Serious competition was the name of the game this week, with not one, not two, but three major championships kicking off. Puckheads celebrated the beginning of the quest for the Stanley Cup with Carolina the heavy favorite; hoopsters watched the NBA Finals tip-off with Dallas holding a slight edge on paper; and the World Cup hit the pitch with Brazil the top-ranked team.

　　However, there are still no clear favorites in the next-gen gaming race, which continues to get sticky. The big news on that front concerns the Wii, as Nintendo president Satoru Iwata held court in Japan during a marketing conference this week. While talking up the DS's numbers, discussing his affinity for the "Wii" name, and telling the press that the Wii launch won't hurt the company financially, the exec finally gave some news about the Wii's pricing and release date. However, it wasn't what people had hoped for. Iwata said that the Wii pricing and release date would be announced "by September."

　　For the other major stories this week, it's off to the courthouses, as the gavel dropped on gaming more than once. Take-Two Interactive was let off rather easy--the Federal Trade Commission didn't levy any fines on the company over the "Hot Coffee" scandal. It did, however, threaten an $11,000 fine on any future "violations"--the details of which have yet to be determined. Further south, Louisiana unanimously passed a bill that would fine anyone who sold M- or AO-rated games to minors. And finally, the ESA bit back at the state of Minnesota, suing it for passing a bill that it feels violates the First Amendment.

　　Enough talk, enough legalese! What about the games, you ask? Take-Two may have avoided some future "violations" by canceling the controversial Snow, a drug-peddling strategy game with plenty of blood, babes, and blow. Bungie celebrated its 500 millionth gaming session of Halo 2 and later released a mini-documentary on the Halo 3 trailer. NBA Live 07 was confirmed for the PlayStation 3 launch, and Ubisoft promised new content for Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter on the Xbox 360.

　　In the world of weird, anti-game crusader Jack Thompson recommended that Louisiana police search the home of a shooting suspect--for M-rated games. A witness in the trial of John "Junior" Gotti accused the presiding judge of playing computer Solitaire during the trial, and a man in Myrtle Beach was able to walk away from a Blockbuster with 60 stolen PlayStation Portable games in his pants.

　　MONDAY

　　Analyst sees zero growth in May

　　Report: State of Emergency 2 developer shuttered

　　Game stocks slammed

　　Police seize violent games in shooting investigation

　　Czech Republic wins EA's World Cup

　　TUESDAY

　　Xbox 360 update out now

　　Report: Online gaming to hit $13 billion by 2011

　　Snow falls off release list

　　ESA sues Minnesota

　　Halo 3 documentary now playing

　　WEDNESDAY

　　Iwata: "Wii business a healthy one from the first year"

　　Wii price, date to be announced "by September"

　　Louisiana Senate unanimously passes Thompson bill

　　M-rated Ninety-Nine Nights hitting US in August

　　Sony execs talk PS3, 360, and PC

　　THURSDAY

　　FTC Hot Coffee ruling scalds, but doesn't burn Take-Two

　　Kutaragi: Sony aims to emulate Apple with PS3

　　THQ lands 360 Tetris rights

　　Take-Two takes $50 million Q2 loss

　　Majesco turns a profit

　　FRIDAY

　　NPD: Game sales slide 10 percent in May

　　Spot On: Microsoft's in-game ad master plan

　　Take-Two stock tanks, Duke Nukem Forever due by Dec. 31?

　　Spot On: Sex, schmoozing, and video games

　　DS to get Tingle-y RPG

　　RUMORS OF THE WEEK

　　Rumor: PS3 "slow and broken"?

　　XBL Arcade info leaked?

　　James Cameron MMOG = Avatar?

　　RELEASES

　　Shippin' Out June 5-9: PSP Gradius, PS2 GTA: LCS

　　CHARTS

　　US console sales charts: May 28-June 3

　　UK game charts: May 28-June 3

　　US PC game charts: May 21-27

　　Japan game charts: May 22-28