14 DAY TRIAL // The week that was is a perfect example of how video-gaming companies should not be communicating with potential buyers, as Nintendo is still saying nothing about the Wii price cut, despite the mounting evidence pointing to its existence. But other stuff also happened. Here are the essentials.
Monday was the day when Toys R Us leaked an ad for a reduced price on Wii, but the other big news was that the Halo series would not be moving to Project Natal, the motion-tracking device from Microsoft, until the technology matured, which might take some time.
Tuesday, the PlayStation 3 received firmware version 3.01, which was widely expected by users to fix all the issues caused by the previous 3.00 release, but was pitched by Sony as an optional update that improved stability. Meanwhile, LucasArts commented on the possibility of creating more Star Wars titles, with the X-Wing and TIE Fighter series were the first targeted.
Wednesday was dominated by Bobby Kotick. In his full glory, he talked about how he was not expecting new video-game consoles in the coming year, because Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft had not talked to him about them and he also revealed that the new MMO project on which Blizzard was working was set to have a broad appeal, which might mean anything from casual to free to play.
Thursday brought news of Left 4 Dead 2 being banned in Australia, mainly because of the over-the-top violence that was depicted, especially when using the all-new, melee weapons. Meanwhile, Sony went on a roll announcing that its free-to-play MMO Free Realms had five million players at the moment and might be arriving on the PS3 in the middle of 2010.
On Friday, Target offered even more evidence for a Wii price reduction, with Nintendo still denying it, while rumors arose about a new PlayStation 3 bundle with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and a 250 GB hard drive.
And, if you still can't get enough of our words, you might want to check out the Weekend Reading feature where we talk about Nintendo, communication, fan respect and video gaming.