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1 vs. 100 is Again a Free for All — Literally
All you cheapskatin’ silver members in North America should know Xbox Live is opening 1 vs. 100 to everyone this weekend, meaning you can play for prizes – no purchase necessary! As you might have heard, this coming weekend last weekend will be was the first involving skill-based prizes for players during the 1 vs.…
By Owen Good -
Houston Chronicle: Video Game Racism “The New Norm”?
No, not that guy. Norm, as in, status quo. As in, we’ve masticated the shooting-black-people argument in Resident Evil 5, now let’s pile on Call of Juarez and an unreleased game for good measure. It’s a blog post that’s a bit too sensitive and an argument that’s a bit too convenient and dramatic for my…
By Owen Good -
Spyborgs Gets Box Art, Drop Date
Capcom just announced a drop date in North America for Spyborgs, its Wii-exclusive co-op brawler, and it is Sept. 29. It’ll set you back $49.99, of course. You may recall Spyborgs went off to a less-than-whelming reception in 2008, and Capcom took the shoulder-shrugs to heart. The game you’ll get is less of an homage…
By Owen Good -
Drive Time
To: Crecente From: Owen Re: Kansas City Since you and I both just finished up epic drives across our great nation, I figured I’d address this to you. I’m curious, however, if your journey with your family was anything like mine: Did you guys: • See any “game crossing” signs on the highway, particularly in…
By Owen Good -
Week in Games: For a Hero, You are Quite Cheeky
That is apparently the Japanese name (translated) of the cult hit making its North American debut this week as “Holy Invasion of Privacy Badman! What Did I Do to Deserve This?” on PSN for PSP. It goes up against NCAA Football 10, which finally delivers create-a-school and other previous-gen features to the next-gen package. It’s…
By Owen Good -
Mario Marathon Fundraiser Blows Past 2008 Totals
Game marathons became something of a fad last year, but the original’s still the best. Year two of the Super Mario Marathon, which raised more than $10,000 in 2008, is already past $16,000. Update/Clarification: My remarks above failed to consider Desert Bus for Hope, which is both a year older than the Mario Marathon, is…
By Owen Good -
Five Million Die in First Day of Battlefield 1943
The fourth Coral Sea map for Battlefield 1943 will unlock after 43 million kills are achieved. After just one day of fighting, the community was more than 10 percent of the way there. That’s one of the fun facts Gordon Van Dyke of DICE dropped in a a forum post updating Battlefield’s response to overwhelming…
By Owen Good -
Texas Library Geeks Out with Consoles, Cosplay
I’m 35, and “teen summer reading program” sounds only slightly more fun than “adopt a highway,” so, good luck firing up kids for that, right? Well, add cosplay and games and suddenly you’re talking. The 40-plus strong of San Antonio’s Alamo Cosplay Troop are a regular act at the city’s Forest Hills library, which buttresses…
By Owen Good -
EA Opens ‘Micro-Studio,’ Teases First Offering
New EA dev shop 8lb Gorilla – because it’s a fun-size version of the 800-pound simian now bankrolling it – is up, running and looking to deliver a new iPhone/iPod Touch title every month. According to TouchArcade, the mission of the ‘micro-studio’ is a departure from Electronic Arts‘ previous mobile M.O. – which offered mobile…
By Owen Good -
Confused About Commenting? Consult This Chart
Late to the party on the latest development? Weekend friends B-Miggs and Agent B have broken down the orthodoxy of each console’s partisans and their most common reactions to the most common industry news. Predictably, most of the reactions have less to do with one’s favored console, and more to do with another. Lovely how…
By Owen Good -
Online Gaming Up 22 Percent as Console Revenue Down 23 Percent
ComScore’s data by itself suggests that gamers are seeking cheap, if not free, online games in greater numbers. Compared to other metrics, does it mean movement away from consoles? VentureBeat reports the figures, which show online gaming posting a 22 percent year-over-year boost in players from May 2008 to May 2009. Coincidentally, the number fits…
By Owen Good -
Not Everyone Thrilled by Ubisoft Toronto Deal
News of a $260 million incentive package to bring a new Ubisoft studio – and 800 jobs – to Toronto has not received universal applause. One columnist depicts studios as faithless corporate welfare recipients. Writing for Toronto’s Globe & Mail on Saturday, Marcus Gee rips Ontario’s government as trying to be more hip than responsible,…
By Owen Good -
The Most Bizarre 5 Minutes You’ll Spend This Morning
This video is a documentary intro, and even though 1) the creators are German, 2) they show Mario peeing and 3) everyone has sex at the end, it still doesn’t explain what’s going on. You’re just gonna have to see this for yourself – but it’s more than 5 minutes long, and doesn’t start getting…
By Owen Good -
Xbox UK Boss: The 360 is not a Child’s Toy
In an interview, Neil Thompson, Microsoft’s regional Xbox director for the United Kingdom, says console makers have a responsibility to educate the public on the meanings of game ratings and the ability to restrict them. Asked if most parents still held the impression that a game console is, primarily, a kid’s toy, “the simple answer…
By Owen Good -
Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves
You’ve been bombarded with enough advice and instructions already. You know how to comment by now. Sit at keyboard. Think of something intelligent. Type. Use Kotaku’s official open thread as your muse and your canvas. But if you still have questions commenting on Kotaku, you may always read our FAQ.
By Owen Good -
Toad Revealed to be Ungrateful A-hole After All
Blah blah blah, thank you Mario, another castle, etc. … But magnify the sprite and we see the rancorous contempt Toad has had for us for more than a quarter-century. Some folks claim those are Toad’s thumbs, not the double-barreled bird. I think it goes either way. Toad has been Giving Us the Finger since…
By Owen Good -
Bethesda Re-Teases PS3 FO3 DLC
Owners of the PS3 version of Fallout 3 noticed June come and go without any DLC – as originally promised – released for their console. What gives? Bethesda Softworks spokeshoncho Pete Hines zipped word over to G4 to say we can all expect an update “next week.” Note that’s an “update” – which may or…
By Owen Good -
Gizmondo Honcho Gets 18 Months in Fängelse
That’s Swedish for “the slammer.” Bo Eriksson, lesser known for his role heading the failed portable called Gizmondo, more known for bizarre behavior including wrecked cars and arson threats, is headed there. According to the translation from a Swedish radio Web site, Eriksson is looking at 1.5 years in the pen. Some of the charges…
By Owen Good -
Ultracade Cabinet Founder Faces Federal Fraud Charges
The former owner of Ultracade Technologies, a maker of MAME-style arcade cabinets, is looking at a 35-count federal indictment for fraud, theft of trade secrets, and trafficking counterfeit goods. David R. Foley, who founded Ultracade in 2002, is accused of copying the “game packs” – multi-game software that ran on the cabinets – from his…
By Owen Good -
Uncharted 2 Full of Cliffhangers, Literally
Who has the most badass phalanges – Altaïr, or Nathan Drake? My money’s on Drake. Both can arrest a flying 20-foot leap with just their fingertips, but Drake repeatedly does it in freezing temperatures. Barehanded. Not to get all physics-y on you guys again, but with this kind of strength and bone structure, I’d bet…
By Owen Good
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