it never left, but it is making headlines today by introducing several new services that it hopes can get it back on top of the video game streaming heap. First the company revealed that former IGN chief Mark Jung is its new executive chairman, and that it has launched OnLive Go and CloudLift. It has been working on this new technology since 2012 when the company fired most of its staff, sold itself to an investment firm and reformed under the same name.

Danish developer Interceptor has bought 3D Realms, according to this Eurogamer report. Initially there was some confusion because the company said it bought Apogee Software LTD. The new Apogee - a separate company doing business under the name Apogee Software LLC - denied the report. This caused Interceptor CEO Frederik Schreiber to later clarify on Twitter.

Putting aside the fact that the Arizona law that would allow businesses to refuse services to gays and lesbians is likely unconstitutional, critics are saying that it will also hurt the state's ability to engage in commerce across state lines, damage local businesses who do not want to refuse service to anyone and will be lumped in with those who do, and may cause companies who want to bring jobs to the state to find somewhere else to go (either they are publicly opposed to the bill or do not want to be associated with the state or its controversial legislation).

Speaking to MCV today, Marks & Clerk trademark attorney Aidan Clarke says that King did the logical thing when it tried to trademark "Candy" in the United States with the USPTO. Clarke said that the company would be "mad" not to make such a move to protect its intellectual property.

According to what Majesco Chief Financial Officer Michael Vesey has told Joystiq today, the company will fend off a Nasdaq stock exchange delisting by launching a reverse stock split in April. Majesco has not been in compliance with Nasdaq rules which require that companies trading on the exchange maintain a minimum price per share of at least $1. The company has not been in compliance with that rule since March of 2013.

More details have emerged on what Sega plans to do with Atlus and its parent company, Japan-based Index. Sega acquired the original North American publisher of Tactics Ogre, Disgaea, Steambot Chronicles, Trauma Center, the Persona series, and many other popular Japanese games in September 2013 in a deal that cost the company an estimated $140 million.

Candy Crush Saga maker King has filed the paperwork to become a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The company has filed an application to register with the Stock Exchange under the name King Digital Entertainment, in an IPO that some believe is worth upwards of $500 million.