When Doug referenced the video game industry a few days ago in terms of possible weak sales, I agreed. Are Americans really ponying up hundreds of dollars for consoles and approximately $50 a pop for video games with all the financial hurt many citizens are going through? You would think not, but they are.

Thanks to video game console makers Nintendo Ltd., Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE), video game sales growth in November was up about 10% compared to the year-ago period. That's right -- we spent $2.91 billion last month on video games. Perhaps savings in gas prompted the upswing?

NPD indicated that a broad range of games for all the major gaming consoles was the reason for the solid uptick in November. In addition to the nearly $3 billion on video game software, Americans spent another $1.21 billion in hardware sales. Forecasts are for an industry rake of nearly $22 billion for 2008.

Instead of DVD rentals, iTunes downloads and actually -- gasp -- going out to the movies, video games seem to be taking market share from other forms of entertainment. I would posit that those pulling money from the market stash some of that cash into video games, lest you play a roller-coaster type of game rather than ride the real thing on Wall Street.

Cutting prices often stimulates demand. It seems to be working for the Sony (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3 -- at least for now. According to The Wall Street Journal, in Japan "unit sales of the PS3 exceeded those of Nintendo's Wii for the first time in the week ended Nov. 11." There is some evidence that the PS3 is doing better in the US, as well.

But the up-tick may not last. The Nintendo Wii is still a runaway success. There may be a shortage of the game consoles at Christmas because Nintendo cannot keep up with demand. But that problem will only last so long and the Wii will be back on shelves everywhere.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) sill has a secret weapon for selling its Xbox 360. The astonishingly popular "Halo 3" game is driving sales of the 360 console, and that product appears to have "legs." Sony does not have a comparable game that is available exclusively for the PS3.

So, Sony may get lucky and the price cut on the PS3 may keep sales relatively high. Or it could just be a mirage brought on by bargain hunters.

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

Being from LA, I have a variety of friends in the entertainment industry. No doubt, my talent agent friends are sweating. What will the writers' strike mean?

Well, at first, probably not much. Hollywood studios have anticipated things -- and have stockpiled content. But this can only last for a couple months. After that, things can certainly get dicey (hey, entertainment is the #3 employer in LA county).

After all, look what technology did to the music industry. Might the same happen with network television and movies – especially in a world of Google Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) YouTube And what about the popularity of multi-player gaming? Or social networks?

I had a chance to interview Chase Norlin, who operates Pixsy (an online video search engine). According to him:

"The strike likely doesn't impact the online video industry. Today, online video generally falls into two large categories: customer generated content (CGM) on the low end and professionally produced video content on the high end, typically originating from existing video assets (e.g. TV production, movie trailers, etc). The semipro content production market, which falls in the middle, will likely become the next new market for online video production on the web. When this happens, a strike could significantly impact the online video industry in a negative way."

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates DealProfiles.com.

One of the things that attracted me to BloggingStocks.com in the first place was that the cutting edge analysis this site provides on the tech stocks, gives me a chance to objectively test some of my conceptual thinking. You see, I'm one of those goofy people who think up things that are not yet a reality. I believe that in the world of mental gymnastics they call it conceptualizing. Some call it crazy. I just think it's fun.

Most of my concepts are built around things that already exist or upon ideas someone else has carelessly tossed aside. I'm reminded of the sixteen year old boy who had the bright idea to make disposable golf tees out of mud and grass seed so they could be left on the course when they have expired. I believe the kid is retired now. He deserves it. What a priceless mind!

What I've been toying with lately isn't actually my own idea. They've been tossing it around for a few decades. I'm just hoping to give some investors a long range heads up because all the technology exists now for it to become a reality. I'm sure some of the sharp shooters out there could dig around and find out who's working up the details and how soon this will come to pass.