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China’s World of Warcraft Boss Steps Down
The company licensed to operate World of Warcraft in China – home to 4 million of the MMO’s global installation base – still can’t find smooth sailing after being cleared to operate the game’s first expansion pack two weeks ago. NetEase’s project chief for World of Warcraft, Li Riqiang, resigned without explanation, the company announced.…
By Owen Good -
MLB 10 Devs on Demo Delay: Don’t Blame Us
With fewer than five days until release, the absence of a demo for MLB 10 The Show raises uncomfortable speculation. An Sony San Diego Studio representative says that the demo is complete, but Sony hasn’t approved it. In an Operation Sports forum thread asking where a demo was, “Chris,” identified as a lead animator for…
By Owen Good -
Reviews
Kaleidoscope Micro-Review: What a Colorful World
A world drained of color confronts you in Kaleidoscope, by the three-man studio of Morsel. As a Dream-Build-Play finalist, Kaleidoscope has well earned its indie chops, but does its gameplay fulfill the playfulness set forth by its visual design? Loved Set Design: In Kaleidoscope, you control a jet-black, inkwell-looking creature named Tint whose mission is…
By Owen Good -
Kotaku Off-Topic: Rebel Commander
For the first time, I took my taxes to a paid preparer. First thing tomorrow morning I meet with them to approve the documents. The anxiety I feel is absolutely the same as my parents getting my report card. Ordinarily I do my own taxes but because I’m filing in three different states for 2009,…
By Owen Good -
What Your $60 Really Buys
Seven dollars of a $60 video game purchase covers expenses for games never even sold. That’s according to a breakdown of retail game cost by an on-demand games service. OnLive, of Palo Alto, Calif., says that $7 covers, on average, “returns.” That’s the cost associated with returning unsold inventory – essentially, sales that don’t meet…
By Owen Good -
Black’s Creator: Modern FPSes are Eff-Star-Star-Star-Ing Boring
Stuart Black, he of the eponymous 2006 FPS for Xbox and PS2 (that would be the game called “Black,” not “Stuart Black”) has caught on with Codemasters and now declares he “can’t be bothered” by the slow-pace of cover-based shooters. Speaking to Official Xbox Live Magazine, which is drawing out the tease for whatever it…
By Owen Good -
Meet the Women of Red Dead Redemption
It’ll be another 12 years before they get the right to vote, but in Red Dead Redemption, the womenfolk will have their say in how the West was run. Notice that at 0:26 and 0:35 we see that Marston has scars on his right cheek matching those on Red Harlow’s from Red Dead Revolver. While…
By Owen Good -
In Defense of — and a Salute to — The Pro
Two jackasses baiting an Xbox Live moderator and getting banned isn’t worth much outrage. But when they doctor a video and expect everyone to believe it on the knee-jerk faith that mods are fascists, that just insults your intelligence. Each week on Kotaku Talk Radio I write and record a rant/editorial titled “Something Negative.” This…
By Owen Good -
This Video Isn’t as Awesome as Its Title
Here’s the latest Just Cause 2 “Anatomy of a Stunt” trailer: “Fire Truck versus Jet.” Whoa, rad!!!! right? Well …. A fire truck playing chicken with a passenger aircraft – there’s got to be like, Rico grappling the fire engine to the jet and then like grabbing on the landing gear and parachuting to safety…
By Owen Good -
2K9 vs. 2K10: There May Be No Comparison, but This One Is Funny
Glitch videos were commonplace after MLB 2K9’s release but I never expected 2K Sports to make one of its one. That’s the kind of penance 2K Sports has to do after MLB 2K9, I suppose. So this year, we can expect balls to be hit when a bat swings through them, we can expect them…
By Owen Good -
Mark Beaumont, Capcom COO, Dies Suddenly [Update]
Capcom has announced that Mark Beaumont, its chief operating officer for North America and Europe, died suddenly this morning. Beaumont, in his late 50s, was officially Capcom’s executive vice president, officer and Head of North America, South America and Europe consumer software publishing. He was promoted to the position in 2008. He joined Capcom in…
By Owen Good -
MLB 2K10 Demo Released to Xbox Live
With both baseball titles running up against a March 2 weekend date, MLB 2K10 today was the first to pull the demo trigger, but only for the Xbox 360. The 711-megabyte download is available on Xbox Live but it won’t be coming to the PlayStation Network until March 4, two days after both MLB 2K10…
By Owen Good -
IRS Plane Crash Flash Game is Quick and Tasteless
The gentleman who created this Flash adaptation of last week’s civilian divebomb attack on an IRS building says he enjoys “making stupid games in 24 hours or less.” Mission accomplished. This is “Tax Time!” based on Joe Stack, who on Thursday crashed his civilian airplane into a government building in Austin, Texas, housing the Internal…
By Owen Good -
‘Xbox Effect’ Cited in Chick Flicks’ Rise
This weekend The Sunday Telegraph noted that, for the past three months, the box office charts in the U.S. have been dominated by the, shall we say, estrogen-infused variety of movies. It’s not because more women are watching more movies, it’s because more guys are watching fewer – and in fact, are assumed by Hollywood…
By Owen Good -
Rebellion Calls AvP ‘Critical Success’; Talking Sequel
Discounting “three totally sh— reviews” from American sources, Rebellion reasons that Aliens vs. Predator is a “critical success”, just as becoming the U.K.’s fastest-selling title of 2010 makes it a commercial success. They’re already thinking sequel. “The reviews have been mostly good,” Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley told Develop Magazine. “We’ve had three totally sh— reviews…
By Owen Good -
Six Stadiums From the Days Before Naming Rights
Although I suppose Polo and Forbes are big brands in modern times. I just doubt they’d put it on a baseball park. SCEA’s released this video of the six classic ballfields available with an MLB 10 The Show preorder. The Polo Grounds, Forbes Field and four other fields will be unlockable from within the game,…
By Owen Good -
Nielsen: Games Account for 5 Percent of U.S. Entertainment Budgets
Across all U.S. households, video games account for 4.9 percent of monthly entertainment spending – to 2.8 percent for CDs and mp3s – according to recent Nielsen research. Among households that are active game buyers, the figure is 9.3 percent. It’s important to note this is not a whole-dollar measurement – it does not mean…
By Owen Good -
Sell Your Crap in the Classifieds
To: Luke From: Owen I don’t know when he got it, but my packrat brother Fletch stole a firetruck red easy chair recliner from the downstairs of our old home and, as far as I know, hasn’t gotten it reupholstered. If it’s the same one I remember, that thing was like sitting on the lap…
By Owen Good -
Sony Registers MotorStorm 3 Web Site
I’m a big fan of the MotorStorm series. So count me among those who take Sony Computer Entertainment Europe’s recent (as in, Friday) registry of a MotorStorm 3 domain as good news, not just a company hedging for future plans. The domain redirects you back to the Official PlayStation web site for the UK (the…
By Owen Good
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