Lambert -- or is that Butler? -- playing Mario KartKevin Butler might be utterly loyal to Sony and the PlayStation, but he's not, you know, real. The comedic executive is played by actor Jerry Lambert, and while he's had a great run with Sony, that relationship appears to be coming to an end thanks to a tire commercial.

The electronics giant has sued Lambert, his production company Wildcat Creek Inc., and Bridgestone Tires for a gaggle of scary charges including breach of contract and (essentially) theft of intellectual property. That property?

Kevin Butler.

Pokemon Black/White version 2 (Credit: Nintendo)Though nobody saw Pokemon's success coming when the first game hit unsuspecting streets in 1996, in retrospect it shouldn't have been too hard to predict. Tapping into kids' timeless love of building collections, playing with cute critters, swapping things with friends, and fighting each other, it was an immediate hit.

Not much has changed. The latest pair of Nintendo DS games, Pokemon Black and White Versions 2, launch this weekend, and they're all but guaranteed to be best-sellers, too. Pikachu might be a cuddly little guy, but he pulls in quite a profit -- over 200 million Pokemon games have been sold so far, putting the series second only to Mario as video games' biggest earner.

It's not just a sales juggernaut, though -- the Pokemon pan-media powerhouse is also a treasure-trove of trivia. Here are a few Pokefacts you might have overlooked.

Two FIFAs, one game? (Image courtesy Nintendo Gamer)Think Madden doesn't change enough year to year? Then you'll get a real kick out of FIFA 13 for the Nintendo Wii.

Released on September 27th for nearly every video game system available, the latest iteration of EA's soccer sim has already sold over 4 million copies. Wii owners, however, were miffed to find out that their version of the game is nearly identical to last year's model, FIFA 12.

Zynga's streak of bad luck just keeps growing.

The social gaming company pre-announced some ugly third-quarter earnings late Thursday and significantly reduced its financial guidance for the year. Now, Wall Street analysts are beginning to wonder aloud if the company will ever be able to turn things around.

"We don't see a floor on the horizon," said Macquarie Securities analyst Ben Schacter. "Our concern has been and remains that while Zynga executed against its first mover advantage on the Facebook platform, off of the platform they are just one of many."

Politicians will go after any perceived weakness to win an election. And to the Maine Republican Party, there's nothing weaker than being an orc.

Maine GOP communications director David Sorensen sent out an email today detailing the lurid gaming life of Democratic State Senate candidate Colleen Lachowicz, whom he bashes for "living a time-consuming double life as a member of the World of Warcraft community."

Cliff Bleszinski (Credit: Getty Images)There aren't a lot of celebrity game developers. The profession, by and large, isn't one that lends itself to the limelight. But Cliff Bleszinski has been a rare exception to that rule.

Camera-friendly, highly energetic and never at a loss for words, the design director for such titles as Gears of War and the Unreal franchise was a natural on talk shows like Jimmy Fallon. Yesterday, though, he shocked the industry by announcing plans to leave Epic Games, his video game home for the past 20 years.

Bleszinski hasn't announced his future plans, though they almost certainly will involve game development. For now, he says, he's ready for a rest.

The newly released NBA 2K13 is, by all accounts, a terrific video game and among the most realistic sports simulations you'll ever play.

Also, it's got Justin Bieber. A 6'4" Justin Bieber who can drive past Kevin Durant and dunk on Kobe Bryant:

(Credit: 2K Sports)Thanks to EA's decision to bench NBA Live for the third consecutive year, 2K Sports has the NBA all to itself once again.

A lack of competition, though, tends to make players nervous. While the NBA 2K franchise has been a shining jewel amongst sports games in recent years, does developer Visual Concepts have what it takes to once again take the title?

It certainly seems so. NBA 2K13, which boasts Jay-Z as an executive producer and the first video game get-together of the 1992 Dream Team, is earning rave reviews.