Bare Knuckles | Let the plea be 'no contest'

Before we get to the fun stuff, just allow me a second to lash out at Sacramento, Calif., radio station KDND 107.9.

If you haven't heard by now, the station's morning radio show held a contest called "Hold Your Wee for a Wii." You can probably guess the rules. Well, Jennifer Strange, a mother of three, died in her attempt to regulate herself the longest while drinking copious amounts of water.

You can read about the crude behavior of the hosts (now fired) and the persistent warnings of callers and other contestants elsewhere. All I want to say here is that regardless of how silly it was to partake in this contest, there wasn't any medical staff present, either. I am sure Knucklers everywhere hope there is a proper "contest" for all those involved at the station.

Wii crazy

Just when it seemed as if things couldn't get any more visceral while playing games on the Wii, a company from Japan pushes the envelope. Is the swinging motion just not realistic-looking enough for you while playing the Wii Sports title? Well Miyavix has made a series of Wii-mote attachments that make your controller take the shape of a racquet, golf club, or baseball bat. The darker side of my mind can think of a few future "attachments" and "games," given what we know about gaming tastes. No disrespect, but I think we know where this is headed at some point.

Letting off steam

Gabe Newell, managing director of Valve Software (Counterstrike, Team Fortress), told Game Informer magazine in an interview that Sony's PlayStation 3 is "a disaster," saying the company should just stop making the new console and start again. "I think it's really clear that Sony lost track of what customers wanted and what [game] developers wanted," Newell said.

Dang, Gabe, they just got started! Sure there are issues - many in fact - but if they get on the good foot we expect Valve and many other developers vying to be first in a long line of grovelers. (See this week's "Power Up" column.)

Making money

The numbers are in. The Wii crushed the competition in the next-gen console race in December. Xbox 360's Gears of War blasted its way to the top in the same month. And Madden 07 called all the right plays since August, taking the top spot in units sold.

All told, the numbers were staggering, with $12.6 billion of game industry revenue for the year. That is 19 percent above 2005. Of course some of this has to do with the new consoles, but there really weren't that many to be had. No, this was just pure unadulterated lust by gamers for 365 on 07. Nice.