Quotes of the Week ending July 28th

A quick and handy digest of some of the interesting things people have said this week. And of course stuff we've been aching to make fun of.

"Amortization of 18 percent was up three points versus the prior year quarter." THQ's chief financial officer tries to confuse us before explaining: "This is primarily due to our decision to discontinue development of the Sopranos for Xbox 360." (Link)

"Gearbox Software is enthusiastically supporting the Wii." Randy Pitchford joins the Nintendo revolution (can we still say that?). Although apparently the control system means it's "more difficult to amortize larger AAA budgets across more customers from multiple platforms". Why is everyone saying "amortize" today? (Link)

"The game will bring the vibe of the city into this context." American McGee explains how Bad Day LA will work. "For example, in the midst of natural disasters, the game's residents remain on their cell phones as they watch citizens on fire run down the street," the press release then explains. Yep, sounds like LA. (Link)

"Developers did not have finished Xbox 360 hardware last year at E3. So Sony's actually maybe in a better place vis-a-vis Microsoft in relation to launch." Mark Rein explains why the PS3 is "in a good spot". He does realise the 360 is already out, right? (Link)

"I can say we've certainly put enough games into the pipeline and it's certainly our target." Xbox Live Arcade's Ross Erickson on the possibility of releasing a new game every week this year. No, this one's not meant to be funny - we're just sticking it up here so they can't back down. (Link)

"I like to feel the vibration by the foot. So I think it's the feet and the hands. It's a good balance. Some people bite them! I think that's really dangerous, actually..." Tetsuya Mizuguchi explains where he uses the Rez trance vibrator. Creative chap, Mizuguchi. (Link)

"He likes to relax afterwards by playing his games. He was playing the FIFA 2006 football game during the World Cup." Despite this, French model Alexandra Paressant reckons Ronaldinho was such a success at the World Cup this year because he was bonking her all night. (Link)

"I want to handle both light and sound simultaneously and pleasantly." And who doesn't? Electroplankton creator Toshio Iwai explains his new musical instrument. (Link)

"Today we confirmed a new music and entertainment project called Zune." Microsoft reveals that Microsoft is working on an iPod rival of some sort. (Link)

"For those who are not Hebrew readers - Microsoft is, basically, calling their new digital audio player 'F***'." Blogger herenot demonstrates the entertainment aspect. (Link)

"Innovation should be available to everyone, not a privilege for those can afford high price tags." Atari's Bruno Bonnell explains why Test Drive Unlimited will cost $39.95 in the US. It's going to cost £49.99 here, by the way. (Link)

"Sony has got great loyalty and they are going to seriously use that loyalty to ensure that they sell a console." Accusing Sony of exploiting the zealotry of its userbase to flog high-priced PlayStation 3s is a fair argument - we're just not sure whether Xbox 360 executive Richard Teversham has any right to make it. (Link)

"PlayStation 2 was launched seven years ago in Japan at about $399. If you use inflation, it's the same price, approximately." NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang explains what a good deal the PlayStation 3 is.

"EA explores new depths of Middle-Earth with EA's The Lord of the Rings, The Battle for Middle-Earth II, The Rise of the Witch-King." EA certainly goes to great lengths. And that's just the working title.

"The elementary school kids that come to my house to play are always squealing with laughter as they kick the ass of the final boss, Alpha 152S." Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki reckons DOA4 isn't that difficult (and no, we're not touching the rest of that one with a bargepole). (Link)