Two views on the state of games criticism over at The New York Times. Here are excerpts: Laura Parker’s essay Game Theory: BioShock Infinite and Video Game Reviews BioShock Infinite aimed to be a game that engaged its audience by posing questions about human nature. We know this because we were told as much. But…
I happily pay for video games. You might, too. But so many people enjoy the increasingly popular free-to-play model of video games. So many people don’t pay to play. Is gaming going to be reaching a moment when many, many potential gamers just don’t want to pay. I tossed this idea into a conversation I’ve…
Nintendo’s online store isn’t working for many gamers at the moment—not on Wii U or 3DS—making it essentially impossible to use many of the systems’ core online services. So this is why I couldn’t update the Netflix app on my parents’ Wii yesterday! And it’s why a lot of Nintendo gamers are pulling their hair…
“We have learned that laptops float sometimes,” one of the developers of small indie studio Hello Games Tweeted late today, breaking what appears to be the unfortunate news that the offices of one of 2013’s most exciting indie studios have all but been ruined. Happily, there are no reports of injuries, but the fate of…
I was cleaning out some of the 900 photos and movies on my iPhone when I realized, “Hey, these kind of tell the story of my year of playing, reporting and writing about video games.” These might be fun to share. I didn’t use my iPhone to take photos of things I wanted to publish.…
Here’s a video of Grand Theft Auto IV. Give it a listen, preferably at the 6:32 mark. That’s the moment when YouTube’s copyright bots claim a Sonny Rollins Quartet jazz song plays. Do you hear it? I tried. I tried hard to hear it. And all I heard was sirens. I bet that’s all you…
YouTube doesn’t just have an army of bots trying imperfectly to sniff out copyright violations on videos on the site. It also has a song-removal feature that lets a video-creator cut a problematic song without losing control of their video or ruining it. At least, that’s how it should work. We tested it. The site’s…
Look, some of us out there aren’t super-awesome at Super Mario Bros., but this blinking arrow in Nintendo’s new NES Remix game for Wii U is a bit much. The game chops and/or mods classic 8-bit games to give players short challenges. This one is, basically, to run through the first level of Super Mario…
Onslaught. Devastation. Invasion. Nemesis. + Extinction x4 The four DLC packs coming to Call of Duty Ghosts through 2014 will also include a four-part episodic adventure in the game’s co-op players vs. aliens Extinction mode, as explained today in the new Season Pass trailer for Ghosts.
Well, this is neat. Microsoft is starting a documentary series that will run on Xbox 360 and Xbox One next year and it’s got a pretty good name behind it and a good topic for the first installment. The series will be produced by Jonathan Chinn and Simon Chinn. I don’t know Jonathan’s work—30 Days,…
You may have noticed that there were some guns in many of 2013’s most interesting video games. Here are the best of them, in no particular order… The Merica Gun from Saint’s Row IV Our own Tina Amini writes: “I usually can’t see anything that’s in front of my face what with all the bullets…
Nintendo just released a new game on the Wii U with basically no warning. NES Remix! We didn’t even know it existed four hours ago. And now we’re all able to play it. $15 on the Wii U. Is it any good? Well, watch the video above. NES Remix takes a dozen or so classic…
A press release for today’s surprise Sonic Lost World new Yoshi’s Island level for Wii U includes the following tease, reprinted here with the original emphasis: “And get ready to link to another special DLC for Sonic Lost World in 2014. More info to come on that one shortly.” That sure looks like the tease…
There will be Mario and Luigi costumes in the 3DS’ Monster Hunter 4 according to today’s Japanese version of Nintendo Direct. For those of us who like bizarre, disturbing things in our games, this is great news. Still no news of Monster Hunter 4 being released in North America, as far as we know. Sorry,…
Yoshi’s New Island will be out for the 3DS in North America this spring. Enjoy some new footage, will you?
Has the YouTube ContentID fiasco gotten absurd enough yet? This one’s via Twitterand there appear to be more and more like it, with creators seeing their own work deemed by YouTube’s copyright bots as the property of someone else. Cavanagh is disputing the claim, which is being held by a company called IndMusic. Hopefully this…
YouTube is responding to gamers and YouTubers who are upset about the Internet video giant’s extraordinarily aggressive new copyright sweeps. We’ve got a a copy of the e-mail they’re sending out below. You won’t see an apology here. You won’t see a change in policy. You’ll see support for the Content ID system that’s been…
Is there a bigger no-brainer in gaming that isn’t happening right now than Minecraft‘s absence on all Nintendo gaming machines? Today, Minecraft comes out for PS3: It’s already out on Xbox 360: It’s coming to Xbox One: It’s coming to PS4: Minecraft is big on iOS, too! Check out the top of these charts, released…
Tearaway, I write in today’s New York Times, is a system-defining game for the PlayStation Vita. It’s as perfect for Vita as Super Mario 64 was for the N64 and Brain Age was for the DS. Some music is made for violin and unimaginable for trumpet. Other pieces are best on piano, worst on drums.…
New Nintendo Direct video/infomercial tomorrow, 9am ET… “focusing on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS software launching through spring 2014.” Watch it at Nintendo’s site. Or just stick with Kotaku and we’ll break out all the news. Start your guessing now for what they’ll be showing now. Just more Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze, Bravely Default and…
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