Android-based OUYA console will soon be in the hands of the public - or at least that part of the public that wants to develop software for the platform. The OUYA will ship out beginning on December 28 to those who backed the Kickstarter and will arrive to supporters shortly thereafter.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick told attendees at the Credit Suisse 2012 Technology Conference in Scottsdale Arizona that he expects some third-party publishers to die off as they attempt to make the jump to the next console generation.

Microsoft announced today that its Surface Pro tablets will cost up to $999 when they are officially launched at retail in January. The price point for the Pro versions of the tablet are almost double what the first Surface devices cost. Those devices, launched last month, use the Windows RT operating system. The Pro tablet will run Windows 8 and will come with a Surface pen with Palm Block technology. The 64GB version will cost $899, while the 128GB version will cost $999.

Sweden-based developer Mojang is working on a custom version of its hit Minecraft game for the $25 - $35 Raspberry Pi micro-computer. The new game is called Minecraft: Pi Edition and was officially filed this weekend at Minecon fan event in Paris, France. According to the official FAQ on the Raspberry Pi web site, the game came into being after the company sent "a bunch of boards out to Notch and the guys at Mojang in Stockholm a little while back."

Google is (finally) sounding the alarm bells that an upcoming United Nations-organized conference is a serious threat to the "free and open internet" we currently enjoy (well, in most countries in the world). Government representatives around the world will get together to try and hash out an agreement on a new information and communications treaty in December.

LG and OnLive announced this morning that the cloud-based gaming service will be pre-loaded on all LG Smart TVs in its Google TV (G2) lines, with current set owners receiving the app over the air today. The app allows players to stream games on their TV and access save files on PC, Mac or Android devices. It also allows them to play online with other LG TV and compatible device owners.

Google's Motorola Mobility has withdrawn an earlier claim that Microsoft violated Wi-Fi patents it holds with its Xbox 360 console, according to this lengthy analysis from Foss Patents. The company filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission (ITC) earlier this year.

Longtime Internet trade group NetCoalition is slowly shutting down its advocacy and lobbying operations after a decade of services to the technology industry. The news comes from new termination reports during the recent lobbying quarter from the three major firms that conducted D.C. business for NetCoalition (TwinLogic Strategies, Jochum Shore & Trossevin PC and Moore Consulting). Those reports state that these groups will no longer be working for the group.

Next month the "Six Strikes" system to deal with online piracy and illegal file-sharing will be fully operational in the United States. The new rules - mutually agreed on by several major ISP's and trade groups representing intellectual property holders (the RIAA, and the MPAA) required that copyright infringement claims be investigated by an external company. This was one of the sticking points for ISPs and rightsholders seemed to happily comply.

A judge in the United Kingdom has delivered a stinging rebuke of Apple, ordering the company to run ads publicly apologizing to Samsung. This ruling comes after the same judge ruled that Samsung’s Galaxy line of tablets does not infringe on Apple iPad patents. While Apple has better luck in other regions with its patent lawsuits, the UK seems to have dealt the company the most embarrassing of blows.

Chipmaker Adapteva wants to make parallel computing (or supercomputing) available to everyone, and they have launched a Kickstarter to promote a solution that costs right around $99. The Kickstarter project aims to raise at least $750,000, with a stretch goal of $3 million.

Tory Minister of Parliament and Culture minister Ed Vaizey has long been an influence on the policy of the UK government when it comes to the video game industry, so it's interesting to read this Daily Mail story about him being denied access to video games in his office for the sake of "research."

Fourteen of the country's most recognized tech companies have banded together to lobby Washington on tech issues with the formation of a new trade group called The Internet Association. Companies joining this new group include Amazon, AOL, eBay, Expedia, Facebook, Google, IAC, LinkedIn, Monster Worldwide, Rackspace, Salesforce, TripAdvisor, Yahoo, and Zynga. The group is being led by Michael Beckerman, whose previous job was former deputy staff director of the House Energy & Commerce Committee. MIA from the list were Apple and Microsoft.

The U.S. government's Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) has created a robot that is supposedly capable of outrunning Olympic champion Usain Bolt - and it looks like Ravage, the cat-like Decepticon from Transformers.

DARPA is calling it a "Cheetah" robot, and funded its design (it was designed and tested by Boston Dynamics) for use in "emergency responses, humanitarian missions and other defense missions."

You can check it out in the video to your left.

Frank Gibeau, the President of EA Labels, says that the company is saving all of its newest IP's for future generation consoles. Speaking to GamesIndustry International, Gibeau claims that his company is working on a whole slate of new IP's for the next generation of consoles from Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo.

While Valve Software has adamantly denied the rumor that it was getting into the hardware side of gaming (the infamous SteamBox rumor), a new job listing from the company seems to indicate otherwise. In that job listing Valve says that it needs an industrial designer to work on "product design and manufacturing, ergonomics, usability, aesthetics, and surfacing."

The Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) is looking to bring the same kind of "magic" that it brought to SOPA (you know, like blocking web sites accused of infringement) by urging the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to include "IP Maximalist Positions" in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

In an editorial on Ars Technica internet advocacy group Free Press described the FCC's move to tax broadband as a way to fund broadband infrastructure growth in the U.S. as misguided. Free Press Research Director S. Derek Turner says that the proposed $1 - $5 tax on customers would ultimately be turned over to companies like AT&T who have been slowly pulling out of the broadband business anyway.

The Kindle Fire has literally sold out, according to Amazon, and the Android-based device won't see a new production run. The company said that those who want a Kindle Fire but can't find it at retail will have to wait until later this year when Amazon releases a new version of the device. The device was originally released in November of last year and did pretty well by Amazon's own accounting.

There's been a slow slog towards bringing gaming to Smart TVs but Samsung is trying to lead the way with a new games portal designed for its Cinema 3D Smart TVs called Game World. Game World will offer both free and premium games to set owners and many of them will be playable in both 2D and 3D, according to Joystiq. Users will have to use either the Magic Remote that comes with the set or a supported third-party controller.

The FCC issued a notice of inquiry this week asking the general public about what constitutes a reasonable data cap and what speed constitutes a "broadband connection." The agency is doing some soul searching and may want to change the definitions on these issues. If data capping and broadband connection speeds are important to you, then this is a golden opportunity to give the agency you opinion and possibly have an effect on future policy.

British telecom company BT has apparently joined the ranks of OnLive investors that have been burned by Friday's announcement that the company would sell its assets off to a third-party entity controlled by Lauder Partners. BT said today that it is "highly likely" that it will be forced to write off its stake in a cloud-based video games service.

BT joins phone maker HTC, who said yesterday that it would lose its $40 million investment in the cloud-based gaming subscription service.

The CEO of middleware company BigWorld has resigned from the company. Earlier in the week it was announced that World of Tanks developer Wargaming had bought the middleware provider for $45 million. CEO John De Margheriti, who was one of the founders of the company, will step down at the end of this week. He will be replaced by co-founder Steve Wang, who will report directly to executives at Wargaming. Despite the departure, De Margheriti's statement seems to indicate an amicable exit from BigWorld.

The Kickstarter for the OUYA has ended, with organizers of the crowd funding round raking in a final amount of $8,596,475 from 63,416 backers. Organizers were originally aiming for $900,000.

According to the Kickstarter page for OUYA, Namco Bandai is in active discussions with the company to bring some of its franchises to the Android-powered $99 console.

In a shocking turn of events, Wargaming has purchased video game middleware company BigWorld for $45 Million, according to a GamesBeat report. Wargaming is best known for its wildly popular online game World of Tanks. That game has more than 35 million registered users who can play for free or buy virtual goods to enhance their game experience if they so choose.

According to this Securities and Exchange Commission filings (SEC), Microsoft plans to launch its Surface tablet alongside Windows 8 in or around the month of October.

"The next version of our operating system, Windows 8, will be generally available on October 26, 2012. At that time, we will begin selling the Surface, a series of Microsoft-designed and manufactured hardware devices," the filing reads.

According to this BBC report Facebook, eBay, Google and Amazon have joined a new lobbying group that will push issues they deem important in Washington. The new lobbying group is called The Internet Association, and will open up shop in Washington D.C. in September. They will handle political and regulatory issues in the capital.

While most of the major internet service providers are signing on to a voluntary "code of practice" that would bind them to providing open access to the Internet, not everyone believes in the idea of solidarity. The code pledges that signatories will vow to offer open and full access to the internet, not prioritize traffic to its own products and services or prohibit access to legal content. So far, BT, O2, TalkTalk, Sky, Be, Kcom, Giffgaff, Plusnet, Tesco Mobile, and Three have signed the code.

Using the Unity 3D game development engine, researchers from North Carolina State (who are leading the development), Arizona State University, and Indiana University, have developed a simulation that allows crime scene investigators to look at a crime scene from multiple angles.