In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII ordered the existing Julian calendar to be replaced with the new Gregorian calendar. The followers of the Julian calendar (including the Romans and Hindus) celebrated their New Year's Day on April 1st, the day of the Vernal Equinox. However, several countries (France, namely) either refused to accept the Gregorian calendar or did not know of the changes to the system, and continued to celebrate New Year's Day on April 1st. Those who accepted the Gregorian calendar made fun of these traditionalists, often playing cruel practical jokes on them. When Britain finally changed over to the Gregorian calendar in 1752, they declared April 1st to be April Fool's Day, and from that point on, the occasion was celebrated in British Colonies.
Yes, a bunch of petty jokes at the expense of a bunch of traditionalists is what started April Fools Day, and somehow it is still celebrated today. I for one despise April Fools Day, not because of a few fun practical jokes, but because of the way it is treated in the videogame industry. Videogame magazines and websites post disinformation on their sites (or in their magazines) to celebrate the day and fool a few people in the process. If you're an observant person, like me, you'll be able to spot these jokes a mile off. Unfortunately, for some reason, we've been cursed with very stupid people on this planet, who will believe everything they read.
There are two types of April Fool's Day Jokes on videogame sites - ones that are well planned and executed, and quick lazy ones. An example of the first type would be the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 story which popped up about two years ago - a very well crafted Photoshop job with a nicely written press release to back it up. The second type of joke would be something along the lines of "Microsoft buys Nintendo", which I wouldn't be surprised to see tomorrow. The second kind of joke is the one I have a problem with - if you're not going to put a lot of effort into your April Fool's Day joke, just don't bother! The other problem with the second one is the stupid people who fall for them, and proceed to post said disinformation on other websites and forums. Can't you people think within the limits of plausibility?
While I'd like to see an end to the puerile habits of gaming editors that continue to push April Fool's Day jokes (you don't see it in the real media, but that sort of discussion could fill a rant in itself), it's obviously not going to happen. All I can really say to you, the reader, is to keep both eyes wide open for the next 24 hours, and ensure that you don't fall for any jokes. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
The views expressed by Matt Keller in the Easy Mode editorial are his own, and are not indicative of the views of the PAL Gaming Network or its affiliates.
Quite good... 
Not quite as believable as some of their past ones, though.
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