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rapelay
And Now Rape Games Are Not Banned in Japan
Don't believe everything you see on television — even when it's reported by a major Japanese television network — and especially when reported by TBS, it seems. More » -
journalism
Stephen Totilo On His Move To Kotaku, Leaving MTV
Stephen Totilo is leaving his MTV Multiplayer gig to join the ranks of Kotaku as our new Deputy Managing Editor. Why would Totilo do such a thing? He explains the transition in a new interview. More » -
journalism
Games As Journalism: A Quick Fix For A Dying Medium?
An Online Journalism Blog article says that traditional news outlets need to start making video games that either replace or improve the delivery of news stories. More » -
politics
Washington Post Writer Makes Snide Quip About Gamers' Voting Rights
Not surprising as conservative columnist and author George Will often makes snide remarks — and often about things he knows nothing about. More » -
journalism
N'Gai Croal Leaves Newsweek and Game Journalism
Friday will be popular gaming pundit N'Gai Croal's last day at Newsweek. The well-known game journalist took a buyout from the magazine publisher and plans to move more toward the development side of gaming.
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journalism
Shacknews Bought By..GameFly?
It's a strange headline, yes, but that's how the world goes sometimes. Shacknews founder Steve Gibson has revealed that his site has indeed been bought by games rental outlet GameFly. More » -
journalism
Just To Clear, No, That DS Game Did Not Feature An Islamic Chucky Doll
Hick news channel WTNH's bleeding edge report on Crave's Baby Pals for the DS had a few holes in it. One of the biggest was the fact the channel didn't bother contacting the game's publisher. Oops. More » -
clips
Well, Of *Course* There Are Secret Islamic Messages Hidden In This DS Game
Does the Crave DS game "Baby Pals" really say "Islam is the light" when you give your tot a bath? Of course not. That's ridiculous. Doesn't stop WTNH from reporting it, though!
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rumor
Rumor Gamecock Founder Looking to Jump From Developer to Mag Publisher
Gamecock founder Mike Wilson has been in talks with the owner of eBay-listed gaming magazine Hardcore Gamer about a potential purchase, Wilson confirmed to Kotaku today.
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business
That Mag For Sale On eBay Actually Found A Buyer
Let's recap: at the same time Ziff Davis were offloading the 1UP Network, lesser-known magazine Hardcore Gamer also went up for sale. On...eBay. And not a collection of mags. The magazine itself. More » -
reviews
Movie Critics Second Guessing Star Ratings Too
More than 80 years ago the movie rating star system was born in the New York Daily News.
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guitar hero
Forbes Writer Stands By Calling Rock Band A "Shameless Knockoff" Of Guitar Hero
Earlier this week, Forbes writer Peter C. Beller made a tit of himself when he swallowed some Activision PR and reprinted it in his article on Bobby Kotick. Today, surprisingly, he stands by it. More » -
disturbance in the workforce
Gamerscore Blog Team Let Go As Part Of Microsoft Layoffs
Sorry to keep hitting you with these bad news stories. Maybe things will get happier next week. But today, things are bleak, with news now that Microsoft's Gamerscore blog team have been laid off. More » -
tragedy
Game Journalist In Murder Suicide
Former game journalist Jason Montes, 33 years-old, and his estranged spouse, 25, were found dead by police on January 11. He is suspected in this apparent murder suicide. More » -
uk
The Sun Teaches Us How To Make Sackboy
Stuck between articles on googly-eyed Amy Winehouse, UK tabloid The Sun has a helpful PDF how-to for knitting a Sackboy toy. No, really. More » -
journalism
1UP Sold To Hearst Corporation, EGM To Close [Update]
What began as a rumour last month has now escalated into full-blown fact; Ziff Davis have officially sold the 1UP network to competitors Hearst, owners of UGO.com. More » -
journalism
Mass Firings At 1UP After Sale
Oh boy. Looks like the sale of 1UP to Hearst hasn't gone as smoothly as you'd expect. Rather than simply move house, it seems most of the site's most experienced/popular writers have instead been let go. More » -
Unbridled Sensationalism
The Sun: "Wii Puts 10 In Hospital A Week"
Yay! It's The Sun! Let's check in, see what they've got to say about video games today. And it's...not about crime. Not about parenting. It's all about...hospital! More » -
famitsu
Warning: Producer of Metal Gear Solid touch *is* Female
This week's Famitsu has an interview with Hideo Kojima and Metal Gear Solid Touch producer Yasuyo Watanabe. The headline for the story is very careful to accentuate that Watanabe is female. How careful, you ask? -
g4
Adam Sessler Gets The Boot... Up to Editor-In Chief
You see what happens when you interview Hsu and I on national TV? You get a promotion, that's what! More » -
kotaku magu
Edge's GOTY Awards Surprise (OK, Not Really)
Respectable British print mag Edge have, in their latest issue, published their list of what they believe were 2008's best games and studios. You may be surprised with the results. More » -
nintendo
DS Scrabble Beats Kid On "Fuckers" Triple-Word Score
Well, if it isn't the Daily Mail, with another highly entertaining story about the EVILS and HORRORS of video games. In this instance, the evils and horrors of...Scrabble.
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time
TIME Take A Stab At 2008's Ten Best Games
It's the end of the year. Know what that means? Time for lists! End of year lists! And know who loves lists more than anyone else? TIME magazine. Those guys are crazy for lists. More » -
journalism
Considering the BusinessWeek Arcade
We mentioned the somewhat odd BusinessWeek Arcade back when it launched; now Ian Bogost has taken up the whys and wherefores over at the Journalism & Games Project blog. More » -
parody
'CliffyB' on How to Save Game Journalism
The blog Hardcasual is back with a bang after a lengthy hiatus, channeling the voice of Cliff Bleszinski of Epic Games (which, if you can't parse that statement, means Bleszinski didn't actually write this) to discuss some of the current problem with game journalism and reviews. More » -
journalism
Gaming And Rock'n'Roll Differences? (Effing And Wanking)
Games and music continue to intersect more and more. Music publication NME has a big feature on video gaming and music — how musicians are using games to introduce music and how games *could* be diverting kids from picking up actual instruments. More » -
journalism
A Most Bizarre Newspaper Headline
Issue of the UK's Daily Mail dated Saturday, November 29, 2008. Headline says: "1,000 Free Game Consoles PLAYSTATION 3, Xbox 360, SEGA Mega Drive, Wii...and more." It's like a game of odd man out. Which doesn't belong? More » -
journalism
The Problem With Games PR
You know, we get asked the following quite a lot: "hey, you guys should find out about [some game]". It's asked like finding a lot of stuff out in this indsutry is easy. Well, it's not. And you know why it's not easy? Because of games PR. The slick-haired filter between what we want to know and what game companies get to tell us. While some (some) are proud gamers and are also super-helpful, others are clueless, and some - the worst kind - are lying shitbags. Want to know more? Brandon Sheffield's written a nice piece over on GameSetWatch, giving you guys a helpful breakdown on how games PR works, what's wrong with it and what he thinks can be done to fix it. More » -
Culture
Do Reviewers Really Understand Innovation?
Yet another nice piece from the Guardian; Keith Stuart takes up the issue of innovation and whether or not reviewers really get it. Using Mirror's Edge as a launching point, he notes that there seems to be too much focus on some of the little details and not enough emphasis on deconstructing the experience: More » -
journalism
Making the Case for Games Journalism
Game journalism is a pretty maligned corner of the journalism world as a whole — sometimes for good reason, but as Gus Mastrapa argues, we're not really deserving of the broad brush we get painted with. Why, he even points to Kotaku as a 'sure sign that we've arrived'! Games journalism doesn't lag behind many other enthusiast presses, he says, despite their advantage of age: More » -
final fantasy
1UP Editor In Final Fantasy Nerd Engagement Extravaganza
If you've ever read a copy of EGM or popped over to 1UP, you'll know the name James Mielke. Guy's been with Ziff Davis for a while now, and is currently Editor-in-Chief over at 1UP.com. Anyway, he recently proposed to his girlfriend. But didn't just do the bended-knee thing. He went all video game nerd, roping in a couple of "friends" to help him make things special. Those friends? None other than composer Nobuo Uematsu and designer Yoshitaka Amano, both most famous for their work on the Final Fantasy series. Amano designed the ring (pictured), Uematsu a melody that Mielke had playing when he proposed. Girlfriend said yes, mission accomplished, thousands of FInal Fantasy nerds the world over find themselves getting all misty-eyed. More » -
nintendo
Nintendo Launch Another Official Magazine
Print is, for the most part, dying a slow and protracted death. Magazines are shrinking, merging or going out of business the world over. And not just games mags, all mags. Add in the current economic "crisis" and you're looking at one hell of a time to go launching a new magazine. But launching one is precisely what Future are doing, with news today that they're kicking off a new Official Nintendo Magazine for the Australian and New Zealand market. The first issue goes on sale in December, doesn't include a cover disc (at least, not yet), and will go for AUD$8.95. Going back to what was said at the start of this post...best of luck, gents! More » -
playstation 3
Europe's Version Of Qore: The Details
Like we told you last month, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe are putting together their own version of Qore. Presumably because European PlayStation owners haven't suffered enough. The program will be called Official PlayStation Magazine HD, will of course be a premium (ie you pay for it) service, and will be distributed weekly over the various European PlayStation stores. A job listing for the program says that the show will feature "hi-def video, game demos and other content", so basically, expect Qore, but with a much longer name. More » -
Culture
Hype Cycles and Dysfunction: Game Journalism
Leigh Alexander has a nice piece up on what she calls the "dysfunctional family circle of game industry, game media, and game consumer," focusing on the whys and wherefores of the 'hype cycle,' hot (sometimes misleading) headlines, and a culture of jaded consumption. There's been a lot of talk of the problems of game 'journalism' lately, but Leigh's piece is particularly well-written and reasoned. Are we dealing with a chicken or the egg question?: More » -
journalism
First Gears 2, Resistance 2 Reviews Roll In
It's that time again! The time of the year for the big games to hit the shelves, and for the big mags and websites to fall over themselves handing out 9s and 10s in response. Gears of War 2 and Resistance 2 are two (2?) of the first to turn up, and whaddya know, the reviews are both from the official mags of the respective consoles. The UK's Official Xbox Magazine has given Gears 2 9/10, while Britain's Official PlayStation Magazine has given Resistance 2 a 9/10. Which is a shame! As someone who tracks review scores as a sport in of itself, rather than a purchasing guide, I was hoping to see one of them have a little more fun with it, hand out a 10 or an 8, just for shits and giggles. Ah well. Guess we'll have to wait for the non-exclusive reviews to trickle in for those. More » -
journalism
PS3 Fallout "Compares Poorly" Review Explained
Magazine PSM3 reviewed upcoming title Fallout 3. It's an exclusive review, and a review that's been leaked onto the internet. One link from that review seems to have stuck out: "The PS3 version compares poorly to its Xbox and PC counterparts." Thankfully, PSM3 is putting out fires and explaining what the publication meant by that. More » -
journalism
Konami's Xbox 360 Metal Gear Quote Was Erased!
As Kotaku commenter El-Suave pointed out earlier, the quote from Konami PR mouthpiece Yoshitaka Arai about "looking into" an Xbox 360 Metal Gear Solid 4 has since been removed from the original source article. The new quote is from Konami PR manager Chiaki Nakajima, does not mention Xbox 360 or MGS4, and reads: More » -
journalism
Are Embargoes Really Necessary?
John Keefer has a nice piece up on Crispy Gamer regarding the issue of embargoes — are they really necessary, or do they simply encourage lazy journalism and sometimes inappropriate relationships with publishers? The issue at stake here isn't so much embargoes, which are a symptom of the problem, as much as journalistic integrity (or lack thereof) and moving from an 'enthusiast press' to 'real journalism': More » -
pegi
PEGI: We'll Talk With You, But First, Do You Support Us?
The ongoing debate between the British Board of Film Classification and the Pan-European Game Information system over who should be left to rate video games has recently been locked in at a feverish pitch. The argument, one which one day we may see come to U.S. shores, is steeped, I think, in some very interesting issues.
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