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The Week in Review news piece summarizes and highlights the most important gaming related news and rumors over the past week. This weekly article will keep you plugged in and in-tune. Microsoft was the most newsworthy of the big three this week. Major Nelson kicked things off by announcing that the next system software update for the Xbox 360 will make unauthorized Memory Units no longer work. On a better note, Microsoft does have plans in the works for a reward program. A lucky handful of Xbox players have been selected to test out the program. According to the invitation, this is “an exclusive pilot rewards program. That means that the people who get in get stuff. Cool stuff.” No word on when this will go public. An interview with Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer over on Gizmodo hinted at the possible introduction of external Blu-ray drive devices to the Xbox 360 platform. In fact, the Microsoft honcho even went so far as to indirectly confirm the prospect when he denied that Blu-ray was not going to be integrated into the platform. Specifically, he stated “Well I don’t know if we need to put Blu-ray in there—you’ll be able to get Blu-ray drives as accessories.” Despite this apparent confirmation, Microsoft’s official line still denies such plans. While Nintendo remained pretty silent this week, Charles Martinet – the voice of several Nintendo characters including Mario – confirmed that a new, unannounced Mario game is in the works. Martinet tweeted, “Awesome new Mario Game! And it’s not NSMB Wii, and it’s not Galaxy 2, but it’s going to be crazy fun!” Sony was also mum, but a patent application revealed that yet another controller is in the works for the PS3. This latest wireless controller seems to be a buzzer-like option, obviously destined to be used in games such as buzz. Whether it will ever see the light of day is still up in the air. Finally, getting away from the big hardware makers, EA announced that the once-waning Need For Speed franchise has moved over 100 million copies over its lengthy run. This has translated into $2.7 billion in “life-to-date” sales. Few other franchises have reached such lofty heights. Despite the common perception that the IP is stale, EA obviously thinks it’s got a true powerhouse on its hands. Thanks so much everyone and we will see you next week! |