Shacknews reports that several "key" employees of Austin, Texas-based developer, Retro Studios, have left the company. The studio is best known for its work on the critically acclaimed Metroid Prime trilogy, which concluded in August last year on Nintendo's Wii.

Staff members said to have been escorted off the premises last Friday include design director Mark Pacini, art director Todd Keller and principal technology engineer Jack Matthews. There's no word yet on what their futures entail, but Shacknews notes that Retro Studios is in no danger of closing. Which is just as well, really, since we're in no danger of not wanting more games from them. We'll let you know when we hear more on this subject.

Update: There's some unconfirmed gossip from mysterious dealer in rumors, Surfer Girl, who mentioned that "something definitely went down at Retro" in a post dated Sunday, April 20th. An unnamed individual is quoted in the post as saying, "Pretty much no one at retro would agree to relocate at nintendo's behest, as asinine shenanigans are typically met with little fanfare."

You probably don't know the name Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, but you've almost certainly been entertained by one of the games he helped to create. From Paperboy and Zombies Ate My Neighbors to a series of Star Wars titles like Dark Forces and Rebel Assault, his career has spanned several years and several genres. Sadly, the programmer died on Tuesday after a struggle with pancreatic cancer. He was 43 years old.

Perhaps the part of Haigh-Hutchinson's legacy that will be familiar to most of you though is his work with the Metroid Prime series, for which he served as senior engineer and helped to create the game's camera system. Besides his gaming legacy, he leaves behind him a wife and two daughters.

[Thanks, Donald]

Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Wii)

Though its puzzles may occasionally infuriate, the real source of frustration regarding Zack & Wiki stems from the fact that nobody bought it. Every year has its share of titles that deserve an audience yet never find one, and in this regard, Zack & Wiki is easily one of the most tragic games to put an uncontrollable smile on your face. Relentlessly charming and beautifully presented, the debut of Capcom's choc-chomping pirate and his simian sidekick challenges the mind and warms that cynical, meh-spouting lump in your chest. How refreshing it was to overcome obstacles and bosses by choosing the power of the mind over an impossibly large bazooka.

While August yields some noteworthy NPD data in terms of hardware sales, the games populating the top twenty spots in the software chart provide the most interesting commentary. Before we get to that, however, we should gaze at the gargantuan pile of cash that represents the U.S. game industry. GameDaily BIZ reports that total sales climbed to $993 million dollars, a 46% increase over the same month last year, with hardware sales alone reaching $302 million.

Nintendo's Wii once again sold the most units, followed by the DS and a now cheaper Xbox 360. Microsoft had best hope the jump in sales extends to more of a protracted hover, as it seems the PS3 has already come down to Earth following its July "clearance sale."

• Nintendo Wii: 403.6K (4 million total)
  
• Nintendo DS: 383.3K (12.7 million total)
• Microsoft Xbox 360: 276.7K (6.3 million)
  
• Sony PlayStation 2: 202K (39.1 million total)
  
• Sony PSP: 151.2K (8.3 million total)
  
• Sony PlayStation 3: 130.6K (1.75 million total)