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"Oh jesus, first people get offended because Kotaku writers have opinions on videogames, and now someone is offended because one of them has an opinion on cake flavors?"

by Mirai Matt

Depressing Graphs Explain Japan's Gaming Decline

"Perhaps it's the recurring characters? I mean, you never see the same guy twice in any of the FF series, and the characters aren't as much of a focus in Resident Evil. MGS is all about the characters.

If you get attached to a character, one would be more likely to want to play more of the series to see what happens to that character.

Or it may be gameplay. If the gameplay changes too radically, you alienate the old fans. If the gameplay doesn't change enough, it gets stagnant, and you lose people looking for something new. Developers need to either walk a very fine line, deciding what to keep or change, or just accept the loss of some fans.

Or it could be that all my assessments are completely wrong."

by Ino

Grand Theft Auto: Elementary School

"I was at Target a year or so back and this grandmother was there with (I think) her granddaughter, who couldn't have been more than 6-7 years old... and she kept saying she wanted "gwad teft otto" (she couldn't even say it properly!). They looked at the glass cases for a while and couldn't find it, so the grandmother took the kid to the clerk... she repeated "gwad teft otto" 2-3 times and the clerk finally gave them GTA:Andreas. The grandmother didn't even look at it, she just confirmed with the girl it was the right game and bought it.

I almost said something like "By the way, before you buy that for your granddaughter..." but then I would've been the jerk for telling her how to (grand-)parent.

I think that goes beyond gender issues in gaming and definitely goes straight to parenting. This kid was too young to even say the game's name right, it's waaaay too early to be playing something like that. (Does that mean she should play Barbie Horse Adventure all day? No, but c'mon..)"

by Justin42

Sony's Jack Tretton Whips Out The Claws, Gets Catty

When you're backed in corner, you got to come out swinging, right? I hope Sony has the balls and brains to floor MSOFT, but I don't see it happening. Their corporate culture seems like it's a page taken from a late 80s manual of business sense and style. Bombast. Pure bombast.

by Vabor

Jon Stewart Takes on Congress' Player Haters

"I really wish Jon Stewart was the president...I think he's too smart for the job though."

by CRAW

Want to add your two-cents? Hit us up at tips@kotaku.com and speak your mind.

"In defense of those who continue to complain about the name: It is a dumb name. It's a name that does have unfortunate other meanings. Sure, you can ask people in some sort of survey "Nintendo just released a new game console called the 'Wii' — what do you think of that name?" and you probably won't get a lot of titters. But you have to construct your sentences very carefully - on the first day I get mine, am I going to tell a friend that "I got a Wii" or that "you should come over and play with my Wii" ?

Yes, gamers are immature. That's why the name is so bad. It's like naming a kid - you have to think about how that name is going to play when the kid is in fifth grade. You have to run through every variation of the name, rhyming it with every possible offensive term or bodily function. Because that's what fifth graders (and gamers) are going to do. If you want your kid to grow up well-socialized, you don't name him Gaylord. And if you want your console to be popular with fifth graders (and gamers of all ages) you don't name it Wii."

by weatherman

Street Figher Bjork Kicks Reporter Ass

"Pfft. Only button-mashing scrubs play as broken fighters like Bj rk. Now, playing as the likes of Sean Penn or Kate Moss — that takes true skill."

by Draconis

PlayStation Pornable Plucking Hussies "Out of Thin Air"

"What is this 'porn' you speak of? Is it a type of tasty potato chip?"

by boxmyth

Moore: Gamers Don't Care About Backward Compatibility

"PeteUR! I care about backwards compatibility a lot. All those xBox games we have want to be played, at least occasionally. There are games where I got stuck that I put away for a while I'd like to return to, for example. And 10-15 or so I haven't gotten to yet. I don't have a lot of time for gaming so it takes me a long while to play anything and the xBox (we've had two and #2 is starting to fail) won't last much longer. They seem to last around 2 years, hope the new expensive consoles do better in that regard. Choosing a new console with backwards compatability that actually works will be a big factor in replacing xBox#2.

Basing statements on the xBox Live data is misleading since I'd be willing to bet there are still a lot of players who don't/can't use it. Don't forget about us! We have $$$ in our pockets, too. Just because you can't suck it out via Live doesn't mean you shouldn't develop a strategy to please us also.

KenoftheDead hit the nail on the head. Just because you don't want to do something, don't pretend you ain't doing it because your audience doesn't want it. Shape up, Peter. And loose the fake tattoo."

by Chilly Hollow

Next Olympic Sport: Gaming?

Oh no! Olympic DDR!

by Schu

E3's Random Half-Naked Woman: The Video

"The E3 restrictions this year were pathetic. The only new rule that popped up was a rule with how long SKIRTS could be and no 'boy shorts' rule. There were quite a few violations made to these rules by companies like Sony Online, and Webzen. However, the security singled out people with the intent of harrasment. For example, the company Nyko was within the boundries this year and still got their booth reps kicked.

I suppose that I can understand wanting to keep an 18 AND OLDER ONLY event more 'wholesome.' I mean, seriously.. mini-skirts are such a terrible distraction from the nudity, gore, language, and violence prevalent in the hottest game titles this year.

But I digress, E3 is a 'serious' convention for RETAILERS. Yet, it becomes a bit of a circus because of the press hype surrounding it. If you want to say E3 is a serious convention, don't let MTV or G4 cover it. I would say that G4's commercials alone do more to destroy the credability of the convention than a person in shorts.

As for journalists just reporting news and not becoming the news? Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Have you watched the TV news, heard radio news, or read print news in the last 60 years? There's a distinct difference between journalism and reporting, you know?"

by Philip Wesley

PS2 Pwns Your Puter, Says Sony

"Harrison is like a real-life forum troll."

by Robert Summa

Tired of screaming at your computer screen? Hit us up at tips@kotaku.com for a comments invitation and type IN ALL CAPS.

To celebrate Mario's B-Day, Nintendo has Internet clips from companies like Fuji Film, the Hanshin Tigers baseball team, and Nissin Cup Ramen wishing everybody's favorite plumber a "Happy B-Day." The coolest thing is that these commercials feature never-for-sale mock-ups with each company's logo.

(Today, Luigi quietly turns twenty years old. Nobody says a damn thing. Poor guy.)

Companies Wish Mario Happy B-Day [Nintendo]
Jumping on Turtle and Laying Pipe

Gawker Media's done it again. They've added to our growing blog empire, by launching a new site called "Deadspin," which will cover games. That's as in outdoor games (AKA "sports"). If you are interested in learning about which athletes are turds and shag groupies, then check this site out. We definitely would like to give Deadspin a warm welcome and offer them any help whatsoever should they post on the latest EA baseball software. Anything that involves real bats, well, they're on their own.

In other Gawker news, the tabloid news site Sploid just got a facelift. Check out the gruesome pics.

Deadspin

Sploid