Weekly Wrap Up : October 10-16, 2005

The calm before the storm.  That's what mid-October feels like.  We found out that males in their early twenties spend their time playing games, as if we didn't know that (even in our late 30's).  Hollywood is getting hip to the PSP, which was inevitable.  Sony took a page from the Apple textbook and has begun updating firmware for the PSP synced to what appears to be the phases of the moon. 

A big highlight of the week came when one of the Joystiq crew (Wiley) gave us an up close and personal review of pile of upcoming games on the Xbox 360.  And really... that's what October is about.  A month of calm before the launch of the Xbox 360, and the frenzy it will stir among the consoles.  I hate to be so straight forward about it, but really, its what we are all thinking.

Monday October 10

• Buddy cops try black arts in Voodoo Nights for PC,
  360
• A Trojan is now out to brick your DS, too
• Microsoft working with console modders to fight
  crime?
• Nintendo Power's November 2005 Issue (#197)
• Lumines sales top gold status
• Freeverse starts "Big Week" with 25% off everything
  sale
• Nintendo: GameCube is "nearing its end"
• Nintendogging!
• A Lair of next-gen assets for PS3
• Age gates and the ESRB: going behind the velvet
  rope
• Analyst predicts 2.5 mil Xbox 360s sold this
  year
• Preview the Kameo soundtrack online
• Ultimate Spider-Man: review roundup
• Something Revolution-ary coming to Edge this
  month?
• Jack Thompson makes a modest proposal...

Tuesday, October 11

• Activision "age gate" requires credit card
• Fan fakes GTA: Vice City Stories announcement?
• Slight chance for PSP price cut; PS2 to stay at
  $149
• Xbox 360 marketing repositioned for women
• Cellphone carriers cash in on emerging mobile gaming
  market
• Mario Geisha, Mario Saddam, Mario Nude, Mario Katamari,
  and 60 others
• The man wants to brick your PSP/DS. Discuss.
• GameStop to layoff over 700
• Xbox 360 kiosks coming the week of Oct. 24; on eBay,
  too
• IEMA ready to fight CA violent videogame law
• Real, MS reach game agreement
• A timeline of video games: corporate strategy at its
  best
• X05 round-up: industry reaction and final
  verdicts

Wednesady, October 12

• Nintendo's current status
• Joystiq hands-on: Xbox 360—the games
• 360 backwards-compatible list on Xbox.com next
  week
• Nintendogs sales figures; 160,000 copies across
  Europe
• PS3 festival set for Tokyo Oct. 22-30
• Sony online announcement set for 360 launch?
• Joystiq hands-on: Xbox 360
• My My Katamari giving away the Prince of all Cosmos'
  head
• Joystiq hands-on: Xbox 360—Live Arcade
• Advent Children sells 700,000 UMD's, DVD's
• DDR at the gym: Konami and fitness center team
  up
• Video iPod and iTunes 6 to compete with PSP's
  UMD?
• Joystiq hands-on: Perfect Dark Zero
• PSP as a learning aid (aka Personal Studying
  Peripheral)

Thursday, October 13

• Dead teen's mom wants R*'s Bully stopped
• Team Speak client for Mac... finally
• PSP firmware version 2.5 unleashed
• The $500 PC gaming rig
• Joystiq hands-on: Project Gotham Racing 3
• Win over 30 games and swag from CAG's CheapyD
• "Bring it, mom!"
• PS3 creating a new world of entertainment?
• Oblivion will not launch with the 360, after
  all
• Joystiq hands-on: Condemned (Xbox 360)
• Bizzare issues bizarre apology for PGR3 polygon
  count
• Halo cameo on DOA4 revealed
• Will a $99 PS2 hurt the Xbox 360 launch?
• Joystiq hands-on: Kameo (Xbox 360)

Friday, October 14

• Joystiq hands-on: Xbox 360 wrap-up
• Spankings for anti-game crusader Jack Thompson
• Spielberg to design 3 new games for EA
• New theft protection for your DS/PSP
• 21 Xbox Live Arcade games at launch, 35 games by summer
  2006
• NES Micro by Ben Heckendorn
• FFXI Beta bundled with Japanese 360
• Xbox 360 trojan horse; retailers doomed
• Nobel Prize awarded to famous Game Theorists
• Latest polls show PS3 still reigning in Japan
• House of Dead 2 filming finished; no Uwe Boll in
  sight
• Mario Kart DS Wi-Fi interface video up (and in
  Spanish!)
• Revolution expected in Japan spring of 2006

Weekend, October 15-16

• Season of the witch: updated Witcher screens
• The PS2 failed, according to Sony Exec VP
• Spielberg & EA set dev schedule for next 4
  years
• Nintendo DS trouncing PSP sales in Japan
• Nintendo DS Wi-Fi uses obsolete WEP security
• McGyver Damacy
• Mall Tycoon 3: the virtual customer is always
  right
• Webcomic Roundup: October 8 – 15, 2005