News for the Week of March 30th, late late editon.

Yeah, just a few days behind here...

• Jack Thompson dropped the racketeering allegations against Take Two/the entire game industry. I'm not surprised, but then nothing really surprises me anymore.

• MS released another version of the 360 without having the decency to finish off the Core system, which they gutted well before launch. I'm kinda torn over the 120 gig drive. I like the idea of having that much storage, but I really don't like digital distribution for stuff other than small games. I like to feel the slick plastic of the DVD case between my fingers. Who am I kidding though, it's the version I'll be getting. That white one just wasn't metal enough for me.

• As Heath previously mentioned, Take Two whipped it out this week and showed off GTA IV. A little bit. The graphics look nice, but they had better look nice considering they've been publishing GTA titles with the same engine since 2001. It's more obvious than ever that Liberty City is New York City. No actual gameplay yet, but I'm not playing a game where I have to listen to an accent I know I don't like every time the main character opens his trap.

• "GTA IV is set in New York City and you sell pornography to children and murder the police?! OMGFZ." That, folks, is what the previous news item said when read by a politician. Don't believe me? Live in fear, then. I especially like how they call themselves the 'safest city in America' (that title allegedly belongs to Brick, NJ). Maybe they mean for cities with a population over 8 million.

• Start weekly PS3 hating... now. Turns out that Eidos doesn't want to publish games for a console that they feel there is not enough of an established user base... Until the second quarter of 2008. But their first Wii game is coming out this spring, as it's user base is already over 6 million. Wow, affordable pricing moves consoles! Are you kidding me? That's unbelievable.

• To round it off, a story about whores for scores. I just really wanted to use that line. A game reporter in Oz is talking a little about what it's like from the inside of the game review biz. Sounds like if you've freed yourself from your morals and are a greedy, lecherous pervert, you would be a PR rep's wet dream and should get a job at IGN. Burn.