Weekend open forum: what is your favorite video game franchise?

I've seen a number of franchise partners come and go since I started playing video games 25 years ago. Regardless of genre there's no shortage of franchisees, was that over the years with many life on stellar today by a number of sequels and reboots.

Some of my all-time include Favorites twisted metal, Metroid, Mega Man, the legend of Zelda, need for speed, resident evil, Mortal Kombat, to name a few street fighter and Sonic the Hedgehog, only a few. I have played some of the as well as the newer franchises such as Tomb Raider, battlefield and call of duty, but there is just something about the nostalgia for classic title that attracts me.

We want to know with this week open forum, what is your favorite video game franchise. Prefer classics like Mario and final fantasy, or are more in recent hits such as Halo, God of war and StarCraft?

Weekend tech reading: LivingSocial hacked, cheap Android-Intel laptops, can Google predict the stock market?

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Google search terms can predict the stock market By using Google trends, which tracks the frequency particular search terms are entered into Google over time, scientists have found seasonal patterns, for example, in searches for information about mental illnesses and detected a link between searching behavior and a country's GDP. Smithsonian

Study: 45 percent of Bitcoin exchanges end up closing A study of the Bitcoin exchange industry has found that 45 percent of exchanges fail, taking their users' money with them. Those that survive are the ones that handle the most traffic – but they are so the exchanges that suffer the greatest number of cyber attacks. Wired

'Wintel' on the wane: Intel goes Google Expect to see Intel-based Android laptops and hybrids priced between, let's say, $200 to $500 in the coming months. (Likely, at first, from companies such as erstwhile NetBook vendors Asus and Acer.) CNET

LivingSocial hacked: information of 50 million users exposed According to an internal email from LivingSocial CEO Tim O'Reilly Shaughnessy obtained by AllThingsD.com, the attackers were able to access informing including names, email addresses, date of birth for some users, and passwords, which fortunately were hashed and salted. Security week

CD project decide there's "no place" for multiplayer in the Witcher 3 "There's no place for multiplayer in so strongly a story-driven game as the Witcher of 3. we want to focus on the single player experience, delivering more than 100 hours of truly immersive gameplay." Eurogamer

Researchers call out Twitter celebrities with suspicious followings In a follow-up to their earlier report, two Italian security researchers, Andrea Stroppa and Carlo De Micheli, call out Twitter account that added or lost a large number of followers in one day. Their list includes brands like Pepsi, Mercedes-Benz and Louis Vuitton; used to like Newt Gingrich, representative Jared Polis and Dmitri Medvedev, the Russian prime minister; and the rapper 50 cent and Sean Combs, known as Diddy. NY Times

Dutchman arrested over huge web attackSpanish police have arrested a Dutchman suspected of being behind one of the biggest ever web attacks. The attack bombarded the sites of anti-junk mail outfit Spamhaus with huge amounts of data in to attempt to knock them offline. BBC

Ubisoft shows off Assassin's creed: Black Flag and far cry 3: blood Dragon Ubisoft has been busy releasing videos that show impatient gamers teasers for its upcoming titles.  The company has released a trailer for something called the watch, which appears to be a fan portal for Assassin's creed 4: Black Flag. The trailer suggests that anyone that doesn't get the watch will be missing out on a lot of stuff. It will let players take on extra challenges and has plenty of opportunity for acquiring bragging rights. The Inquirer

White House launches official Tumblr page via Twitter

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President Obama and his administration launched on official Tumblr page for the White House earlier today. The presence on Tumblr further bolsters the administration's presence on social media which includes a Facebook account, Twitter account, YouTube channel and a Pinterest page.

The page what first announced on Twitter with the promise of GIFs. In the inaugural post on the White House's Tumblr page, the author noted that great things happen at the White House every day and sharing that stuff with the public is one of the best parts of working there.

The plan with Tumblr is to post things like the best quotes from President Obama, video of young scientists visiting the White House for science fairs or pictures of adorable moments with presidential dog Bo. All of this is in addition to some wonky charts, the post noted.

All of that aside, the post points out that the Tumblr page is about the public as Obama is committed to making his administration the most open and accessible in history. To that end, the post invites people to share questions they may have for the White House, stories of what things like immigration means to you or simply ways to improve their Tumblr page.

Given the number of social networks the administration is already a part of it'll be curious to see how this new outlet plays alongside the others. The Tumblr page play host to original content will or will it just be the same old regurgitated material found on Facebook and Twitter?