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Super Meat Boy Would Be a Bad Movie, but Its Pitch Meeting is Gold

When the creators of Super Meat Boy were approached by a Hollywood guy who said their game would make for a great movie, they thought they smelled a scam. Who knows what the script-shopper really had in mind, but being clowned for nearly an hour in a Skype conference (audio above) probably wasn’t a goal.…

Switch Characters GTA V-Style With This Mod for Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto V will have three different protagonists. Grand Theft Auto IV had three different protagonists, too, when you include Johnny Klebitz from The Lost and Damned and Luis Fernando Lopez from The Ballad of Gay Tony. Some modders have figured out a way to switch among them and Niko Bellic, the way GTA…

Two New Glimpses of Assassin’s Creed‘s Heroine in Black Flag

We found out last month that Aveline, the star of Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation, would return in Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, but only on PlayStation. Ubisoft has now shared a couple of screens of her in action and explains how exploring her memories fits with the game’s larger narrative. For starters, Aveline will age.…

‘All-25’ Team Celebrates Madden‘s Most Dominating Stars

Madden NFL celebrates its 25th anniversary this year—that’s why it’s called Madden NFL 25, not 14—and will observe that milestone with something it calls the “All-25 Team,” comprising the best players from past editions of the game. This isn’t like the “Canton Greats” all-time team of Madden NFL 13, which had Otto Graham, and if…

In GTA V‘s Latest Screens: Cars and Trucks and Things That Go

Rockstar just dropped another dozen shots of Grand Theft Auto V, offering more glimpses of the fast life in Los Santos and the pastoral tranquility of Blaine County. Vehicles are the theme of this latest batch, including an ATV, a corporate jet, a ferry, and a Marine helicopter. To contact the author of this post,…

The Xbox One Controller Costs $60; the Headset is $25.

Microsoft finally got down to officially telling everyone the official price of an extra Xbox One controller, and it’s $59.99. The Xbox One’s headset—which isn’t included in the box—is $24.99. This is important because existing Xbox 360 controllers and compatible headsets won’t work with the Xbox One (Microsoft reasons that Kinect, included with every Xbox…

From the Mouths of Babes …

If David Vonderhaar, design director for Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, thought shining a light on the rancid Twitter spew coming from the game’s so-called fans would curb those reactions, well, think again. It’s still going strong, and someone’s curating it all. Consider this a to-block list for your own Twitter feed.

We’ve seen first-person representations of Super Mario Bros. World 1-1 before. If you’ve ever pondered what Green Hill Zone’s Act 1 from Sonic the Hedgehog would look like in first-person view, here’s a virtuoso remake of the stage, courtesy of Machinima.

A Locker-Room Talk Might Have Spared Us From Yesterday’s Fez Fiasco

The things I said were out of line and the mouth that said them would soon be out of alignment, too. That’s the polite version of a one-way conversation about 20 years ago in a far off arena, when the difference between criticism and a harangue was expressed to me in very physical terms. In…

You Only Threaten the Ones You Love …

Crime is a constant feature of video games writing. Somewhere, someone is doing something illicit with them—sometimes comically stupid, sometimes tragic. Games and consoles are currency, objects of dispute, sometimes even weapons themselves. Kotaku‘s Police Blotter is here to round up the latest in games crime. ‘Loud Xbox’ Creates a Domestic Disturbance SPRING HILL, Fla.—An…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Sharksassin

Shark Week returns next weekend, so to celebrate it, let’s goof on the obvious sharksploitation in the latest screenshots for Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. Either the image itself here offers something hilarious, or a well placed star, or well chosen still from Sharknado could help bring the funny, too. Snuffy the Seal dying a…

Dota 2 Players Add $1 Million to The International’s Prize Pool

The International, the world’s largest Dota 2 championship tournament, commences on Friday with group stage play. This year the field would be competing for a $1.6 million prize pool, but that’s been fattened by a million thanks to the sale of a virtual item to their fellow gamers, and the pot may increase. The Dota…

Sunday Comics: Extreme Makeover

Welcome to Kotaku‘s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics, chosen by our readership. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon in the lower right corner. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published July 22. Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. Published July…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Comic-Con Cosplay Extravaganza: The Winners

Well, now we know what was behind the curtain of XCOM’s kiddie show, and we know it was indeed extraterrestrial. A triptych of cosplayers from San Diego Comic-Con supplied the material for this week’s ‘Shop contest, and we have two rare double-finalists inside, including overall No. 1 and repeat all-star arniejolt! Rounding out the rest…

Self-published indie games may not be only for the Xbox One. The makers of Pinball Arcade say they’re clear to self-publish to Xbox Live Arcade beginning in August. That’s when Microsoft will have more to say about the program at Gamescom. We’ve reached out to an Xbox Live representative for comment. Update: We got the…

Big-League eSports Team Owner Among Those Charged in Huge Hacking Case

The owner of what was one of the largest teams in eSports is among several persons charged in what the United States government now calls “the largest hacking and data breach scheme ever prosecuted in the United States.” Dmitry Smilianets, who went by the handle ddd1ms, is among five charged with stealing millions of debit…

Here’s the Music LeBron James Chose for NBA 2K14

Sports video game soundtracks do matter—just spend 20 minutes in the menus of NCAA Football 14. 2K Sports has done a good job with theirs, even before bringing in Jay-Z last year to both “executive produce” the game and make that job into a verb. This year, cover star LeBron James got to pick NBA…

Twitter Blowup Leads to Sudden Cancellation of Fez II

Polytron, the studio behind the indie hit Fez, announced over its official Twitter that development on Fez II has been canceled. It appears to be related to a very heated Twitter argument between Polytron founder Phil Fish and an Internet personality who sharply criticized him today. Marcus Beer, who editorializes under the “Annoyed Gamer” brand…

Hackers Can Take Over Cars and Drive Them With a Nintendo Controller

A pair of security experts demonstrated to the BBC that some ordinary models of cars can be overridden—despite whatever the driver is doing behind the wheel—using a laptop, some software, and an old Nintendo Entertainment System gamepad. The hack—which Toyota, in response, says it doesn’t consider a “hack”—requires plugging into a vehicle’s electronic control unit…

The Navy’s Found a Use for Kinect: Stop Sexual Assault

Sailors are going to learn how to read another person’s verbal cues and body language with a Kinect training game meant to curb a sexual harrassment/assault issue that has become increasingly embarrassing to the armed services. Like all great things in the military, this game has a very literal and no-fun title: “Avatar Based Sexual…