It’s the first iPad gaming update of 2012 and there’s plenty to pick from for everyone…

Paizocon 2011 is on track to run in Bellevue, Washington, this June 10-12. It’s come a long way from Paizocon 2008, with a mere thirty people in attendance. This year’s convention has 26 guests of honor and 81 events currently scheduled and it wouldn’t surprise me if this year’s convention gets close to selling out all 500 tickets.

Want to make this Valentine’s Day a romantic gaming experience that you will never forget?

Well leave it to Dr. Jessi (it’s an honorary title) to give you a few tips on making this February 14, 2011, the absolute perfect game playing experience that you and your lover will remember for days to come. If these don’t work, then maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.

The laptop features option high definition 3D capabilities through an HDMI 1.4 port. This means it can be connected to a 3D HDTV for your large screen viewing pleasure. Not that a many people own (or care to own) a 3D HDTV at this point, but it never hurts to be prepared. You’ll also get Blu-ray functionality and more hard drive space that you’ll really ever need.

Sony Online Entertainments Fan Faire 2010 is coming to Bally’s in Las Vegas this August 5th through the 8th. Fan Faire is the ultimate event for gamers to play some new games and talk to some of their favorite developers of Sony games.

The best part is, Sony is now offering expanding pricing options on their passes, meaning you can pick the price value that suits you best rather then just paying a flat rate. You can choose from low rates that still allow you to experience all the fun and goodies that the faire has to offer, or you can opt for a higher package and get special perks and special unique items. The passes include Day, Silver, Gold and Platinum, with prices ranging from $39 to $139. Regardless of the pass purchased, you will enjoy this action-packed event filled with contests, live tournaments, cool giveaways, developer panels, exhibits, vendors. And more.

Video games and their culture have, since its beginning, been mostly directed at men. Most video games are developed by teams composed mainly of men and explore subjects appealing mostly to men. This has turned men into the target audience for most of the titles and this cycle is perpetuated by profits which drive developers to focus on men.

Some of the recent titles with a more general appeal, like Guitar Hero, Rock Band or Wii Fit, have made video games more interesting for girls but even now the idea of a gamer girl isn’t very common. Or is it?

What I am annoyed about is the way certain games are marketed. It’s as if game companies are not even considering women when developing certain games or, worse, being very stereotypical when creating games for women.

First I want to point out that almost every game out there has a male lead character. Shooters and RPGs are notorious for this. Sometimes women are offered as secondary characters in a lot of these games but you can’t always control them. RPGs are getting a lot better about this – including Fable and Oblivion to name a few – which offer the choice of being a female. Final Fantasy 10-2 even made the main characters women. Action games and platformers have been hooking us up with female leads with Lara Croft and Samus Aran being the most famous.

Some girls just don’t like competition.

This seems to be the case with British tennis star Andy Murray’s girlfriend Kim Sears, daughter of a former tennis coach. According to gossip pubs, Murray, who is currently ranked the No. 4 tennis player in the world, spent about seven hours each day playing video games.

You may think seven hours is not a long time (considering how long you play) but, for Kim Sears, it was too long and she dumped him. Sears and Murray had been a long-time couple but his excessive game playing was putting a damper on their time together and she just wanted more out of the relationship, so she told him it was time to move on.

Researchers from the University of Iowa conducted a study to analyze the relation between gaming for prolonged periods of time and attention levels when performing certain tasks.

The results indicated that the group that played games more than 40 hours a week had significantly less proactive attention – the kind used in anticipation of events – while reactive attention – the kind triggered by an event – was similar in both groups.

onLive, the new service that will allow gamers to play now-gen games on any computer or TV set using streaming technology, is about to get a whole lot more real. The public beta begins now – so if you’re interested, sign up (and do so quickly) at the site and get ready to get your game on.