Poker: The Redemption

To: Ash
From: Crecente
Re: Wife Back Home (What Fetuses Wear)

Tonight I'm meeting up with a slew of local developers for round two of our monthly poker night. If you don't recall, I managed to lose $60 at a $20 poker game last time round. This time, I plan on at least not buying in three times. Big talk, I know, but a mans gotta do what a mans gotta do.

What you missed:
Bad Company Demo Coming June 5th
New SOCOM Confrontation Screens
Call of Duty 5 To Feature "New Military Theater"
New Wrath Of The Lich King Details Galore
Will Verbinski Make BioShock The First Great Game Flick?
BioWare Backs Down From Draconian Mass Effect Authentication
Spore To Use Online Authentication
echochrome Review: Poppin', Lockin' and Thinkin'
MGS4 Character Spoiler

Vomit Elevator :(

To: Bash
From: Crecente
Re: Riding the Vomit Elevator

Good lord that sounds disgusting. I'm surprised it didn't kick off a Monty Python-esque vomit train. Speaking of which, I better go lay down.

What you missed:
Lord of the Rings: Conquest Gallery
FTC: It's Increasingly Difficult for Children to Buy M-Rated Games
Rockstar Explains GTA IV Multiplayer
Street Fighter Film Writer Won't "Blatantly Sexualize" Chun-Li
Battle of the Bands Review: Musical Smackdown
What If Your Character Was Only As Fit As You Are
Activision Announces Record Billion-Dollar Growth In "Breakthrough" Fiscal 08

Hello? Hellooooo?

To: Bash
From: Crecente
Re: So, Yeah, I Finally Watched A Blu-ray Movie And...

So yesterday I was up to my eyeballs in dealing with pre-E3 planning, the Sony Gamers Day in London, and the regular insanity of running Kotaku. At one point I was on my cell phone and home phone at the same time talking to two people at once while trying to discretely finish my lunch. When the calls all ended I placed the cell phone on my desk, then put the paper towel that once hold my sandwich next to it and almost threw the phone in the trash. Yesh.

What you missed:
Take-Two Confirms GTA's Half a Billion Week
Ubisoft Brings Protöthea Shump to WiiWare
A 70-year-old's Take on GTA IV
Rockstar Patches GTA IV's PS3 Online Play
Analyst: Record GTA Sales Change Nothing For EA's "80/20" Take-Two Bid
Wii Nintendo Channel Video Walkthrough
id Software Begins Production on Doom 4
LittleBigPlanet Killzone
Mike Tyson Returns In Fight Night Round 4

Day Note: A Rare Look At Mundanity

To: Ash
From: McWhertor
Re: You Enjoying Golden Week

The most exciting thing to happen to me today, Ash? After photographing my "Greaser" linen field jacket, the one with a busted cuff button, I awaited response from a customer service rep on the resolution of my defective article of clothing. Would I have to take it to a tailor? Would they be able to exchange it?! Would I get store credit?!? :O It's the kind of drama that one can only express via emoticon.

I really need a kid, one who will barf on various things in my house in case I need to write a spicier Day Note again...

Actually, Crecente and I went back and forth on his Boom Blox review, arguing the finer, more limiting points of our review system and realized how swamped June is with big game releases. We also kvetched about pre-E3 plans, with a relationship-straining cluster of events from Microsoft, EA, SCEA, Konami, Capcom and others just around the corner. Sony, of course, just had a big one.

Anyway, here's some stuff you missed.
Boom Blox Reviewed, Mostly Good
Mirror's Edge Pretty, Lacking In Green, Brown
Resistance 2 To Features Lots Of People
Killzone 2, LittleBigPlanet Pushed Back
Stephen Colbert Takes On... Rain!!!!!
Dave Reeves Declares PS3 Outsells 360 (In Europe)

Tristan's BDay

To: Bash and Luke
From: Crecente
Re: What's Old Is New Again

Tristan's birthday went off without a hitch on Sunday (his real birthday was Saturday, but we had the party on Sunday). We held it at a local fun center that had a ton of different things including a laser tag area, arcade and even a one of those Battlemech, sit down games. I hadn't played the Battlemech game since it first hit in the, 90s I think. Really hasn't improved much and still leaves me feeling sorta bored. Laser tag hasn't changed much either, though the rigs we played with had laser sites, which is really damn cool. I had forgotten it was to run around shooting people in a neon-lit maze. Tristan and his friends managed to keep me out of the game for most of the ten minute round by using the Spartan tactic of forming a pack and just peppering me with lasers constantly. It must have been fun for those not involved to watch a pack of six kids less than half my size chasing me through the maze coating me with little red lights. Man, they were vicious.

What you missed:
The Only Mother's Day GTA Ad You'll Ever See (I Hope)
LEGO Universe's Story and Economy Unveiled
Iron Man Movie Does Fine Despite GTA Release
Target: Terror Review: 90s Arcade Action
EA Fires Back At Activision's "Soul-Stealing" Comments

Happy Seventh

To: Bash
From: Crecente
Re: Using Two Computers At Once, So Awesome!

Tristan's birthday is Saturday. He turns a whopping seven years old. Kinda creepy, that a child of mine can be that old. He's getting a new bicycle from us, shhhh, don't tell anyone. The grandparents have flown in for the occasion and there will be much eating of cake over the weekend. I doubt I'll have a single second to spare for GTA IV, but we're definitely going to fiddle with some Wii games.

Oh, I use two computers, one with two screens, while I'm working. It's great. Elvis had four televisions in his home. It looks like he took a chainsaw to a wall and just stuck those big old cabinet TVs in the wall. So weird.

Have a good weekend.

What you missed:
ESA Confirms Activision/Vivendi Departure
ESRB Rates EarthBound For Wii VC
Five Publishers Drop Out of E3 This Year, Some Blame ESA President
Wild Earth: African Safari Review: A-Wiimoweh

Industry Insiders Discuss ESA, E3's Future

Ugh

To: Ash
From: Crecente
Re: Aw Fuckles, Wife Back in Hospital
Sorry to hear about your wife Ash, I can't imagine. It's gotta be super rough on mini-bash too. I don't know how Tristan would handle something like that, and I don't want to know.

You should take your son out for the day during the upcoming holidays, use the time to bond with him. As much time as I spend with Tristan (working at home and all) I still know the bond he has with Trish is much stronger, so it's always nice to get a little one-on-one time with him.

One word of advice, two actually: Order out.

What you missed:
PixelJunk Monster Encore - Wife Powered
Weakening U.S. Dollar Spurs PSN Prices Drop for Canada
How To Visit The Beating Heart Of Liberty City
GTA IV Info Dump: Reviews, Problems and Comparisons
How To Bring The West to Japan
Advocacy Groups Want Games Locked Up
MADD Demands AO Rating for GTA IV
echochrome? Thursday!

Interviews, Interviews, Interviews

To: Ash
From: Crecente
Re: I'm Sorry Mister Ashukurafuto, Really, Truly Sorry

So I spent the morning down at the local PBS affiliate taping an interview with X-Play for their big GTA IV blow-out tonight. Last week Bloomberg and ABC World News both interviewed me and tomorrow I'm doing three live radio interviews and one live online interview, all about Grand Theft Auto IV. It's nice to see the press covering video games, I just wish it wasn't only once or twice a year.

Oh, get this, my first interview is on a public radio show based in New York called The Takeaway, it's at 4:30 a.m. my time. I may or may not be awake while doing it.

What you missed:
Sierra Gamer's Day: Ghostbusters to 50 Cent
Grand Theft Auto IV: Our Review, The Hyperbole, Lots More
Blockbuster Video Gunning For GameStop?
Let's Unbox My GTA IV CE Together!
My Second Gaming Tattoo - Reader's Choice
New Prince of Persia Coming This Year
Mario Kart Wii Launch Starring Jason Priestley
Take-Two Stock Trading Higher Than EA's Offer
Amazonians Buying Wii Fit And Mario Kart Faster Than GTA IV
SCi Spurns Infogrames Buyout Bid
Everything You Wanted To Know About GTA IV (So Stop Asking!)

The Weekends Are Made for GTA

To: Bash
From: Crecente
Re: Food Cravings, So Crazy
So this is it, the last Day Note before our GTA IV coverage hits. The embargo lifts at 10 a.m. Kotaku time on Sunday and we've got quite a line-up for everyone. We were (Mike and I) fortunate enough to play through the game on both an Xbox 360 and PS3. The experience, and comparisons, are interesting, to say the least. Mike still has to play through more multiplayer sessions before he can write our official review. I actually have no idea what he's going to say because we've tried to avoid talking to each other about it too much. I don't want any undue influence, also I want to be just as surprised as everyone is when it hits. Man, I don't envy him. Reducing the entire GTA IV experience to our highly-structured, score-free review system can't be easy.

Anyway, if you're interested, make sure to check back on Sunday to read our review and tons of other stories about our experiences with the game.

What you missed:
SingStar Hits PS3 May 20
Spore Creature Creator Date And Price Detailed
Sega Racing Studio Lives On With Codemasters
Metal Gear Online Beta Is Go
Xbox Live Preps for GTA IV Server Riot
Teenage Zombies Review: Brains, Braiiiins, They Need Enemies that aren't Braiiiins
Blockbuster Brings Video Games To Sacred New Release Area
German Govnt Approves Possible Take-Two Aquisition
Five Days with GTA IV: A Newspaper Diary

Mr. Crecente

To: Ash
From: Crecente
Re: Mrs. Bashcraft Returning Home

Wow, that must be exciting. Picking up your wife after not seeing her for close to five weeks must almost feel like a first date, a really important first date. Not to put any pressure on you. Say Hi to Mrs and Mini for me.

I'm actually on my way to pick up my dad as you read this. He retired earlier this year at age 70 (shhh, don't tell him I said that, he's touchy) and so now he's got plenty of time to travel and such. He's going to be hanging out at the Casa de Crecente for a few weeks before jetting back to sunny Florida where he whiles away his days scuba diving and playing... shudder... Second Life. I hope to cure him of his Second Life addiction while he's here, but don't hold out hope.

What you missed:
The Bourne Conspiracy Impressions
Nintendo Talks Profits, Sales, And Increased Wii Shipments
Microsoft Looking into Early GTA IV Players
RIP: Xbox Boys
Ubisoft Sees 36 Percent Sales Jump In FY 08
Going Off the Deep End: Has Gaming Grown Up?
Ubisoft: Years Of Assassin's Creed To Come
That "Release GTA IV Early" Letter? It's Not Real.
Mario Kart Wii in the House

Empire Strikes Back?

To: Ash
From: Crecente
Re: Two Important Questions About Empire Strikes Back

Empire Strikes Back? Seriously? My first movie was a Bruce Lee flick that I saw in Thailand, Babes in Toyland may have predated that, but I can't totally recall. I was five-ish. I do remember going to see Star Wars when I was visiting relatives in El Paso, Texas. I remember that the title confused me, but that the movie totally blew me away. We introduced Tristan to Star Wars last year, now we're working through the Indiana Jones Trilogy. Fun stuff.

Oh, did you see that Time hates us now? Apparently it's your fault, all that talk about your kid and those after dark posts. Funny thing, while he was busy typing up his rant we were busy breaking the news that GTA 4 was leaked. His complaint is a little odd, because it's mostly about how we're writing too much about other countries throughout the night, which is of course what we do... throughout the night. I do suppose it's hard to keep up with 60 to 70 posts a day, but that's what our tags are for. Heck we even have negi-tags that let you block out content. If someone just wants news, they probably should just go to http://kotaku.com/tag/feature/ or http://kotaku.com/tag/news/ or http://kotaku.com/tag/top/ or http://kotaku.com/tag/original/. Or, I guess, you could just break up with us and go back to reading Time Magazine.

What you (and Lev) missed:
Prince Caspian Game Gets Exclusive Movie Scenes
360 Kiosks Coming to Children's Hospitals
Microsoft, Rare, Gyration Talk 360 Wii Remote Rumors
Burnout Paradise To Introduce Motorcycles, Night, General Bad Assness
Microsoft Staffing Up For Peter Jackson's Halo: Chronicles?
GTA IV Intro, It's Live and Real

Healthy Living

To: Bash
From: Crecente
Re: Any Idea How Not To Get Sick?

Laugh. Work out. Take vitamins. Drink. Sleep. Repeat.

Alone In The Dark Euro Limited Edition
Mariners' Nintendo Fan Network Goes Free
Microsoft: "Perception," Not Us, is PC Gaming's Big Problem
My First Gaming Tattoo
Mario Invades NYC Taxi Cabs
GTA IV Special Edition In The Wild, Gets Unboxed Down Under

Being Mean

To: Bash
From: Crecente
Re: What I Look Like When I Use The Computer

Despite what you see in this video, being mean doesn't really come natural to me. Sure among friends, especially while playing video games, I can be a real asshat at times, but it's all in good fun and I never get actually angry or anything. I'm just not that competitive with other people. So doing this weekend's video with Adam and folks was awkward. I actually went and apologized to Mario, a non-Nintendo Mario BTW, after we filmed his segment. I actually apologized twice. Granted I was WAY worse to him than what you saw, I actually berated him for a good 45 seconds and Adam just picked the best bit. The whole time Mario just slowly, slightly, bobbed up and down in his chair with a small smile, and a bit of a confused look on his face. It was like yelling at a baby. :(

What you missed:
Silent Hill 5 Named And Dated
A 6 Year-Old's Take on the Wii Wheel
Mario Kart Wii Across America
ESRB And PTA Launch National Parental Awareness Campaign
Gears 2: "Bigger, Better, More Badass"
Chicago Transit Authority Pulls GTA IV Ads Following Fox Affiliate Reporting
The Kartokumentary
Spider-Man: Web Of Shadows To Contain Never Before-Seen Villains
Mario Kart Wii Driving School Impressions
Justify Your Mario Kart Wii

Driving Myself Crazy

To: Ashcraft
From: Fahey
RE: If I Could Be Anyone? I'd Be Lupin

Really? If I could be anyone, I would.

I am really looking forward to the return of McWhertor and Crecente next week. While I love the challenge of trying to keep up with all of the gaming news out there throughout the course of the day, I tend to get rather intense about it. While I could certainly have afforded myself several midday naps during Mark's posting times, I more often than not found myself obsessively watching my RSS feeds and inbox, just in case we missed something. I'd say that if I were fully in charge of Kotaku, I'd be dead within two weeks, though it would be a highly entertaining two weeks for all involved.

What you missed today
EA: Clock's Ticking For Take-Two Deal
Kojima Disappointed With Metal Gear Solid 4
Fallout 3 Fights Violence With Violence
Midway Gamer's Day: Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe First Characters Announced
Talking To The Iron Man Demo
Midway Gamer's Day '08: This Is Vegas
Midway Gamer's Day '08: Unreal Tournament III Coming to Xbox 360

Staring At The Screen And Breathing

To: Ashcraft
From: Fahey
RE: Was There An Earthquake Last Night?

Due to a family disturbance late in the evening, I wound up getting approximately -3 hours of sleep last night. Not quite sure how that is possible, but that's what happened. At this point I'm too tired to even go to sleep, if that makes any sense. All I want to do is sit here in this chair and stare at my computer monitor, immersed in the knowledge that I don't have to touch they keys anymore tonight if I don't want to.

Almost there, right after I type out...

What you missed today
Take-Two's Zelnick Goes All-Out In Annual Meeting
GameStop President Steve Morgan Resigns
Nintendo Takes March, 360 & PS3 Neck-And-Neck
Iron Man Demo Coming Tomorrow
GTA: Remembrances of Cars Jacked
Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Online Gets Free Update
Frankenreview, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (PS3)
Grand Theft Auto IV DLC To Bring Whole Cities?
Shareholder Sues Take-Two Over EA Bid

Too Much Cake

To: Ashcraft
From: Fahey
RE: Let's Talk About Luke's Dinner

I actually tried making Yorkshire pudding today. You'd think it'd be easy to get a dog that tiny into the oven, but damn. Little teeth marks all over my hands. Last time I go to Luke for recipe advice.

Ever have one of those days where you sit in a chair in front of your computer from the time you wake up until you're ready to fall asleep, desperately trying to keep up with the latest gaming news and silently cursing your absent boss in both name and spirit for deciding to take a week to go the distance, for speed, leaving you all alone (ALL ALONE) in a time of need? Me neither. I think I've just got too much Cake on my playlist. YA! Yep. Too much Cake.

What you missed today:
The Unemployed Ninja Returns
Medic! Hands On With The New TF2 Map Plus New Medic Achievements And Weapons Revealed
EA Versus Take-Two: How The Takeover Works
Namco Bandai Editor's Day: More Soul Calibur IV
UAE State Enforces God Of War Ban
Sony Explains Slow PlayStation Store Speeds
Zero Punctuation Reviews Condemned 2 (And Indigo Prophecy)

Far Too Much Information

To: Bashcraft
From: Fahey
Re: This Is Not My Night Note, It's Yours.

Ha! That whole handing the readers control of the Night Note thing was hilarious!

Don't ever do that again. I know things I shouldn't know now. Kinburn had chicken caesar salad for dinner, and then played Metal Gear Solid 2 - which incidentally I am about to begin playing now. Enewtabie had a Hardees Sausage Biscuit and Hashrounds for breakfast. Sluissa turned in a paper that wasn't even a half of an ass. Jesp3r sucks worse at Guitar Hero than I do...come on, Miss Murder is hard? Seriously? Beano didn't get the big job, Clarke would rather play Team Fortress 2 than work on his writing assignment, Rawg might have walking pneumonia, and Sorenkier went to see 65 Days Of Static. I SHOULDN'T KNOW THESE THINGS! The only things I should be even vaguely aware of are my two stupid cats and...

What you missed today:
Halo 3 Legendary Map Pack Live
Don King Presents: Extreme Fectaculosity
Rock Band Europe To See Price Retraction Tomorrow?
Jumpgate Evolution: The First Fifteen
Star Trek: The Next Rock Band
Super Mario Galaxy Wii Mod, Even Hotter With The Lights Off
Hands On With BioWare's Sonic Chronicles (and Sonic's Shitty Friends)
PlayStation Cards Heading To Retail

Pondering These Quiet Halls

To: Ash
From: Fahey
Re: Hospital... Endless... So... Tired...

Quiet footsteps across the Kotaku Tower floor are deafening in the silence left behind
No bird shirt...no McWhert-or...just the quiet ticking of time and the slight breeze
As Mark and I pass, then pass again.

The day draws to a close and the shadows grow long and in the distance
I hear the pleasant song of the night writers chattering from across the sea
So I type some words and leave a note, rubbing soreness from my wrists
And leave them with the posts they missed...

What you missed:
Iron Man Unlockables In Action
Rock Band DLC Brings More Classic Rawk And PS3 IOUsp
Activision: Army Of Two, R6: Vegas 2 Fail
Ikaruga Review: No Refuge For Wimps
The GTA IV Compendium & FAQ
Hot Chicks In Stupid Game-Related Clips