Kotaku: Wired

Finally, A Video Game Article That is Also a Video Game

Kirk Hamilton — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 21:00:00 EST

You may have already read Leigh Alexander's damn-near definitive recounting of Ian Bogost's satirical Facebook game Cow Clicker right here at Kotaku. But all the same, the world could use another piece about the man and his work, especially if that piece is as clever as the one that Wired just ran. More »

Children Create Skylanders Chess

Matthew Buzzi — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 18:20:00 EDT

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Children of Andy Robertson, writer for Wired's GeekDad blog, reached their limit of videogame time over the weekend, but did not want to stop playing Skylanders. More »

The Sordid Story Of The Gizmondo May Come To Movie Theaters

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:20:06 EDT

Tiger Telematics' spectacularly failed Gizmondo portable game machine may be the most exciting industry misfires of all time. Someone thinks it's potentially exciting enough to be brought to the silver screen. More »

Piggy Banks You Can Play

Brian Ashcraft — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 00:00:00 EST

Gaming...banks? Saving money is a game, so hey, why not. There's an article I wrote in the latest issue of Wired about Japanese piggy banks that incorporate gaming elements. More »

No Choice, Richard Garriott, You Must Learn Russian

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 05:00:00 EDT

Wired has a nice feature up on Ultima Richard Garriott and his cosmonaut training in Russia's Star City. Written by Masters of Doom author David Krushner, here's a sample: More »

Miyamoto's Secret To Quality Control: Less Sega, More Mario

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 21:30:41 EDT

With console warring between Nintendo and Sega a thing of the past, Sega now relegated to a software only existence — robot girlfriends and indoor astronomy gizmos not included — you'd think that those Genesis era wounds would have healed. Perhaps without meaning to, famed Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto may have split them open again. More »

Condé Nast Snaps Up Ars Technica. The newest...

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 20 May 2008 02:30:00 EDT

Condé Nast Snaps Up Ars Technica. The newest addition to the CondéNet family, by way of acquisition, is technology site Ars Technica. The Associated Press reports that the publisher will "combine it with the online operations of Wired magazine." Wired, which republishes its print magazine content online and runs a stable of blogs such as Gadget Lab and Game|Life, seems to have a noticeable amount of coverage crossover with Ars, so we're interested to see how well the two will combine. More »

Custom Video Games Training American Spies

ogood — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Fascinating article on Wired.com — the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon's CIA counterpart, just paid $2.6 million for three custom video games to train its entire analyst corps, young and old. So, you want to bitch about $60 titles on the Xbox, think of that next time. Plus, these games are bereft of squad-based FPS tactics or any real arcade action. They're designed to get to the heart of epistemology, which is, in essence, how you know what you know, and in these three cases, it's how to assess a threat or judge the quality of information. More »

Five Tips For Not Making a Crappy Game

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 04:00:41 EDT

This month's Wired has a look at MMO Arden: The World of William Shakespeare. Armed with a US $250,000 MacArthur Foundation grant, Indiana University profession Ted Castronova and his students created the MMO, which as the professor points out, was "no fun" and "failed." Castronova and his team and working on the game's sequel. He's learned from his experience and offers up these five tips on making academic games that don't suck: More »

The Case For Video Game Play Dates

Mike Fahey — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:20:58 EDT

Xbox Live is all fine and good, but there is no substitute for a couple of friends sacked out on the couch together, playing a video game together in person. The industry shift towards social gaming isn't something new - it's the return of something old - that feeling that older gamers like me used to get when standing around an arcade machine back in the day. Wired's Clive Thompson explores the trend in his latest column, which looks at how much a guy sitting next to you can change the gaming experience, using Army of Two as his example.

I hang out with other gamers all the time, but it's mostly in multiplayer online play, using headsets. It's social, sure. But as any psychologist will tell you, hanging out in real life allows for even richer styles of communication to emerge. In face-to-face mode, we're better at picking up the little nuances — frustration, glee, sarcasm, subvocalized ranting, body language — that build team cohesion, and allow us to game with a positively Vulcan level of mind meld.

Mad Catz To Make Wired, Wireless Rock Band Gear

Brian Crecente — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 10:40:28 EST

Mad Catz just announced they signed a multi-year deal with Harmonix and MTV to start cranking out peripherals and "other products" for Rock Band worldwide. More »

Dumb Exec Quote Round-Up Rodeo

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 02:00:16 EST

Sometimes game execs say razor sharp things. Those moments we quickly forget. Sometimes they say jug-headed things. Those moments we remember. Forever. Over at Game|Life, they're voting on their favorite foot-in-mouth quotes from game execs. A quick round-up for you to laugh and point at: More »

Hey Someone, Localize Game Center CX

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 08:40:18 EST

Back when I visited Bandai Namco headquarters to watch the filming of Japanese reality show Game Center CX, I got to check out the then unreleased Game Center CX game. From what I played, I really, really enjoyed. The title does a nice job of mixing mini-games and old style video games in a fun, novel way. Over at Wired.com, Chris Kohler has done an extensive hands-on with the title, writing: More »

Bashcraft's Visit to Japanese TV Show Hits Wired

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 23:00:27 EDT

Back in August, I went to see the filming of Fuji TV's reality program Game Center CX. Saw the show filmed and spent the day with the crew and show's star, comedian Shinya Arino. For those not familiar with the show's premise, it's simple: Arino tries to complete vintage video games. These "challenges" are usually done in the span of a day. He's filmed playing straight through, and out of that a show is edited together. Arino is affable and pleasant — hence, the show's appeal. Watching him die over and over and over again makes you want to cheer him on. What happens when he can't finish a game? Arino says: More »

The Consoles Defined in One Sentence

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 02:00:37 EDT

The October issue of Wired mag has a nice succinct nerd encyclopedia that does a fine job of defining things in a single sentence. Game-wise, this is what they've got on the seventh generation consoles: More »

Gabe Overcomes Gym Incident, Drives Benz

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 05:00:55 EDT

PAX maybe over, but Wired's Chris Baker has a fantastic Penny Arcade feature up that profiles Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins. The piece is peppered with some nice insights — even if you are a PA fanboy. And that's always a treat. Stuff like Krahulik saying: More »

Uwe Boll Hates Wired Who Hates Him, the Sequel

Mark Wilson — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 14:20:21 EDT

After reading Chris Kohler's review of Postal, Uwe Boll was less than happy. So after their brief email flirtation, Kohler asked for a follow-up ~~wrestling match~~ phone interview and Boll obliged. After Boll asked Kohler to correct his misspellings—we'll give you a second to get that one—they started the discussion.

Wired:...you want people to accept that this is what you're doing with this movie, that you're going to take taboo subjects and satirize them, but when I sort of take a subject like your movie and end up making a satirical or a funny article about that, I don't have the right to do that? Only you have the right...

Ooh, good point! How will the fired up Boll respond? More »

Uwe Hates Wired (Writers)

Brian Crecente — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 17:00:00 EDT

Uwe Boll, it seems was not as taken with Wired's Chris Kohler's take on Postal as we were. In fact the German-born director emailed Chris to, among other things, suggest he go have sex with his own mother. More »

In Defense of Game Cliches

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 00:00:11 EDT

Cut scenes, health packs and cheat codes. They're all video game clichés, but necessary and even helpful ones at that. Over at Slate, Chris Baker has an insightful piece up on how old hat makes your gaming experience more enjoyable. He writes: More »

Wired Declares E3 "Expired"

Brian Crecente — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 10:30:38 EDT

Flipping through the latest issue of Wired Magazine, the Martha Stewart edition, I noticed that E3 made the Wired-Expired list... but not in a good way. More »

The Pikachu Japanese Schoolgirl

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 30 May 2007 08:40:03 EDT

Chronicle Books sent along a copy of Japan Schoolgirl Inferno for me to peruse. Really enjoyed the book and do recommend picking it up. Besides covering gaming, I'm been writing about Japanese schoolgirls for something like the past three years for Wired Mag, contributing to its "Japanese Schoolgirl Watch." Anyone who's lived in Japan for an extended period of time will tell you that the styles, tastes and even make-up of teenage girls are always changing. A few years back, girls started wearing Pooh Bear, Hamtaro, and Pikachu costumes in public. Called "Kigurumin" ("ethnic mascot" in Japanese), the trend died out by 2004 when gals realized there were better things to wear than Pikachu costumes. Thank gawd! Brian Ashcraft More »

Japanese Girl Gamers Getting Girl Games

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 21 May 2007 08:00:21 EDT

I've got a shorty in the June issue of Wired mag on the recent spate of girl's games like My Happy Manner Book, DS Therapy, Female Power Emergency Up! and Yoga Anywhere. I spent some time playing those games, which reminded me of brain games. They are geared towards females, but didn't seem to pander anymore than Japanese female magazines do. Wired's Chris Kohler also has a look at the phenomenon that's definitely worth a read and has this from Elite Beat Agents designer Keiichi Yano: More »

.hack Meet .f%uck

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 08 May 2007 03:00:14 EDT

Continuing his photo odyssey of Japan, Wired's Chris Kohler stumbled upon a saucy version of Bandai's PS2 series .hack. Let's see... A naughty knock off of .hack using some of the letters in the game's title. The options are endless! We've got: .jack, .rack or even .lick. But, you know, those are a little too vague and don't leap out at non-English speakers. We need something to more blunt. Yup, we need ".fuck." More »

Even Hobo DSes Are Expensive In Japan

Brian Ashcraft — Mon, 07 May 2007 04:00:05 EDT

Housed in a locked case, this used Nintendo DS was spotted at retailer Tsutaya in Shibuya by Wired's Chris Kohler, who's busying himself by taking pictures. Of everything! The little sign reads: More »

The Long Tail of Halo 3 Voice Acting

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 25 Apr 2007 02:00:17 EDT

A while back, Wired mag's Editor-in-Chief, The Long Tail author and LEGO lover Chris Anderson got sauced on wine with Bungie's in-house composer Marty O'Donnell, who promised the editor a Halo 3 voice cameo. And yesterday, it happened. Anderson saw a big chunk of the game, but is NDA'd so isn't able to dish. He blogs: More »

The Totally Rad Influence of the Amiga

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:20:22 EDT

When my pre-teen eyeballs got visual access to the mind-blowing graphics of the Commodore Amiga, I had a hard time believing it. Seeing what I considered to be the pinnacle of gaming artistry, Psygnosis' Shadow of the Beast, for the first time nearly made me faint from the pure pixelated ecstasy. More »

Wired Mag On Rockstar

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 09:00:07 EDT

David Kushner has a big feature in Wired mag on the rise and fall of Rockstar and GTA. It's a story that most of us are very familiar with, but does include juicy bits like: More »

And The Console King Is? The PS2. Still.

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 02:00:55 EST

This holiday season, it wasn't the PS3, the Xbox 360 or the Wii that came out on top. Oh no, it was the six-year-old PS2, which moved 1.4 million consoles. Wired's Chris Baker has a piece up over at Slate detailing why the PS2 still is numero uno. Quoting the article: More »

Nintendo Silent At GDC?

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 18:40:46 EST

News from Wired's Chris Kohler and the Game|Life blog today reveals that Nintendo may have little new to reveal at the upcoming Game Developers Conference next week. Not that they don't want to give up the goods, mind you, just that, legally, they may not be allowed to. More »

Wired To Nintendo: Lose Money

Brian Ashcraft — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 02:00:25 EST

Nintendo's Chris Kohler, err Wired's Chris Kohler, is an idea guy. Just listen to this zinger: More »

Wired On Nintendo Wii: "Murder Appliance"

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 08:00:30 EST

Former Kotaku writer Lore Sjöberg, current Wired Digital writer, has a look at the Nintendo Wii, stating: More »

Wired's Game|Life Now Hiring

Brian Ashcraft — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 14:22:30 EST

Wired's Game|Life is on the prowl, looking for an East Coast writer. The site's Chris Kohler blogs: More »

Train Man In Wired

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 29 Dec 2006 09:22:09 EST

Not exactly game related (but def. otaku), there's a Wired Mag piece on Train Man I did for the January issue. We've referenced Train Man a handful of times here on Kotaku. The book became nothing short of a national phenomenon in Japan back when it was originally released. It follows a clueless geek who crosses paths with a beautiful woman. He turns to an online bulletin board for advice. Know that Wired's wanted to do something on Train Man for a while, and it's good to see the article finding its way into print! Brian Ashcraft More »

Wired's Vaporware List Includes Four Games

Brian Crecente — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 11:00:02 EST

I am one more Duke Nukem Forever away from putting a bullet in Wired's annual Vaporware awards. More »

Gamer Makes Wired's Sexiest Geek List

Brian Crecente — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 17:00:52 EST

The early nominees for Wired.Com's sexy geek list didn't include Jade Raymond and it bothered me to distraction. Fortunately, the final list of ten has her smack dab in the middle. More »

What Does Dragon Quest IX On DS Mean?

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 22:40:12 EST

As we reported last night, Square-Enix is bringing its top-selling RPG franchise Dragon Quest to the Nintendo DS. The real one. Not another slime adventure. And not a spin-off. The genuine article. More »

Wired Mag On That Uwe Boll Fight

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 09:20:58 EST

Uwe Boll has gotten into Wired Magazine for beating up nerds. Chris Baker has a fascinating look at the infamous boxing match in which the chowderheaded "filmmaker" punched internet people to prove he wasn't a complete hack or something like that. Because, we all know that physically pummeling others drives home the point that your sucky movies do not suck. From the piece: More »

Sony: Backward Compatability = Flying Breakfast Car

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 18:40:38 EST

Nintendo's Chris Kohler... sorry, Wired's Chris Kohler got a chance to ask SCEA VP Jack Tretton a handful of burning questions one day prior to the launch of the PlayStation 3. From line-sitting dangers to backward compatability problems, Jack had much to say. More »

Wired Likes the Wii

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 27 Oct 2006 07:22:53 EDT

With the meh Wii reviews floating around the intertubes, it's nice to see someone actually likes the machine. Wired Mag's finnicky editors have taken a buncha products, rolled around with 'em and picked their favs. For consoles, the Wii snags the "Best of Test" title. Take heart insane Nintendo fanboys, 'cause not everyone is shitting on the Wii. Not yet at least. Brian Ashcraft More »

Wii Kiosks To Be Supervised

kotaku.com — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 14:40:26 EDT

Earlier, we reported that stores like EB and Gamespot were likely to use credit card deposits to ensure no punk ass kid wandered off with the Wiimote. Now, Nintendo's weighing in on how it'll be handled. More »