Stephen Totilo, Author at Kotaku

No Retro Games in Future Animal Crossings—With One Possible Exception

The first Animal Crossing game released in the U.S. in 2001 let players add joy to their villager’s treasure-digging and furniture-arranging lives by collecting and playing emulated Nintendo Entertainment System games. There were Nintendo games within that Nintendo game. That’s not coming back, the series’ creator told Kotaku “Please consider it’s not happening ever again,”…

By Stephen Totilo Published June 8, 2013

Report: Gaming Hacker SuperDaE Facing Child Porn, Dishonesty Charges [UPDATE]

The Australian hacker who breached Sony, Microsoft, Epic, Valve, Blizzard and other gaming companies before being raided by authorities in February is facing an array of unseemly charges, according to a report by an Australian wire service. The report by the AAP wire service in The Australian indicates that the teen hacker who goes by…

By Stephen Totilo Published June 7, 2013

I Played The New Animal Crossing With The People Who Made It

I’m a lucky gamer. I get to play games with the people who make them. I know it’s the job and that it’s usually tied to selling something, to puffing up a preview or what have you, but, hey, it’s also fun. It’s odd, too. You’re in this virtual world with the people who made…

By Stephen Totilo Published June 7, 2013

Three Short Comic Strips About Being a Female Game Journalist

Game critic Cara Ellison and artist Elizabeth Simins have collaborated on a trio of strips that they’re calling “New Strong Female Games Journalists.” We’re happy to debut them for you today. Ellison and Simins are here to make us think and to make us chuckle about anything game-related, really. But for starters, they’ve got this…

By Stephen Totilo Published June 7, 2013

Reacting to criticism for releasing a trailer on the anniversary of D-Day about an alternate history where the Nazis won World War II, Wolfenstein publisher Bethesda says the timing was “pure coincidence.”

By Stephen Totilo Published June 6, 2013

I Have Staggered Monsters In Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII

My first hands-on session with Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII and its interesting new combat system was, fittingly, lightning quick. Just a few minutes at the end of a long night of seeing the stacked upcoming line-up of Square Enix’s (and pals Deep Silver’s) next games: the Deus Ex iPad game, the new Thief, the…

By Stephen Totilo Published June 6, 2013

Leak: Modern Warfare Creators’ New Game, Titanfall, Is Xbox & PC Only [UPDATE]

An apparent leak of the cover of the next issue of Game Informer confirms one of the bigger pieces of news for this E3. As we’d reported last month, the next game from the people who made Call of Duty popular is an Xbox/Xbox One console exclusive. This is a big deal. The game, called…

By Stephen Totilo Published June 6, 2013

Nintendo’s Clarification About The 8GB Wii U Doesn’t Clarify Much

Nintendo is pushing back a tad against the notion, reported by Kotaku yesterday, that 8GB Wii U Basic’s demise is imminent. Yesterday we reported that GameStop has issued a “recall” of the $300 white version of the Wii U. Today, Nintendo says that they are simply doing a “rebalance” of the supply of white 8GB…

By Stephen Totilo Published June 5, 2013

Someday Our Xbox 360s Will Be Retro. And This is How We’ll Feel.

One of my new favorite YouTubers, LaserFrog, knows that the Xbox 360 will someday be a retro console. He imagines this beautiful but somewhat sad future. “Ah, remember the 360? Crazy to think it used a disc drive. Don’t know how we ever got past those dark ages!” So good. I’ll cherish my 360, and…

By Stephen Totilo Published June 5, 2013

8GB Wii U Basic Nixed?

A reliable retail source tells us that some GameStop chains will no longer be selling the 8GB Wii U as of June 18, exactly one week after Nintendo’s big E3 kick-offevent. Our source says GameStop has contacted stores with the following message: Nintendo Wii U Basic Recall – Two Week Preparation On Tuesday, 6/18, all…