Owen Good

Week in Games: What has 64 Feet and No Pubic Hair

Why, the front row of a Hannah Montana concert! This week Hannah Montana: The Movie drops on not one but both (!!!) consoles I own, and McWhertor, surprisingly, hasn’t asked me to review it. Oh yes, that’s right, the core-gaming tween audience has finally found its crossover hit in Hannah, who comes to the 360…

Is this the Last “Old Time Rock & Roll” Ad?

A bunch of readers saw this last night during Saturday Night Live, the sequel or – one hopes – the conclusion to the Guitar Hero "Risky Business" series of ads. I run hot and cold on Bob Seger. “Old Time Rock ‘n Roll,” thanks to just about every wedding DJ I’ve ever heard, is presently…

Utah Lawmakers Need $25K to Override Veto of Anti-Game Bill

The Deseret News heaps the last spadeful of dirt on the grave of Utah HB353, saying the state legislature appears unlikely to call a veto session because of, well, money. The law would have provided people with the means to sue game retailers who advertised they were family friendly, and then were found to sell…

Answer Survey, Help Game Preservationists

You guys got opinions – put ’em to use. A researcher at the University of Maryland wants to hear from gamers on subjects like culturally significant games, how they should be preserved, emulation and others. Looking through the survey the researcher, Rachel Donahue, seems to be interested in what qualifies a game for being significance,…

Study Finds Games Reinforcing Positive Behavior, Too

Last year some researchers at three universities found, of course, that “violent games normalize our children to violence.” The same researchers, this year, say “prosocial” games can normalize kids to good behavior. Middle schoolers in Singapore and Japan, and college students in the U.S. were observed in three studies, according to the research, which has…

An Idea of How Large the Big Huge Layoffs Were

An anonymous tipster representing himself as an ex-Big Huge Games employee advised us to compare the studio’s current team page with a cached version and count up the missing men and women. Neither THQ nor Big Huge have formally confirmed the layoffs, but according to the links the tipster sent, it looks like at least…

The Race is Not to the Swiftest Spartan

This is a cool photo, but some realities quickly set in. Like what the inside of a Spartan helmet smells like after a 10K race. Granted, this guy is in much better shape, but I sound like Fatty McGee after a mile and a half with nothing obstructing my breathing. Elite runners need ventilation, too,…

Hearsay: Wii Fit Plus Dated in Europe?

If Nintendo’s exergaming success hacks you off, might want to stop here. A screen shot from a game shop out in Amsterdam says “Wii Fit Plus” is on the way mid-November. Perhaps more importantly, the Wii Motion Plus controller, and a Wii Sports 2 Resort, bundled with the controller, have drop dates of July 10.…

Sony Gets Chippy on Eve of DSi Release

As the weekend shopkeeper I’m not on most PR primary distribution lists. So the “Statement from Sony PlayStation on PSP and Competitive Landscape,” isn’t in my hands as I type this. But it’s out there. Oh, is it out there. Here’s the text of the release, republished on both Engadget and Wired, and attributed to…

Quick, Someone Go Squat on MadMenTheGame.Com

Trademark filings are sort of like optioning a book to Hollywood – the deal’s been done, but it doesn’t mean the movie/game will come to pass. Let’s hope it stays that way for “Mad Men.” The trademark for Mad Men, yet another Critically Acclaimed Drama on Cable TV that I’ve yet to watch, has been…

Team Fortress, (Semi-) Unplugged

This low-res take on Team Fortress’ lineup strikes me as a kind of MTV Unplugged homage. Take something iconic, render it in less than the state of the art, and see if it remains iconic. Answer: Yep. While I’m not sure of the practical application of a low-polygon version of these characters, it’s still cool…

I Wanted to Play Halo 3, But Then I Got High

ForgePorn I can sort of understand because, hell, people have been drawing dicks on everything since the time of cave paintings. But marijuana? Don’t kids draw on desks anymore? Bongs and bud are now a solid second place to bewbs when it comes to building illicit-themed Halo 3 levels, as this gallery shows. Although, some…

Team Fortress Brings Mayhem to Mario Kart Track

Maybe I don’t need to play Team Fortress 2 on a Mario Kart track. But do I want to? Oh, for sure. Especially to get my hands on the Spy’s “Sapper Nintendo.” Team Fortress 2 Played on a Mario Kart Track [TechEBlog]

Outgoing IGDA Chief Departs With a Rant

This was said in the context of the GDC’s notorious annual rant session, so, it’s not a classic burning of bridges in the last day on the job. But the outgoing head of the International Game Developer’s Association, Jason Della Rocca, has some tough love for the folks he represented. Della Rocca, who helped plan…

Reggie Fils-Aime Comments on “Bob’s Game”

Despite a stonewall of no-comments from Nintendo, and increasingly bizarre behavior by amateur developer Robert Pelloni, MTV Multiplayer’s Stephen Totilo stuck with the story of “Bob’s Game,” Pelloni’s DS title that Nintendo declined to support. Thursday, Totilo finally got an official response on the matter from Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America. For those…

Iwata Plays … WarioWare: Snapped

Playing WarioWare: Snapped makes you look like a total fool, which is why it puts together a slideshow of your silly pantomimes at the end of the game. Yes, that means you, Mr. Nintendo President. Check out Satoru Iwata playing singleplayer pattycake the DSiware title. The nosepicking microgame isn’t showed, but he does have to…

Weekend Coupons: Clarence Sale

This weekend’s Steam Sale is Tomb Raider Anniversary for $5. GameStop is disguising a clarence sale as a huge blowout spectacular. And Best Buy has a free controller deal for PS3, but it’s not cheap. For starters, nearly every major retailer puts a bunch of games on sale on the weekends. Here are a couple…

Rumor: Blizzard Takes On Redneck Rampage?

“Published reports” (i.e. don’t blame me) say Blizzard’s got the Redneck Rampage brand now. Someone should tell Blizz there’s already a redneck MMO out there – it’s called “Mississippi.” IncGamers, checking up on some trademark notices, found that ones for the three Redneck Rampage properties (that would be, of course, Redneck Rampage from 1997, Redneck…

Star Fox Creator Won’t Do a Barrel Roll on Wii

Q-Games prez Dylan Cuthbert also is the creator of three Star Fox games for Nintendo, but he’s not interested in doing one for the Wii. He also says Star Fox fans like furries. Cuthbert sounds like he wants no part of a new Star Fox title for the Wii. “It’d be a big project, like…

Kotaku Originals: April’s News

Before the Internet, we didn’t have April Fool’s Day. When we played a joke, we’d tell a guy his shoe was untied and then WHAM! bash him upside the head with a piece of firewood. See? That’s funny. You kids couldn’t find funny with both hands and a map. And you should be glad we…