Jason Schreier, Author at Kotaku

The Minecraft Studio Is Building A New Game. In One Weekend

Minecraft developer Mojang will design a new game this weekend and live stream the entire process. All of the proceeds will go to charity. Fans can vote on the game’s genre on Mojang’s website, where real-time strategy is currently winning

By Jason Schreier Published February 16, 2012

Hulu Plus Hitting Wii Today, 3DS Later This Year

You can subscribe to Hulu Plus on your Wii for $8/month right now, Nintendo said today. The television and movie streaming service will come to the 3DS handheld system later this year.

By Jason Schreier Published February 16, 2012

Gods, Spies Take Center Stage In Civilization V Expansion

Ed Beach talks rapid-fire when he’s dishing details on Gods & Kings, the Civilization V expansion pack that Firaxis announced this morning. I can’t blame him. He’s got a lot to say. Beach, the lead designer on the game and a longtime game developer who has been involved with numerous strategy games, had only thirty…

By Jason Schreier Published February 16, 2012

New Civilization V Expansion Brings Religion, Espionage Back to Series

Developer Firaxis will release an expansion pack for Civilization V this spring, it said today. Civilization V: Gods & Kings will mark the return of religion and espionage, two Civilization IV features that were absent in the fifth installment of the popular turn-based strategy series. It will also “reinvent the diplomatic system” and add a…

By Jason Schreier Published February 16, 2012

This RPG Is Topping Charts In Japan, But Americans May Never See It

The PlayStation Vita has been out for two months in Japan. So how is a PSP game topping the charts? Andriasang reports that Konami’s Genso Suikoden Tsumugareshi Hyakunen no Toki, released last week for the Vita’s predecessor, was the number one game sold in Japan between February 6 and February 12, at 61,784 copies. The…

By Jason Schreier Published February 15, 2012

Assassin’s Creed III Will Be Out On October 30

Ubisoft won’t even wait a full year to release the next Assassin’s Creed, because the next one, Assassin’s Creed III, will be out on October 13 30. The company announced that today during a call with investors, bumping the AC series up from its traditional November release. Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot says the game will…

By Jason Schreier Published February 15, 2012

How Aerosmith and Armageddon Saved the Life of Dead or Alive Creator

Tomonobu Itagaki, the mind behind Dead or Alive and two of the recent Ninja Gaiden games, went through a few rough patches during his long career as a game designer. The former Tecmo employee delivered a heartfelt speech at this year’s Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain (D.I.C.E.) Summit, which you can see above thanks to GameSpot’s…

By Jason Schreier Published February 15, 2012

PAX East Is Staying in Boston for the Next Eleven Years

Penny Arcade’s annual convention has committed to a new contract with the Massachusetts city that keeps it in Red Sox land through 2023. Unless it decides to bail and sign with the Yankees.

By Jason Schreier Published February 15, 2012

The Cut-Scenes in Tales of the Abyss Sure Are Abysmal

I am quite enjoying Tales of the Abyss 3D, which publisher Namco Bandai released today for 3DS. It’s an anime-styled Japanese role-playing game with action-ish combat and a world map packed with towns and dungeons. In other words, it’s a Tales game. I got the game yesterday, so I’ve only played around an hour or…

By Jason Schreier Published February 14, 2012

Don’t Blame Your Crappy Marriage On Video Games

With every new day comes a new excuse for nasty people to crucify video games. This time it’s a study by researchers at Brigham Young University, as reported by U.S. News in a story today titled “Spouses Being Pushed Aside For Video Games” that claims gaming is ruining marriages The study surveys 349 couples, each…

By Jason Schreier Published February 14, 2012

Ratchet & Clank Terrorize These Hapless Businessmen

Ratchet might not want to harass anybody when he uses Clank as a helicopter, but sometimes it just can’t be avoided. In this video, which we shot at the New York Toy Fair on Sunday, you can watch the anthropomorphic feline ride around like an out-of-control… well, helicopter. [Music: Flight of the Bumblebee]

By Jason Schreier Published February 14, 2012

First PlayStation Vita Ad Gives Bad Advice

Here’s Sony’s first video advertisement for the powerful PlayStation Vita, an ad that the publisher says will be plastered on Fox, Comedy Central, and ESPN (among other networks) in the near future. The tagline? “Never Stop Playing.” You probably should stop playing at some point, though. To eat. And sleep. And read Kotaku

By Jason Schreier Published February 14, 2012

New Fray Trailer Channels the Spirit of X-COM

Strategy buffs should get a kick out of this trailer for Fray, which French developer Brain Candy officially announced for pre-order today. I saw this simultaneous turn-based strategy game last year at an event in New York and thought it looked pretty damn neat, so it’s good to see that things are progressing nicely.

By Jason Schreier Published February 14, 2012

PlayStation Vita Winners Continue to Rage over Fishy Taco Bell Contest

We continue to hear from people who have taken issue with the strange Taco Bell contest that claims to be giving a PlayStation Vita to customers every 15 minutes. More than 15 contestants have told Kotaku that after seeing on the Taco Bell website that they had won Vitas, they were later informed that their…