Gotta love it when you see rumors leading up to the release of a big title, but without confirmation from the company that's releasing said title, and then they come out of nowhere and release it anyway, and the audience remains just as thrilled as they would be if it was announced.  Konami, you sneaky devils.  Anyway, after 21 years of being stuck strictly in arcades (we'll forget the crappy PC port exists), The Simpsons Arcade Game has finally gotten a home release for digital download.  And as expected, it's been worth the wait.

OTTAWA – NHL All Star Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks won the Skills Challenge Breakaway Challenge donning a Superman cape. The forward didn’t need a cape to win the Stanley Cup the same season he was on the cover of EA Sports’ NHL 10 game. The 2008 NHL Rookie of the Year has been a scoring sensation for the Hawks, along with captain and NHL 11 cover athlete Jonathan Toews. In Ottawa for yet another All Star Game, Kane took some time to talk videogames in this exclusive interview.

Before the New York Giants defeat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI (at least according to the Madden NFL 12 simulation), EA Sports is throwing its annual videogame bash at the Bud Light Hotel. NFL legends past and current will mingle with celebrities. And in addition to the 3-on-3 videogame tournament format, which was introduced last year to incorporate online team play into the mix, there will also be concerts featuring Nas and The Roots. New York’s other quarterback, the Jets’ Jeff Garcia, is a Madden Bowl regular and talks gaming in this exclusive video interview below.

In its early days, THQ was best known as a kids game maker working with brands from Nickelodeon and Disney based on Hollywood TV shows and movies. But the Hollywood licensing business has dried up with the higher costs of development and the advances of smartphones and tablets (where those licenses still thrive). THQ isn’t exiting the games business, as had been rumored a few weeks ago. Instead, the game company is exiting the kids games business in favor of successful franchises like Saints Row.

First off, for the record, I personally wanted a Ravens vs. 49ers Super Bowl.  No offense against the teams that are in there now, but we've seen that match-up before, y'know?  Regardless, the Patriots and Giants will be meeting up for Super Bowl glory this Sunday.  However, EA Sports has already provided its own take on the big game, thanks to Madden NFL 12.  So...who wins?

Well over a year after its release on the market, the Kinect motion device is really growing into its own for Xbox 360 users, not only with a few family-related efforts (Kinect Sports, Dance Central) but also a decent amount of games dedicated to the "hardcore" crowd (Child of Eden, Rise of Nightmares).  But there's not too much of a market for downloadable Kinect games as of yet, though Fruit Ninja Kinect is doing fairly well.  Maybe that'll change once people see how good the haunted house adventure game Haunt is.  Maybe.

OTTOWA -- QUEBEC -- The 2012 Scotiabank NHL Fan Fair, the National Hockey League’s fan experience, will take over more than 100,000 square feet and three levels of the Ottawa Convention Centre in downtown Ottawa from Thursday, Jan. 26 through Saturday, Jan. 28. There will be something for everyone at the three-day, family-friendly festival, including special appearances from former NHL greats and current NHL stars, a display of 19 of hockey’s most-prized trophies including the Stanley Cup, live TV and radio broadcasts, music, food, merchandise locations and dozens of other dynamic activities. EA Sports NHL 12 was on display at the festivities as well.