What Are You Playing This Weekend?

We'll still be at Comic-Con for a good portion of the weekend, so who knows what we'll be playing? If we had our druthers, it'd be Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Prince of Persia, Deadly Creatures and Soulcalibur IV, all playable on the Con floor. Sunday, however, will be purely dedicated to shipping out dozens and dozens of packages, as Meat Bun orders get some serious attention. Yay!

We may even get in a real-life game of badminton, time permitting. But what about you, dear commenter? What are you playing this weekend?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Being surrounded by the latest and greatest future releases the video game industry has to offer might lead one to think that my thirst for gaming has been quenched. Not so. Despite having access to E3's massive library of games, I experienced but a fraction of what was playable at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Fortunately, I have a hard drive full of Xbox Live Arcade games to fill the void, including some stuff that, well, I'm not sure I'm allowed to mention. Suffice it to say, I'll be playing something fun this weekend.

On top of that, we'll be prepping for Comic Con. Anyone going?

I'll also be heading out to the Street Fighter Fight Club event in LA tonight, spending a bit more time with Street Fighter IV (and whatever else is on hand). Your gaming plans for this weekend are...?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Play? Video games? Not this weekend, pal. There's far too much to get done for E3, which for the Kotaku staff, starts Sunday afternoon. Some of us will be probably be playing our Game Boy Advances, DSs, PSPs and Neo Geo Pocket Colors en route to smoggy Los Angeles, California, but this editor is going to focus on leveling up his stress levels. Oh, sure I may get my Paladin up to level 50 in Diablo II to let off some steam, but beyond that... work, work, work, work, work!

Hopefully, some of you are planning on hitting up the Kotaku party on Sunday. Then we can talk about games. For now, let us know what your playing this weekend in the comments, and I'll live vicariously through you. Maybe name your character after me in a sign of solidarity? No? Hey, I tried.

What Are You Playing This Holiday Weekend?

What are you playing this weekend? On a Thursday? Sorry, but we got some independence to celebrate. That's what we'll be doing all day tomorrow instead of hunting for game cakes, posting crazy wild speculation and bringing you the freshest of Tifa hentai. We'll be shootin' guns, lighting M-80s and stuffing our fat faces with saturated fats and washing it all down with a frosty cold... well, you know. We might even find some time to do a few posts. In fact, I'm pretty sure of it.

We might even play some games! Playing through Too Human has given me a loot gathering itch that only Diablo II and/or Phantasy Star Online can scratch. Say, that reminds me. This weekend is a free Day of Defeat: Source weekend, meaning you can game on Valve's dime should you have a Steam account. Have a good one, America!

Color is your friend — or so we've heard. But color is totally BFFs with Midway's This Is Vegas, a game we doubt will ever be brushed off by the gaming set for its tendency to dip too much into the browner portions of the spectrum. This Is Vegas has more color per pixel than, well, just about any PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 release that we can think of. Oh wait, just remembered Kameo. That was a colorful nightmare, wasn't it?

A paltry three new screens away you in the gallery below. Do try to make the most of them.

I'm not sure why it's breaking news that a game announced for PC/Mac is not, in fact, coming to the Playstation 3, or any console. This just in, Ford announces no plans to make Priuses. But PlayStation Universe yesterday, recalling rumors from 2006, asked a Blizzard rep when Diablo III would come to consoles. The non-answer answer: About never o'clock.

Now, in an interview with Joystiq that went up earlier today, Jay Wilson, the game's lead designer, was asked about the possibility of Diablo III coming to the consoles, and he spoke at length about Blizzard's vision for such a possibility.

Q: Do you have any plans for Diablo on consoles?
We don't have any plans.

Or not.
And guess what else — you're not going to be playing it on a mobile device either! Shock. Anyway, the remainder of Wilson's interview is, in fact, worth reading.

While wrangling coverage of Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational will consume a portion of my weekend, spending more time hands-on with Silicon Knights' Too Human will swallow up quite a bit more of my Saturday and Sunday. Expect extended impressions on that game throughout next week. To wind down, I'll be devoting some personal time with Team Fortress 2, playing as one of the many Pyros clogging the ranks on the hunt for Steam Achievements and new weapons. Oh, and there's Soul Bubbles to finish. Lordy!

Other than that, it's time for serious Summer fun. We'll be bandying about shuttlecocks and grilling lots of meat in the greater Los Angeles area, working on our third sunburn. What have you got planned for this regular sized weekend? Any gaming gettin' done?

Today, Sony Computer Entertainment exec Kaz Hirai announced "Life with PlayStation" for the PS3. During the presentation, the "Life" was demoed for the audience for the first time — the service shows the Earth, and users can access current news and weather for locations around the world. It's possible to even pull up the full article from the headline. Users can also set background music while looking at the Earth, checking the weather and the world news. Click through pics below to see it in action.

PS3新規コンテンツ「Life」 [Dengeki Online]

Anyone who obsesses over NPD numbers, Media Create data and other signifying-nothing sales info needs to get over themselves. There's a new numbers obsession to be had: the Nintendo Channel.

As of last Monday the Wii's Nintendo Channel in the U.S. started spitting out usage stats for most Wii games. Anyone who opted in and let Nintendo snoop into their play history has been contributing to a public trove of great game usage data. And we can now use these numbers for speculation at cocktail parties and on our favorite forums. Nintendo may have just unleashed the best new tool for message board argument since the animated GIF.

To wit: did you think people only bought Wii Play for the remote? If so, you're wrong. The Nintendo Channel reports that its data-sharing users have played this game for more then four million hours, averaging nine hours per person. They're actually playing this game! The channel also indicates that people who own or rented Wii Play have played it an average of 9.75 times. So much for the remote theory.

I've got more numbers for you. I crunched WiiWare numbers on my own blog and a ton of Wii disc numbers below…

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

With the new changes to the Pyro class in Team Fortress 2, it's time to blow the dust off the PC—something I've been neglecting—and get my hands on those lovely new weapons. And those two new maps! Since there's a free TF2 weekend happening right now, you really have no excuse not to join in on the fun. Okay, you might have a half-dozen or so, but I really don't want to hear 'em.

I'll also be cruising through Metal Gear Solid 4 one more time, taking my time to enjoy the sights instead of constantly thinking "Must finish by Tuesday. Must publish review. Run, Snake, run!!" Other than that, I'll just be trying to beat the heat.

What are you playing this weekend?

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

Me? Metal Gear Solid 4 obviously! I'm only a few hours in, right when Snake starts battling the space aliens and all those Raiden clones start showing up and attack Meryl with the leech launcher. That's total bullshit, obviously, so don't string me up for spoiling you on Solid Snake's search for the kingdom of the crystal skull and that there's an unlockable bloodsucking weapon.

Beyond MGS4, I have a Kotaku giveaway contest to design this weekend, a birthday party to attend, plus some Meat Bun related things to wrap up, all very exciting stuff. All that and a Metal Gear Solid 4 review by Monday? Can I do it?! What about you? What are your IRL and virtual plans for the weekend?

Interview: 'This Gaming Life' Travels Online Game Culture, Attitudes

Veteran UK game journalist Jim Rossignol, currently one of the Big Four at the Rock Paper Shotgun blog, has just published a book called 'This Gaming Life,' documenting his experiences in three different cities pursuing and documenting the culture of online games.

He covers the widespread competitive game scene in Korea, looks into Quake's evolving role in the London game scene, and visits Iceland to see the birthplace of EVE Online, to develop what he says is a story of "how games change the lives of gamers."

I thought the idea of a "travelogue" of game culture was interesting, so I asked Jim a few questions about the book, and his experiences.

Iceland. It's where all the cool kids go to have a summit. Reagan and Gorbachev rapped about nukes there in 1985; 20 years later, the Supreme Metal Council condemned the overuse of the devil horns hand-signal. And now something billing itself as EVE Online's democratically elected government will meet there, probably because it's too far for Something Awful to show up and grief the shit out of it.

The only gaming I'll be doing this weekend will be in the form of low stakes blackjack and pulling some one-armed bandits, as this weekend is a Vegas weekend for yours truly. Having just visited Las Vegas for Capcom's Captivate 08 media event last week, you might wonder why I'd be so quick to return. Well, when you don't leave step out of the confines of the hotel for 48 hours, you don't really see much of Vegas.

Besides, last night we had a bad gamer bender at a friend's house. After a Haze demo, we decided to continue slumming it with the so-bad-it's-bad Crash Time and the even worse Yaris, two impressively dreadful Xbox 360 racers. At least the Battlefield: Bad Company was fun. But I think I need a break. How about you? Gaming plans?

What Did You Play This Weekend?

Another blown "What Are You Playing This Weekend?," another chance for "What Did You Play This Weekend?" on a Monday evening. With WAYPTW? duties put to the wayside by attending Capcom's Captivate 08,—the details of which you should see tomorrow morning beginning at 8 AM Eastern Time—we'll have to settle for the accurate version, not the fantasy version of your weekend gaming adventures.

Me? I was video gamed out after playing the wares on display at Captivate 08, plus I'm still suffering some sort of bizarre thumb strain from speed-reviewing Grand Theft Auto IV—no, that's not a joke—so I was game free. I'm currently running through Final Fantasy VI for the first time ever, though, and will be all up in it again this week. You?

This footage was taken at a recent SCE New Zealand press event. In the men's bathroom. It's...just...yeah.

Sony’s Automated Potty-Mouth [Geekpulp]

Grand Theft Auto: DUI

If you listen to the brayings of uninformed crisis-mongers like CNN's Glenn Beck, you'd get the idea that Grand Theft Auto IV not only requires drunk driving in the game, but also is training people to do it in real life, and convincing them they can get away with it. Seems plausible. After all, Guitar Hero has also convinced millions they too can play a guitar and get away with it in real life.

This NSFW long-awaited (and teased) Kotaku original video, conceived with a lot of suffering (and you'll see it in the end) explores how easy, and hard, it is to do things drunk in GTA IV. And yes, we're carrying it to a logical — and inappropriate — extreme. There's more discussion (and spoilers? I feel stupid typing that) after the jump. So watch it on the front page — probably not around polite company either — and then go looking for more.

What Are You Playing This Weekend?

This is weird. I feel like I don't have anything to play! It's Memorial Day weekend and, in the tradition of takin' it easy to honor the memory of U.S. soldiers who have died in military service to their country [Ed.'s note: :( ] I'll be takin' it real easy. I'll play whatever is on the inside of my many consoles already. Taking stock, that's Grand Theft Auto IV in the Xbox 360, Super Mario Galaxy in the Wii, Phantasy Star Collection in the PS2 and Haze in the PS3. Just kidding on that last one. I've had my fill. I'll make sure to put that right back in its case.

We've got some BBQing and pool partying that needs to get done, plus some lazing about, maybe some straightening of the U.S. flag outside Kotaku Towers West. Other than that, just kickin' it. You? What are you playing this extended holiday weekend, should you have one?