1. NBA Legend Social Game Alley-oops Onto Facebook This Week

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is looking to cash in where EA already has with its FIFA and Madden franchises. Thanks to San Francisco, Calif.-based developer Lionside, the NBA will release NBA Legend to Facebook this week, New York Times (NYT) reports. The game will serve as the next level in the organization's ongoing social media campaign. NBA Legend is expected to play similarly to existing sports games on Facebook: Players will create an NBA athlete, join a team and accumulate points through a career to increase their standing in the NBA. In other words, there won't be much hoops action here.

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2. Five Reasons Why Social Games Are as Hardcore as They Come

For probably longer than I've been writing about them, social games have been looked at by traditional gamers as "casual" or barely even games. And in some cases they are absolutely right. (Sometimes, you just can't resist the debate.) But just take a look at the FarmVille forums on any given day or eavesdrop on a conversation between Bejeweled Blitz devotees and you'll learn that it's far from the truth. In fact, social games are as hardcore as they come, and here are five reasons why.

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