Culture

The Specs Of A Nintendo Console That Never Was

A quick recap for those who may not know: the Sony PlayStation only came about because a dealbetween Sony and Nintendo to produce a CD-based console fell through. Nintendo then went ahead with plans to make their own CD drive, and stick it on the SNES. That ill-fated attachment never appeared on the market, but…

If I Weigh 99 Pounds And Eat A Pound Of Nachos, Am I 1% Nacho?

An important question is finally answered. SciShow does a great job answering this reader’s question about what constitutes ‘you’, and if any of that can technically be considered nachos. Sadly, the answer is no, but there’s still a good lesson here: Humans are basically shaped like weird, complicated donuts. SciShow via FirstWeFeast

The First Day of Steam Tags Is Both Funny and Sad

Sometimes, people come together to do wonderful things. And sometimes, people come together to do terrible, silly things. When it comes to Steam’s new tagging system—which is currently in beta—it’s a mix of both. Yesterday, Valve introduced “Steam Tags,” a system which lets users label games with a few words or phrases. Most of the…

​Ask Dr. Nerdlove: When A ‘Nice Guy’ Won’t Leave You Alone

What’s going on, everyone? Welcome to the latest installment of Ask Dr. NerdLove, the greatest nerd love-advice column ever conceived by man. Before we get started, a self-serving plug: If you’re in Houston on the 27th of February, I’m going to be giving a Nerd Nite talk on how to hack dating and turn being…

Now These Are Some Good-Lookin’ Giant Robots

You may not have heardof World War Machine, an indie project that’s part of Square Enix’s Collective program. Which means you might not have seen its amazing robot designs either. Shame. Artist Aaron Beck has done some work for the project. Beck is one of the best in the business when it comes to this…

Track: Blaze | Album: As The World Burns | Artist: Arsonists Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to—and gaming to—at the moment.

Halo, Destiny Artist Sure Knows How To Draw Cool Stuff

So, Isaac Hannaford is an artist who was featuredhere before this concept art feature even had a name. So we’re about overdue for a second, proper look at his work. As Lead Concept Artist at Destiny and former Halo developers Bungie, Hanneford is the man in charge of shaping the studio’s output. Which is one…

Tell Us the Game You’re Unbeatable At

Maybe it’s through natural talent, maybe through hours of obsessively replaying something. Maybe it’s speedrunning Metroid games, maybe hustling people in Street Fighter. Whatever it may be, what game are you best at, and how did you get that way? Personally, I tend to find myself playing games as far as my natural skill will…

Roman Games Weren’t Built In A Day

Silver Saaremael is a senior concept artist at Crytek, who spent the last two years working on Xbox One launch title Ryse. I don’t know how much more Ryse art we can post, but really, when it’s all this good, who cares. You can see more of Silver’s work at his personal site To see…

The Week in Games: Lightning Strikes

The week’s big new packaged release is Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, with a couple of bundles and re-releases arriving with it on Tuesday. The MMO World of Tanks fully launches on Xbox 360 on Wednesday, and The Last of Us gets its prequel, Left Behind, on Valentine’s Day. Here’s the week in games: Tuesday,…

Sunday Comics: Put Some Clothes On

Welcome to Kotaku‘s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published Feb. 8. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich. Published Feb. 3. Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and…

This Week in the Business: ‘Too Much Like Pornography?’

QUOTE | “You ever feel like what we’re doing is too much like pornography?”—Trip Hawkins, EA and Digital Chocolate founder, asking an odd question while on the difficulty of monetizing games Elsewhere in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “A culture where mistakes are frowned on absolutely crushes creativity.”—Ted Price,…

Track: Uruku Tumi Gushiku | Album: Jin Jin | Artist: Takashi Hirayasu & Bob Brozman Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to—and gaming to—at the moment.

How To Dress A Badass Barbarian

Kaija Rudkiewicz is a senior concept artist at Crytek, where she most recently worked on Xbox One launch title Ryse. For a game that was a bit ho-hum, it’s sure produced its share of amazingart. Most of the images you’ll see here are character pieces, exploring stuff like outfits, colour options and accessories. All fantastic…

The Internet Reacts To The New Sonic

Didya hear? Sonic and his friends are getting a facelift—and being that he’s one the most iconic video game characters out there, people have reacted strongly to his new look. As you might expect, there’s a lot of poking fun at Sonic—most people seem baffled or amused by the new designs. Here’s a selection of…

Start Your Day With A Delicious Cup Of Cereal Tea

Are you tired of suffering through all of that vigorous crunching and collateral mouth damage just to get to the delicious post-cereal milk at the end of the bowl? There is a better way, my friends — cereal tea. Don’t look at me, it was all Aaron Geman’s idea. Over at Instructables, he details the…

Future Paris, Despite All The Grime, Can Still Look Pretty

Gregory Szucs is a concept artist who has done card games, book covers, advertisements and, oh yeah, video games, his most recent being Dontnod’s gorgeous Remember Me. Most of the stuff you’ll see below is from Remember Me. There’s more stunning art from the game here You can see more of Gregory’s work at his…

Track: When The Sun Comes Down | Album: Freedom in the Groove | Artist: Joshua Redman Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

Track: Impossible | Album: Forever | Artist: Wu-Tang Clan Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to—and gaming to—at the moment.

The Future Is A Dark And Angular Place

Vang Cki is a concept artist based in Paris, who has worked for clients like Guerilla Games (Killzone). His robot, exosuit and weapon stuff is great, but I love how he’s also included “blueprint” shots of his designs as well. You can see more of Vang’s work at his personal site and CGHub page To…