Halo 2 shatters records as preorders keep rolling in

“Penny Arcade,” an oft-lauded video game Web comic, has announced its plans to expand its… “Penny Arcade,” an oft-lauded video game Web comic, has announced its plans to expand its Christmas charity drive this year. The drive, called “Child’s Play,” started as an attempt to dispel negative stereotypes of gamers, and ended by giving $250,000 worth of cash and video game equipment to the Children’s Hospital of Seattle. This year, donations to Children’s Hospitals in Oakland, Calif., San Diego, Houston and Washington, D.C., are also being accepted. More information can be found at www.childsplaycharity.org.

World Wrestling Entertainment has filed a lawsuit against THQ and Jakks Pacific — better known as the duo that publishes WWE video games — accusing the companies of misconduct including racketeering and bribery. The WWE seeks to nullify THQ’s exclusive license to publish WWE video games, which is currently valid until 2009. Parties named in the lawsuit include former WWE Senior Vice President of Licensing and Merchandizing James Bell, former WWE licensing agent Stanley Shenker ‘ Associates, Inc., as well as executives at Jakks. The allegations state that Bell and SSAI conspired to accept over $100,000 in bribe money from Jakks in order to secure a license from the WWE once their agreement with Acclaim ended.

Preorders for “Halo 2” have broken 1.5 million units, according to a statement from Microsoft. This sets it in a league of its own, thoroughly trouncing the previous record of 600,000 units set by “The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker,” which was released in March of 2003. “Halo 2” goes on sale Nov. 9.

Finally, in we-already-have-the-technology news, Sony is equipping their new, handheld PSP system with the capability to download games from a wireless network directly to their “Memory Stick” storage device. Memory Sticks have been on the market for some time now, mostly as a storage medium for Sony brand digital cameras and their various PC offerings. Perhaps the most important facet of this announcement is the confirmation of the Memory Stick as the medium for saved games. While it would seem trivial, then, to alter game data by loading the Memory Stick into a computer, Sony officials have announced that they intend to make this practice exceptionally difficult.