Gamezebo Staff

A lot can happen in a year. New games come and go, development studios and publishers are formed and shuttered, and people leave our lives forever. As part of our Best of 2011 series, today we're taking a look at the biggest news to hit the casual games industry all year, covering everything from Angry Birds to Zynga (though excluding some of the huge acquisitions, which we've covered previously). From games blowing up to companies going public amidst waves of hype and interest, these are the five biggest news stories of the year.

2011 was undoubtedly a great year for gaming, whether you were playing games on your phone, on Facebook, or on your PC. But as good as things were, there were a number of moments that left us disappointed. New games that couldn't quite live up to the hype, technologies that failed to impress consistently, and even old series that fell from grace. These are the five most disappointing moments of the year.

2011 was a great year for great games, but we wouldn't have those great games if it wasn't for great developers. And while our "best of" lists normally try to count down the best of the best and pick a winner, when it comes to good game development, we're all winners.