Kotaku: Norway

TV news PWN3D by Dodgy Graphic

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:30:00 EST

A news program on Norwegian channel NRK got a little more than it bargained for last month when its producers needed a graphic for an eye chart. More »

Norway Mass Killer May Be Declared Legally Insane

Brian Crecente — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 10:00:00 EST

Confessed mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik was legally insane when he killed nearly 80 people, many children, during a bombing and shooting rampage in Norway in July, according to a psychiatric evaluation ordered by the court, the Associated Press reports. More »

Norwegian Retailers Pull Warcraft, Call of Duty Titles in Light of Shooting

Owen Good — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 20:30:00 EDT

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One week after 77 died in two attacks carried out by a militant extremist in Norway, two retailers have temporarily pulled copies of World of Warcraft and several Call of Duty games from shelves, citing their ties to the accused killer's manifesto. More »

Oslo Terrorist Used Modern Warfare 2 as "Training-Simulation", World of Warcraft as Cover

Owen Good and Michael McWhertor — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 18:47:59 EDT

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The accused shooter in yesterday's massacre in Norway has been linked to a 1,500 page manifesto that recommends using Call of Duty to train combat skills for an upcoming war with Islam. More »

Online Gaming Friends of Oslo Suspect Say He Couldn't "Harm a Fly"

Brian Crecente — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 11:48:51 EDT

The 32-year-old man suspected of detonating a bomb in Norway's capital and going on a shooting spree in police garb, killing at least 87, was many things: He was a self-identified conservative Christian, farmer, body builder, hunter, freemason and gamer. More »

When Norwegian Ads Look Just Like PSP Games

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 04:30:00 EDT

These two clips are commercials for Dent Oi, a brand of Norwegian mints. Mint fans will love the house-crushing taste on display, but it may be of even more interest to fans of PSP strategy series Patapon. More »

Olympic Gold Medal Skiier Teams Up With Counter Strike Champion

Owen Good — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:20:00 EDT

What's a good encore after winning two gold medals at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games? For one of the world's most accomplished cross-country skiers, it's playing alongside his world champion counterpart in Counter Strike at Norway's largest LAN party. More »

Awkward: Zelda Music On Reality TV Show

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:00:00 EDT

There's a big TV show called America's Got Talent. Britain's Got Talent, too. Even Norway has it, and we like Norway's the best, as it's the only one with uncomfortable live renditions of a song from Ocarina of Time. More »

Video Game Graphics In The Norway Skies

Mike Fahey — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:30:00 EST

As seen and eventually explained on Gizmodo. More »

King Denies Little Boy's Wish to Be Named 'Sonic X'

Owen Good — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:30:00 EDT

This reads like a fairy tale, but it's all true. A 6-year-old Norwegian boy wanted to change his name to "Sonic X," and in his land, such things must be approved by the king. More »

Nordic Fashionistas Get Their LBP On

Owen Good — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:00:00 EST

Moods of Norway, a fashion design firm, is out to save the world from a fashion crisis. At least, that's the point of the LittleBigPlanet level it designed in collaboration with a Norwegian PlayStation distributor. The level's published and ready for you to play and, I assume, won't be taken down because it references third party IP. Although it'd be hilarious if it did. More »

GameStop Buys Norway's Free Record Shop

Mike Fahey — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:40:00 EDT

Folks in Norway who preferred buying video games at the local Free Record Shop instead of GameStop will soon have no real choice in the matter, as GameStop announces an agreement to purchase 100% of the Norwegian branch of the popular retailer. All 49 FRS locations throughout Norway will undergo rebranding once the transaction closes early next month. Says GameStop CEO, Dick Fontaine:

"We look forward to expanding our productive business model in the Norwegian market and partnering with the knowledgeable and energetic store personnel at Free Record Shop. This transaction is another step in our strategy of bringing more video game stores to growth markets around the world."

Not sure how rebranding existing video game stores are GameStop counts as "bringing more", but then I suppose I am not the CEO of a large company. Free Record Store also has locations in The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Finland, though it wouldn't surprise me if this agreement were only the first step in a move to acquire those as well. More »

WoW Helps Boy Triumph Over Moose

Mike Fahey — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 18:00:25 EST

Who says video games are a waste of time? I'd like to see one non-gamer confronted by an angry moose and react with even half of the intelligence that 12 year old Hans Jørgen Olsen of Norway did. When he and his sister came across a confrontational moose during a walk in the woods near their home, Hans leapt into action, World of Warcraft style. First he taunted the moose off his sister, allowing her to escape, and then he used his level 30 hunter skill feign death, causing the moose to lose interest and wander off, while the healer in the party had a heart attack before putting two and two together. Just be glad Hans didn't encounter the moose around level 10, because while feign death is certainly real-world viable, I highly doubt charm pet works the same way. More »

Mario and Goomba Helping Out With the Trash

Maggie Greene — Sun, 08 Jul 2007 14:00:02 EDT

In Norway, at least. Reader Kim V. sent these images along, saying: "I was having a bbq yesterday at Vigelandsparken in Norway when I came across these two when throwing stuff away afterwards. Good to know that Mario and Goomba are watching over all the garbage. The image with Goomba says "Waste", and the one with Mario says "Grill box - Used one time grills only". More »

Norwegian Artist Paints Purple Tentacle Wall Mural

brownlee — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 14:40:40 EDT

Via the Video Games Blogger, check out this amazing Day of the Tentacle wall painting some bald, shirtless, vaguely freakish Norwegian painted in his apartment. Just utterly awesome: I want that as a wall mural hanging over my bed, perhaps as a warning to any girls I bring home about the nature of the other purple tentacle cohabiting the room. More »