SAN FRANCISCO – Michael Pachter, video game analyst for Wedbush Morgan Securities, delivered a keynote at the fourth annual Ayzenberg A-List Summit 2012, put on by the all-purpose game marketing, PR and publishing firm. With the conference focusing on “The Consumer Courtship,” Pachter focused his speech on how the social landscape is already affecting the gaming industry and how will it will trend.  

Well, it seems 2K Sports is very pro-active to what NBA 2K12 gamers want and they wanted a better Jeremy Lin to create Linsanity magic in their NBA 2K12 games with their virtual Lins.  Just two days after 2K Sports upgraded Lin to 69 from 56 in the NBA 2K12 "Living Rosters" update, they upgraded him again to 75 today in another update, which is closer to where Lin should probably be even after he cools down from his Linsane pace, which he inevitably will.

Wii owners with broadband Internet access now have a new way to watch their favorite TV shows and movies. Starting today, Wii owners can subscribe to Hulu Plus for $7.99 a month and instantly stream current-season hit TV shows such as Family Guy, Glee, New Girl, Glee, The Office and Modern Family, as well as full back seasons of hit shows like Community and Grey’s Anatomy. Kids can enjoy a growing library of favorites, including Arthur, Wild Kratts and Dinosaur Train, and families can browse through hundreds of popular movies from Miramax and more.

Rhythm music games continue to be a hot commodity these days.  How else can you explain the gangbuster sales of Just Dance 3 and the ongoing interest in the Dance Central 2 game library?  Over on the Wii, though, there’s only so much you can groove along to before you realize you’re doing the same thing over and over with a Wii remote.  Fortunately, Rhythm Heaven Fever, an adaptation of a previously released Nintendo DS game, takes a break from this norm.

INDIANAPOLIS -- With Super Bowl XLVI just a day away, NFL players and celebrities have descended on the Circle City, Indianapolis, to get their taste of Hoosier Hospitality. EA Sports and Bud Light spared no expense in inviting celebrities to their block tent party just behind the Bud Light Hotel in downtown Indianapolis at Madden Bowl XVII. San Diego Charger tight end Antonio Gates Bud Light Blue Carpet to talk about Madden Bowl XVIII as well as Madden NFL 12 and what video games he played back in the day in this exclusive video interview.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Super Week in Indianapolis is in full swing and the biggest party at the big show every year is the Madden Bowl. This year, Madden Bowl XVIII was held at the renamed Bud Light Hotel in downtown Indianapolis where hundreds of NFL past and current players as well as celebrities such as Snoop Dog and Nas showed up to check out the latest EA Sports' football game Madden NFL 12. NFL Great Warren Sapp was in the house participating on the Madden Legends Team and we caught up with the retired defensive back and NFL Analyst in this exclusive video interview on the Bud Light Blue Carpet to talk his participation in Madden Bowl XVIII, Madden NFL 12 and what video games he played back in the day.

Know what pains me in this industry?  When a truly magnificent game goes unnoticed due to a lack of an ad campaign or a "push", if you will.  That's how I feel about Rayman Origins, which I consider one of the best games of 2011.  Unfortunately, it's barely cleared 50,000 units sold, showing signs that the project is a failure.  No, it's not.  It's a tremendously fun game that shouldn't be missed by anyone -- even if you're not crazy about platformers.  Thankfully, Ubi appears to be giving it another shot, this time on the PlayStation Vita, just in time for its launch.

Here's a bit of a rhetorical question. What's scarier, EA's Origin service existing passed 2012 or SOPA and PIPA? Trick question, they are both pretty equally terrifying. Jokes aside, even though we're nearing the end of Internet Blackout Wednesday where sites such as Wikipedia, BoingBoing and Reddit closed up shop so to speak, more news trickled out as it relates to two of gaming's biggest juggernauts--Electronic Arts and E3 powerhouse Entertainment Software Associate both of who refuse to change their Pro-SOPA and PIPA stances despite a hefty petition on Change.org.

LAS VEGAS – The Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2012) opened its doors to press, analysts and buyers featuring a record number of exhibitors, more than 3,100 companies on a show floor that will exceed 1.85 million net square feet of exhibit space. Pre-show media events with innovative product launches kicked off the 2012 CES, with cutting-edge products including ultrabooks, voice and gesture-based technologies, smartphones and OLED TVs. Owned and produced by the Consumer Electronics Association, the 2012 International CES, the world's largest tradeshow for consumer technology, opens today and runs through Friday, January 13 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"Basketball is my favorite sport, I love the way they dribble up and down the court." Every time I turn on my Xbox 360 and boot up NBA 2K12, I absolutely love hearing that song. Yes, I'm a lifelong basketball fan, and yes, I can name each and every single player in that intro scene. Even though I'm an all around gamer at heart, I truly enjoy playing sports titles the most--as I'm an avid sports fan as well. And while I've forgiven the NBA for their incredibly petchulant ways this past offseason, NBA2K12 was what keep my interest piqued. So, while NBA 2K12 is still fresh on my mind, I want to make some predictions/suggestions for 2KGames as we inch closer to NBA 2K13 later this year.

Up until about late last year, basketball fans were worried that the NBA lockout, which lasted about half a year, was going to doom the forthcoming season.  However, following a last second meeting, both sides eventually came to an agreement, and though we've got a shorter season than expected, NBA games have finally returned.  And 2K Sports is tributing the return of the players, coaches and everyone else with their own special video, comprised of clips from its hit basketball game NBA 2K12.

Driven by fast-selling software Nintendo 3DS sells more in its first nine months than Wii did, capping a very good 2011 for the game maker. Whether they were on the go or at home, whether they played in 2D on the TV or in glasses-free 3D in their hands, gamers of all ages celebrated the holidays with Mario and Zelda. Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 for Nintendo 3DS not only became the fastest-selling titles in the history of their respective franchises when they launched, but they are now also the first Nintendo 3DS titles to sell 1 million units each in the United States. On the console side, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, which also broke launch records, became the 45 Wii title to sell more than 1 million units in the U.S.