This week, there are no new Wii Virtual Console downloads. Instead, you get your pick from the first six WiiWare games (aka original downloadable titles for the Wii):

• Defend Your Castle - $5
• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King - $15
• LostWinds - $10
• Pop - $7
• TV Show King - $10
• V.I.P: Casino Blackjack - $7

Speculation is that these releases mean a hard drive for the Wii is inevitable. Even with all the streaming (aka non-downloadable) content in the new Nintendo (Marketing) Channel, these games will fill up your console's meager memory in no time. In fact, this week's games - ranging from 110 to 290 blocks required space - would take up more than half of the built-in storage (1274 of 2163) before the other channels and occasional Virtual Console title you've no doubt installed - and, oh yeah, saved games you might want to keep. Yes, you can move files to SD memory cards if you have them, but they're removed from your Wii Menu until you move them back to main memory.

How far off can a hard drive be? Unless it ships next week with WiiFit, too far...

It's another light week on Xbox Live Marketplace, but there is one thing that might pull you away from GTA IV for a few minutes: The Gears of War 2 gameplay trailer that was just posted tonight. Here's what you'll find while browsing the store:

• TimeShift Futures-Past Multiplayer Map Pack (free) with five maps
• Arcade: Wits & Wagers ($10)
• Guitar Hero III Muse Track Pack ($6.25) with “Exo-Politics," “Stockholm Syndrome” and “Supermassive Black Hole”
• Rock Band Scene Pack 01 ($5.50, or $2 per song) with "It Hurts" by Angels & Airwaves, "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race" by Fall Out Boy and "Date with the Night" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Demos: The Bourne Conspiracy and Grid
• Game Videos: Gears of War 2, Guitar Hero III Muse Track Pack, Kung Fu Panda and Prizefighter
• Themes: Civilization Revolution ($1.88)
• Pictures: Civilization Revolution ($1) and Wits & Wagers ($1.25)

Here's what's new this week from the PlayStation Store:

• PixelJunk Monsters Encore expansion pack ($6) adds the Toki Island map with 15 levels
• Guitar Hero III Muse Track Pack ($6.25) with “Exo-Politics," “Stockholm Syndrome” and “Supermassive Black Hole”
• Rock Band Scene Pack 01 ($5.50, or $2 per song) with "It Hurts" by Angels & Airwaves, "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race" by Fall Out Boy and "Date with the Night" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs - plus the weekly discounted tracks are confirmed for PS3
• Demos: Haze single-player and 4-player co-op, The Bourne Conspiracy and Grid, plus SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 2 (PSP)
• Game Videos: Mercenaries 2, Mirror’s Edge, Overlord Raising Hell expansion, TNA iMPACT!, The Wheelman, Wipeout HD and a general PS3 marketing promo
• Movie Trailers: Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Iron Man and The Love Guru
• Themes: PixelJunk Monsters and Sports
• Wallpaper: PixelJunk Monsters

If the Grand Theft Auto IV game manual seemed a little thin, that's because they pretty much left out the multiplayer guide. Thankfully, Rockstar put out a handy PDF that explains the lobby system and how ranks and party mode work, and provides tips for new players...

That blue light blinking on your Wii console isn't another Mii contest reminder, but news of a free downloadable channel. The Nintendo (Marketing) Channel is a long overdue space for gamers to see free Nintendo promotional videos. Once installed, you'll need to decide whether to opt-in to share your Wii usage data with Nintendo (what you're playing, how many free memory blocks you have left, how many Miis you've made, etc). If you're not sure, you can review the full details of what is (and isn't) sent and consider that premium content such as Nintendo DS demos will apparently be withheld from those who don't pony up the salacious details of their Wii lifestyle. DS demos to date include Brain Age 2, Flash Focus, Crosswords, Jam Sessions, Rayman Raving Rabbids 2, Cooking Mama 2, Disney Friends and Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword. Overall, the channel seems to work well, allowing you to queue up a video and then continue to browse while waiting for the streaming to start...

Rockstar and Sony have rushed out a fix for those Grand Theft Auto IV players whose PS3s were locking up. The patch is designed to help prevent the back-end Gamespy servers from getting overloaded, so older console compatibility may not be addressed (some early PS3 models apparently suffer a different lockup issue, typically right after the opening credits, that may still require a reinstall). And hey, if the problem returns, you can always go back to unplugging your network cable...

It seems like Rock Band news is everywhere this week, despite the fact that (almost) everyone is still powering through Grand Theft Auto IV. Guess Harmonix and EA want a little attention, too.

First, there's this week's weird "Scene Pack 01" ($5.50, or $2 per song) out now for Xbox 360 and due Thursday for PS3:

• "It Hurts" by Angels & Airwaves
• "This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race" by Fall Out Boy (what, no "Grand Theft Autumn"?!)
• "Date with the Night" by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Then there's news of a discounted song offer sponsored by McDonald's. Each song is $1 during the week of its promotion (UPDATE: Confirmed for both Xbox 360 and PS3):

• May 6-12: "Rock 'n Roll Band" by Boston and "Crushcrushcrush" by Paramore
• May 13-19: "Shockwave" by Black Tide and "Sugar Magnolia" by Grateful Dead
• May 20-26: "All the Small Things" by Blink 182 and "We Care A Lot" by Faith No More
• May 27-June 2: "Dirty Little Secret" by All-American Rejects and "Gimme Three Steps" by Lynyrd Skynyrd

For all of you PS2 and Wii owners stuck without a download store, EA announced a standalone retail disk with 20 songs due July 15. Since neither system has a hard drive to store the music data, it's reasonable to expect you'll only be able to play the songs on the expansion disk separately from the songs in the main game (lame, but with this eclectic mix you'll wish they were mixed in with more tracks!):

• "The Kill" by 30 Seconds to Mars
• "Move Along" by All American Rejects
• "All the Small Things" by Blink 182
• "More Than a Feeling" by Boston
• "Moonage Daydream" by David Bowie
• "We Care A Lot" by Faith No More
• "Truckin'" by Grateful Dead
• "Die, All Right!" by The Hives
• "Calling Dr. Love" by Kiss
• "Gimme' Three Steps" by Lynyrd Skynyrd
• "March of the Pigs" by Nine Inch Nails
• "Live Forever" by Oasis
• "Crushcrushcrush" by Paramore
• "Synchronicity II" by The Police
• "Little Sister" by Queens of the Stone Age
• "Teenage Lobotomy" by The Ramones
• "Siva" by Smashing Pumpkins
• "Interstate Love Song" by Stone Temple Pilots
• "Buddy Holly" by Weezer
• "Joker & the Thief" by Wolfmother

Finally, there was news that some bonus tracks will be available for fans of Disturbed and South Park. Pre-order the album Indestructible by Disturbed from BestBuy.com to get codes to download the tracks "Inside the Fire" and "Perfect Insanity" for the Xbox 360 version of Rock Band (sorry, PS3 owners). The rest of us will get these tracks sometime in June (price unknown but, based on the recent Motley Crue promotion, possibly only $1 each). And if you're into South Park, the Season 11 DVD set due Aug. 12 will include a 3-song download pack for Rock Band. No hint of the songs or whether they'll be for both PS3 and Xbox 360, but considering that "Timmy!" was in the game we can all start humming our favorite Trey Parker songs now and hope for the best...

Here's what Wii players can console themselves with in lieu of Grand Theft Auto IV:

• Pokémon Puzzle League (N64) - $10
• Renegade (NES) - $5

Actually, I may have to get me some Pokémon Puzzle League for my burgeoning 5-year-old Pokémon fanatic. Renegade, another classic arcade beat 'em up, is a pass...

If you've been stung by the Grand Theft Auto IV lockups on the PS3 and mainly want to enjoy the single-player campaign, there is a rumored workaround. Simply disable your PlayStation Network: Use Network Settings, or simply yank out the Ethernet cable. Many players swear by this method, saying it seems that the game looks for an online connection every few minutes (whether you need it or not) and freezes if it doesn't get the expected response. Of course, this doesn't help you if you're trying to play multuplayer modes. But if all you want is to get through the main game, you might as well give it a try. It's much simpler than other rumored fixes, such as zapping your game data (leave the saves!) and reinstalling (a 7+ minute process). Rockstar claims to be working on a patch, but it could be days or weeks before the problem is fully identified, corrected, tested and released...

This week, Microsoft seems to be holding back the content (even denying us our weekly Arcade fix) with one of the weaker Xbox Live Marketplace lineups in recent memory (unless you're into Conflict: Denied Ops, Kung Fu Panda or karaoke). No doubt they think we're all playing Grand Theft Auto IV. Here's what you'll find if you're not:

• Conflict: Denied Ops Eagle Pack ($10) with five deathmatch maps - be sure to get the title update first!
• Chessmaster Live Rayman Raving Rabbids Set ($2.50)
• Rock Band tracks ($2 each) "Zero" by Smashing Pumpkins and "Time-Sick Son of a Grizzly Bear" and "Red Tandy" by The Mother Hips
• Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore cover songs ($1.49 each) "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul, "The Real Thing" by Bo Bice, "Love Will Keep Us Together" by Captain & Tennille, "When the Sun Goes Down" by Kenny Chesney and Uncle Kracker, "Proud Mary" by Creedance Clearwater Revival, "The First Cut is the Deepest" by Sheryl Crow and Rod Stewart, "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" by Culture Club, "Sugar We’re Goin’ Down" by Fall Out Boy, "(You Make Me Feel Life) A Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin, "Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, "Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston, ""You and Me" by Lifehouse, "American Woman by Lenny Kravitz, "Complicated" by Avril Lavigne, "Photograph" by Nickelback, "I’m Coming Out" by Diana Ross, "New York New York" by Frank Sinatra, "Born to be Wild" by Steppenwolf, "Ain’t Too Proud to Beg" by The Temptations, "Careless Whisper" by Wham! and "Stand By Your Man" by Tammy Wynette
• Demo: Kung Fu Panda
• Game Videos: Alone In The Dark and Unreal Tournament 3
• Themes: Grand Theft Auto IV ($1.25), plus MLB 2K8, Turok and Anime Schoogirl ($1.88 each), Inkblots ($1.50) and Dr Pepper (free)
• Pictures: Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe ($1.25), Unreal Tournament 3 ($1.25), Bonnaroo music and arts festival (free; enters you in a sweepstakes) and Dr Pepper (free)

This week's PlayStation Store update is a little on the lean side, unless you've been salivating over the echochrome demo released last week. But then you're probably playing GTA IV anyway - that is, if it's not freezing up on you! If this is your fate, here are some other option to divert you while we wait for an official patch:

• echochrome ($10 each version) for PS3 and PSP
• Rock Band tracks ($2 each) "Zero" by Smashing Pumpkins and "Time-Sick Son of a Grizzly Bear" and "Red Tandy" by The Mother Hips
• Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore cover songs ($1.49 each) "Straight Up" by Paula Abdul, "Takin' Care of Business" by Bachman Turner Overdrive, "The Real Thing" by Bo Bice, "Love Will Keep Us Together" by Captain & Tennille, "Flashdance... What A Feeling" by Irene Cara, "When the Sun Goes Down" by Kenny Chesney and Uncle Kracker, "Against All Odds" by Phil Collins, "Proud Mary" by Creedance Clearwater Revival, "The First Cut is the Deepest" by Sheryl Crow and Rod Stewart, "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" by Culture Club, "Sugar We’re Goin’ Down" by Fall Out Boy, "Respect" and "(You Make Me Feel Life) A Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin, "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" and "Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing" by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, "Alone" by Heart, "Do I Make You Proud" by Taylor Hicks, "Greatest Love of All" by Whitney Houston, "Just The Way You Are" by Billy Joel, "You and Me" by Lifehouse, "If I Ain't Got You" by Alicia Keys, "Ladies Night" by Kool and the Gang, "American Woman by Lenny Kravitz, "Complicated" by Avril Lavigne, "It's Your Love" by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, "Who Can It Be Now?" by Men at Work, "Always Something There To Remind Me" by Naked Eyes, "On the Road Again" by Willie Nelson, "Photograph" by Nickelback, "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "You're My Best Friend" by Queen, "I’m Coming Out" by Diana Ross, "New York New York" by Frank Sinatra, "I Got You Babe" by Sony and Cher, "Born to be Wild" by Steppenwolf, "My Girl" and "Ain’t Too Proud to Beg" by The Temptations, "Careless Whisper" by Wham!, "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake and "Stand By Your Man" by Tammy Wynette
• Demo: Dark Sector
• Game Videos: Battlefield: Bad Company, echochrome, Dead Space, Kung Fu Panda, NBA Ballers: Chosen One and Turok
• Wallpapers: echochrome and Kung Fu Panda

Activsion finallly announced the track list for Guitar Hero: On Tour for the Nintendo DS, and it's only 15 songs long! That's like three tiers in a console game, and there's no word whether downloadable songs are even possible. It's not too late to cancel your pre-orrder if what's included here doesn't sound like music you'd want to play over and over and over again:

• "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar
• "All The Small Things" by Blink 182
• "Helicopter" by Bloc Party
• "What I Want" by Daughtry
• "China Grove" by The Doobie Brothers
• "Are You Gona Be My Girl" by Jet
• "Rock and Roll All Nite" by KISS (cover)
• "Heaven" by Los Lonely Boys
• "This Love" by Maroon 5
• "Breed" by Nirvana
• "Spiderwebs" by No Doubt
• "Do What You Want" by OK Go
• "All Star" by Smash Mouth
• "Jessie's Girl" by Rick Springfield
• "We're Not Gonna Take It" by Twisted Sister

You know that last song will become an anthem for the game, if you play it enough. And if that's not enough to convince you to let this one go, watch this video again. Now remember that one of the game's increasingly inane obstacles is that you have to sign fans' autographs while you perform. Yeah, that's what I thought...

If you haven't yet scored a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV, here are some things you might want to know:

• GameStop stores reportedly have been selling preordered copies to people who walk in off the street due to some corporate directive apparently aimed at maximizing sales (maybe that's why you didn't get your copy? If so, pick it up somewhere else and then cancel your pre-order - that'll show 'em!)
• The Xbox 360 version has achievements
• The PS3 version has a 7-minute mandatory install and some tacked-on Sixaxis controls that you thankfully can (and should) turn off
• Both Xbox 360 and PS3 players have reported some freezes and lockups, and the PS3 version has been iffy when it comes to online multiplayer
• Be sure to turn on subtitles - you'll thank me later
• Driving is more like the Midnight Club series than past GTA iterations, and that's a good thing

That's all I have for now, except to say that my copy came today and I've already enjoyed the superb opening credits sequence, watched some TV, listened to talk radio, had my first date (but no "warm coffee") and failed my first mission by driving into the water. Oh, and so far the game is awesome...

Nintendo, sensing that its Wii players are going to be playing Mario Kart Wii this week instead of downloading Virtual Console titles, only released one new game: Double Dragon from the NES for $5. I guess they figured if you're not into kart racing, you might like a classic beat-'em-up.

If you are playing Mario Kart Wii, word is that you don't need to buy any more wheels than the cheap plastic novelty that's bundled with the game. The best control scheme is reputedly the standared Wii-mote with nunchuk. Anything else will just slow you down... ...

Here's what's new on Xbox Live Marketplace this week:

• Lost Odyssey Triple Bonus Pack ($2.50) with a memory lamp for replaying past scenes (isn't that usually a free feature called a video gallery?), a mystical antique and a ring
• Army of Two SSC Challenge Map Pack ($7.50) with a new co-op obstacle course mode that includes 4 maps
• Ace Combat 6 F-16C Fighting Falcon (free) and several more sets ($2.50 to $5 each)
• Guitar Hero III Def Leppard Track Pack ($6.25) with "Nine Lives," "Photograph (Live)" and "Rock of Ages (Live)" by Def Leppard
• Rock Band "Screaming For Vengeance" album by Judas Priest ($15, or $2 per track) and "Saints of Los Angeles" by Mötley Crüe ($1)
• Arcade: Lost Cities ($8)
• Xbox Originals: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Metal Arms: Glitch in the System ($15 each)
• Demos: Operation Darkness
• Game Videos: 1942: Joint Strike, Army of Two SSC Challenge, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, Iron Man, Lost Cities, MLB 2K8, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, TNA iMPACT! Wrestling, The Wheelman and Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3
• Themes: MLB 2K8, NBA Ballers: Chosen One, and more Bullet for my Valentine, HIM and Motorhead ($1.88 each), plus Madden NFL 09 Brett Favre Cover and Toyota Matrix (free)
• Pictures: Madden NFL 09 Brett Favre Cover (free), NBA Ballers: Chosen One ($1), Speed Racer (free; enters you in a sweepstakes) and Toyota Matrix (free)

Think you're a really fast typist? Want to put it to the test? A new Web game called TypeRacer that's now in beta drops you into addictive and completely free multiplayer races where you tap out pop culture quotes as quickly as you can to try to coax your race car avatar across the finish line first. There's even a practice mode, but you're still pretty anonymous so just race against other people - it's much more fun. And, hey, if you're an administrative assistant or stenographer, you might even get away with playing this on the job. You're just refining your craft, right? Hey, don't blame me if it doesn't work. Or if you can't stop playing when it's time to go home...