While mobile is a huge market opportunity, it can be difficult to navigate. There are a growing number of devices and platforms -- many of which are top-notch.

So, in the case of Disney (DIS), it realizes it is impossible to pick a winner. Thus, it looks like the company is making wagers on a variety of platforms.

It has been a long time since a state other than Michigan had the honor of claiming the highest unemployment rate in country. The May unemployment numbers show that it is Nevada, not Michigan, that now has the highest rate of unemployment.

Michigan has held the title for highest unemployment since April 2006, when the automotive industry took a nose dive. But Nevada jumped into the lead by posting a 14% unemployment rate in May. In comparison, Michigan's unemployment level is currently sitting at 13.6%.

After a disappointing February video game sales report, many analyst insiders are predicting a strong month in March for top video game stocks Electronic Arts (ERTS), Nintendo (NTDOY), Sony (SNE) and Take Two Interactive (TTWO).

The biggest reason is simply because the bar is set pretty low. March 2009 video game sales were down 17% when up against 2008 numbers, and unless the data gets seriously skewed we should see an organic rebound in numbers just from that low. If you'll recall, March 2009 was pretty bad on all fronts -- the economy shed 650,000 jobs, stocks hit a 12-year low, and there was a -6% contraction in GDP for the first quarter of 2009.

With lower expectations, the video game industry may win a reprieve when the March numbers roll out. But on top of those low expectations, a new Nintendo console and a few blockbuster titles should result in decent sales for the industry.

If the Wii were still cool, Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) wouldn't have had to take a heavy hand to its full-year earnings forecast. The company's profit fell 52% year-over-year for the past quarter, due in large part to a decline in the game's popularity. Demand has slipped, with Sony (NYSE: SNE) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) gaining ground with the core market of zealous gamers. Also, it's seen its position eroded by Apple's (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone, which is picking up some momentum as a gaming platform.

Nintendo's Q3 operating profit dropped to JPY64 billion ($709 million), falling far short of the analyst estimate of JPY90 billion. For the year ending March 2010, the company has chopped its forecast to JPY370 billion, far lower than the analyst expectation of JPY442.8 billion.

After dominating the gaming industry for the past three years, Nintendo's Wii gave up its position in the top spot to Sony's PlayStation 3 last month. The company has also been hurt by an increase in the value of the yen, which has hurt all Japanese exporters. Yet, even by local standards, Nintendo isn't measuring up. Its stock price is down 28% this year, compared to a 14% increase in the Nikkei 225.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) is one game play that's expected to weather the "frugal consumer" era reasonably well, hence I'm Reiterating my Buy rating for the company, first recommended on June 11, 2009 at a price of $21.87.

Near-term, a great deal is riding on ERTS' signature franchises, Madden NFL and NCAA Football, and the company also will have to introduce a new, innovative game if it hopes to maintain momentum created by the earlier franchises. Given that downside risk, there's a Revised Sell/Stop Loss, up to $13 from $11. The First Call FY2010/FY2011 EPS estimates for ERTS are 93 cents to $1.20.

Las Vegas isn't the only gaming mecca struggling for numbers; Macau saw the number of visitor arrivals to its shores drop 3.5% in April to about 1.87 million.

For the first four months of the year, visitor arrivals by land have dropped 15.5% on a year-over-year basis, while arrivals by air are slumping as well, off 5.9% for the first third of 2009. Total visitor arrivals in 2009 are down 8.1% from the same time period last year.

There is something rotten in Denmark, to quote from Hamlet, Act I, as well as in Las Vegas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Colorado, Iowa, and Florida. Gambling havens, once thought recession proof, are in trouble. Customer numbers are down, as are gambling, gift shop, hotel, and restaurant revenues. Casinos in Las Vegas have been hard hit, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, because of billions of dollars of debt to finance overambitious expansion plans. Tropicana Entertainment filed for Chapter 11 in May, defaulting on $2.67 billion in bank and bond debt. But smaller casinos are also feeling the pain.

Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. (NASDAQ: ISLE) recently reported 4Q and FY2008 results. Snake eyes. Investors know they are not in for good news when the CEO spends the first few paragraphs of an earnings release discussing what a "transformational period" the last year has been. That's corporate-speak for "money losing," beginning with a $78.7 million write down in the value of some of the company's international assets and ending with a $51.3 million loss from continuing operations in 4Q 2008. All told, Isle of Capri Casinos lost $96.9 million from continuing operations in FY2008.The company cited increased competition in riverboat gambling in Biloxi, a smoking ban in casinos in Colorado, and a flood in Natchez as reasons for the lackluster performance. The company admits it needs to renovate 1,200 of its hotel rooms in order to attract customers back to the slots and tables.

The stock is currently trading at $4.23, near its 52-week low of $3.97.

Spurred by a near epidemic occurrence of brain-degenerating conditions as we age, people of all ages and backgrounds are stepping up their personal efforts to improve and maintain their brain health. According to a story in USA Today, sales of brain fitness software reached nearly $230 million in 2007. USA Today stated, "SharpBrains, (a market research firm) estimates the brain fitness software market will reach $2 billion in 2015 in the United States."

Prudent investment strategy might include a speculative foray into this popular and growing field. In light of this, you may wish to pay heed to blogger Steven Mallas, and read his take on Activision (NASDAQ: ATVI).

First on the list for brain maintenance is physical activity, which probably accounts for the outstanding sales of Nintendo's Wii Fit. from Nintendo Ltd. (OTC: NTDOY). Active lives promote healthy blood circulation, which helps to feed steady amounts of oxygen to the hungry brain. Good hard work, cardiovascular exercise and even regular sexual activity can all help to keep your heart pumping adequate levels of oxygen into your brain.

Media companies are turning to the internet as a distribution avenue more and more as each month passes, whether it works or not. Sony (NYSE:SNE) will release "Angel of Death" online and hope that this somehow drives DVD sales.

The way the release will be done is clearly set up to alienate consumers and will only drive resentment. According to The Wall Street Journal, "The series will be released online eight minutes at a time, over 10 weeks." After that, the DVD of the program will come out. It will not appear in theaters or on TV.

Imagine how annoying it will be for potential viewers to have to go to websites over and over again before they can get the all of the "Angel of Death" content. Many people will simply abandon trying to collect all of the installments.

Sony will probably get plenty of hate mail.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 2 47wallst.com

Online games may be banned in Corporate America (at least during work time) but they have actually proven fairly useful for building customer loyalty. How?

Well, companies need to find ways to cater to their power users, who are often similar to gamers. After all, they are passionate; have strong networks; and are not afraid to speak their minds (and spread their messages across the Net).

Some of the companies leveraging this concept include: AT&T (NYSE: T), Car and Driver, Scholastic (NASDAQ:SCHL)and Univision.

Oh, and they are using the technology platform from Lithium.

Of course, the co-founder and CEO of the company, Lyle Fong, is a long-time gamer. With his brother, he started Gamers.com. What's more, his brother won a Ferrari because of his gaming acumen.

Shares of video game retailer Gamestop Corp (NYSE: GME) are getting shot down over 10% in premarket trading despite the company's record first quarter earnings.

So let's take a look at the numbers. Earnings per share came in at 37 cents for the quarter, two cents above the 35 cents that analysts had been expecting to see. At 37 cents per share, the company showed a pretty remarkable 151.4% earnings growth from the same period last year.

Revenue figures were also very respectable for the company, with a reported $1.813 billion (a 41.8% year over year increase), and well above the $1.72 billion estimate. Same-store sales got a boost of 27.1%, and if you take a look at new videogame software growth, that figure is an amazing 72%.

CNBC reports that the video game industry is making progress in its efforts to offer downloads of high-quality games over the internet. Nintendo has introduced WiiWare, which lets users download games for the Wii from independent publishers. Developers set the price -- far cheaper than the high-budget games put out by the big publishers -- and Nintendo takes a chunk of the revenue. CNBC adds that "Digital delivery of all forms of entertainment is widely considered to be a foregone conclusion. Only the timeframe is in question. Not only will publishers have to learn to adapt, but game retailers such as Gamestop (NASDAQ: GME) will have to figure out how to compete directly with companies that are also clients."

What happens if the downloading trend takes off as most experts assume it will? The story of Trans World Entertainment (NASDAQ: TWMC) could be a harbinger of things to come if Gamestop is unable to adapt. As the number-one operator of mall-based CD stores, Trans World has seen its sales and profitability plummet -- the shares have declined from over $13.00 in 2005 to the current price of $2.60. The market was very late in pricing in the disastrous effects that the MP3 would have on the brick-and-mortar industry.

Maybe Gamestop can adapt. But with a P/E ratio of over 30 for a company whose business model will have to change drastically over the course of the next decade, investors may want to keep in mind the collapse of Trans World Entertainment.

Whoever invented the Wii Fit, a virtual gym that can be used in conjunction with the gaming console, deserves a medal. Heck, he or she deserves a raise because it's going to be a huge seller for Nintendo Co. (OTC: NTDOY).

This game is perfect for someone like me who doesn't exercise as much as he should, which in my case means hardly ever. The Wii Fit, which will be available May 19, also will be useful for parents trying to get their children to exercise more. "Wii Fit is all about breaking the definition of video-gaming, about something that keeps you and your family fit and engaged," said Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo's U.S. division, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

GameStop Corporation (NYSE: GME) is the world's largest video game and entertainment software retailer, offering software, hardware and game accessories for the PC, as well as video game systems from Sony (NYSE: SNE), Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). The firm also owns two e-commerce sites and Game Informer, a leading video and computer game magazine. GameStop operates 5,123 retail stores across the United States and in 15 countries worldwide. Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) are competitors.

The stock is up nearly forty percent over the past five months, sparked by such issues as better than expected EPS/sales results in Q2 and Q3; upside guidance for Q4 EPS; and solid same-store sales improvements in Q2 (29.1%), Q3 (46.3%) and the nine-week holiday period (20%). The news has the stock cycling through a positive trading channel. The price is consolidating near the base of that channel, where oversold CCI, MACD and Momentum technical parameters suggest the potential for a rise back toward the top.

Nintendo has done extraordinarily well with its Wii game console. The Wii regularly outsells Sony (NYSE: SNE)'s PlayStation 3 and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT)'s Xbox 360. But, the most successful Nintendo product is the older DS which, according to The New York Times, outsold the Wii, 1.53 million units to 981,000, in November, based on sales figures compiled by NPD Group.

What makes the figure more interesting is that the Nintendo DS is three years old. The DS is compatible with older Nintendo games, but does not have the "hot" new features of current devices like HD TV playback.

The success of the DS may point to a "rotation" in the video game sector, and that is a movement away from expensive and complex machines that have multiple functions, high prices, and harder to understand features. Keep it simple, stupid.

It would make some sense that the market for large, complicated machines would be limited. Playing video games appears to be of interest to a broad section of the population, but reading 300-page instruction manuals probably is not.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.