In what is most assuredly not an April Fools' joke, the folks at Volition (Saints Row) and a number of other video game development studios are live-streaming themselves eating pie.
Volition designer Ryan McCabe told me about this tradition last week. Here's his full explanation:
What is Pie Day? The history of Pie Day is simple. Someone at Volition gave up sweets for lent. The day after lent, he wanted to have a pie. Thus he ate a pie. This somehow became a thing that multiple people participated in. And there you have it, pie day. It’s grown well outside of Volition, and we have participants at other game studios such as Irrational, ZeeGees, HitPoint Studios, Disney Studios, and more. The current record for eating an entire pie? Under 7 minutes. This year, pie day is on April 1st, but this isn’t some elaborate ruse. We live streamed it last year. The rules are as follows:
Pie type is up to you, and everyone is responsible for bringing in their own pies. Pie Day begins at noon (we'll all meet in a conference room to kick it off). Anything in a standard 9" pie pan (or bigger) is fair game, though it has to have been bred within the pan. I highly suggest you pick a pie that you love. Not just something you like for one piece. Most people seem to like French Silk, but many cannot handle the richness of flavor across a full pie. Take this decision seriously, it may be the biggest decision you make all year.
The official end time for Pie Day is 7:00 P.M. If your pie is not fully consumed by this time, you bring shame upon your family. You are then honor-bound to attempt pie day the following year to win your family's honor back. Sadly, your family will live without honor until you do succeed.
You can watch the livestream above. For pie.