Kotaku: Consoles

Yes, We Know Diablo III Is Under Development for Consoles

Mike Fahey — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:30:00 EST

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Thanks, everyone, for pointing out that Diablo III has been confirmed to be in development for consoles via a Twtter post by Blizzard community manager Bashiok, even though we already knew that. More »

Sing Along With the Gamer Edition of John Lennon's "Imagine"

Mike Fahey — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 11:20:00 EDT

Today in Speak Up on Kotaku we're going to put all of the arguing and hate behind us in favor of a good old-fashioned sing along, courtesy of commenter JesusChrist, one of the few people qualified to rewrite a John Lennon song. More »

Let Us Mourn the Games We've Loved and Lost

Mike Fahey — Thu, 26 May 2011 11:20:00 EDT

Commenter Shin Lord was so certain his post about video games and consoles we regret trading, selling, or losing would make it into Speak Up on Kotaku he made his own image. Cocky bastard, isn't he? More »

12 Ways Consoles Are Hurting PC Gaming

Nathan Grayson - Maximum PC — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:00:00 EDT

It's happened to everyone at one point or another. You're playing your favorite FPS and minding your own business when your character finally succumbs to that pesky stream of bullets that's been bouncing off his face for the past two minutes. "Aw man," you say aloud while a big, ominous Game Over screen stares you down. "Well, at least I can jump right back in and..." But you can't. Suddenly, you're 30 minutes away from where you kicked the bucket – your previous progress rotting at the bottom of some virtual wastebasket. "Well, at least I can vary up my tactics and see the game from a different angle this time." Nope. So many invisible walls that you may as well be a mime. "Well, at least I can—" Nuh-uh. Can't do that either. So you pause to take a breather, but they immediately start suffocating you. Games For Windows logos. Everywhere. And then you wake up drenched in a cold sweat, safe in your own bed and free of the nightmare's cruel clutches. "It was just a dream, " you mumble before dozing off again. More »

What Room Is Your Gaming Console In?

Mike Fahey — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:20:00 EDT

Have video game consoles earned their spot in the family room, or are we still tucking them away out-of-sight? The measurement and information experts at Nielsen release the results of a study that shows what's being played where in U.S. households. More »

Epic Games' New Unreal Engine—This Is What Next Gen Gaming Looks Like

Joel Johnson — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:11:00 EST

Fresh off the surreptitiously filmed, embargo-breaking train, it's the video footage of the engine that we previously showed you only in stills. This is the engine Epic describes as beyond what modern consoles can do. It's just one of many signs that a new crop of consoles are coming 'round the bend. [VentureBeat] More »

Which Console Is Best For First-Person Shooting Racists?

Mike Fahey — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:20:00 EST

In order to determine which video game console you should play, you must ask yourself a few questions. Are you a gamer? Do you prefer first-person shooters? Racist or non-racist? Dorkly's handy flowchart insults and informs. More »

So, You Do More Than Play Games On Your Console

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 05:30:00 EDT

Game consoles! We used to just play games on them, but in this 21st century of the future, it seems plenty of you are now watching movies and TV shows on them as well. More »

Could A Console Version Of StarCraft II Work?

Mike Fahey — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:30:00 EDT

With a relatively successful, albeit questionably marketed version of the original StarCraft released for the Nintendo 64 in 2000, how would StarCraft II fare on today's consoles? More »

Which Games, And Consoles, Had The Best Resale Value In 2009?

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:30:00 EST

Research data published this week has revealed the games, consoles, publishers and genres with the best resale values for 2009. More »

The Console Market As Of Next New Year's Eve, According To Activison

Stephen Totilo — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:00:06 EDT

During Activision Blizzard's conference call annoucning its second quarter results today, the company shared its best guess for the North American and European console market circa 12/31/09. More »

Console Owners Love Their Streaming Video

Mike Fahey — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:40:00 EDT

A study conducted by market research firm In-Stat indicates that video game consoles are the preeminent device for delivering web video to televisions in the U.S., generating $2.9 billion in revenue by 2013. More »

Analyst: Next Gen Begins After 2013

Owen Good — Sat, 02 May 2009 12:00:00 EDT

Everyone's favorite industry analyst, Michael Pachter, says that, rumored Wii HD upgrade not withstanding, this current console generation is gonna be with us at least four more years. More »

Novint Falcon Soon To Confuse Console Gamers Too

Mike Fahey — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST

With the peculiar-looking Novint Falcon finally gaining some solid support in mainstream games, such as Valve's Left 4 Dead, the company plans on bringing the 3D controller to consoles. More »

The Witcher On Consoles Will Get DLC And Just Generally Be Awesomer

Stuart Houghton — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:20:00 EST

CD Projekt RED have confirmed that the console port of ace PC RPG The Witcher will be propped up with some choice DLC and come with a host of improvements to boot. More »

Xmas Console Sales Affected By Piracy. No, Seriously.

Stuart Houghton — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 20:40:00 EST

It's all fun and games using 'Piracy' to describe copyright infringement when you want to reframe the debate and equate the sharing of intellectual property with aquatic larceny, but what happens when your actual ship-based armed robbers yo-ho-ho into view? What then, Mr cognitive linguistics smartypants? More »

Casual Games Will Make Consoles Extinct - Clickz

Stuart Houghton — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 20:40:00 EST

"Digital Marketing" experts Clickz have a theory - casual games are becoming the dominant form of gameplay and are killing the console market deader than a particularly dead doornail. More »

Energy Star To Release Eco-Specs For Game Consoles

Stuart Houghton — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:20:00 EDT

As you know, Bob, Energy Star is a joint initiative of the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy tasked with setting guidelines for energy efficiency. There is probably an Energy Star Logo on your computer somewhere, unless you live in the 1980s. More »

"Consoles Are A Problem" Says Oddworld Dev

Stuart Houghton — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:20:00 EDT

Oddworld Inhabitants Lorne Lanning thinks that Consoles are a big problem for games developers. More »

Why Aren't There More Console MMOs?

Maggie Greene — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 13:30:00 EDT

Back in April, Dan Rubenfield (Ultima Online, Star Wars Galaxies, etc.) ranted, raved, and put MMO developers 'on notice.' And, at the end, admonished developers to "quit making PC games. It’s a waste of time and money." Unsurprisingly, people hit back, and now over at GameSetWatch, Joe Ludwig (producer of Pirates of the Burning Sea) has a snappy little response detailing six reasons why MMOs are just plain harder to develop for consoles versus PCs. Does that mean it won't start happening in greater numbers? Of course not: More »

NVIDIA Isn't Afraid Of Console Gaming

Mike Fahey — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 13:20:00 EDT

NVIDIA head honcho Roy Taylor foresees the end of PC exclusive titles as the value and quality of video game consoles continues to improve, but he is not afraid. Speaking to Eurogamer, Taylor puts a shiny happy spin on the situation, envisioning a future where PC and console gamers can play the same games in happy co-existence. More »

Massive - DirectX10 Effects Possible On Consoles

Mike Fahey — Tue, 20 May 2008 13:00:00 EDT

If you've got the time and the resources, your console game can look pretty damn close to its DirectX10-enabled PC counterpart. This from Massive Entertainment's VP of Development Peter Sydow in an interview with Videogamers.com in which he discusses development of the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of World In Conflict.

Yeah, at this point we've managed to replicate some of the effects, but I don't know what features will make it into the final release. Nearly all of our DX10 features are possible to do on the consoles if you give it enough time and resources, so we'll keep on working on them and see what happens.

See Funcom? Even the console developers can do it! More »

$25,000 ITC One Finally Gets Blu-ray Player

Mark Wilson — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:00:26 EST

Stand aside PlayStation 3, the ITC One media center (including an Xbox 360, Wii, HD PVR, etc) is now adding a Blu-ray player to the mix. After snubbing the obviously missing PS3 because it's not "user friendly," creators at SE2 Labs have decided to compromise on the topic. So while not offering consumers Sony's gaming platform in their uberconsole, they will support Sony's hi def optical format. More »

How Long Until DLC Adopts The Rental System?

Mark Wilson — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 15:40:08 EST

With larger hard drives and faster bandwidth, a future in which players are downloading a majority of new releases isn't all that unimaginable since eliminating a retail middle man could make the prospect very enticing for publishers and developers. But what about the sexier aspects to this digital model? With such a digital infrastucture, these oft-prophecized downloadable purchases only scratch the surface. More »

The SNES Was The Best Console EVAR

Mark Wilson — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 15:40:58 EST

CNET just published a story by Don Reisinger claiming that the Super Nintendo was the greatest console of all time. He argues that the console was the ultimate successor, "a follow-up that was worthy of the 'Super' moniker and gave developers the license they needed to create the legendary titles that we still play today." Personally, I'd agree with his casually argued logic—there's a reason I'm anxious to port Super Mario World to every device on the planet but bored by the thought of playing PSOne games on the PSP. Of course, this is all just one man's opinion and many of you won't agree. So go ahead and vote below before elaborating in the comments. More »

Consoles Are Not Enough For ATI & NVIDIA

Mark Wilson — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 14:20:03 EDT

With all of the advanced engineering that the consoles promise, they are a technology on a budget that simultaneously needs to promise a long lifespan. That's why during a panel on processing technology, NVIDIA VP and engineer Jonah M. Alben. had this to say about partnering in console design...speaking for both his own company, and putting words in the mouth of his biggest competitor:

It's important to not forget the PC side of the business to innovation. The PC provides the revenue stream every year for the team. If it was only a console business, we [AMD and NVIDIA] would not be here...

Black and White Consoles Not Your Thing? ColorWare Has Your Solution

Maggie Greene — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 14:30:39 EDT

Is your Wii ruining the black and red bordello theme of your bedroom? The PS3 just not fitting in with the teal carpet in the living room? ColorWare is offering a $99 solution more permanent than vanity case mods and skins - now you can send in your console (or buy one from them) and get it painted in one of 28 shades (or a combination of several). More »

Microsoft Patent Reveals... Something?

Kim Phu — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 16:40:00 EDT

A new Xbox could be coming our way as a patent reveals (rather complicatedly) some of the features that could be available on the next generation of a Microsoft console. Although it cites Xbox as an example of how the patent describes a "gaming device", it's not completely clear if that is what the patent is for: More »

Consoles Obsolete Next Gen, Some Dude Says

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 17:40:49 EDT

In addition to showcasing some real nifty bits of technology yesterday, HP held a panel on gaming featuring some industry types, like Games For Windows director Rick Wickham and Trion World Networks CEO Lars Butler. More »

I-Play Boss Predicts Mobile Domination

Mike Fahey — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 11:20:43 EST

I'm just going to hit you with the quote here right off the bat. More »

A Pictorial History of Video Game Systems

Mike Fahey — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 16:40:25 EST

Knuttz.net has posted a pictorial history of the video game console, featuring 71 consoles from the original Odyssey all the way up to the Wii. Titled "Video Game Consoles Evolution", it doesn't feature long, drawn-out histories for each console. No tiresome personal anecdotes like you'd find me writing after every photo. Just 71 crystal clear photographs in chronological order. Simple and clean. More »

The Uber Console Collection Auction

Mike Fahey — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 16:40:37 EST

Forget the instant console collection. If you've always wanted to get into collecting vintage game consoles but weren't sure where to start, we've found the definitive starting point. It's an auction up on eBay UK right now entitled ber 90 Telespielkonsolen (Over 90 Television Consoles), and it is uber indeed. With game systems ranging from old classics like the Atari 2600 (4 versions!) to obscure items like the Game Axe NES clone, the auction covers over 2 and a half decades of gaming history. There are consoles here I've never even heard of. More »

Instant Console Collection

fdemarco — Sat, 16 Dec 2006 16:04:23 EST

Are you a gaming noob who's first console was a Wii? Do you want the street cred that having a fully realized gaming collection will give you? Well, look no further than this eBay auction where seller markcz5581 is selling what is sure to be the biggest console bundle of all time. In addition to an unopened PS3, this $25,000 uber-package includes an original Xbox, a Gamecube, a Dreamcast, a PS1, a Nintendo 64, a Super NES, a NES, a DS, DS Lite, GBA, GBA SP, Sega Game Gear Portable, NeoGeo pocket, Gameboy Pocket, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Printer and last but not least, the headache inducing Virtual Boy. Also included are a truck full of over 400 games and all the appropriate controllers and hookups. More »

The Great Atari Landfill: A Legend Dissected

fdemarco — Sat, 25 Nov 2006 19:00:25 EST

We've all heard it before, the story of the Great Atari Landfill. According to legend, Atari 2600's E.T. game sold so terribly, that in an attempt to literally bury the stink-bomb, a landfill was created out of all the unsold copies. More »

Wii: It's Out In Glasgow (Oops LOL JK)

Michael McWhertor — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 13:32:57 EDT

Hey, I'm just like you. When someone sends me an e-mail saying "Hey! The Wii is out!" I get all ants-in-the-pants and start frantically rubbing my sweaty palms together in anticipation of sprinting to my local EBgames. Then I realize it's just some jerk playing games with me. Now I'm that jerk. More »

The Zelda NES

brownlee — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 16:40:04 EDT

Sometimes just having your Legend of Zelda cartridge completely encased in bling isn't enough. Sometimes you need to gild the whole lily. Such was Kotomi's obsession, who was compelled to mod his NES to match the cart. After some of the true nightmarish muckups we've seen of painted consoles lately, it's refreshing to see someone not make a total mess of a paint job. Florian Eckhardt More »

Sega Nomad for Scanning Eyeballs

egauger — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 21:40:01 EDT

Eye topography enthusiasts, look no further. The precision ocular cartography you seek is available now, in handheld form, and in addition to medical applications it supports and estimated 600 game titles and only uses 6 AA batteries per hour and a half of playtime. More »

Many Consoles Hemorraging Power into the Void, Says Report

egauger — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 00:00:08 EDT

According to a new report from the British government, consoles are wasting electricity at an alarming rate. More »

How The Console Losers Really Won

brownlee — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 14:40:59 EDT

For your Thursday lunchtime perusal, Next Generation's Eric-Jon Rossel Waugh has posted a decent read for whilst you're otherwise employeed stuffing a sandwich into your craw: "How the Console 'Losers' Really Won." More »

Evo: Phase One To Contend In Upcoming Console War!

brownlee — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 13:39:35 EDT

Finally... a console more expensive than the PS3! Envizions Computer Entertainment sent us the press release, announcing Evo: Phase One, a 'next generation media hub' that "allows customers to pause, rewind and record live TV, store family photos, play 3D PC games, and access console like applications." Stats? More »