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We promised a raft of content on digital distribution in the run up to our London Games Conference, and so far we haven’t disappointed. This week’s issue of MCV magazine includes a WiiWare feature with Laurent Fischer and should prove especially illuminating, given how the formerly online-agnostic Nintendo has made such a particular move into selling digital content.

The games industry has been no stranger to celebrity endorsements in recent years. And what a spectrum of talent it has turned to; from John, Paul, George and Ringo right through to Ferne, Holly, Vernon and Tess. Publishers have shown no shame in trying to ride the coat tails of the rich and famous to the top of the charts.

How is your business approaching the downloadable content business? Is it an opportunity or a threat? Not sure? Join the club.

There are more questions than answers when it comes to judging what kind of impact digital distribution will have on the current industry landscape, but at the same time there is some damn good research out there, a few experts, a growing number of pioneers and increasingly big bets being placed on the future.

Batman: Arkham Asylum held firm for the second week in a row at the top of the UK charts this week. It rode a wave of incredibly positive reviews (and some ridiculous posturing about a Guinness World record for its Metacritic rank – but the less said about that the better) to sell thousands upon.

The decision by Eidos and its Beautiful Game Studios to sell the next Championship Manager’s digital version for a penny no doubt raised some eyebrows this week - moreso than the unveiling of the new slimline PS3 in some quarters.

This week saw news break via an MCVuk.com newsflashthat after a fraught few months Midway UK will survive via a management buyout from Euro MD Martin Spiess. He’s made a smart swoop for both the British and French offices, picking them up for just one Euro.

We should all join in with a well-earned congratulations has been earned by Codemasters, who this week managed to topple Nintendo, of all companies, from the top of the UK chart.

I was lucky enough to board the Shiny Media gravy train just as it was leaving the station, loaded down with mail bags full of venture capital it got from new backer Brightstation in early 2007. Toot toot! Next stop dotcom millionaire status!

Our cover this week offers yet more fascinating evidence of the increasingly wide acceptance that games are enjoying from ‘the
world outside’. One small chain is looking to become a ‘super indie’, while a DIY retail giant wants to try both development and publishing. Good luck to both of ‘em. As ELSPA said in its announcement of the half-year charts this week, everyone’s interested in being a gamer these days.

Remember those days when seeing a game on a TV ad break was a real ‘wow’ moment? When we’d swell with pride at FIFA enjoying a presence alongside Daz and Imodium? When WipEout being sandwiched between Shortland Street and some other barely-watched kids’ show was a ‘grand statement for the industry’?

"Far and away, the best kind of social networking is having an affective blog. A blog with an authentic voice, with someone who has something to say, consistently and transparently, makes you part of the conversation." - Seth Godin.

Why all the major releases of 2009 are, in fact, retreads from 2007

Thirty one EA games were million-plus sellers in its last financial year – up from 27 previously – yet on May 5th it reported an annual loss of between $96 million and $1.1 billion, depending on your accounting poison.

When it comes to quotes from games execs, you often have to do a lot of reading between the lines to find the meat of what they mean.

"The end of the economic crisis will not be the end of the crisis for analogue media. You are facing a deep, profound structural revolution and have to be prepared for a new world."

So the media’s contagious enthusiasm for covering Swine Flu might have reached pandemic proportions, but the mania doesn’t seem to have sparked an outbreak in consumer belt tightening.

Every morning I switch on my Mac and go directly to my RSS feeds. In the eight or so hours that I've been sleeping, over 1,000 game-related stories will have amassed in my Viewer.

The social media revolution is a major threat to cosy vested interests in games publishing and marketing.

Most of you who knew Frank Herman will have heard the sad news that he passed away on Monday.

Thanks to the wonder of YouTube, anyone who’d like to see a
re-enactment of what has gone on at several games firms over the past decade can duly share all the long-lingering suspense by tapping in ‘Last Scene of Carrie’.

It is no secret that the stock market had an almost universally awful performance in 2008. Therefore it is no surprise that almost all the game companies saw their market value decline. However, it has also the general convention that the game industry is "recession proof.”

We didn't expect our salary survey, which was only open for five days via our websites, to prove so popular. Or to reveal the comfortable pay gap between men and women – something which reverses trends in other industries as well as the national average.

The history of the world is one of steady evolution peppered with truly epic moments that herald massive change.

2008 has been one of the most challenging, exciting and dramatic years in the history of video games retail.