Owen Good

Microsoft Snags Gears of War

It looks like Gears of War isn’t going to the PlayStation any time soon. Microsoft said this morning it had bought the series from Epic Games, assuring that the only console Gears will call home will continue to be Xbox. Development of the series will continue at Black Tusk Studios of Vancouver, B.C. Additionally, Rod…

Street Fighter II Reimagined as a Rock Opera, in Three Acts

Seven years ago, an indie band in Texas joked among themselves that the Street Fighter continuity would be fertile soil for an old-fashioned rock opera. Three albums later, they’ve finished the story they want to to tell. It’s the tale of Ken and Chun Li, primarily, though all of the other characters from the Street…

It appears Retro City Rampage is headed to the Nintendo 3DS, possibly next month, according to the game’s creator, who says the game’s missions and minigames have been reworked to fit the 3DS. A release date should be announced this week.

The Week in Games: Raider of a Lost Month

We’re about to climb out of the customary two-month hibernation video games enter every December. An updated Tomb Raider releases for the newest consoles on Tuesday, along with Broken Age for everyone. There’s much more on the horizon. Jan. 28: Dragon Ball Z: Battle of Z (360, PS3, PS Vita) Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition (Xbox…

Pre-orders on Steam usually required a support ticket to undo. Not anymore. Users now can cancel them themselves prior to the release date. The refund goes directly to a user’s Steam wallet, regardless of original payment method. [Steam user forums]

Justin Carmical, Import Game Aficionado Who Advised Others, Dead at 42

Justin Carmical, a YouTube personality who, under the name “JewWario,” posted instructional videos on importing and playing Japanese video games on western consoles, died on Thursday. Carmical’s wife said on Facebook that he took his own life; he was 42. “You all made him so happy, every time he was recognized from his videos, it…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: The Sad Keanu Figure

Someone up and 3D-printed an action figure of the Sad Keanu Reeves meme, inserting it into several amusing dioramas with other legitimate action figures. So, if it can be done in real life, it can be done in our ‘Shop Contest. We have more than just the lead source image below; check back through Luke’s…

Monster Hunter 4G will be released in the west as Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Save data from Monster Hunter 4 will be transferrable to the new game. It will release in Japan this fall and in the west in 2015.

Luigi’s Mansion recreated in Animal Crossing: New Leaf. By Rae Broom of StreetPass Princeton. Her town’s Dream Address is 7300-3355-9805.

Sunday Comics: Merge Emergencies

Welcome to Kotaku‘s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Brawl In The Family by Matthew Taranto. Published Jan. 21. Read more of Brawl In The Family Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published Jan. 20. Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Gabe’s Gaze: The Winners

Gabe Newell’s stoic, almost pleading expression—Yes, I am posting to r/gaming; to r/motorsports too!—touched many in this week’s Kotaku ‘Shop Contest. So many I lifted the usual 20-finalist cap to get in the best ones. There are 31 inside, including overall No. 1 Zhesty! Even with a super-sized 50-percent-moar ‘Shop Contest roundup, inevitably someone got…

This is what the entire stadium in Tecmo Super Bowl would look like, according to @VideoGameMayhem. Clean, classic stadium design, but I think it could use a newer video scoreboard. [via TecmoBowl.org]

That ugly looking Nintendo World Championships cartridge for sale on eBay has been bid up to more than $99,000 over the past two days. The auction closes in two hours.

Man Dashes Into Burning Home to Rescue … an Xbox

OLATHE, Kansas—A man fled his burning home early Friday morning but re-entered it to rescue his games console, according to a local news report. The Xbox, whose identity (original, 360, or Xbox One) could not be confirmed, was apparently unharmed. The unidentified man was treated for smoke inhalation after rescuing the system. The console. The…

New trailer: Yoshi’s New Island. The game launches March 14 on the 3DS.

Candy Crush Makers Remove a Game Accused of Being a Blatant Copy

In the world of flash games, derivatives vastly outnumber original concepts, so the charge someone copied a game is quite common. But the makers of a Pac-Man-style game in 2009 say they have an email proving that King, the outfit trademarking words like “candy” and “saga,” ordered a developer to directly copy their work. Writing…

Judge Throws Out $11 Million Award to Madden‘s Original Programmer

A federal judge threw out a jury’s award of $11 million to the programmer of the original John Madden Football, saying there was no evidence Electronic Arts copied his work for use in future editions of the game without paying royalties to which he would be entitled. Attorneys for Robin Antonick, the programmer, told the…

Today, apparently, is Opposite Day. OK. XCOM is celebrating by giving you cover art featuring those bastard-ass traitors EXALT from XCOM: Enemy Within. Don’t download it here.

The Speakys have spoken, and it’s a unified Game of the Year championship belt for The Last of Us—Game of the Year (Kotaku), Game of the Year (Kotaku readers’ choice) and now Game of the Year (Speakys/Kotaku Talk Amongst Yourselves).

Why The Ridiculous Candy Crush vs. Banner Saga Conflict Is Happening

“The law is a ass,” Mr. Bumble said in Oliver Twist. And trademark law is a asshole, or at least it is to video gamers whenever it becomes a newsworthy topic. A match-three mobile puzzle game is telling a PC indie game it can’t call itself by a word that dates to 1709. WTF? You’ve…