The Last Word: June 26-30

On Tuesday, the first Hollywood and Games summit kicked off at the luxurious Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The event drew a number of power players in the game and film industries together. Its keynote speaker was Paul W.S. Anderson, director of such game-to-movie adaptations as Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, and the forthcoming Castlevania. Also on hand was game superagent Seamus Blackley, who moderated a panel on how films and games can help each other make money.

Meanwhile, up in San Francisco, the inaugural MI6 conference kicked off. The slickly produced event focused on both advertising games and advertising in games. It also had some virtual-celebrity support in the form of Colbert Report host Steven Colbert, who joked that he was planning to release his own game, World of Colbertcraft.

In Paris, Ubisoft announced its earnings for its fiscal year, which closed at the end of March. Ubisoft took in 11.9 million euros (almost $15 million) last year, compared to 24.7 million euros (just over $31 million) the previous year. Overall sales were up to 547.1 million euros (just under $687 million) from 532.5 million euros (almost $670 million), a jump of 3 percent.

CEO Yves Guillemot blamed the shortfall on next-gen development costs but said the investment will let the company outpace the growth of the industry over the next few years. As confident as Guillemot was in Ubi's next-gen future, their next-gen present isn't too shabby either. Thirty percent of Ubisoft's sales was from next-gen games, thanks in very large part to Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, which is wildly popular on the Xbox 360.

Just under a year after the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas sex-minigame scandal broke, it continues to simmer. On Monday, Take-Two Interactive announced it was being investigated by a grand jury convened by the New York county district attorney's office. Specifically, the DA requests documents dating back to 2001 regarding "the creation, inclusion, and programming" of sexually charged minigames hidden in the game's code. The investigation caused several analysts to publicly voice concerns about the price of Take-Two stock--which caused the stock to hit a new 52-week low on Wall Street.

Speaking of New York, Take-Two, and legal woes, the publisher was slapped with a lawsuit from former actor Roger Hill on Tuesday. Hill is most famous for bellowing the phrase "Can you dig it?" as the gang leader Cyrus in the 1979 cult classic The Warriors. He is putting the legal smackdown on Take-Two for not getting the rights to his likeness for the Warriors game, which it released last year. Hill and his lawyers want $250,000 dollars and a court order barring the publisher from using his likeness. However, Take-Two claims it does have the rights, so it looks like this one's going to court.

This week's rumor is...well, it's not a total rumor--it just hasn't been officially confirmed by Sony. Looking around some job postings on the Web site of Sony Europe recruiter Datascape, you'll find a few openings that may reveal some new games for the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3. An urgent call for a lead designer says that he or she who is hired will have a key role in future iterations of the Wipeout franchise on the PSP and PS3.

Other listings ask for some help on upcoming football games--and as it is Sony Europe, the "football" in question is actually soccer. One listing in particular asks for an audio programmer to work on a PS3 game, with PSP knowledge being a bonus. This could mean that both a PS3 and PSP World Tour Soccer game--known as This Is Football in Europe--are in the works. It could also mean that Sony is planning some funky cross-platform interconnectivity for the games along the lines of how the PSP can act as a rear-view mirror in Vision Gran Turismo.

MONDAY
Microsoft PR rep: No 360 price drop this fall
ESA, EMA sue Oklahoma
Spot On: What's keeping the mobile revolution on hold?
Xbox Live Arcade Unplugged detailed
Take-Two served by DA, slammed by investors

TUESDAY
Australian ratings board explains Reservoir Dogs ban
Webzen hooks up with Massive
Resident Evil director charms Hollywood and Games Summit
Advent Rising devs unveil first game from new studio
Ubisoft sells more, makes less

WEDNESDAY
MI6 conference emphasizes style as much as substance
Final Fantasy XII in stores on Halloween
Prey gold, 360 demo still MIA
Q&A: Immersion's CEO on his new rumble
MI6 conference emphasizes style as much as substance

THURSDAY
Q&A: Chromehounds creator on launch day
Marketer awards close out MI6
Report: Wes Craven looking into game development
Hollywood & Games: helping hype each other
Street Fighter II not hitting XBL in Q2?

FRIDAY
Atari adjusts earnings; reports wider losses
Prey 360 demo now up on Xbox Live
Analyst: PS3 could be third
Sony sore over huge bill for additional taxes
Ubisoft taps Bulgarian talent

RUMORS OF THE WEEK
PS3 Theseis canned?
Sony working on PS3 Wipeout, soccer?

RELEASES
Shippin' Out June 26-30: Over G, Titan Quest, Pirates of the Caribbean

CHARTS
US console sales charts: June 18-24
US PC game charts: June 11-17
UK game charts: June 18-24
Japan game charts: June 19-25