Despite 
good intentions, bad games happen. What’s really astonishing, though, is when a bad game gets a sequel, followed by another one.
And another. And another.
How do game franchises continue to exist despite critical drubbings and, often, sales that don’t begin to compare to the haul of other titles that never see a second chapter?
Gaming, 
in some ways, seems bigger than ever. An explosion in mobile titles, the sheer size of blockbusters like Call of Duty and Halo, and a seamlessly endless barrage of requests from Facebook friends to join them in games points to a growing, healthy industry.
But new data from the NPD Group, the market research company behind the industry’s monthly sales charts, finds that the number of players is on the decline in the U.S. — and it’s falling faster than you can imagine.
The 
archenemies of the Angry Birds are about to steal more than eggs.
They’re stealing the spotlight.
Rovio, creator of the massive bird-flinging franchise, has announced that its next game will be Bad Piggies, featuring the porcine antagonists in a new style of gameplay — one that will be entirely slingshot-free.
More 
than six months ago, Electronic Arts announced that after a two-year absence, NBA Live would be returning to store shelves this fall in a reboot that would “[capture] the future of basketball.”
But with a mere two months to go before the tip off of this year’s NBA season, we don’t know much more about the game. It was at E3, but no one was allowed to touch it, and it didn’t look great. Since then? Virtually nothing. What’s going on here?
Another 
big video game franchise may be headed to your local multiplex.
Columbia Pictures and Konami have announced plans to create a cinematic adaptation of Metal Gear Solid — which, ironically, is one of the most movie-like games in the industry.
As 
Zynga’s stock continues to hover around its all-time low, the number of high-level executives bailing from the social games maker is reaching critical mass.
Chief Creative Officer Mike Verdu is the latest to jump ship, announcing Tuesday that he was leaving the company to start a new firm.
After 
a long day of taking arrows in the knee, it’s nice to have somewhere to kick up your feet.
Hearthfire, the next downloadable expansion to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, will let players purchase land and build houses from the ground up. The add-on is set to release for the Xbox 360 on September 4 for 400 Microsoft points. There’s no set date at this point for a PC or PS3 version.
The 
$60 video game isn’t going away anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean you have to shell out big money if you want to play a triple-A title these days.
More and more big-name games are now offering free experiences. Even better, they’re being made by some of the industry’s top developers with the same cutting-edge graphics engines powering pricey releases. So long as you don’t fall too far down the rabbit hole of microtransactions, you can have all sorts of fun without dropping a cent.
Sorry, 
New York Giants fans: Big Blue isn’t going to make it to Super Bowl XLVII. Heck, they won’t even make it to the playoffs.
That’s the prediction, at least, of the latest incarnation of EA’s venerable Madden football franchise.
Humans 
gave up their species exclusivity on video games a long time ago.
Monkeys have been playing Pac-Man for years. Cats are regularly beating humans in iPad app battles. And now, fish are getting in the swim of things.
Chris Morris: Journalist 