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Activision Blizzard Inc. is jumping into the fast-growing mobile market by offering itself as a partner to independent game developers. The Santa Monica company best known for focusing on a small number of lucrative franchises such as "Call of Duty" and "World of Warcraft" has traditionally been more conservative than competitors such as Electronic Arts Inc. about making games for smartphones. Though revenue from games on devices including the iPhone has grown fast, it's still small compared to traditional consoles.

Contrary to popular belief, “The X Factor” winner Melanie Amaro hasn't been dropped by her label Epic Records. Rumors that the Season 1 champion had seemingly been released by the label ahead of her debut album were sparked when her image (and that of fellow Season 1 alum Astro) disappeared from the label's artist roster page. But a rep for the label confirmed to Pop & Hiss that Amaro and Astro are indeed still signed to the label and that the landing page is “not a reflection of our entire roster.” Its understandable that Amaro's status with the label would be called into question.

Christine Ha said she wanted to be taken seriously on "MasterChef. " As the show's only sight-impaired competitor -- and, indeed, the one and only blind competitor in the history of reality TV cooking shows -- she didn't want to be a fluke, or an oddity, or a competitor who would be pitied for her "handicap. " But she did want to win. And win she did. But did she deserve it? VIDEO: Fall TV Preview Christine scored the Season 3 title of best home cook in America, as well as a $250,000 grand prize and a cookbook over Josh Marks in a hard-fought battle.

It seems that lilacs do grow, and flower, in Southern California. A few weeks ago, while writing about other back-East plants, I mentioned that I had never seen a handsome, healthy lilac, outside of the chilly high desert or Descanso Gardens, which is situated in a cool canyon bottom dotted with oaks.

Electronic Arts Inc. on Monday cut its profit and revenue forecast for the year ending March 31 because of what it said was lower-than-expected sales in North America and Europe. The shares fell 13% in after-hours trading. Electronic Arts, the largest U.S. video game maker, said fiscal 2005 net income would be $1.62 to $1.64 a share, down from an earlier forecast of as much as $1.87. Sales will be as much as $3.13 billion, less than an earlier forecast of as much as $3.33 billion.

For months, the online rumor mill has churned with suspicions that Beyonce and Lady Gaga would reunite for a third collaboration, a single called "Ratchet. " Eagle-eyed fans pointed to the Instagram accounts of the two formidable pop divas as proof that a new collaboration was brewing. The rumors started when Beyonce posted a set of pictures of her hoop earrings -- engraved with the word "Ratchet" -- on the photo-sharing website. In one, the singer rocks the chunky accessory and a fitted Houston Rockets cap on what appears to be a set of some sort.

Zynga Inc. has fired back at Electronic Arts Inc., calling EA's copyright infringement lawsuit against it "baseless" and filing a countersuit alleging that the video game giant for prevented its employees from leaving to work for Zynga. “Today we responded to EA's claims, which we believe have no merit," the San Francisco social gaming company said Friday in a statement. "We also filed a counterclaim which addresses actions by EA we believe to be anticompetitive and unlawful business practices, including legal threats and demands for no-hire agreements.” Zynga's counterclaim escalates the battle between the two Bay Area gaming behemoths, both in court and in the hotly competitive market for mobile and social games.

Electronic Arts Inc. extended its $2-billion tender offer for Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. until July 18 as the Federal Trade Commission continues a review of the proposed purchase. The offer price is unchanged at $25.74 a share, and the takeover bid may be extended further, Redwood City, Calif.-based EA said. New York-based Take-Two again urged shareholders to reject the bid and said alternatives were still being considered.

Electronic Arts Inc. said Tuesday that revenue and profit fell as a shortage of video game consoles and stiff competition from rival publishers cut into the company's results for the crucial holiday quarter. The publisher of the Sims and Madden Football games reported revenue of $1.43 billion in the fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, down 3% from $1.48 billion a year ago. Net income fell 4.4% to $375 million, or $1.18 a share, from $392 million, or $1.26, in the same quarter a year earlier.

Improvement, or continued incompetence? A week after UCLA lost its first men's basketball exhibition by 24 points, the Bruins played another collection of former college players more closely, losing, 70-64, to EA Sports on Tuesday night at Pauley Pavilion. EA Sports was 0-12 and had lost the previous four nights, including 118-79 to Georgia on Monday. But the Bruins were no match for a team led by former Arizona forward Bennett Davison (18 points) and former Santa Clara guard Brian Jones (17).