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Kotaku Off-Topic: Free the Indianapolis 500
There are only two state anthems I know. “My Old Kentucky Home,” sung on the first Saturday of May, and “Back Home Again in Indiana,” sung on the last Sunday. I’ve lived in neither of those states. Edit: A reader points out that “On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away” is actually Indiana’s state…
By Owen Good -
Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Google Tributes of the Future Edition Winners
Google’s playable Pac-Man anniversary logo provided the grist for last week’s ‘Shop Contest, which returned a staggering number of excellent submissions – including an actual playable logo. Whittling this down to 20 was difficult; if you felt like you should have made the final gallery, you’re probably right. We had tons of tributes to Zelda…
By Owen Good -
NCAA Football 11 Demo Arrives Mid-June
The demo for NCAA Football 11 will arrive June 14 for Xbox 360 owners, June 15 on the PS3, according to EA Sports. No word on the matchup but past demos have featured the previous national title game participants, which in this case would be Texas and Alabama.
By Owen Good -
Football Contenders Try for the Look of a Winner
Madden isn’t the only way to play video game football. It is the only way to play NFL football. Other games must invent teams, and their names and logos have often reinforced an outsider, expansion or even knockoff look. This was a disappointment of Tecmo Bowl Throwback. The teams had no nicknames. You were left…
By Owen Good -
Box Scores: An Instant Classic
Sixty seconds, 70 yards and a miracle away from a Super Bowl victory, EA Sports’ Ian Cummings rallied Jacksonville to win the greatest clash in the history of Madden NFL 11 – which won’t be out for another two months. Box Scores’ Game of the Week gets a celebrity submission this time, courtesy of Cummings,…
By Owen Good -
Weekend Coupons: The Insider
This is not North Carolina, not South Carolina, nor Kentucky! This is the sovereign state of Mississippi’s proceedings – wipe that smirk off your face! Weekend Coupons will be part of this record, whether the hell you like it or not! Hardware • I just broke my headset, so I might take a gander at…
By Owen Good -
The Week in Review: The Xbox Takes a New Direction
Two of the top men responsible for Microsoft’s Xbox 360 strategy left the company this week, depicted as departing on good terms, but nonetheless announced as “retiring” from the company. Robbie Bach, the former head of Microsoft’s entertainment and devices division, and J. Allard, a 15-year veteran described as the father of the Xbox and…
By Owen Good -
Kotaku Off Topic: My Old Friend Pete
The checkout lady asked if I found everything. “And then some!” I said. “Please thank whoever ordered Texas Pete. This is the first time I’ve seen it west of the Mississippi!” She looked at me like I was from Jupiter. Not to be provincial, but only those who grew up with Texas Pete – made…
By Owen Good -
Reviews
UFC Undisputed 2010 Review: A Light Heavyweight Rematch
No game took an emerging sport to the mainstream in its first edition like UFC 2009 Undisputed did last year. But once you join sports gaming’s A-list, even in your rookie year, you have to start making sequels. THQ, known for delivering annually on the WWE Smackdown series, poured development into UFC Undisputed 2010 to…
By Owen Good -
Gary Coleman Dies
Gary Coleman, best known for his role as Arnold in the 1970s-80s sitcom Diff’rent Strokes, died today of injuries he suffered in a fall at his Utah home. Coleman, who also appeared in 2003’s Postal 2, was 42. TMZ reported Coleman’s death just past 12:30 p.m. U.S. Mountain time. He had been in a Provo,…
By Owen Good -
Saddle Your Avatar With Red Dead Redemption Items
We’re into week two of Red Dead Redemption hype, so you know what that means: Avatar items for your little varmint. Yah! Yah avatars! Git along! Git! The virtual items run between 80 and 320 Microsoft points, ranging from a hat or a t-shirt to a full-on John Marston or Bonnie McFarlane outfit. I had…
By Owen Good -
Once and For All, Mario Can Jump the Flagpole
GameTrailers took on, Mythbusters style, the legend that Mario can leap the flagpole in Super Mario Bros on the NES. and, whaddaya know, they indeed proved it true. World 3-3 is where you have the best chance of doing it yourself. Now, GameTrailers, next for you: Turning Smurfette naked in Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel’s Castle…
By Owen Good -
PAX Surveys Alternatives to Its Booth Babe Ban
Booth babes are a staple of many games expositions, but not Penny Arcade’s. Still, Some scanty-pants booth reps have made it into recent shows and caught PAX organizers’ attentions. Before they put their foot down, they want some community feedback. “Our definition of a “booth babe” has been a model (male or female) that has…
By Owen Good -
Supreme Court Justice O’Connor Calls Games ‘Fabulous’
Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor recently spoke a word of charity for video games, telling ABC News in an interview that the medium’s a “fabulous” way to get children to learn. O’Connor was, of course, describing educational games, not Red Dead Redemption, when she said that games can help children learn more about…
By Owen Good -
Splinter Cell Supplies Deniable Ops DLC
Friendly reminder: Splinter Cell Conviction’s first downloadable content package, Deniable Ops Insurgency hit PC and Xbox Live marketplaces today. Ubisoft would also like you to know that another 250 achievement points are now available with the DLC. The DLC gives new missions for Archer and Kestral to perform, plus another four maps in Deniable Ops…
By Owen Good -
NCAA Hockey Might Join EA’s NHL Title?
The director of the NCAA’s hockey marketing operation told a Canadian radio station that his organization has been in talks with EA Sports about bringing collegiate teams to EA’s NHL title. Paul Kelly, the executive director of College Hockey, Inc., the marketing initiative begun by NCAA’s Division I ice hockey commissioners, told CFRN-AM 1260’s “The…
By Owen Good -
Introducing Soccer Relegation to American Football — in a Video Game
Maybe the only way to make the Oakland Raiders’ season interesting past the sixth week would be to force them – and every other wretched team – to play for the right to stay in the National Football League. That will never happen in real life. But Backbreaker, coming Tuesday from NaturalMotion and 505 Games,…
By Owen Good -
UFC Online’s One-Use Code a Lesson in How Not to Do It [Updated]
THQ’s decision to put UFC Undisputed 2010‘s multiplayer behind a “Project $10” one-use code was controversial enough. Its slapdash implementation in the game couldn’t make the publisher look worse. Update:: THQ has responded with a statement. THQ’s statement: At midnight on May 24, the UFC Undisputed 2010 Microsoft servers went live and we experienced a…
By Owen Good -
NBA Live is Now NBA Elite [Update]
Earlier today, the NBA Live page on Facebook put up that image, and the answer seems to be “What is the new name of EA Sports’ NBA franchise?” Correct! I’ll take “Potpourri” for a thousand, Alex … That’s according to Official Xbox Magazine, whose latest issue reveals the name change in an exclusive from EA…
By Owen Good
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