Ah yes, the sweet smell of GameSetLinks, this time headed by Forbes quoting folks like Gamelab's Eric Zimmerman on why the increasingly flooded PC casual game download market perhaps isn't quite what it used to be. Too much choice? That's the problem (and the blessing) nowadays, abstractly.

Also in here - the latest TIGSource indie game competition, all about 'demakes', as well as Harvey Smith hinting about his new game, the Stanford 'How They Got Game' chaps recording the last few minutes of The Sims Online/EA Land, and plenty more where that came from.

Gotta go go:

Casual Gold Bust - Forbes.com
'All of a sudden, the downloadable casual game gold rush appears to be over' - via Rampant Coyote.

Siliconera » Introducing 24: The Pachislot: The Game
Haha, awesome stylized Jack Bauer art.

1UP: 'Bloodthirsty Kodiak Bear Unlockable in Major League Eating'
Mastiff's WiiWare title getting crazier and crazier.

T=Machine » I like to hire on enthusiasm and fire on ability
'Over the years I’ve noticed a strong correlation between the extremely enthusiastic people *who also had good potential* and those who went on to fulfil a lot of that potential.'

the2bears.com » Knightly in the Dark Forest
'It’s really great to see so many pixel artists taking the time to make stuff for what is now an older genre' - really nice looking Western indie shooter - darn cute.

The Independent Gaming Source: TIGCompo - Bootleg Demakes
'Demakes: remakes of games on older generation hardware. Bootleg: not infringing on anyone’s intellectual property. You have a month.'

witchboy.net » Blog Archive » New Speech by Jon Blow
Harvey Smith on Blow's Develop speech, and some hints on an art-game 'side project' at Arkane Austin.

Wonderland: E4 sponsors Grand Master Flash award at the Golden Joysticks
Yay, Channel 4-sponsored Flash game competition, neatness.

"Lost Server Connection": The Last Minutes of a Virtual World | How They Got Game
The Stanford guys capture video of the last ever minutes of The Sims Online/EA-Land - great historical documentation.

press the ACTION BUTTON!!: 'THE ACTION BUTTON DOT NET MANIFESTO: A LIST OF THE TWENTY-FIVE BEST GAMES OF ALL-TIME'
Plenty of Rogers-ian whimsy here, considering Spartan: Total Warrior is one of this initial list (only #25-#23 reviewed so far).