While everyone on the internet is busy running Madden simulations to predict the Super Bowl we thought we'd take a different approach. In order to determine the winner between the Patriots and the Giants, we're taking Skyrim's home-grown patriots, the Stormcloaks, and pitting them against the country's giants.

Downloading the upcoming February 14 Mass Effect 3 demo will upgrade the subscriptions of Xbox Live Silver members to Gold so that all players can sample the game's multiplayer before its release on March 6.

The temporary upgrade system that the demo takes advantage of indicates that Xbox Live as we know it is so outdated that it can't cope with offering users a single demo. The current XBL Gold/Silver division needs to change. After five years of Microsoft's biggest competitor offering multiplayer for free the console maker maintains what amounts to a $60 annual surcharge to play online. Online gaming is not new or novel -- it gained popularity nearly 20 years ago. Even consoles began supporting the function in the Dreamcast era. Multiplayer gaming should come standard with any system in 2012.

This week was not kind to video game publishers. THQ announced plans for 240 lay-offs amidst the board of directors and CEO giving themselves a 50% paycut. Meanwhile, Disney bought a controlling stake in India-based UTV Ignition -- a publisher which went through its own set of lay-offs and restructuring last year -- for an undisclosed sum after the Indian government approved the deal which had reportedly been in the works since at least last summer. Disney plans to use the firm to expand their own presence in the Asian market. Neither company revealed how the changes would impact Ignition's gaming division. It's entirely possible that it will have little or no effect, but that seems unlikely given the troubles the company endured last year. THQ ran into financial trouble after relying on licensed properties and kids and family titles, specifically uDraw, whereas Ignition announced they would shift their focus to downloadable titles last year after a series of poorly performing games.

These two publishers are hardly the only ones publicly struggling. Various factors, including high-cost HD development, have led to a shakeout amongst small and medium sized publishers like Eidos, Gamecock, Midway, and others while Activision rakes in massive profits. Of course, this is normal, companies that fail to adapt die. However, THQ's and Ignitions's recent troubles stem from a disturbing trend in game consumers, not from development or publishing difficulties. It seems that players are spending more time playing games, but paradoxically spending that extra time with fewer titles. Game makers have never in the forty-year history of the medium had such a massive consumer base to sell to, but players have never been so unwilling to try new experiences.

Earlier this week, Gamasutra published a scathing criticism of Final Fantasy XIII-2 penned by our colleague (and occasional Retronauts podcast guest) Christian Nutt. Though contextualized through an extended comparison to Red Letter Media's popular video critiques of the Star Wars prequel films, his commentary touched upon many of the same points and concerns I addressed in my own review of the game. Where our opinions differ, I think, is in our ultimate conclusion of XIII-2's merits (or lack thereof); I found the game flawed but a welcome step in correcting the series' course after two widely lambasted entries, while Christian feels it represents a deep, systemic rot at Square Enix's internal development studio.

I'm not too surprised by this turn of events. Christian and I rarely see eye-to-eye on most matters. So while I agree with his assessment of the underlying issues affecting FFXIII and XIII-2, my outlook on the company's future isn't nearly as dire as his. (I also disagree with many of Christian's assertions about FFXIII, such as the claim that lead protagonist Lightning lacked a demonstrable character arc, but that's neither here nor there.) From having spoken to FFXIII-2 director Motomu Toriyama and producer Yoshinori Kitase several times over the past couple of years, I get the impression that they're sincerely concerned about the series' direction and want to keep Final Fantasy relevant. From what I know of Square Enix's corporate culture, I also suspect that they're hobbled by the conservative nature of Japanese business, which can be slow to change when processes and standards that worked for years suddenly become ineffectual.

In the past few days, two more games joined the long list of those using some sort of online pass. Since Electronic Arts introduced the concept in 2010 with Project $10, more and more publishers have adopted the practice of locking out certain features for those who purchase used games. Many feel it's unfair, but I'm not so sure that's really the case.

Many gamers consider online passes yet another way they're being shafted this generation. Like downloadable content, it's another scheme cooked up to maximize the amount of money squeezed out of each gamer, they would say, and in the case of DLC that has been true at times. I'm hardly in favor of publishers releasing incomplete games and expecting people to then pay for the rest of it later, and I was as annoyed as anyone when cheat codes started showing up on the Xbox Live Marketplace for a fee. But there is a difference between hoping to make some money off of the game you created and withholding a part of the game simply so it can be sold to players at an additional cost now that it's technically feasible to do so.

Capcom announced today that it plans to release Dragon's Dogma on May 22, and the package will include a download code for a Resident Evil 6 demo. Fans will be able to download the demo from Xbox Live on July 3, while PS3 owners will have to wait until September 4.

Other publishers have found that tying an anticipated demo or beta to an unanticipated game boosts sales of both. The original Zone of the Enders did quite well thanks to the on-disc inclusion of the Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty demo. Access to Halo 3's beta came along with new copies of Crackdown -- helping it become a cult hit. Without early access, fans and critics alike would have overlooked both titles. There's little doubt that Capcom is hoping the same strategy will work with Dragon's Dogma. What's not obvious is how much Capcom needs this gambit to succeed.

Netflix bewildered nearly everyone last year when it announced it would separate its streaming and DVD-by-mail services into distinct brands. There was a piece of good news in all of it, and that was Netflix's intention to add game rentals to the newly revealed Qwikster. But between the negative backlash and confusion generated through this plan, which looked to be an attempt to move away from the DVD-by-mail business it made its name on, plans for Qwikster were dropped and the prospect of game rentals was called into question.

As a part of Netflix's Q4 earnings report conference call, CEO Reed Hastings stated there are "no plans" to begin offering videogames in addition to DVDs and Blu-rays, Engadget reports. It's an understandable decision as the company's mailing service is clearly in decline and its future lies with streaming content. So barring any interest in acquiring a company like OnLive or Gaikai (or developing its own technology) games and Netflix won't have anything to do with one another in the near future. And it's a very unlikely scenario to change as Netflix is faced with enough problems in acquiring streaming video content; it doesn't want to pay more money on a per-user basis in licensing fees but wants to continue growing its user base. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter is among those who are skeptical such a scenario is possible.

Since Microsoft launched the Xbox Live Marketplace alongside the Xbox 360 in 2005, there's been a nagging issue that's bothered many users: Microsoft Points. According to a report, they might be finally going away this year in favor of a more preferable setup.

Inside Mobile Apps reports a source has indicated Microsoft Points are to be replaced by real-world currencies by the end of the year, which means a new currency system would be put in place not only for Xbox Live, but also the Windows Phone and Zune Marketplaces.

In our first-ever IGN/1UP livestream collaboration, watch as we play the new downloadable content for Modern Warfare 3. Join @teanah, @bobbya1984, @peykemans, and @Steven_Hopper as we test our FPS skills on Piazza and Liberation. For more information on the latest content for Call of Duty Elite Premium members, click here.

Update: Capcom has issued a press release confirming RE6's existence and its November 20 release date on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with a PC version set to come at a later date. It also released the trailer you see above, accompanied by the following description: "It has been ten years since the incident at Raccoon City and the President of the United States has decided to reveal the truth behind what took place. Raccoon City survivor and personal friend of the President, Leon S. Kennedy, arrives to find the President transformed beyond recognition by a bioterrorist attack. Leon is forced to make the hardest decision he has ever made.

"At the same, Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance Member, Chris Redfield arrives in China, itself under threat of a bioterrorist attack."