Video Game Saga *

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1)  Bungie Fakes Out Fans

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Rumors blew up all over the internet about David Aldridge's announcement that BUngie was hiring--for a brand new MMO action title.

He has since apologized on thier web site and had this to say:

Tired of pretending that he’s not a -blam!-in’ rock star from Mars, David Aldridge inhaled a huge hit of David Aldridge at GDC yesterday. Subsequently, his face melted off and children wept over his exploded body. After the childish tears, gelatinous gibs, and acrid smoke cleared, an industrious journalist noticed the final slide from David’s GDC deck which apparently proclaimed that we were hiring for a "massively…multiplayer action game." Ruh oh.

Now, in rehearsal Aldridge was convinced that everybody got the joke. It was all in the delivery, he assured us, and he was certain it was clear that he was playfully riffing off of the recent rumors. Unfortunately, most people can’t figure David out – they can’t process him. And we don’t expect them to. You can’t process David Aldridge with a normal brain. You’d need tiger blood and Adonis DNA.

From: David Aldridge

Sent: Thursday, March 03, 2011 5:42 PM

To: Pete Parsons; Eric Osborne

Subject: Fwd: "GDC: Bungie's Next Game Is An MMO"

FYI. The tape will exonerate me, but I'm sorry anyway.

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2)  New Wii Trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

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The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword got a brand new trailer this week that shows off the in-game characters and combat.

Here's the original E3 trailer if you missed it:

From Wikipedia.org:

Skyward Sword is a prequel to Ocarina of Time. The Link appearing in the game was born and raised in Skyloft, a group of islands floating above the clouds. Leading an ordinary life there, he one day discovers the Skyward Sword, which leads him to another, previously unknown land beneath, ruled by evil forces. Using the sword to travel back and forth between the two worlds, the mystery of why they became separated is gradually revealed to Link. The Skyward Sword will turn into the Master Sword at some point in the game, and while giving Link advice, it will assume the form of the female figure in the concept art shown at E3 2009.

"Get your Princess saving gear on!"

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is coming out for the Nintendo Wii this year.  An official release date is expected after E3 2011.  The game will probably be releasing just in time for Christmas.

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3)  Pokemon is Bigger Than Ever

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Worried that the latest Pokémon generation wouldn't find much traction on North American store shelves due to their absence of titular color? Your fears were unwarranted -- within the first 24 hours of their launch, 1.08 million copies of Pokémon Black and White were sold, beating out the record of 780,000 units set by Pokémon Pearl and Diamond.

The reason for this growth? It probably has something to do with the fact that we keep getting older, but still love playing Pokémon, and also babies keep getting born, and eventually they love playing Pokémon too. That's no unnatural phenomenon -- that's basic physical anthropology.

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4)  Angry Birds Invading Facebook

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From Gamasutra.com:

Rovio's Angry Birds is already a smash success on mobile platforms, with tens of millions of downloads across iPhone and Android, as well as versions for PSP/PlayStation 3 and PC.

But the title has yet to arrive on the web's biggest social network, the 500 million user-strong Facebook. The Finland-based studio plans to change that this year.

Asked if a Facebook version of the game will arrive this May, Rovio "Bird Whisperer" and spokesperson Ville Heijari told Gamasutra "That is our intent." He was confirming a report about Angry Birds Facebook that first appeared on The Next Web.

Heijari added that the goal is to have the game out at least by summer this year. Rovio is adding various social aspects to the game, whose bird-catapulting gameplay is currently is a largely solitary experience.

There are experts in the gaming industry who believe that the future of video game is in intenet browsers.  From social site games like Farmville--to MMORPG's like Runescape, the potential to reach casual gamers through popular sites like Facebook seems limitless.  Browser gaming may never replace the need for console systems, but companies like Popcap have already proven that there are millions... even billions of dollars out there waiting to be made.