14 DAY TRIAL // Hello and welcome to another edition of A Gamer's Week, your guide to all of the big news in the gaming industry unveiled in the last seven days. We've seen some pretty big announcements about fresh games, teasers about future ones, and competitions for those that have already appeared. Without further ado, here's this edition of A Gamer's Week.
Monday saw some corporate fighting, as Nintendo of America's Reggie Fils-Aime revealed that, at least in his view, the Wii Remote was the best motion controller on the market and that the rival companies, Microsoft and Sony, couldn't beat it with their new systems. Also, that day saw the creator of the Gears of War franchise, Cliff Bleszinski, talk about the next title in the series and about the many things that could be explored while making it.
Tuesday was host to a big piece of news, as Rockstar announced that the previous Nintendo DS-exclusive GTA: Chinatown Wars would make its arrival on the PlayStation Portable console. Set to arrive at the end of this year, it will appear in both UMD and digital download format, as to please new PSP Go! owners. Also, EA Sports' Peter Moore took the stage and revealed that his company was discussing buying the image rights to every UFC and MMA fighter it could for the upcoming EA Sports MMA title. Among those rumored to have already signed are Randy Couture, Tim Sylvia and Fedor Emelianenko.
Wednesday saw Microsoft talk about Xbox Live Gamertags and how they still wouldn't let users express their orientation, even though the next DLC episode for Grand Theft Auto IV, GTA: The Ballad of Gay Tony, would tackle some sensitive issues. Good news for Mortal Kombat fans this day, as the creator of the series, Ed Boon, revealed that the next game, MK 9, would be an M-rated one, guaranteeing violent and bloody Fatality moves, as opposed to the more recent MK vs. DC Universe title.
Big news on Thursday, as ZeniMax, the company owning Bethesda, the creator of blockbuster RPGs like Fallout 3 or The Elder Scrolls, revealed that it had acquired the studio behind hugely popular shooter series like Doom, Quake or Wolfenstein, id Software. This day was also important for racing fans and Wii owners, as they were treated to the first screenshots of Colin McRae: DiRT 2 on the Nintendo Wii console.
The last day of the week saw Treyarch reveal the Weekend Warrior competition for its Call of Duty: World at War title. The contest will test out the skills of CoD players and offer them some very interesting prizes. This was also the day when we found out that the Iranian government wasn't putting any ban on online games, meaning that gamers in that country can communicate with others about the tense situation there.
If you are interested in some more reading, you can check out my colleague’s article about piracy, demos and The Sims 3, or my own impressions about the newly released Point Lookout DLC for Fallout 3. Until next week, check out the dedicated games section here at Softpedia for all the latest news, reviews and demos.