Once again, I must apologize for this week's digest being a couple days whole week late late. The arrival of GTA IV, the return of my son, and the end of the month all led to a very hectic week last week for me, as you may have noticed there was a distinct lack of updates after the midnight launch story. So this week, to make up for it, I bring you a double digest, two weeks of news packed into one thirst-quenching post!

Wits and Wagers is this week's XBLA release - after last week's complete lack of XBLA release (it was deemed that GTA IV would completely overshadow any release), this week brings us another trivia title Wits and Wagers. If you've already got a big-button controller from Scene It!, you're in luck, because it's compatible with this game. Apparently the Xbox Live Vision camera is also used "interestingly", according to X3F. Thanks for being completely cryptic, guys! Anyhow, XBLA profile page here, and giving the trial a test drive is of course, recommended.

Grand Theft Auto IV smashes sales records like an elbow to a car window - beating analyst estimates, GTA IV laid a thorough pwning on Halo 3's paltry $170 million first-day sales record, racking in an amazing $310 million in its first 24 hours and over $500 million in the first week (that's almost 6 million copies moved). I'd love to see the look on the faces of any of those fools who tendered their Take Two shares to EA in the past two months. [Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

the sequel is a lie not coming until 2009 and probably on a disc - a follow-up to the surprise hit Portal (included on The Orange Box compilation) unfortunately won't be hitting store shelves this year. I can't say I disagree with the rationale for the delay, as Valve spokesperson Doug Lombardi explained the "successor [to Portal] has to be equally as revolutionary as the first". [Via X3F] It was also reported that Valve toyed with the idea of using the Xbox Live Arcade as a distribution mechanism for the next Portal (they love that digital distribution stuff), but Microsoft's size limits put the kibosh on that. [also via Xbox 360 Fanboy]

Breet Farve to grace the cover of Madeen '09 - I'm not sports fan, but apparently this is A Big Deal™ so I would be remiss not to report on it. I'm also told that you'll have the ability to do user-driven touchdown celebrations as well as return missed field goals, whatever that means. oh, and there's some more deets over at Xbox 360 Fanboy.

Grand Theft Auto IV steals Xbox Live top spot from Call of Duty 4 - did anyone really doubt this would happen? GTA IV sped into the top spot for games being played whilst connected to Xbox Live in its first week, usurping Call of Duty 4 from the number one spot it had held for 12 weeks straight after wrestling it from Halo 3's mjolnir-covered hands. [Via Major Nelson]

get orientated to Xbox Live with X-Play (NSFW!) - I became a big fan of G4TV while I was visiting the in-laws, mostly due to the complete lack of Xbox 360 while I was there. When I came back to Canada, I realized we had a form of G4TV called "G4TechTV" - but it has a distinct lack of Ninja Warrior, and I was sad. But at least I can check out Olivia Munn bobbing for a hot dog once in a while. anyhow, check out this n.s.f.w. segment from X-Play which ought be required viewing for new Xbox Live users: Xbox Live Orientation. [Via X3F]



new Prince of Persia title launches this holiday season - the press release from Ubisoft promises a sequel "featuring a new breed of gameplay. The game is poised to rejuvenate the action-adventure genre in addition to introducing a brand-new illustrative art style." I've just never managed to get into a Prince of Persia title (I bought it for original Xbox and never played it) but hopefully the 'cheevments will call my name. [Via X3F] From what I hear, the controlling-time gameplay element will be absent. [more details and some screens at X3F]

Bourne Conspiracy demo available - but who has time to play it? - if you can drag yourself away from Liberty City, you might want to check out this demo now available from the Xbox Live Marketplace. or not. your choice.
Remember folks, even if you hate Matt Damon, this is a book tie-in, not a movie tie-in! [Via X3F]

some Rock Band track to be discounted for a limited time - still haven't managed to snag me a copy of Rock Band, but I know it's got a huge following, so I thought I should let you folks know they're having some reduced prices (to 80 msp per song) going on over the next few weeks.  Major Nelson has the details. Oh, by the way, you have McDonald's to thank for these deals - so,... go buy a quarter-pounder or something. [Via X3F]