Well not much has truly happened between now and the last set of news stories, but here are some that I was able to worm up.

Nintendo has finally announced that their fitness simulator “Wii Fit” will sell for $89.99 US. The price includes the game software and a balance board. Originally most thought that the game with board would only cost around $75 US after the game’s ¥8,800. However, the floundering US dollar has since altered that conversion substantially, with ¥8,800 now being worth about $86.75. Wii Fit launched in Japan to ravenous consumer demand last December, and a European edition is expected to go on sale April 25. Also beginning April 18, the first 1,000 people who put $5 down on Wii Fit will receive a limited-edition T-shirt featuring the mug of Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto along with his reproduced signature. Though this special preorder program available exclusively at the Japanese publisher’s Nintendo World store in New York City.

Past that EA and DICE finally announced a release date for their new destructible shooter Battlefield: Bad Company. The standard edition will retail for $59.99, whereas the controversy-laden Gold Edition will clock in at $10 more. In addition to immediate access to five special weapons, collector’s-edition purchasers will receive a behind-the-scenes featurette as well as strategy videos for the game. Both will be released on June 23.

Harmonix announced yesterday on the official Rock Band forums that a Montley Crue single, “Saints of Los Angeles,” would be available for download Tuesday on Xbox Live or Thursday on the newly redesigned PlayStation Store. For a limited time, the song will sell at the discounted rate of $.99 (80 Microsoft points). Motley Crue won’t be the only nostalgia-inducing act to see songs surfacing in Rock Band this week. Harmonix is also planning to launch a three-song classic-rock pack, which includes master tracks from Blondie (”Call Me”), Lynyrd Skynyrd (”Simple Man”), and The Police (”Message in a Bottle”). The pack will cost $5.49 (440 Microsoft points), or $1.99 (160 Microsoft points) when purchased separately.

In other news Blockbuster has put in an offered to acquire Circuit City for $6 to $8 per share, or $1 billion to $1.3 billion. Blockbuster announced its intent by making public a letter sent to Circuit City chairman and CEO in February. According to today’s statement, Circuit City had not responded to the offer in a timely manner, and as such, “Blockbuster is making its proposal public because it believes the shareholders of Circuit City should have the opportunity to participate in determining the destiny of the company.” I don’t think I need to go further than this because it does barely anything important to the gaming industry.

The Wii has been officially dated to be released in South Korea on April 26 and will be priced at 220,000 won ($224). There will be nine games available for launch: Wii Sports; Wii Play (which comes with an extra controller); Rayman Raving Rabbids 2; Zack and Wiki: Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure; FIFA 08; Elebits; Namco Museum Remix; Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock; and Super Swing Golf Season 2. The games will retail at a variety of price points, with the lowest being Namco Museum Remix at 38,000 won ($39) and the highest being 88,000 won ($90) for Guitar Hero III with the guitar. Ten games will be available for download through the Wii’s Virtual Console at launch: Mario Kart 64, Contra III, Cybernator, Super Metroid, Super Mario World, Gradius III, Kirby’s Adventure, Super Mario Bros., Antarctic Adventure, and Donkey Kong. These will cost between 400 and 800 Wii points each, as they do elsewhere.

On the last day of last month, Sony announced it was releasing a new version of its PlayStation Store in “mid-April.” The PlayStation 3’s answer to Xbox Live Marketplace and the Wii Shop Channel, the service had been the subject of some criticism. One of the primary sticking points was its use of a slower, Web-browser-based interface versus its competitors’ native applications. Sony listened to its fans, and today launched a new version of the PlayStation Store based on new, in-console software in time for Gran Turismo 5 Prologue’s launch on Thursday. As one might expect, getting said software will require downloading a new firmware update for the console, v2.30. As previously announced, the update will also add stereophile-grade DTS-HD audio. Besides faster browsing, the new version of the PlayStation Store also reorganizes the content on the service into eight sections: new releases, downloadable games, view all by title, add-ons, demos, videos, featured items, and themes & wallpapers. The 900-plus pieces of content on the store have also been reorganized for easier access, as outlined in a video walk-through on the official PlayStation Blog. To date, some 3.6 million PlayStation Store account holders have downloaded 66 million pieces of content from the PlayStation Store. The massive numbers come despite the fact the service is still largely bereft of the massive amount of music, movie, and television content produced by Sony Computer Entertainment corporate siblings Sony BMG and Sony Pictures Entertainment. While the Wii Shop Channel does not offer non-game-related video content, Xbox Live Marketplace has a fairly wide selection of television shows and films, including some from Sony-owned movie studio MGM.

Lastly Microsoft and Bungie are giving Halo 3 fans a good use for their rebate with the Legendary Map Pack. Available for 800 Microsoft points ($10), the Legendary Map Pack adds three new maps to the game’s lauded multiplayer component. The map pack should appeal to Halo fans looking for a new environment as well as those interested in reliving multiplayer mayhem from previous installments in the series. As for all-new maps, Ghost Town offers an asymmetrical arena emphasizing close-quarter combat as well as long-range firefights. The map is designed for mid-sized battles, and is catered toward traditional game types, such as team slayer and objective-based missions. The other two maps will be no stranger to Halo aficionados. Avalanche is a large-scale, vehicle-oriented map that reimagines Sidewinder from Halo: Combat Evolved. Blackout is less a reinterpretation as it is a straight-up remake of Halo 2’s Lockout. The map features the same long sightlines and interconnected platforms seen in its predecessor, but has vacated the abandoned alien background in favor of an industrialized UNSC base. As was the case for the Heroic Map Pack released in December and made available free of charge at the end of March, the Legendary Map Pack will eventually be gratis on Xbox Live. However, for those that buy now, Bungie is throwing in the added incentive of a free four-month subscription to Bungie PRO. The service allows gamers to upload and share more films, maps, screenshots, and gametypes by increasing storage slots from six to 24 and upping total space to 250MB. Bungie’s Web site has a more detailed description of what gamers can expect from the new Halo 3 map pack.

Make sure to check back regularly as I try to keep the news up to date.