The video game industry is incredibly sequel driven. Some franchises even talk about their next game before they make the first one. Bioware, for example, decided that Mass Effect was going to be a trilogy before the first game even hit the market. Call of Duty is an annualized franchise where each one makes more money than the last. The fact is, it’s easier to sell a sequel to a game than make a new intellectual property.

Google is trying everything in their power to make sure their loyal users do not forget about their social network. They are adding some more Google+ integration into Gmail. If a user emails you from a Gmail account, and they also have a Google+ account, you will be able to add them to your circles right from Gmail.

iBooks has received a nice little update recently that adds a bunch of new features that users were clamoring for. The first major feature is the addition of a night-time reading mode. This makes the background black and the text white. This makes reading less strenuous when in a dark area. The next addition in this update is the inclusion of a full screen mode.

If you are interested in finding out more about the vegan way of life, and are perhaps interested in adopting it yourself, than I have some iPhone apps that will help you out a great deal. These apps offer everything from basic information on what it is like to be a vegan, recipes and ways to get more active in the vegan community and make a difference.

It’s the end of the year, which means it’s time for all the best of and most popular lists to come out. Twitter is no exception, and through some magic data tabulation they have come up with their most popular topics of 2011 list. The list goes in-depth and covers everything from the most popular hashtags all the way to the most popular places. If you want to know what everyone is tweeting about then you will want to check it out.

One of the most surprising things the iPhone brought us was gaming. When the app store launched, everyone knew there would be some cool stuff, but what I do not think anyone expected was just how great the iPhone was going to be as a portable gaming machine. I own a PSP and a 3Ds and I can honestly say that I do more gaming on my iPhone than I do both of those devices combined.

Google+ for iPhone has received a nice little update. This update helps bring in some features that were previously only available on the computer version of the social network. The major feature included in this update is the ability to search. You can use the search to find people or specific posts. The new search box will appear right at the top of the screen, making it easy to get access to and use.

Video games make an excellent hobby. Sure, they are a little expensive, but if you compare the amount of time spent with a video game to the amount of time spent watching a movie at the theater, it is actually incredible value. What if you want to get your kids into gaming but don’t want to send them off playing on their own? Fear not, because so many video games are enjoyable for kids and parents to play together.

Spotify, the music service that is taking the world by storm, is rolling out some awesome new features. They recently added support for third party apps for developers, and now they are adding some killer new features for end users. The first of these is predictive search. When a user now begins typing something into the search box, Spotify will attempt to predict what the user is going to search for and offer suggestions.

Have you ever wondered if you are attractive? I’m sure you have. Even with the women banging down my door, I still wonder every now and then. I knew there must be some way I could help our readers find out whether they are ugly or not, and that is when I stumbled upon these two iPhone apps.

Are you a fan of Angry Birds? Are you a fan of Wonderful Pistachios? If you answered yes to both of these questions than Rovio Mobile has a proposition for you. They have just launched a Wonderful Pistachios branded Angry Birds game that is 100% free and playable right in your web browser by simply heading to GetCrackin.com. That’s one interesting way to market your pistachio company.

Almost everyone enjoys watching some TV at one time or another. It is a terrific way to take your mind off the world around you and relax. The problem for me is that I always seem to forget when the shows I want to watch are on. I will be sitting around playing some Call of Duty or Skyrim, and the next thing I know, the show I was waiting for has come and gone.

Bethesda has issued the highly anticipated patch for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and all seemed right with the world. It fixed the issue that PlayStation 3 owners were having with playing the game for long stretches (and let’s be real, everyone who plays Skyrim plays for long time periods). It also fixed the problem with Xbox 360s not showing high-resolution textures if the game is installed to the hard drive.

WordPress has announced that they are integrating their own way for bloggers to make money. They have announced a new program called WordAds that allows website owners to show ads on their blog, and not have to rely on Google AdSense. The official WordPress blog announced the program, and took a little shot at Google in the process.

One of the most anticipated games of this holiday season was The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Call of Duty and Battlefield are terrific games, but it’s delightful to see something a little different become a bestseller. I love first person shooters, but to see a game like Skyrim become a blockbuster success is a beautiful thing. Modern video games tend to hold the player’s hand and assist them a lot more than in the past.