July marks the 33rd anniversary of Donkey Kong which, along with Pac Man the year before (1980), not only revolutionized electronic gaming, but global entertainment …

In a world of faceless Space Invaders and Pongers, Kong brought sophisticated graphics, storytelling and characters (Mario!) while Pac-Man capitalized on the hilarity that is road rage-fueled cannibalism …

Electronic gaming is the world’s dominate entertainment form, conservatively generating more than $50 billion in revenue and cultivating thriving industries in North America, Asia and Europe ….

Though electronic games are often seen as emblematic of a new economy, the greatest seller, at 143 million copies, is Tetris, developed in 1984 in the old Soviet Union …

By comparison, the greatest selling music album, released in 1982, is Michael Jackson’s Thriller, with a paltry 42 million copies sold…

Jackson was the subject of his own video game, Moonwalker, released in 1989 and featuring the Smooth Criminal rescuing children and grabbing his crotch …

Moonwalker was a target of pirating which, according to Japan’s Computer Entertainment Suppliers Assn., accounts for more than $10 billion in lost revenue annually, mostly on mobile devices, i.e. phones …

A California jury recently awarded Apple $119 million in a patent battle with South Korean android manufacturer Samsung over alleged pirating of smartphone features …

The award was far less than the $2.2 billion Apple sought. Company founder, the late Steve Jobs, had said he would spend everything Apple had in the bank, about $40 billion, to “destroy android” …

A recent survey by comScore found that playing games was one of the five most popular activities for cellphone users, along with downloading apps, texting and accessing social media …

Not in the top five: iPhone calls…