Online-only Wii Component Cable Rumors, Halo Gets Dumped as a Movie and an Import Gaming Dealer Literally Gets Sued Out of Business

Anyone know what time it is? Yup, it's Game Time once more. Today I look at rumors that Wii component cables could only be sold online, and why Hollywood is losing interest in Microsoft's Halo movie plans. Finally, I look at the lawsuit-triggered shutdown of import game dealer LikSang and how Sony played a part in that particular fiasco.

First though, we look at the Wii component cable issue. According to IGN, the "Wii component cables would be available for purchase with the launch of the console in November. The cables will cost $29.99 and will only be available through online retail outlets, including Nintendo's store, Best Buy, Circuit City and EB Games." While this also means that games for the Wii will also support 480p at launch, one would wonder why Nintendo would prefer or even force customers to go online to order component cables for the Wii. This is one of the reasons that GameCube customers turned to other cable manufacturers for their component cable fix, leading Nintendo to drop distribution of its own solution as the 'Cube started heading out for its retirement. And reports seem to indicate that 'Cube component cables probably won't work with the Wii, so it looks like we have a necessity for online ordering on our hands here.

Speaking of IGN, the gaming and entertainment site is reporting on a rumor circulating on the Web that both "20th Century Fox and Universal were freaked out over a rising $135 million budget, but producers Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh are claiming that the studios bolted after filmmakers and Microsoft refused to have their share of the profit cut" over the movie version of the XBOX shooter series Halo. Like, say what??? Well, according to entertainment trade journal Variety, "What happened was this: Universal, on behalf of both studios, asked for a meeting with the filmmakers just prior to the due date of a significant payment. Basically, they said that in order to move forward with the film, the filmmakers had to significantly reduce their deals.

They waited until the last minute to have this conversation. Peter and Fran, after speaking with their producing partners and with Microsoft and Bungie (the studio that designed the original game), respectfully declined," according to Jackson's representative Ken Kamins. On the bright side, though, neither the filmmakers nor the Vole itself appear to be put off by this development, and Kamins believes that "rumors of a $200 million budget aren't true." Kamins added that the only figures to be reported by the filmmakers were "$145 million less the 12.5% rebate that you get from shooting in New Zealand, which would put it at about $128 million."

Finally today, I have a bit of bad news for import game fans. Hong Kong-based LikSang, a popular outlet for videogame imports, has been practically sued out of business by none other than Sony. According to UK gaming community Press Start, the company was "forced to shut down after lawsuits against the sales of the PSP and PS3 consoles to European customers has been deemed unlawful." Apparently LikSang, caught between these illegal lawsuits and its own finances, was unable to spend enough to keep up with the Joneses in this particular ordeal and practically bankrupted itself in the process beyond repair. As a result, the company must now shut down, which means that "Lik-Sang.com will not be in the position to accept any new orders and will cancel and refund all existing orders that have already been placed" and not already filled or shipped.

The company also had a few extremely terse parting words for Sony, especially to the company's European division, routing out "Ray Maguire (Managing Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Alan Duncan (UK Marketing Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), Chris Sorrell (Creative Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd), and Rob Parkin (Development Director, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Limited)" for importing Japanese PSP units through them at the time of its launch. The company's former marketing manager, Pascal Clarysse, even blamed the who fiasco on Sony, calling it "the latest dark spot in their shameful track record as gaming industry leader" and saying that "the Empire finally 'won', [and that] few dominating retailers from the UK probably will rejoice the news, but everybody else in the gaming world lost something today." Not very pretty, is it? I didn't think so, either.

Well, that's it for today, so until next time keep those gaming fingers moving and stay in the game like there's no tomorrow! In the meantime, post your thoughts here in the comments or drop me a line at jdavis9172@hotmail.com if you have any gaming tidbits to share. Happy gaming!