Trade paper MCV (The Market for Home Computing and Video Games) lead this week with the news that Infogrames have made a $200 million bid for GT Interactive. Also on their front page is the news that Nike have signed up digital fox Lara Croft for a series of high-profile TV commercials. She puts herself about a bit, doesn't she? It's amazing when you think about it - Lara's generated a whole heap of money for Eidos and she's merely a cleverly worked series of zeros and ones. Bizarre.

MCV also give prominence to the news that EA are dropping the trade prices for new releases on PlayStation, which could well be good news for everyone this Yuletide.

CTW (Computer Trade Weekly), the other trade paper, devote space this week to the story of Virgin Interactive falling foul of two of the country's biggest specialist press publishing houses with their advert for Messiah. It features a doctored image of the Pope smoking a hand-rolled cigarette, with the tag line, "What on Earth possessed you?" Cheeky lot.

CTW also report that SCi are walking a moral tightrope with news that they've signed an exclusive agreement to develop and publish games based on The Great Train Robbery. Eidos caused a similar stir a while ago when they signed up ex-con 'Mad' Frankie Fraser to promote their Gangsters game.