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Madden‘s Facebook/Mobile Game Makes It Rain for Early Adopters
If you installed Madden NFL Social when it released on Nov. 1 and haven’t played it much since, it might be a good time to check back in. The game’s latest title update dropped 100,000 of the game’s virtual “coins” on anyone who had a copy of the game installed before this week. The 100,000…
By Owen Good -
New York Bans Another 2,000 Sex Offenders from Online Gaming
New York State, whose “Operation Game Over” earlier this year banned more than 3,500 registered sex offenders from services like Xbox Live and the PlayStation Network, has booted another 2,100 from online gaming after bringing THQ, Funcom and NCSoft to the cause. Eric T. Schneiderman, the state’s attorney general, announced the bannings earlier this morning.…
By Owen Good -
You Can Hire a Lawyer for the Little Guys of Game Development
Of course backing an independent game developer’s Kickstarter is one way for a gamer to support that sector—albeit game-by-game. Benefactors looking for a broader approach might consider this project currently on Indiegogo: Pro bono legal assistance to independent game developers. In addition to helping the little guys battle bogus copyright and takedown claims, New Media…
By Owen Good -
Nintendo’s TVii Finally Launches Tomorrow, but Lacks Some Features
After a monthlong delay, Nintendo’s TVii service for the Wii U arrives in North America tomorrow, but some features touted earlier this year still won’t be on board when the service launches. Notably, it won’t support Netflix or TiVo subscriptions, nor will it allow users to program or access content stored on DVRs. Netflix and…
By Owen Good -
BioShock Infinite‘s First Five Minutes Feel Very Familiar, Very Awesome
If you don’t want to know how to get to Columbia, then watch no part of this video, which Irrational Games released just this morning. It’s the opening to BioShock Infinite, a mostly cinematic sequence that is plainly an homage to the opening of the original BioShock, which we’ve included below if you want to…
By Owen Good -
When Only 42 People Are Playing Madden on the Wii U, It’s Not a Sports Console
Around halftime of a game on an NFL Sunday is a good time to take the temperature of the Madden NFL crowd. It’s like the water department analysis that shows everyone flushing the john when the Super Bowl goes to the break. In this case, online gamers, many of whom have their consoles running and…
By Owen Good -
Culture
The Week in Games: Little Things Mean a Lot
Small things stand out the most in December, when games publishing comes to nearly a dead stop in observance of the holidays. Tomorrow sees Street Fighter X Mega Man, a free, fan-developed crossover observing the 25th anniversary of the Blue Bomber. Tuesday offers downloadable content drops for Need for Speed: Most Wanted and Battlefield 3.…
By Owen Good -
Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Sons of Throttle
Kurt Sutter was right. Sons of Anarchy, which wrapped up its fifth season two weeks ago, should be a video game—and not some slapcrap browser-based one, either. But with the publishing industry generally averse to doing licensed adaptations right now, it doesn’t appear that such a game is going to be done any time soon.…
By Owen Good -
Reacquaint Yourself with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas—The Introduction
Eight years and one month ago, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas released on the PlayStation 2. It begins rather abruptly—C.J. in an airport, saying that after five years on the east coast, it was time to return to San Andreas. The game’s official soundtrack included a DVD of “The Introduction,” a 20-minute in-game cinematic explaining…
By Owen Good -
Culture
Tell Us the 10 Comics for Kotaku‘s Sunday Comics Makeover [UPDATE]
Last week we opened up nominations for new additions to our Sunday Comics feature. Seven candidates satisfied the standards we put down for inclusion, so I am delighted to present them to you for your consideration in our 10-comic weekly feature. UPDATE [Dec. 16]: Voting on our new Sunday Comics page has concluded. We’ll announce…
By Owen Good -
Please Quit Photoshopping Horns Onto Bobby Kotick. It’s Bad for His Dating Life.
Today’s New York Times profiles Bobby Kotick, the boss of Activision Blizzard and longtime bête noir of many a longtime gamer, many of whom have created unflattering portrayals of him quickly found by Google Image search. Well, he wants you to know this doesn’t help his game. See, he’s divorced and on the prowl. “Think…
By Owen Good -
Culture
Sunday Comics: If a Tree Falls …
Welcome to your Sunday read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic. Legacy Control by Javis Ray published Dec. 11.—Read more of Legacy Control Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Dec. 10.—Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by…
By Owen Good -
Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: VGA Presto Magix: The Winners
A grab bag full of silly exploitables from the 2012 Video Game Awards, from Snoop Lion to Cliff Bleszinski to our own Stephen Totilo and, of course, Samuel L. Jackson, supplied the grist for this week’s edition of the Kotaku ‘Shop Contest. We’ve got the exclusive world premiere of a dozen finalists inside, including overall…
By Owen Good -
Who was the Biggest Beneficiary of THQ’s $5 Million Humble Bundle?
I guess there’s no way of knowing, but I really would like to find out how much of the $5,098,093.79 raised by the Humble THQ Bundle went to charity, and how much went to the embattled publisher, which may qualify as a charitable cause depending on how you feel about its situation and the games…
By Owen Good
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