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Big Game Makers Take Names Off SOPA Support
The Stop Online Piracy Act, currently a bill before the Congress, is utterly detested by the Internet, in case you don’t read the Internet. Gamers don’t think much of it either, as it would have some rather stupid ramifications for how they enjoy that lifestyle and consume its products. So it’s of note that Nintendo,…
By Owen Good -
Ring in the New
Tomorrow brings the new year, in all of its promise. One of those promises is new games. The final Moneysaver of 2011 has more than 60 deals on this year’s crop of games, and a couple for next year’s. too. Check them out! Software • Jan. 31 release Final Fantasy XIII-2 (360, PS3) is $44.99,…
By Owen Good -
Holiday Programming Note
It’s the New Year’s weekend. While Kotaku does have stories and posts planned, we also get the day off. So we’re moving some things around. You’ll see some of our usual Sunday features publishing today instead of then. Happy New Year everyone, and thank you for reading Kotaku.
By Owen Good -
A Beatdown in Which No One Threw the First Punch
The guy who supposedly started this rides a crotch-rocket motorcycle, and his Facebook gallery is full of shirtless, sunglassed, dudebro posturing, koozied beer in hand. He’s in marketing and he can’t spell for shit, even when he’s insulting you. He may even be a steroid user Halfway into the Internet’s No. 1 white-hot outrage of…
By Owen Good -
Old Grandma Hardcore Returns At Last to Dragon-Shout a Few Cuss Words
We haven’t heard much out of Old Grandma Hardcore—her last video was her cussing up a storm playing Final Fantasy XIII in 2010. Don’t worry. She is quite alright and still her old, irascible, potty-mouthed self, as this session with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim demonstrates. Spoiler Alert: Per OGHC’s grandson, this video “contains massive…
By Owen Good -
Nintendo Starts Offering NES Classics to All in the 3DS eShop
Nintendo not only gave its 3DS “Ambassadors”—early adopters of the device—10 Virtual Console classics for free, it also didn’t let anyone else buy them. That exclusive privilege appears to be headed to a close, as the Japanese eShop has already listed Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, and will get Super Mario Bros. next week.…
By Owen Good -
Myst Re-Release Headed for 3DS in March
The super-old collection of HyperCard stacks Myst will be published as Myst 3D on the 3DS, with a release date scheduled for March 27. The publisher handling the port says it will add 3D effects to the original game, so it isn’t a reboot or a new adaptation. It will, however, include the Rime Age,…
By Owen Good -
I Was Working On My Own Anti-Arrow-to-the-Knee Vid Too, But Then I …
YouTube’s PsychicPebbles is extremely sick and tired of Skyrim‘s “arrow to the knee” meme, and composed this salute to all who dared to ever think it was funny. It’s extremely loud (especially when it breaks in with FUS RO DAH) and it’s extremely profane—in fact, I recommend turning your speakers down to one tick above…
By Owen Good -
Watch Q*Bert‘s Greatest Masochist, Still Going After 24 Hours of Play
Say this for George Leutz: that man is determined. Undaunted by the 70 hours of nonstop gameplay it is estimated to take to beat the 28-year-old all-time world record in Q*Bert, Leutz is at this moment 25 hours into his third assault on the record. His first two attempts, in April and May, ended in…
By Owen Good -
Salvation Army Bell Ringer Shoplifts Video Games, BB Gun, Sex Toy
I’m trying to see what the real news is here: On one hand, a Salvation Army bell-ringer stole a BB gun, two video games and a vibrator from a Kmart. On the other, Kmart sells vibrators? Lest you think this is the Hitachi Wand, a “personal massager” that has some non-masturbatory applications, cops in Sterling…
By Owen Good -
Ocean Marketting Jackass Earns $10 Discount for All Pre-Orders
In a statement just released, N-Control, maker of the “Avenger” accessory linked to the infamous marketer Paul Christoforo, has promised a $10 discount coupon for all who pre-ordered the device, as an apology for Christoforo’s conduct toward a customer, which drew the wrath of the global video gaming community earlier this week. N-Control’s lengthy statement…
By Owen Good -
An MVP Graces MLB 2K12‘s Cover
Adam Larson, the artist behind the three custom covers for NBA 2K12, has also supplied the base art of the Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander for the cover of MLB 2K12 2K Sports released the game’s official pack shot yesterday. Verlander, whose 24 victories, 250 strikeouts and 2.40 earned run average led the American League…
By Owen Good -
Valve on Half-Life 3 Rumors: ‘This is the Community Trolling the Community’
Every popular video game has its following of wishful thinkers, wannabe designers, and straight-up trolls. None has more hard at work on the next title than Half Life 3. And they’ve been very busy lately. There is, of course, this total fakey-fake-mcfakerson website, a goldmine of cognitive dissonance that’s not even registered to Valve. Then…
By Owen Good -
Is Nothing Kotaku‘s Game of the Year?
This may sound off-key coming from the guy who nominated the 12th edition of annual sports franchise for overall GOTY last year. But I’m inclined to say “None of the above,” this year. I prefer for these honors to truly mean the game, at minimum, was the best at what it did. This year’s big…
By Owen Good -
Here’s a Christmas Classic Because Hey, Why Not
If TBS can give us a 24-hour marathon of “A Christmas Story,” then we’ll wish you a Merry Christmas with video gaming’s counterpart, the unforgettable boxing of a NINTENDO SIXTY-FOURRRRRRR! YES! YES! Merry Christmas, everyone. Hope that your day is as exciting and as joyous as these little gamers were so many years ago.
By Owen Good -
If You Got a New Phone or Tablet Today, Buy These Games First
If you got or you gave a mobile device this morning—iPhone, Android phone, iPad or tablet—chances are there’s a “what now?” factor in the discussion. Chances are you or someone else may also have given or been given a little money to put some apps on the thing, too. What do you do? What are…
By Owen Good -
Culture
Weekend Comics: Everything’s Ring-a-Ding
Welcome to your weekend read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Dec. 19.—Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published Dec. 23.—Read more of Nerf NOW!! Penny Arcade by…
By Owen Good -
Looking Back on Sports’ Movers, Makers, and Video Gamers in 2011
A walk-on running back; a dad who couldn’t tell his kids what he did; a fat kid who started going to the gym and never stopped. A guy who came to know his sport’s greatest venue in ways some champions never will. The top man at sports video gaming’s dominant publisher, and a college student…
By Owen Good -
Call of Duty Says Happy Holidays with Double XP and a Prestige Token for Elite Members
Premium Call of Duty Elite Subscribers got a couple stocking stuffers on Christmas Eve for use in Modern Warfare 3. They’ll get an extra two hours of double XP play, and a Prestige Token that can be redeemed for more XP time or other perks in the game’s Prestige Shop. Beachhead Studio and the Call…
By Owen Good -
The Politics of Just Dance
Our latest subject didn’t take a scientist to develop. As soon as President Obama popped into a Best Buy to pick up some games for his family for Christmas, we knew it would be this week’s front-running candidate for the Kotaku ‘Shop Contest. That’s the commander-in-chief at an Alexandria, Va., Best Buy, picking up Ubisoft’s…
By Owen Good
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