Luke Plunkett

It’s OK, You Can Still Buy Flappy Bird (For $1500)

Flappy Bird may be gone, but while many are mourning its passing, others are seeing a rather drastic market opportunity. Within hours of the game disappearing from the App Store (seemingly) forever, listings have turned up on Ebay selling iPhones that have the game installed. At time of posting, the “cheapest” offer was for an…

Huh. So Even I’m Liking Bravely Default.

“Oh, that game must be good, because even [some person] likes it”. Bravely Default is that game, and I am that person. I am Jason’s worst enemy. I am a casual JRPG player. It’s not that I despise the genre. I am instead just incredibly picky about it. I don’t care much for the core…

“I was a live-action role-player too, until I caught an arrow in the dick..” This is a teaser for LARPs: The Series, which is looking pretty good!

Steam’s Neat Way Of Reminding You To Go Back And Play Your Old Games

It’s hard enough keeping track of new and upcoming games on Steam, but what about games you already own, or have played, that get updates? Unless you were really keen, that was almost impossible. Until now! Valve has added a new section to the Steam store’s front page, right underneath the “Featured” section, that highlights…

Operation Angry Birds Busts Cockfighting Ring

Forget the cash, downloads and merchandise: you know you’ve really made it when law enforcement agencies start using your game’s name for raid operations. Operation “Angry Birds” went down in New York on Saturday night and Sunday, with state investigators arresting nine people in connection with an illegal cockfighting circuit that also saw around 3000…

Here’s Your EVO 2014 Lineup (Smash Bros. TBC)

The lineup of games for this year’s EVO fighting game tournament were unveiled last week. There’ll be six games, and sadly, Smash Bros. is not one of them. Yet. Despite a very public spat last year involving Nintendo and the tournament, which ultimately led to Smash Bros. Melee streaming becoming a massive success, Nintendo have…

In This, The Year Of Awesome Mario Action Figures

Sure, it’s no Figma, but given Mario’s squat proportions it’s probably the best we could ask for. This Bandai figure will be out in May, and while the figure itself is great, it’s the accompanying playset that’s really taking the Tanooki. Mario on his own is available from importers for around USD$25, but for an…

I Wish Frozen Had Sea Shanties…

Some of the hihglights from this week’s roundup: a Digimon reunion, vintage Lara Croft, some Attack on Titan and, for those prone to burst into song spontaneously, Frozen. To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they’re big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), click on the “expand” button in…

Putin Becomes “Gay Friendly” Figure Skater In Protest Game

Thanks to his “anti-gay propaganda” laws, and stuff like the imprisonmentof Pussy Riot members, now that the Winter Olympics are on it’s the perfect time to play a game where Russian President/Dictator Vladimir Putin is a figure skater. Made by Dutch indie developer Robin Ras, Putin’s Olympic Game puts the tyrant in a pink tutu…

Track: Uruku Tumi Gushiku | Album: Jin Jin | Artist: Takashi Hirayasu & Bob Brozman Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to—and gaming to—at the moment.

How To Dress A Badass Barbarian

Kaija Rudkiewicz is a senior concept artist at Crytek, where she most recently worked on Xbox One launch title Ryse. For a game that was a bit ho-hum, it’s sure produced its share of amazingart. Most of the images you’ll see here are character pieces, exploring stuff like outfits, colour options and accessories. All fantastic…

Watch The 2014 DICE Awards, Right Here

Hey, the 2014 DICE Awards are on! Right now! And you can watch them right here! Unlike certain other shows, these are a real awards show, the categories voted on by games industry pros. So you may not be as bemused/upset by them as you might otherwise be. Watch live video from DICE on www.twitch.tv

If Those Facebook “Look Back” Movies Were Actually Telling The Truth

Earlier in the week, you were no doubt buried under people sharing their Facebook “Look Back” videos, which were a robot’s attempt to sum up that person’s history on the service. Here’s what one of those videos would look like if it actually got that right Actually, that’s a little unfair. Mine was a cascade…

A Petition To Change The US National Anthem To…Guile’s Theme

OK, take your usual cynicism for online petitions and give it a rest for a day. Here’s something we can all get behind, even if you’re like me and not even an American. A petitionhas begun on the White House site to change the American national anthem to Guile’s Theme. Unlike most internet petitions, which…

Who needs E!, with their expensive cameras and boring interviews, when you’ve got Kotaku editor Stephen Totilo covering the red carpet at tonight’s DICE awards with a phone.

Why Can’t We Ever Just Play As A Kid, Having Fun?

Video games are always so serious. You’re almost always playing a grown-up (or at least a teen), out to save the world, kill things and scowl a lot. Why can’t video games be more like the games we play outside as kids and just be, well, fun? That’s all I can think of watching this…

App Store Madness Continues As New Terrible Game Tops Charts

While some are still trying to come to terms with just how Flappy Bird got to the top of the App Store charts, another game has come along that will make you wonder just what the hell is going on. Right now, the #2 paid app (#1 paid game) on Apple’s App Store is a…

Who said World of Warcraft was dying? For the first time in a long time, the game’s playerbase has stopped the rot, going from 7.6 million user last year to 7.8 today.

Future Paris, Despite All The Grime, Can Still Look Pretty

Gregory Szucs is a concept artist who has done card games, book covers, advertisements and, oh yeah, video games, his most recent being Dontnod’s gorgeous Remember Me. Most of the stuff you’ll see below is from Remember Me. There’s more stunning art from the game here You can see more of Gregory’s work at his…

The Depressing Black Market That’s Ripping Off Video Games

If you thought that those responsible for cloning and ripping off other people’s work on phone stores were working in blissful isolation, you’re wrong. And underestimating the size of the market for this kind of junk. Cloning phone games is big business, and the business is disgusting. The Tumblr I Want A Clone is a…