Game publishers and developers hate it when people buy pre-owned games. Most of them keep relatively quiet about it, but this week, THQ's Cory Ledesma called out patrons of Gamestop and other used game sellers when he announced that people who buy used games will have to pay a fee for many features of upcoming THQ games, including online play.

Nearly two years ago, I was gushing over the marketing for "Fable II." It was really on the forefront of using virtual goods as a reward for pre-release interest and ordering. Today, nary a game doesn't have some in-game reward for out-of-game behaviors. Deciding between which retailer's pre-order bonus to select has become a mental chore for many a gamer. So as the release date for "Fable III" has neared, I've been eagerly awaiting what form the marketing would take. And I haven't been disappointed.

If you're reading this column, you probably don't need me to tell you that (1) "Starcraft 2" came out this week, and (2) it's probably the biggest PC. gaming story of the decade. Gamers have been anticipating the latest installment of the franchise for 12 years; while they waited; they've been playing its predecessor incessantly. But despite its absolutely glowing reviews, "Starcraft 2" isn't the game it could've been

A fascinating bit of news popped up this week (besides Hulu Plus being made available now for PlayStation Plus subscribers): Google has invested over a hundred million dollars in Zynga. This could prove a very interesting partnership for three key reasons.

If you ever want to be really, really insulted, a great place to go is the World of Warcraft forums. They've grown to be one of the largest online gaming communities on the Web, and they've had a huge problem with trolling, aimed both at moderators and at users. Trolling is so common on these forums, forum trolls have debates among themselves about which of them is the funniest.

E3 is over, and it was quite the show. Of the six years I've attended, this might have been the most peculiar. A lot was unveiled, some of which was expected, and some things came out of left field. Here are the key takeaways from the show.

Very few games actually offer a gameplay experience that is enhanced by the addition of motion control, and still fewer offer experiences that would be impossible without it. But Dance Central is one of those games.

From a hands-on demo of Microsoft's "Project Natal" accessory to Sony's showcasing 3D gaming on the PlayStation 3: What to expect at the media circus and major gaming event that is the Electronic Entertainment Expo.

If you've hidden all the "Farmville" and "Mafia Wars" notifications on your Wall, you may not have heard about developer Zynga's latest move to infiltrate your daily life with virtual farming and organized crime. Now, when you buy a Slurpee (or one of several other items) at 7-11, it comes with Zynga branding, and if you're a Farmvillian or a Mafia Warrior, a virtual item you can redeem in-game.

So for those who weren't following Google's I/O conference yesterday: holy cow! Google made a ton of announcements that were pretty incredible. And many of those announcements have a direct correlation to the gaming industry. Let's break down what happened piece by piece.