Culture Archives - Page 1543 of 1552

This Week In The Business: “Difficult to Excuse.”

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week… QUOTE | “Peaked in some respects.” – M2 Research’s Billy Pidgeon on the status of Xbox 360 in the market and the chances that Microsoft announces new hardware at E3 2012 QUOTE | “The market opportunity is there.” – THQ boss Brian Farrell talks…

By Drew Cohen Published May 6, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

Thank You, Star Wars, For All These Awesome Games

May 4 is Star Wars Day, in honour of, well, the fact “May the 4th” sounds a bit like “May the force…”. Silly, I know, but it also gives us a chance to look back on the amazing video games the sci-fi franchise has given us over the years. And by years, I should really…

By Luke Plunkett Published May 5, 2011

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A Tribute to the Glory of Wood-Panelled Video Game Consoles

These could sit comfortably in a commercial for cigarettes or a fine Scotch

By Luke Plunkett Published May 4, 2011

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The Father Of Video Games Fled The Nazis, Fought Them Then Took All Their Guns

Ralph Baer is widely acknowledged to be the “father of video games”, thanks to his work in the 1960’s pioneering the device that would become the Magnavox Odyssey, the world’s first ever video game console. Unlike most men and women in the industry today, though, his background is not that of a comfortable middle-class kid.…

By Luke Plunkett Published May 3, 2011

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Metal Gear Was Born On Microsoft’s Great Japanese Success

Microsoft and video games are a bit of a running joke in Japan these days. After a decade of trying (and failing) with the Xbox, the company just can’t seem to win the Japanese public over. It wasn’t always that way, however. Indeed, in the 1980’s, Microsoft produced a surprisingly successful games platform, one that…

By Luke Plunkett Published May 2, 2011

Culture

Apocalypse Now

The zombie fad shows no signs of dying – hah, get it? – as Treyarch delivers the Escalation Map Pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops. The week’s biggest retail drop is Motorstorm: Apocalypse for PS3, but all your racing will be offline if the PSN Apocalypse hasn’t abated by Tuesday. Monday Fate: The Cursed…

By Owen Good Published May 1, 2011

CultureShop Contest

AR Games in Real Life

Headline’s kind of a misnomer because, the deal with the augmented reality games on the 3DS is, they are kinda-sorta played in real life. But not the way we’re gonna play them. See, I have this silly belief that the AR characters are real, and they’re all around us, we just can’t see them. Only…

By Owen Good Published May 1, 2011

Culture

Sunday Comics

Welcome to your Sunday read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published April 18. – Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published April 18. – Read more of Nerf…

By Owen Good Published May 1, 2011

Culture

This Week In The Business: “A Nightmare.”

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week… QUOTE | “Definitely affects our bottom line.” – PixelJunk developer Dylan Cuthbert on the financial impact the PSN outage is having on developers QUOTE | “PS3 sales won’t be impacted at all.” – Belief of analyst Michael Pachter that Sony’s PSN fiasco actually won’t…

James Brightman | IndustryGamers.com Published April 29, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

Sony Hasn’t Always Hated Homebrew Development

Sony’s recent run of legal and now technical issues with hackers can be traced back to a single decision: that of removing the ability to run the Linux operating system on the PlayStation 3. While Sony cut Linux out of piracy fears, fans were upset that it brought to an end over a decade of…

By Luke Plunkett Published April 29, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

The Kids Who Grew Up In Arcades

In their heyday, arcades weren’t just about the games. They were about the experience of leaving the house and going to a public space to play games, hanging out with friends and meeting new people who would then kick your ass. It’s a scene that today is sadly long gone. All we’ve got left, then,…

By Luke Plunkett Published April 28, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

When Halo was on the Mac, and was a Totally Different Game

It seems an age since the world first saw Halo. It was the 20th century. Back when it was introduced by…Steve Jobs. And was a…third-person shooter. The series has come a long way since then, but sometimes it’s fun to look back. At blocky space marines and a major game being announced in Comic Sans…

By Luke Plunkett Published April 27, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

The Town That Banned Pac-Man

Arcade games may have been a source of great joy and entertainment for millions across the world in the 1980s, but for the small town of Marshfield, Massachusetts they were nothing but trouble. Fearful of the effects arcade video games would have on Marshfield and its inhabitants, in 1982 the town outlawed the use of…

By Luke Plunkett Published April 26, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

The Weird And Wonderful World Of The Sega Genesis

One of the great things about the Genesis (or Mega Drive, depending on where you’re from) is the fact that, unlike most other major consoles, Sega licensed out its technology, meaning a range of companies could , along with Sega itself, come up with their own wacky versions of the console. While some of these…

By Luke Plunkett Published April 25, 2011

Culture

Sunday Comics

Welcome to your Sunday read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published April 18. – Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published April 18. – Read more of Nerf…

By Owen Good Published April 24, 2011

Culture

This Week In The Business: “There’s no level of polish.”

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week… QUOTE | “There’s no level of polish.” – Former Apple games guru Graeme Devine on the biggest problem with iPhone games QUOTE | “Incompetent” – Infamous hacking group Anonymous, denying responsibility for the massive PSN outage. STAT | 533% – The amount that 3D…

James Brightman | IndustryGamers.com Published April 22, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

Nintendo’s First Arcade Games Were, Well, Pretty Sucky

It’s one of those quirks of history that Nintendo, a company synonymous with colourful characters and fun video games, made its very first independent venture into the world of arcade gaming with…a board game adaptation. While 1981’s Donkey Kong and 1983’s Mario Bros. are most people’s introduction to Nintendo arcade games, the company’s first coin-op…

By Luke Plunkett Published April 21, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

Happy 65th Birthday Tim Curry, You Video Game Legend

Acclaimed British actor Tim Curry may be most famous to regular folk for his roles in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and…Muppet Treasure Island, but he’s most famous around here for his work in video games. You see, Tim Curry – who Infinite Lives reminds us turns 65 today – is Kotaku After Dark’s favourite…

By Luke Plunkett Published April 20, 2011

CultureTotal Recall

Meet The World’s First Flight Simulator

Depending on how old you are, if you’re a flight sim fan you probably cut your teeth on a series like Microsoft Flight Simulator, Falcon or Flight Unlimited. But did you know the world’s very first flight simulator was built all the way back in 1929? It was built by a man named Edwin Link,…

By Luke Plunkett Published April 18, 2011

Culture

Sunday Comics

Welcome to your Sunday read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published April 11. – Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published April 12. – Read more of Nerf…

By Owen Good Published April 17, 2011