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Rabbids Go Home: The Stripping Gets Your Attention
In case you were planning on skipping Ubisoft’s new Wii-only adventure game, first consider that it will allow players to strip human beings to their underwear. I played a bit of Rabbids Go Home a little over a week ago at an event for developer and publisher Ubisoft in New York City. I was going…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 7, 2009 -
Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron Preview: To Fire The Ion Cannon
All I wanted to do when I played the newest Star Wars game on the PSP was fire the ion cannon. I became immature about it, even. Imagine a normally respectable Kotaku reporter badgering a LucasArts PR man: “But I want to fire the ion cannon!” Worse, imagine that turning into: “I’m going to go…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 7, 2009 -
How Many Hours People Play Sports Games On Wii (Go, Madden)
People buy sports on the Wii, the only console currently bundled with a sports-based video game. But how much do they play these things? And how do the Maddens, the fishing games and the mighty Wii Fit rate? Yes, I’m defining “sports game” loosely. But, on the Wii, where the boundaries of gaming communities and…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 7, 2009 -
One Strange Unlockable
Nintendo’s newest DSi downloadable puzzle game aims to calm your frenzied life by offering bonus "relax rooms." This is the strangest unlockable I’ve played since WarioWare Twisted let me stick an SUV in a giant cheese grater. You can earn this unlockable in ArtStyle Precipice, which was released as a $5 download for the DSi…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 7, 2009 -
Old News ’94: Tim Schafer Ditching Ham Sandwich Puzzles
It was just 15 years ago that designer Tim Schafer had to tell a reporter how one of his games differed from the other, and to do so he invoked the use of bread and mayonnaise. You are reading Kotaku’s once-weekly (thank goodness) journey back to yesteryear. This week, I wanted to find some old…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 6, 2009 -
When An Activision Boss Jokes About Raising Game Prices…
Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is taking his daily bruising from gamers, this time for telling someone he’d raise video game prices if he could. But there’s a little more to the story. Kotick made the comment during a conference call between Activision Blizzard executives and financial analysts yesterday to discuss the company’s performance from April…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 6, 2009 -
The (Movie) Future Of Gaming Is Murderous And Natal-y
The future of gaming, as envisioned by the September movie “Gamer” does not involve the happy playing of the Wii. Think more of The Running Man via Project Natal developed by a really rich guy. Walking to the subway yesterday, I spotted a poster for a movie called Gamer. And I discovered that it is…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 6, 2009 -
What Wii MotionPlus Really Does For Red Steel 2
I recently asked the creative director of Red Steel 2 what the required MotionPlus attachment adds to his Wii game. He asked me if I wanted the marketing answer or the technological answer. I wanted the technical answer, of course. But first Jason VandenBerghe, a man who was soon to impress me with the fact…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 6, 2009 -
The Ten Most Avidly-Played Wii Games In America (As Of August 1)
One month after Kotaku’s last Wii stats report, here are the 10 games that get the most play by their owners/renters on the Wii. (click the chart to enlarge it) As always, note that this is NOT a list of the most popular games on the Wii. It’s neither a rank of the best-reviewed games…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 6, 2009 -
This Week In Video Game Comics
Here’s a rundown of the new video game-based comics going on sale in comics shops in the U.S. this week, including staples Street Fighter and Sonic. Plus… some Zelda that may bring back memories of the GameCube era. Click the thumbnails for more details. Street Fighter IV #3 (of 4)… Written by Ken Siu-Chong. Drawn…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 5, 2009 -
StarCraft Delay, Weak Economy Has Activison Expecting A Lot Less Money
Activision Blizzard reported another quarter of growth today but announced it expects to make $250 million less in 2009 than originally forecast. The company reported $1.04 billion in revenue for the company’s second quarter of 2009, ended June 20, 2009. Executives credited sales of franchises World of Warcraft, Guitar Hero and Call of Duty as…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 5, 2009 -
ActiBlizz Confirms Tony Hawk, Bond For 2010, Dances Around Diablo
Activision Blizzard execs listed a bunch of new games for 2010 during a conference call today but declined to be anything other than cagey on the topic of Diablo III. The company’s CEO, Mike Griffith said that, in addition to the delayed Singularity, now expected between January and the end of March, the company will…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 5, 2009 -
The Console Market As Of Next New Year’s Eve, According To Activison
During Activision Blizzard‘s conference call annoucning its second quarter results today, the company shared its best guess for the North American and European console market circa 12/31/09. The biggest change? Blaming the economy, the company lowered expectations for console sales in 2009 by one million units.
By Stephen Totilo Published August 5, 2009 -
Reviews
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A Darklord Micro-Review: A Horrifying Thought
A terrible notion lingered in my mind as I played Square-Enix’s innovative tower defense WiiWare game: I might have to pay extra to beat this thing. There may be no scarier issue in gaming than the clash of creativity and commerce. There are a range of possible problems: A great game idea doesn’t get financial…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 5, 2009 -
Kotaku NYC, For A Day
To: Ash From: Totilo Re: Don’t Let This Flower Die! We looked at the performance of the site yesterday and came to a simple conclusion: time to let Crecente go. Gone. Finished. Done. Well, for the day. The black lion of the Voltron that is Kotaku took the day off today. In that lion’s place…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 4, 2009 -
Hear Activision Unite The Music Of KRS-One and David Bowie
This fall’s DJ Hero is based on the concept of mixing two songs together. From two artists. No matter how different they are. Like David Bowie and KRS-One. Give that and two more mixes a listen. That first one is “Let’s Dance” and “Jack of Spades” as mixed by DJ Shadow. Here’s the Beastie Boys…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 4, 2009 -
Impressions Of Torturing a Rabbid In A Wii Remote
I know I’m way late to this, but I was only amused by the weird comedy-torture game in Ubisoft’s upcoming Rabbids Go Home a few days ago. The video above was shot by GameTrailers during Ubisoft’s E3 demonstration of Rabbids Go Home back in June. The main game looks nothing like that. It’s a third-person…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 4, 2009
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