The overall industry index held steady this week, posting minor double-digit gains to close at 90210 points ahead of next week's E3 event. Ah, the calm before the storm.

BioWare
Pumps up eager fans for a July 9 Dragon Age reveal, then pulls back the curtain on an astonishingly boring logo--at 10 PM EST. Cute.

Diablo
Battle Chest cracks the NPD PC sales chart the week before Diablo III's announcement. We're not sure if this says more about Diablo or PC gaming.

Australia
First bans Dundee, now Fallout 3. What's going on down there?


CD Projekt
Announces a digital distribution site for classic PC games. Listen here, you lovable Polish heroes: Tie Fighter or bust. ... Read more

The overall industry index rose 242.3 points this week on strong rumors of an impending Diablo 3 announcement. Blizzard is set to reveal their big game mere hours from now, so stay attuned, and ready an extra pair of quilted pants.

Diablo 3
The rest of this index is just a formality if Blizzard delivers on the Big D tomorrow morning. Will our madness end here, betrayer?

Call of Duty: World at War
Activision gave Treyarch more than eight months to do this one, and wouldn't you know that it might actually turn out better for it.

Sony
Experienced financial blu-balls to the tune of $3 billion after taking major losses on the PlayStation 3. That high-pitched noise isn't your PS3 turning on--it's the sound of Iwata diving through coin like Scrooge McDuck.... Read more

There's some blood in the water this week.

Spore
The free Spore Creature Creator arrives, flooding the virtual universe with monsters like twinkies and ding-dongs.

DRM
The dreaded tendrils of SecuROM ensnare Mass Effect and Alone in the Dark on PC. BioShock keeps struggling, but can't get away entirely.

Valve
The latest Team Fortress 2 update makes the Pyro blow, in a good way. Oh, and the Sniper pees in bottles.

Artistic Integrity
ZootFly's Ghostbusters prototype helps another developer get the license, and a game composer gets upset when McCain uses his work.... Read more

Something must have been in the water this week, because everything's pretty much the opposite of what it should be. Cheaper iPhones? Honesty regarding Hellgate's troubled launch? A big-name game arrives without issues? Bizarro.

Majestic Studios
The three-man team behind Limbo of the Lost sets a new definition of plagiarism by stealing assets from at least a dozen games.

Apple
Cheaper iPhones and some impressive looking software. But motion-controlled mobile games? Really?

Crytek
Says it has "no desire or intention to disappoint our loyal PC fans" by discontinuing PC-only development after Crysis Warhead. ... Read more

This week was far more interesting than it deserved to be. Duke footage, Crytek news, and cool Fallout clocks. Add a little corporate craziness and we've got ourselves an article.

Duke Nukem Forever
First gameplay footage squeaks out. Stuff blows up. Minds still blown that it exists.

Time Warner Cable
Field-testing max bandwidth caps of 40GB a month, all for only $55. So much for our Desperate Housewives HD downloads.

Jack Thompson
Recommended for extra-special, decade-long disbarment. In other news, Diablo 3 to be set in Antarctica. ... Read more

It may be the weekend, but it's not too late to take stock of the last week of news from this crazy industry.

Valve
Company fulfills PC gaming savior role, announcing Steam Cloud service that will save saves forever. Meet The Sniper is on the way, too.

Prince of Persia Marketing
CG trailer marked by cliche narration and an art style totally divergent from the actual game. If only we could rewind the time we spent watching it.

Age of Conan
Records 400,000 users out of the gate. Only 9.6 million to go. ... Read more

Another Friday, another assortment of weekly winners and losers.

Florida Judge Dava Tunis
May have taken away the last shred of credibility from that annoying Thompson guy. The fate of our sanity rests with you, Florida Supreme Court.

WoW Cheaters
Banned in widespread Glider crackdown, then ask for their money back. QQ more, noobs.

AMD
Launches console-like branding scheme for PC hardware, but fails to account for changing system requirements. Nice try? ... Read more

Finally we come to the end of the week, that special time when we examine the body of the industry for a few minutes before we quit out, like a Trespasser focus tester.

Microsoft
Declares worldwide victory in the current-gen console war, while somehow claiming that the Wii is not an actual console.

Rock Revolution
Plastic toy drum collection? Chick. Magnet.


4:3 Display Manufacturers
73% of Steam gamers use boxy monitors. Long live 1600x1200?

... Read more

An overwhelmingly positive week for the index, to counteract the overwhelmingly negative trend of the real stock market.

Electronic Arts
Announces restrictive copy protection for Spore and Mass Effect PC, then un-announces it. You now have two silly ideas remaining on this license.

Stride Gum
Puts a chewy bounty on Uwe Boll's head. Double the absurdity, double the fun.


Blizzard
Opens digital download store, allowing gamers to freely re-download their old games. Time to dig out those cracked jewel cases.... Read more

In an effort to spice up our end-of-week highlights, and also reflect the growing age of the gamer demographic, we've broken down the week's movers and shakers into a concise, financially-inspired format.

It's what we like to call--for now--The Gibson-Goldstein Index.

Valve
Releases new Team Fortress 2 update--on the same day of the largest video game release ever. Valve Time? Valve Timing.

Rockstar
Grand Theft Auto IV finally arrives, and somehow exceeds expectations. See you in Liberty.

Activision, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft
Did not release Grand Theft Auto IV this week. ... Read more

In an effort to spice up our end-of-week highlights, and also reflect the growing age of the gamer demographic, we've broken down the week's movers and shakers into a concise, financially-inspired format.

It's not rocket science, so we'll get right down to it. And don't forget to let us know who you think moved up or down this week in the comments.

Blizzard's Paul Sams
Denies Uwe Boll-produced WoW flick, and manages to insult the infamous director at the same time. Insufficient talent, spawn more Bloodraynes.

Chicago
Transit Authority orders the removal of mundane GTA 4 ads from city buses following a wave of shooting violence. Guns don't kill people--posters do?

Shacknews Community
Beats Valve 9-0 in a TF2 scrimmage. Bonk. ... Read more