April

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There was in the air as April 2007 got under way, Harmonix finally announcing Rock Band, a project helped along by partners and EA. The wheels were also starting to come off the PS3's launch.

Over in Paris, Peter Molyneux was earning a French knighthood for his services to gaming, while John Romero predicted the demise of console gaming. RedOctane also confirmed what was widely predicted to be the battle of the festive season, letting-slip that Guitar Hero 3 was on the way, and would do battle with come the end of the year.

Sony dropped the 20GB model PS3, the 60GB model proving by far the most popular among those rich enough to buy one of the consoles, while elsewhere Bethesda announced that they had captured the series from embattled Interplay, who were still hoping to make a comeback via a Fallout MMO. A week or so after Sony's 20GB news, we also heard the first chatter of the 80GB system, which would later become a reality.

Later in the month, announced the demise of many a marriage, confirming Live, an based on the hit manager game - which was also beta tested later in the year. Total Annihilation creator Chris Taylor also confirmed he had a number of new titles in the works, but shied away from promising support for the - early 2007 proving a very tricky patch for Sony's next-gen machine. Ubisoft, meanwhile, revealed a new series - EndWar, while Nintendo passed six million in sales.

The month concluded with one Sony's most famous PR gaffs of the year, the infamous 'dead goat' II saga enraging animal rights groups and providing Sony's detractors with yet more ammo.

May

With the year now well and truly underway, a range of new products were confirmed, such as Playground, Colony, Parappa PSP, The Simpsons, Condemned 2, 2 and the PSP Go! Cam. retailer GAME also acquired the Gamestation group, while told us of his zero-g flight with Sir Steven Hawking.

Robbie Bach even promised us an Xbox division profit in 2008, while dismissed Bungie's 3 as derivative. Also coming from land was news that the firm's struggle to produce enough Wii consoles was stifling the company's performance, a problem the platform holder still seem to be struggling with to this day. Design legend Ron Gilbert, meanwhile, was enlisted for the Penny game.

As the month progressed, stepped-forward to defend the sum paid by for Rare, the exec also praising the developer's contributions. Microsoft were also busy chucking console modders off of Live; the first move of many. In the world of hardware, mooted an 80GB PS3 for Korea, the model subsequently heading to other regions as part of widespread price changes.

Perhaps the biggest move of the month, however, came from Blizzard, who announced their first new title in ages at a special event in South Korea, which ushered in word of II. Anti-gaming lawyer Jack Thompson, meanwhile, was raising the stakes by setting his sights on Microsoft.

As the month drew to a close we got word that were considering lawsuits against gold farmers, that a 'slimline' PSP was on the way, and that Microsoft were making a special 'table', called Surface, that may or may not (we're still not sure) have gaming applications.

June

One of the most interesting news stories of June landed on the very first day of the month, EA confirming their eventual goal of full 11-on-11 matches in FIFA. The Wii, meanwhile, was continuing its charge in the land of the rising sun, trouncing the PS3 for another month. Alongside this news, we learnt of Sony redundancies stateside, following similar cut-backs in Europe. Oh, and our very own podcast kicked-off at the beginning of the month.

Sony PR gaff: The Revenge also emerged during June, the Church of England barracking Sony for their unauthorised inclusion of Manchester Cathedral in Resistance: Fall of Man. The would rage for several months, the Church demanding an apology from Sony, while also threatening action.

In better news for Sony, the month also saw the PS3 pass one million sales in PAL regions, while the company also began setting the record straight with their official blog.

The Halo 3 beta test drew to a close during the month, while the Darling sold Codemasters.

Gaming came into contact with wider society as the month progressed, word reaching us from the US that addiction to games might be considered a mental disorder, while here in the UK the gave the first hint of the storm to follow, banning Manhunt 2 across Britain. Microsoft, meanwhile, continued to splash the cash, coughing up a rumoured 50 million USD for 360 exclusive IV episodes.

In a busy month for gaming, Ken Kutaragi also stepped-aside as SCE boss, while pressure mounted on the firm to introduce a price cut of some form. Sony also increased the top speed of the PSP during the month, Nintendo stocks soaring to record levels in Japan.

Sid Meier concluded the month by announcing a new Civilization title for consoles, dubbed 'Revolution'.

By Luke Guttridge