Video games are growing in popularity in Iraq. While they may have previously been frowned upon, they’re seen as a social activity and a safe activity given the dangers in the country now. [The New Yorker]

A lot has been made out of corporate-sponsored review events being held for next-gen consoles and games. Here’s how they really work. [/r/Games]

Tom, of personal favourite gaming blog CalmDownTom.com, explains why he and his site didn’t review Call of Duty: Ghosts. [Calm Down Tom]

Skipped out on an early next-gen console for a new PC like me? Well, you’ll be glad to know that your DDR3 RAM is almost out-of-date tech. DDR4 RAM is coming down the pipe in the next month or so. [Hardware Pal]

By the way, if you’re worried about the early reliability of the PlayStation 4, reports indicate that less than 1% of units aren’t working right now. This article reports a failure rate of under 0.2%. Sony’s official line is 0.4%. It’s not perfect but at least it’s not red ring of death bad. Nothing could be that bad. [ARGD]