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CultureEpic Pledges To Support Developers After Intense Harassment Of Ooblets Team
By now, you probably know the drill: A developer announces that it will sell the PC version of its game exclusively through the Epic Games Store. Cue wailing, gnashing of teeth, and increasingly, harassment from folks used to smashing that “buy” button on Steam. The latest target of Epic exclusivity ire? The developers of Ooblets,…
By Nathan Grayson Published August 5, 2019 -
CultureTwo Women Say They Were Sexually Assaulted At Red Bull’s Evo 2019 Party
Last night, Red Bull hosted its annual official after-party for the Evolution Championship Series at the HyperX Esports Arena, a venue at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. This morning, two women have come forward to describe having been sexually assaulted while attending this party. Also, a male attendee has shared his belief that a…
By Maddy Myers Published August 5, 2019 -
CultureWe 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…
By Joshua Rivera Published August 5, 2019 -
CultureIt’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…
By Heather Alexandra Published August 5, 2019 -
CultureThe 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…
Nicole Carpenter Published August 5, 2019 -
CulturePAX 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…
By Ethan Gach Published August 5, 2019 -
CultureKotaku Game DiaryI 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…
By Natalie Degraffinried Published August 5, 2019 -
CultureFire 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…
By Gita Jackson Published August 5, 2019 -
CultureIt’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…
By Mike Fahey Published August 5, 2019 -
CultureDestiny 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…
By Ethan Gach Published August 5, 2019 -
CultureThe 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…
By Zack Zwiezen Published August 5, 2019 -
CultureTwitch 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…
By Ethan Gach Published August 5, 2019 -
CultureTrack: Let Me Sleep Beside You | Artist: David Bowie | Album: David Bowie
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 5, 2019 -
CultureShop Contest‘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…
By Zack Zwiezen Published August 4, 2019 -
Culture15 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…
By Zack Zwiezen Published August 4, 2019 -
CultureSunday 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…
By Zack Zwiezen Published August 4, 2019 -
CultureSonicFox 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…
By Ian Walker Published August 4, 2019 -
CultureGO1 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…
By Ian Walker Published August 3, 2019