We love it when old-school games get a re-release, for a number of reasons.  The sheer joy that the games themselves bring, the fact that we don’t need to hook up an old-school console (from a dusty closet) and a blown-out cartridge to play them, the fact we don’t need to pay hundreds of dollars for the original game and instead invest just a few bucks to relive them…and the list goes on.  Sega has been well known as a company that loves their classic library, and over the next couple of weeks, they’ll prove it with five upcoming release packs for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade.

To be honest, Nintendo did manage to do fairly well with the Wii.  Not only did it finally nail down using a typical CD format for its games (shying away from the cartridge and mini-discs it used previously), but it also effectively introduced motion gaming to the scene, with such favorites as Wii Sports and Super Mario Galaxy 1 and 2.  And while it is on its last legs with the upcoming Wii U slated for release this fall, that doesn’t mean the party is completely over for it.  In fact, there are five games that will still make it worth playing this summer – that is, if the Wii is the only option you have.

AUSTIN – Disney Interactive Media Group has big plans for Mickey Mouse. The studio’s Junction point development studio is hard at work on the sequel to the bestselling Disney’s Epic Mickey game. Only this time, the new game is going co-op and cross-platform for even more interactive fun. Junction Point founder Warren Spector talks about Disney’s Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two in the exclusive video interview below.

Disney Cruise Line doesn’t want passengers to take a vacation from gaming. Walt Disney Imagineer Bob Zalk was at the forefront of equipping the new $1 billion Disney Fantasy ship, and its sister the Disney Magic, with state-of-the-art gaming technology that can’t be found on land. Zalk talks about how gaming on the new cruise ship in this exclusive video interview below.

Mario has some new games heading to Nintendo 3DS and Kirby is celebrating his 20th birthday. Nintendo will launch New Super Mario Bros. 2, a new side-scrolling Mario adventure for Nintendo 3DS, this summer. Later in the year, Nintendo will mark the 20th anniversary of the Kirby game series with a special compilation game disc for the Wii system. Other content on the way includes a system update for Nintendo 3DS, re-runs of the popular Kid Icarus anime videos as well as the May 20 launch of Mario Tennis Open.

AUSTIN -- Disney Interactive’s Junction Point development studio is working on Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, the sequel to the critically acclaimed and commercially successful Disney Epic Mickey video game.  In Disney Epic Mickey 2, gamers will play as Mickey Mouse and for the first time ever, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney’s first cartoon star, in an all-new adventure of creativity and discovery. Created by video game industry luminary Warren Spector, Disney Epic Mickey 2 returns the franchise to the Wii and expands it to new HD consoles PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The trailer for one of the big games of 2012 can be seen below.

TRANSFORMERS fans won’t have to wait for a fourth film from Michael Bay to get in on the action. In fact, they won’t even have to wait until the new TRANSFORMERS: Fall of Cybertron game from High Moon Studios. Activision is bringing the ultimate TRANSFORMERS video game experience to kids of all ages with the TRANSFORMERS PRIME video game.  Based on the hit animated television show produced by Hasbro Studios and currently airing on The Hub television network in the U.S., the game lets fans play as their favorite AUTOBOT characters and embark on an action-packed adventure to save the earth from the evil MEGATRON and his new secret weapon. 

Wedbush Morgan Securities videogame analyst Michael Pachter is always good for stirring up controversy with his opinions. Pachter was the keynote speaker for the fourth annual Ayzenberg A-List Summit in San Francisco, where he said Nintendo was in disarray and Electronic Arts is f*cked in social games. Watch the question and answer part of his speech in the exclusive video below.

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.