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CultureShop Contest
Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Google Tributes of the Future
Google’s playable doodle acknowledging Pac-Man’s 30th birthday on Friday created quite a stir. The game is still on the Google front through the weekend, but that got me wondering: What about future game anniversaries? What about Tetris? What about Super Mario Bros? And those are just the reasonable ones. How will Google acknowledge the 30th…
By Owen Good -
Culture
Sunday Comics
Penny Arcade published May 19. PvPonline published May 21. ActionTrip published May 17. Digital Unrest published May 17. EXTRALIFE published May 18. GU Comics published May 21. Dotgif published May 21. Ctrl+Alt+Del published May 19. Nerf NOW published May 22. Rooster Teeth published May 22. Monday Night Crew published May 21. Virtual Shackles published May…
By Owen Good -
Kotaku Off-Topic: Push, Pull or Tow
Mom and Dad got rid of their sedan this weekend, getting $5,000 value for something with 185,000 miles on the odometer. If the dealership charged back the cost of vacuuming up the doghair, they would have lost money. Did I mention it was a BMW? Hardly a farm vehicle, but in our household, everything pulled…
By Owen Good -
A Minimalist Perspective on Street Fighter‘s Characters
Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, but three is a trend in design. Kode Logic joins the minimalist movement in video game design with this five-poster tribute to the iconic cast members of Street Fighter Ryu and Ken were featured in this roundup of minimalist faces late last year; the franchise didn’t make it into…
By Owen Good -
Uncharted 2 Multiplayer Goes to The Lab for New Playlists
Next weekend, that is. Naughty Dog, the game’s makers, will roll out a playlist called “The Lab” featuring some tinkered and tweaked gameplay variations but, more importantly, you earn double cash during the first run. The studio wants your feedback on the playlists and the settings, setting aside new threads on the community forum to…
By Owen Good -
Judge Approves Midway Liquidation Plan
Formerly a household name in video games, the bankrupted publisher will end up paying creditors between 16 and 25 percent of what they were owed, under a plan approved by a Delaware judge on Friday. Midway was long gone before Friday’s judgment, its assets bought up by Warner Bros. Entertainment last year in a transaction…
By Owen Good -
Alan Wake‘s Second Episode is “The Writer”?
A peek through the downloadable content menu in Alan Wake reveals a listing for the game’s second, as yet unannounced episode, “The Writer.” “Our second downloadable content pack, ‘The Writer,’ finds Wake in strange circumstances; now fully aware of the thing that opposes him, he must survive one increasingly nightmarish situation after another.” The chapter…
By Owen Good -
Jesus is My Co-Pilot in ModNation Racers
ModNation Racers was pitched as a kind of kart-racer meets LittleBigPlanet, so half the fun is in the character customizations. These homages to Spider-Man, David Hasselhoff and The Bride from Kill Bill show how deep the creation engine runs. Bitmob found two dozen of them. I won’t lift but a few – you really should…
By Owen Good -
His Name’s Gus Johnson, and He Gets Fans
“Gus,” I say, “tell me how you feel about the term ‘apeshit.'” “Well, I don’t know man,” Gus Johnson, the new voice of Madden NFL says with a taken-aback laugh. “I mean, I didn’t say that word, did I?” No, he didn’t, although the reply is a little revealing – maybe he’s thinking he got…
By Owen Good -
Box Scores: Pride Goeth Before the Lions
Cowboys fans have no shortage of pride in their team. Confidence, different story. Chewblaha faced a guy who demanded his opponent pick the Lions. He took the challenge and took him down with “the greatest 63-yard drive in Madden history.” Editor’s Note: Welcome to Box Scores, a new feature for our sports gaming crowd. Here…
By Owen Good -
A Year Later, Germany’s Push for Violent Games Ban Collapses
Last summer, as Germany grappled with a shooting spree linked to video games, state officials demanded the German government enact a comprehensive ban on violent games. A year later the government has refused, choosing to implement ratings education measures instead. Apparently, a petition that gathered more than 70,000 signatures helped influence the federal government’s decision.…
By Owen Good -
Trump Hotels Hawk Training Sessions on Wii Fit
For $90, you could buy Wii Fit and the Wii Balance Board and use it forever in your own home. Or you could play it for 55 minutes with a personal trainer at one of Donald Trump’s hotels. Jimmy Kimmel, of all people, found the “Wii Sports Package” at a Trump hotel (he didn’t say…
By Owen Good -
Xbox Live Unlikely to Approve Vagina Adventure Game
Micro-marines in condom helmets tromping through a landscape of pubic hair will not be part of your Xbox 360 experience, according to a Microsoft statement on Privates, a title being developed for the PC and Xbox Live Arcade. Zombie Cow, the studio, uh, behind Privates says the game may be irreverent in tone, it was…
By Owen Good -
Weekend Coupons: I’m a Deal Farmer, MFer!
I know Speedman got everyone convinced we out here making Planet of the Apes on YouTube or some shit, but I don’t buy it. But I do buy video games. And if you do too, check the coupons below: Hardware • The Xbox 360 120GB Elite Spring 2010 Bundle, which comes with Forza Motorsport and…
By Owen Good -
The Week in Review: The $10 Solution
This week Ubisoft, publisher of Assassin’s Creed and other top franchises, indicated it would join the trend of locking games content behind a one-use code. Perhaps it was music to investors’ ears, but it struck a harsher tone with gamers. A top Ubi executive specifically invoked Electronic Arts’ so-called “Project Ten Dollar” when analysts asked…
By Owen Good -
Kotaku Off-Topic: At Last Check
After paying the rent at the beginning of the month I noticed my supply of checks was nearing its end. I bought just one batch when I opened this account: Five years ago. Bill-pay services and debit cards have taken away a lot of the need for checks (and replaced them with a more secure…
By Owen Good -
Super Mario Galaxy 2‘s Soundtrack Uploaded on YouTube
Someone’s uploading tracks from the Super Mario Galaxy 2 soundtrack to YouTube, under the name of Mahito Yokota, the game’s composer. Whether or not it is actually him doing this, the music’s there, and it’s beautiful listening. So far, three themes were uploaded around 5 p.m. Kotaku time. They’re all in the two minute range,…
By Owen Good -
NHL 11 and the Canadian Hockey League Make It Official
A statement late this afternoon confirmed rumors of the past several weeks that the Canadian Hockey League, the top tier of Canada’s developmental junior hockey leagues, will have all of its teams – and players – represented in NHL 11 The CHL’s news release said that its three regional leagues – the Western Hockey League,…
By Owen Good -
New Madden Screens Have Gettin’ Away From the Cops Speed
Gus Johnson, the new announcer for Madden NFL 11, singled out guys like the Titans’ Chris Johnson and Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew when asked to name the most electrifying performers he regularly sees. They highlight the game’s latest batch of screens. This is also a shameless plug for my terrible job as a color analyst, but…
By Owen Good -
New Patch Fixes MLB 10 The Show‘s Scoring Error
Runners no longer score on force-outs to end an inning thanks to a do-over patch Sony rolled to the PS3 earlier today for MLB 10 The Show The patch weighs in at almost the same size (361 MB) as the version on Tuesday that contained the glitch, so it looks like Sony just swapped out…
By Owen Good
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