Sometimes, companies get that urge to do something different from what they're normally accustomed to doing. This appears to be the case with Valve Corporation, makers of the first-person puzzle game known as Portal. In fact, Valve is considering making a Wii game for kids, as well as trying its hand at the MMORPG arena. More on these prospects after the jump.

After the slew of mostly PC games last week, this time around we're going to have the same boatload of PC releases with a smattering of Nintendo Wii and DS games, and the occasional XBLA shoot-em-up in between. The gaming line-up is diverse, however. This week we're going to have the old-school vertical shooter Ikaruga, the dungeon crawler Baroque, and the retail stand-alone release of The Orange Box titles. Check out the entire list in the full article

Valve corporation's Doug Lombardi has been able to shed new information that their company won't be releasing Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360, PC) for Sony's console, PlayStation 3.

Furthermore, he added that if they wanted to make in-house games, they would definitely try for Nintendo's Wii. Find out more after the jump!

We can't have a whole slew of QuickJump QuickPeek special editions without having QuickList's own fanfare, now can we? As one of QJ.NET's mainstay features that crop up every now and then, this QuickJump QuickList special edition will be especially special to be redundantly descriptive. We're compiling a unique list of games from 2007 that we here in QJ.NET believe aren't worth missing out on. On to the list at the full article!

For those of us who have been eagerly chomping at the bit for any confirmation of a Nintendo Wii port for the quirkily-funny and mind-bendingly original FPS puzzler Portal, Valve Corporation has finally released an official statement to set things straight: there are no plans for Portal on the Wii, but there is the possibility of one being made.

This comes directly from Valve spokesman Doug Lombardi. He admitted that the game (a part of the recently-released The Orange Box) being ported over to the Wii is an interesting idea, but in turn he also revealed that there are no plans of one being whipped up for release just yet. His statement, verbatim: "It's an extremely interesting idea, but there's nothing in product - not yet, anyway."

As statements go, it doesn't deny the fact that a Nintendo Wii version of Valve Corporation's Portal could be in the works in the near future. After all, who wouldn't want to play with the Weighted Companion Cube with the Nintendo Wii's motion-sensing mechanics? And the gameplay structure of Portal itself - that is, using portals to get through levels instead of combat - is perfect for Ninty's console. Here's hoping we get another run through the Aperture Science facility using a Wiimote.

Almost a month after its release, Bungie Studio's Halo 3 has finally loosened its grip on the US sales charts, with Valve Corporation's Orange Box succeeding the widely successful game. For the week ending on October 13, The Orange Box (containing Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode 1 and Episode 2, Team Fortress 2, and Portal) is the best seller on its first week of release.

For its opening week, The Orange Box's Xbox 360 version has sold 348,049 units and Halo 3, now on its third week, has sold 285,860 units. In third place is the popular The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for Nintendo DS handheld platform. In fourth is Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War for the PSP and in fifth is Wii Sports for the Wii.

It was only a matter of time for Halo 3 to lose the top spot, but it's unlikely the same could be said for its presence in Xbox Live, where it continues to dominate the charts after dethroning the previous champ, Gears of War.

Camp Hyrule, an online virtual camp held by Nintendo every year, is under full swing. Every year, Nintendo invites people to take questions from the campers. Even Reggie Fils-Aime, who is now the president of Nintendo of America, has been a featured presenter! We had a transcript of the chat with the Nintendo Senior Online Producer earlier (check it out if you're thinking of going into web design) and now we have the transcript of the chat with Raymond Yang, Senior Vice President of Operations for Digipen Institute of Technology.

DigiPen was one of the very first schools that centred on game development. Founded by Nintendo near Vancouver BC, Canada, it has now moved to Redmond WA, USA. The questions asked all revolved around education for game design, so if you're thinking of getting into the game industry, this is definitely something you'll want to check out!

Click "Full Story" for the transcript! Remember, it extends beyond just Nintendo. DigiPen students are the one who thought up the idea for Portal. They are now working at Valve to create the game. Please excuse the grammar and any typos - it is a transcript of a live chat room held at Camp Hyrule.