We can't open the week without some speculation, now can we? Today we hear of the latest batch of rumors from UK's OPM publication. Though this batch of rumors come from the Official PlayStation Magazine, they do touch on some cross-platform franchises. (EA, I'm looking at you!). PSP 2 rumor, check. Rumors of sequels, check. Rumors of spin-offs, check.

According to a report from the National Endowment for Science, Technology and Arts (UK endowment for the maximization of UK's creative and innovative potential">NESTA), the UK games will be dropping down from third position to fifth in 2009's global rankings. Reason why is at the full article.

By the end of last week, November 22, Call of Duty: World at War (PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS) found itself still at the pinnacle of UK's Top 40 Entertainment Sorfware sales on Chart-Track. Other notables for that week are Need for Speed: Undercover which debuted at a respectable fourth place and Wrath of the Lich King eating a 32-place crit and dropping to 34th.

Should we even be surprised? Blizzard sends out a press wire stating that their World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King title has broken the Day-1 sales record. This, on top of making it to the top of UK Charts and setting a new record for biggest entertainment launch in UK.

Could it be that we're finally close to a decision on which ratings system should govern the UK game industry? The Byron Review consultation period ended yesterday if you've been following the news. So what's the early word from the participants? Find out in the full article.

After hearing the story of the Swede teen collapsing after 24 hours of playing Wrath of the Lich King, this news comes to no surprise for me. World of Warcraft's second expansion pack has sliced its way to second place in the UK charts, topped only by fellow newcomer, Call of Duty: World at War. In other news, LittleBigPlanet shot down form fourth place to 19th place. Ouch.

The rest of the top UK games after the link!

Oxford Street in London was once again bursting at the seams last night, this time because of the Wrath of the Lich King launch. Just how big was it? Apparently, it was big enough to break the previous record for the biggest entertainment launch. Find out by how much the record was broken at the full article.

The UK is in the grip of the force as Star Wars: The Force Unleashed enters software charts at top spot. The game marks the biggest release week ever for a Star Wars game, and the biggest launch since Grand Theft Auto IV. What else is hot in the UK? Find out after the link.

And the war against BBFC wages on. Are they really fit to rate video games, considering their system is built on movie ratings? ELSPA boss Paul Jackson spells things out for everyone: he says the BBFC isn't fit to rate video games anymore, and that PEGI would do a better job at it.

The music industry has spoken out about the five British developers and publishers going after illegal file-sharers in the UK. What of the other players in the gaming industry? We have yet to hear any official word on the matter from other developers or publishers, but Peter Moore - in his personal capacity - has talked about it, and he'd have to agree... with the music industry.