Y’know, if this whole writing-about-games thing doesn’t work out, a person of my qualifications would have no trouble finding a top-flight job in either the food service or housekeeping industries.

News Blips:

Sony and hacker George "GeoHotz" Hotz settle out of court. The details of the settlement aren't 100 percent clear, but Sony did place a permanent injunction on Hotz that will prevent him from posting any code, hacking tips, or information that would aid in circumventing Sony's hardware. I'm choosing to believe that he got the same deal that Zero Cool got in the film Hackers, where the protagonist wasn't allowed to touch computers for 10 years. Just change your name to Crash Override, George! 

Treyarch officially announces the second Call of Duty map pack. We knew it was coming, and we know that it’ll cost $15. Like the previous installment in Activision’s continuing pursuit to see how little work they have to do to get your hard-earned 1200 Microsoft Points, the Escalation Pack -- as it is known -- will contain five maps. This time, the maps are themed around “Secure the Convoy” and “Infiltrating the Zoo.” Finally, a game that will let me attempt to infiltrate the zoo -- now I can stop doing that every time I have a few too many cups of boxed wine. The map pack will be available on Xbox Live Marketplace on May 3.

Pokémon Global Link will go live Wednesday, April 13. Nintendo’s pocket monster website has met with some delays, but trainers will soon be using the service’s many features. The major features -- Dream World and Global Battle Union -- will let players extract certain special Pokemon and battle real trainers, respectively. No word yet on whether the Republican Party will attempt to blame the economy on the Global Battle Union.

The Grammy Awards adjust the wording of several awards to explicitly include video games. The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences -- or NARAS if you’re nasty -- has moved video games into a more prominent role for their awards. The award categories now read:

• Music for Visual Media (Motion, Television, Video Game Music, or Other Visual Media)
• Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media (Motion, Television, Video Game Music, or Other Visual Media)
• Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media (Motion, Television, Video Game Music, or Other Visual Media)
• Best Song Written for Visual Media (Motion, Television, Video Game Music, or Other Visual Media)

Those paying attention will note that this change comes after Christopher Tin’s “Baba Yetu” became the first piece of music written for a game to win a Grammy. 

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