(Editor's Note: Spent too much time playing GTA IV to read up on the news? Time to catch up with QuickJump QuickPeek!)

Whoa, it's the weekend already? Pry your thumbs away from those controllers, gamers, it's time for number 46! In this issue, we cover everything from the big PlayStation Day event, to the upcoming WiiWare service, and a heck of a lot of Grand Theft Auto IV news. Take a breath, folks, here we go!

*Article originally posted May 10, 2008 at 03:00PM.

(Editor's Note: Seven days have come and gone, and you know what that means! Another QuickJump QuickPeek edition!)

And just like that, it's another weekend. You've probably been busy scrounging up pennies and loose change to save up for GTA4, so there's a chance the you might've missed out on a couple of things that happened this week. Man, have we got a story to tell in QuickPeek 43!

(Editor's note: Whoo! Now that the format war has finally come to a close - encapsulated and summarized in a special QuickPeek edition - we're back once again to our scheduled programming, er, updates!)

After the home console homebrew breakthroughs in QuickPeek 34, we're bringing you more new homebrew news this week, not just for the trusty PSP, but for the PS3 and Wii as well. We also take a quick look at the end of the format war and new sequels for triple-A titles.

In a previous article, we reported on a rumor that Guitar Hero: Aerosmith for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and Wii will be arriving this June. Well, you might want to know that this rumor has been confirmed. To celebrate this announcement, Activision announced that it will be giving away a free song for Guitar Hero III: Heroes of Rock (Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, Wii, PC). For more information, head on over to the full article.

(Editor's Note: Super Tuesday, Super Bowl, super QuickPeek 33!)

The gaming industry had its own Super Tuesday/Bowl and the best part about it is that it lasted for a full week! Valentine's is just around the corner, and we're already prepping up another QuickPeek Special Edition for all of you (sans the mushy stuff, of course). But before that, we've got more news from all corners of the gaming globe as we give you guys one huge bundle of updates in issue 33!

Fans of the hit old school Neo-Geo fighting game Fatal Fury are in for a big disappointment. Fatal Fury's release for the Virtual Console is delayed, with its new release date yet to be announced.

However, there are still other ways to enjoy classic SNK titles on your next-gen consoles. If you have Sony's PlayStation 3, then there are several Neo Geo titles up for download at the PlayStation Store Japan, including King of Fighters '95 to '97, Fatal Fury: Dominated Mind, and Samurai Spirits, among others. Art of Fighting Anthology is also available for the Wii.

So, when will Fatal Fury be released? Do check back here for more updates!

Square Enix definitely has a lot on their hands - so many titles, so little time. RPGamer was lucky enough to get themselves in SE's office, and came out with both good and bad news.

First up, the good news:

• Final Fantasy Tactics A2 will come to the US
• Final Fantasy IV will come to the US
• Kingdom Hearts 3 will finally be announced at this year's Tokyo Game Show
• Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary on June 26 at the PlayStation Store in San Fransisco
• 2008 will be Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest year

The bad news:

• Slowdown in FFT: The Lion War won't be removed
• No plans for Front Mission 5: Scars of War outside Japan
• No plans for Front Mission 1st on the DS
  
• FFXII: International will be for Japan only

Not too bad, eh? We feel for those deprived of their mecha goodness - let's just hope Squeenix gives the FM fans what they've been wishing for from Santa.

The folks over at Square Enix also re-confirmed that an MMO will grace the 360 and Vista. FFXI fans don't have to fear though, since they'll still get support and content like before. Similar to ArenaNet's Guild Wars, FFXI won't die out even when its sequel is born. No plans for Wii Virtual Console and PlayStation Store on PS3/PSP were revealed, but we'll keep you guys updated.

 

Let's get down to business. Shacknews has an interview with Telltale Games' Dan Connors, who's decided to be a little tattletale on Sam & Max on the 360. Well, make that on all consoles.

Well, we're hoping to get on to both consoles, with Live Arcade and Virtual Console - I'm sorry, on all three consoles! But we're starting with Wii and Xbox, on both of their online services and retail as well. We want to open as much distribution as possible and reach as many people as possible, so when we go out and talk to a license holder we can say, "Hey, we can get your license in front of all these people. Come with us and we'll make sure it's a great product." The distribution channel drives a lot of that, especially if you're independent and you're an emerging media publisher. I think there's some room for us to grab a stake.

Online truly is the wave of the future, isn't it? And the episodic format being used for the PC releases is a perfect fit for Xbox Live Marketplace, PlayStation Network/Store, and Wii Shop/Virtual Console (just no microtransaction holdups, please). Of course, it always begins as hope, until the programmers can nail together something ready for the Sam & Max download. We're just waiting for the press release on that one.

Oh, and nice save on the "all three consoles" on that one, Dan.

Electronic Arts has taken to digital distribution like no other, and EA remains committed to it (even though EA's methods proved controversial).

This is amply demonstrated by releasing the Bizarre Creations-devved Boom Boom Rocket onto Xbox Live Arcade, its first title there. As EA's Chip Lange said to Gamasutra, the company just loves the idea of arcade:

We're excited about the market potential that Arcade brings. It's a fun new category for us to publish games on. Electronic Arts publishes games on every meaningful interactive platform on the planet that makes financial sense. You've seen our recent releases - we've even been putting some games out on the iPod lately.

Probably for the same reason they see a lot of promise in the PlayStation Network - not to mention the PlayStation Store. "We think with all of these different platforms, it's the content providers that ultimately are responsible for bringing the features to life, and that's where I think EA really gets in and shines." No original titles yet for the PS Store.

And the Wii doesn't get left out of the discussion, either: "EA brings to the table a huge line-up of classic retro games... now we're just evaluating the business opportunity" on putting the classics on Virtual Console.

Digital distribution: the new final frontier, especially when it comes to the economics of the gaming industry. Some of us observed last year that EA dropped the ball on the wrong foot while getting up on the wrong side of the bed of nails... but it's 2007, and the new year comes with new year resolutions. Anyway, let's see how EA markets Boom Boom on Arcade... many hope that it isn't on installment (or it might set a grim precedent).

Given that all the next-gen consoles promise serious online time, this news bit shouldn't be too surprising. The research firm In-Stat has just announced that until 2010, they are expecting a 46% annual (that's a 46% boost per year) revenue increase for in-game advertising and downloadable content.

In connection to this, they also foresee an annual 41% increase in the number of subscribers accessing online content via home consoles (ie. PS3, Wii, Xbox 360). The handheld scene will be looking at a much higher 94.2% increase in subscribers.

"Sony and Nintendo both launched new online efforts focused on providing paid downloadable content in the form of games from past consoles as well as casual games that will be available fro US $3 to US $15," said In-Stat analyst Brian O'Rourke, apparently in reference to the Virtual Console and PlayStation Store online shops.

He further commented on Xbox Live, saying, "Meanwhile, Microsoft continued to be the leader in the online console space in 2006, with its announcement of a video and movie download service for the Xbox 360."

In related news, the Emerging Media Dynamics research group stated that they Xbox Live's TV and movie download service would earn $92.25 million this year before topping out at a whopping $726 million by 2011 .

Going back to the matter of  portable devices like the PSP and the DS, O'Rourke said "The PSP has some potential to drive online revenue through advertising or downloadable content."

Based on some of the recent reports we picked up regarding launch shipments and online subscribers, this may not be too far from the truth.