The Last Word: August 14-18

Microsoft attempted to empower gaming enthusiasts Monday when the company announced XNA Game Studio--tools that aspiring game-makers will be able to use to develop games as "fully realized" as Halo 2--simultaneously for the PC and Xbox 360. On August 30, the beta version of the entry-level program, XNA Game Studio Express, will be released, while a beefed-up pro version targeted toward game developers will come later. The software, however, comes with a few stipulations regarding releasing the games, including a $99 charge to upload games to Xbox Live Arcade and a much-pricier but unrevealed amount to publish full-fledged Xbox 360 games at retail.

On Wednesday, industry analyst The Yankee Group boldly declared that Sony's PlayStation 3--which is scheduled to launch in November at a minimum price of $500 in the United States--will leap over the Xbox 360 and Wii to be the next-generation's best-selling console. The Boston-based market researchers predicated that Sony will sell 30 million PlayStation 3s. Microsoft will barely lose, selling 27 million Xbox 360s, while Nintendo's Wii will place well behind, with only 11 million units sold by 2011, the analysts said.

Another analyst spent part of its summer portending how the next-gen war will play out, too--albeit in sharp disagreement with Yankee. Back in July, San Diego's DFC Intelligence warned that Sony's PlayStation 3 could trail both the 360 and Wii by generation's end if Sony doesn't lower the PS3's price.

Thursday began with two quick bangs of game-centric news: Monolith, the developer of the award-winning PC shooter F.E.A.R., announced that the game is coming to Sony's PlayStation 3, while Ubisoft said it is preparing a double dose of Star Wars: Lethal Alliance for the Nintendo DS and Sony PlayStation Portable.

Thursday also saw its share of business and legal news. The largest game retailer in the United States, GameStop, released its quarterly earnings report with slightly lower-than-expected earnings and cited the recently completed merger with Electronics Boutique as the reason for a sharp drop in profit despite an equally sharp increase in sales. Elsewhere in the country, preliminary injunctions filed by the game industry against game-restriction laws in Oklahoma and Louisiana are quickly approaching decisions, which will determine whether the states' laws will be enforced.

On Friday, GameSpot spoke with Sony Computer Entertainment president Kaz Hirai. Hirai discussed the upcoming PlayStation 3 launch, the console's online plans, and the future of the PSP and UMD disc format--and declared that the PlayStation brand will match or surpass its current console-gaming market share of about 60 percent. Hirai's comments were prompted by The Yankee Group's Wednesday report predicting the PlayStation's next-gen victory.

MONDAY
Microsoft unveils 'anybody' XNA
Captain quintet boards Star Trek: Legacy
Q&A: Lionhead's Molyneux roars
Retail Radar: PSP to get EA retro comp
Utada Hikaru beguiles Tetris foes

TUESDAY
CEA: Games to pull in $12.5 billion this year
Too Human on track, keeping Unreal Engine
Second wave of XBLA Wednesdays revealed
Bizarre begins Geometry Wars clone wars
Billionaire scoops up Take-Two stock

WEDNESDAY
Analyst: PS3 to win next-gen war
Reggie talks Wii online, marketing
Thompson wants to get hands on Bully
Charlie Cleveland's small-game biz
Blazing Angels dive-bombs PS3

THURSDAY
F.E.A.R. spreads to PS3
Star Wars 'allies' with Ubisoft
GameStop profit plunges despite surging sales
OK, LA game laws approach rulings
London Games Festival lineup confirmed

FRIDAY
Hirai: PS3 will keep--or surpass--PS2's market share
Next Dragon Quest confirmed?
Midway working on Area 52, Criminal
Scarface chops up '80s mix
Sandler donates PlayStations to Israeli families

RUMORS
360 getting $200 HD-DVD, 1080p, jukebox, and FPS controller?
Quartet of Guitar Hero games in the works?
Hitman script to die for?
Japanese Wii to cost $171?

NEW RELEASES
Shippin' Out 8/14-18: Dirge of Cerberus, Ninety-Nine Nights

CHARTS
BestBuy.com console charts: August 6-12
US PC game charts: July 30-August 5
UK game charts: August 6-12
Japan game charts: August 7-13