Welcome to PocketGamer.biz's weekly rundown of the stories clocking up the hits, picking up the click-throughs and generally keeping the advertisers happy by serving up page views.
Or, if you'd prefer, the top five stories currently dominating our readers' attention.
Each week, we'll be counting down the biggest news from the previous seven days, giving just a glimpse of the industry's big issues, from five to one.
Opinion: Economic slump no excuse for PS Vita's sluggish startAs one of the stories later in the countdown will attest, Vita's launch in North America and Europe wasn't entirely the runaway success Sony had been looking for.
But if people aren't buying Vitas, what's to blame? Is the economy having an impact? Do people simply not have the money for flash new gizmos anymore? Pocket Gamer's editor-in-chief Kristan Reed thought this all too easy an excuse, especially in light of continued strong smartphone and tablet sales.
"Although you could justifiably say that a lot of the success of smartphones is down to the fact that you don't have to spend all your money all at once, you can't say the same about tablets like the iPad - a device that makes the Vita look positively cheap by comparison," offered Reed.
Click here to read more.
Opinion: Socially smart PS Vita signals Sony's return, but publishers need to play ballBefore the start gun had been fired on Vita's time in the west, however, PocketGamer.biz had a lot of love for the new socially-minded direction Sony had taken with its handheld.
Everything was in place for the handheld to be a success, claimed PocketGamer.biz deputy editor Keith Andrew, as long as developers played ball and kept their game prices below the £30 mark.
"Sony has found the sweet spot for its new PlayStation device, but aside from the quality of the PS Vita hardware, it's going to need to build and gain longterm support from developers big and small if its comeback isn't to become a false dawn," concluded Andrew.
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Apple building up iPad 3 to rival Xbox 360 and PS3, claims XMG's Adam TelferThe other flash new bit of tech making the headlines last week was Apple's iPad 3, with a sweep of developer opinion by PocketGamer.biz revealing not all studios are overly enthusiastic about the proposition of developing for it.
Nonetheless, XMG Studio's VP of game development Adam Telfer suggested the launch of Apple's next tablet is likely to worry those at Microsoft and Sony even more.
"I'm anticipating that it will rival the Xbox 360, PS3 for capabilities, if not more," claimed Telfer.
"Apple will hopefully be building iPad 3 to be a gaming console first a tablet that will really push for dominance as a transmedia machine, with iCloud at the centre of its media and entertainment management."
Click here to read more.
The PocketGamer.biz top 50 developers of 2012: 10 to 1 Last week also saw the culmination of PocketGamer.biz's annual rundown of the top 50 mobile developers on the planet, and as you might expect the top 10 studios generated much interest.
Ultimately, Rovio of Angry Birds took home the crown, rising one place from 2011's chart.
"Certainly, there are plenty of strong views about the company in terms of what it should do next, its business model, future longevity and general attitude, but stripped down to bare numbers, you can't argue with 700+ million downloads, 10 billion ad impressions per month, $100 million annual revenue in FY11, and a company valuation that doesn't seem ridiculous at $2+ billion - not matter what you think about the Mighty Eagle's maths," explained PocketGamer.biz editor Jon Jordan.Click here to read more.
PS Vita UK launch sales 'around one quarter' of PSP debutIt was PocketGamer.biz's inside scoop on PS Vita's launch figures in the UK, however, that topped hits last week.
A well placed source with access to the official numbers told the site Vita had managed to shift around a quarter of PSP's launch total, bringing sales in at around the 45,000 mark.
That's around half of what 3DS managed during its UK launch in 2011, with global Vita sales having hit 1.2 million to date.
Click here to read more.
Hot Five
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.
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