It's been a long, strange year for gaming so far. After the first two quarters of 2007, we've seen some interesting trends and events. Here are 10 things you need to know about 2007 so far.

1. Good Games, But No Great Games

If there was any doubt that World of WarCraft was a bona fide phenomenon, that doubt was emphatically erased in late January with the arrival of the first official expansion pack for the bestselling MMORPG. World of WarCraft: Burning Crusade sets sales records, but all knew it would. The WoW junkies needed their fix. And let's be honest: it's an expansion pack.

There have been a lot of very good games, but no great games for the first six months of 2007. With all due respect to major, top-selling titles like God of War II, Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, Supreme Commander and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (read on further for more on these games), there hasn't been a runaway smash hit like Gears of War or The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion in 2006. Games like Lost Planet: Extreme Condition have sold a lot of copies for the Xbox 360, for example, but there hasn't been a groundbreaking sensation so far for 2007. At least, not yet: it looks like we'll have to wait for titles like Crysis, BioShock and Grand Theft Auto IV in the second half of the year. Still, game sales for early 2007 have been strong, thanks to new next-generation console titles.

2. Windows Vista Arrives To Yawns And Groans From Gamers

Microsoft's newest operating system, Windows Vista, certainly has its perks. But for an OS that was touted by Microsoft as a major upgrade for PC gamers, Vista hasn't delivered the amazing performance improvement that gamers had hoped for. In fact, it's given some folks headaches between graphics driver issues (which aren't totally Microsoft's fault) and installation problems (check out our hands-on review of Vista for more). All of that could be forgiven, frankly, if Vista's DirectX 10 technology brings graphics to the next level - but that hasn't happened yet. It's going to take time before games are optimized for DX10. Check out our DX10 reviews of Lost Planet: Extreme Condition and Call of Juarez for more impressions.

Capcom's Lost Planet: Extreme Condition wasn't entirely original, but it did offer solid shoot action and some impressive graphics for the both the PC and Xbox 360. However, the Vista version with DX10 doesn't offer that much of an improvement.

3. The Wii Keeps On Selling - Despite Weak Games

Nintendo's newest console has made good on the promise it showed at E3 last May. With a more affordable price tag and stronger cross-over appeal for non-gamers, the Wii has become a social phenomenon and the fastest-selling console of the next-generation group. The Wii continues to outpace Sony's PlayStation 3, which was released the same month as Nintendo's console, and is quickly gaining ground on Microsoft's Xbox 360, which had a full-year head start in the next-generation console race. Yet there's something peculiar about the Wii: the console's games are terrible. Sure, there have been some good launch titles, such as Twilight Princess, but WarioWare: Smooth Moves and Super Paper Mario aren't cutting it. Nevertheless, the good times are rolling for Nintendo, especially with the monster success of the DS platform. But we need a new Metroid title, soon.

4. Sony Makes Strides But Still Struggles

When Sony's biggest game of the year is a PlayStation 2 title, then you know the company has its work cut out for it. Yes, the PlayStation 3 got off to a less than stellar start compared to the Wii. And yes, there has been a painful absence of superior games for the PS3, outside of Resistance: Fall of Man. And yes, Sony has had some more unfortunate public relations gaffes. But Sony did pull off a nice reversal of fortune at the Game Developer Conference in March with the unveiling of the new PlayStation Home feature and the demo of LittleBigPlanet, which became the talk of the town in San Francisco. And unlike Microsoft, Sony hasn't suffered major hardware failures with its console. But the pricey PS3 is still lagging behind in the console race, and some of its exclusive titles aren't so exclusive anymore.