Culture

We Do Not Need To Defend Video Games From Politicians

We have reached the point in American society where you can reliably predict the series of events that immediately follow a mass shooting. In 2019, you can set a clock to it: After the shock and scramble to understand what happened amid the chaotic perpetual loop of social media and cable news, we begin to…

It’s Been A Spectacular Few Days For Mario Speedrunning

The Super Mario games are among some of the most popular in all of speedrunning. From console to console, Mario has been pushed to his breaking point. The last few days have formed a watershed moment for Mario speedrunning as new records in Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario 64 move into uncharted territory and…

The Latest Twitch Sensation Is Chickens, Goats, And Bees

Each morning, as the sun rises over her Indiana farm, Erica Hopkins wakes up and tends to the goats. She has three major tasks: milk her herd of Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats, bottle-feed the babies, and, of course, respond to the Twitch chat watching it all go down. It would probably take Hopkins less time…

PAX Cancels Controversial Hosts’ Live Podcast, Won’t Say Why [Update]

The Seattle gaming convention PAX West has canceled a planned live recording of the “Sacred Symbols” gaming podcast, hosted by politically controversial commentators Colin Moriarty and Chris “Ray Gun” Maldonado, that was set to take place at the show on September 2. It hasn’t yet given a reason for the cancellation, which has caused a…

I Can’t Help Reading Every Damn Text Box In Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Fire Emblem: Three Houses has been a little bit of a slow burn for me. While I’ve been a fan of the series since Awakening, I found myself beset by choice paralysis in Three Houses when I realized that I did not even remotely feel attached to any of the three precocious rich children with…

Fire Emblem: Three Houses Made Claude’s Voice Actor Reminisce About Military Academy

Joe Zieja’s path to voicing the English-language version of Fire Emblem: Three Houses lead Claude von Reigan was a circuitous one. Zieja said over the phone that he only realized what a huge role Claude was while he was recording. He told me that the director for the English voice actors, Patrick Seitz, broke the…

It’s A Video Game Streaming Station In A Suitcase

GAEMS makes travel cases with built-in speakers and screens for console gaming on the go. Launched last week, the $700 Guardian Pro XP is GAEMS’ most advanced cases yet. With a 24-inch 1440p HDR display, chambered speakers with passive subwoofers, and rails for mounting a webcam and lighting, it’s a portable streaming station for the…

Destiny 2 Players Are Having Fun Punching Raid Bosses To Death

Destiny 2’s raid boss fights are supposed to be brutal, drawn-out affairs. They take a while to complete even for stronger players. Over the weekend, though, Destiny players discovered a character build that can be used to kill any raid boss with just a few punches. The build is by Gladd, who we’ve reported on…

The Week In Games: Mr. President, Your Mech Is Ready

After years and years of being a Japan-only Xbox release, Metal Wolf Chaos is finally coming out in more places later this week. Now we can all experience the fun of being the President of The United States and using a giant mech to fight the Vice President’s evil army. This weekend has sucked due…

Twitch Uses Mario Reference To Let Viewers Know Ninja Left

Last Thursday, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins announced he was leaving Twitch to stream exclusively on Mixer. Twitch has subsequently added a tongue-in-cheek reference to the original Super Mario Bros. at the top of his channel to mark the popular streamer’s departure. “The Ninja you’re looking for is in another castle,” a banner at the top of…

Track: Let Me Sleep Beside You | Artist: David Bowie | Album: David Bowie

Goodnight, Chicago. USA. By Martin Tan JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line!

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Colie Wertz is a veteran concept artist and VFX guy based in San Francisco. You can see more of Colie’s work at his ArtStationand Instagrampages.

‘Shop Contest: Finding The Next Twitch Superstar

Ninja, the former Twitch superstar, has left the popular streaming service and is now only on Mixer. This leaves a gap for someone else to jump into Twitch streaming and become the next Ninja! Let’s figure out who that next famous streamer might be. Your challenge this week: Bring some fresh faces to Twitch! Anyone…

15 Years Later, I Was Finally Brave Enough To Finish Doom 3

After the recent surprise release of Doom 3 on PS4, Xbox One, and Switch I felt I needed to finally accomplish something I had been putting off for too long. It was time to load up Doom 3, start a new game and finish this thing. I tried before when I was much younger and…

Sunday Comics: He Seems Nice

Hello! It’s time for Kotaku’s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published July 29. Read more of Awkward Zombie Corpse Run by Alex Di Stasi. Published Aug. 1. Read more of Corpse Run “Actual footage of…

SonicFox Proves He’s The King Of Mortal Kombat 11 At Evo 2019

Evo 2019’s Mortal Kombat 11 tournament ended with Dominique “SonicFox” McLean lying on stage, his weekend of competition finally over. He was once again the king of Mortal Kombat Although SonicFox has competed in multiple games over his career, NetherRealm Studios franchises have always felt like his home. He first made his mark on Evo…

GO1 Breaks Down In Tears After Defeating SonicFox, Winning Dragon Ball FighterZ At Evo 2019

Dragon Ball FighterZ is in a very different place than it was in 2018, especially when it comes to the Evolution Championship Series. The shine has worn off the game a bit due to various factors, and attendance dropped considerably compared to 2018, relegating the once-beloved game to a Saturday finals placement rather than a…

‘Shop Contest: National Mustard Day, Winners!

Happy National Mustard Day! Grab your bottles of mustard and start eating stuff covered in that spicy, yellow sauce. This magical day only comes once a year, so take advantage of it! To celebrate the holiday, I asked you wonderful folks to create some images featuring video games and mustard. Some of you decided to…

The Women Of The Fighting Game Community Have One Clear Request: ‘Listen’

Evo 2019 hosted a special panel titled “The Women of the FGC,” allowing female members of the community the opportunity to speak about their experiences within the competitive fighting game space. While the hour-long discussion would touch on a variety of topics, there was one clear through-line expressed by the women on stage: “Listen to…