Culture

The First Time Diablo Came To Consoles

Diablo III comes to consoles today, and I’m just as giddy as I was back in March 1998, picking up my copy of Diablo for the original PlayStation — and the additional memory card needed to save the game. Picking up a new game was a special event for 24-year-old me. There was a ritual…

What The Iron Throne Should Really Look Like

The one in the show is cool, don’t get me wrong, but in the books, it’s described as being made of one thousands blades. HBO’s version is nowhere near it. This one, though, is closer to the real thing. So much so that series creator George R R Martin has given the image his blessing…

Go Forth, Space Knights, And Shoot Blue Lasers

Brandon Liao is an artist at League of Legends developers Riot Games, but today’s Fine Art isn’t about lanes or monsters. It’s mostly about space guns and some incredible sci-fi architecture. You can see more future soldiers and fancy castles at Brandon’s personal site (thanks Concept Art World!) To see the larger pics in all…

The Week in Games: Ray of Sunshine

At long last, Rayman Legends arrives this week, on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and, ahem, Wii U. Diablo III likewise ventures onto consoles, along with Total War: Rome 2 for PC. Tuesday • Total War: Rome 2 (PC) • Rayman Legends (360, PS3, Wii U, PC, Vita) • Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate (360, PS3)…

Sunday Comics: The Bigger They Are …

Welcome to Kotaku‘s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics, chosen by our readership. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon in the lower right corner. Brawl In The Family by Matthew Taranto. Published Aug. 30. Read more of Brawl In The Family Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and…

This Week in the Business: Sympathy for the Devil

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “It’s like the Satan spawn to some people and it’s the end of the world because games are free-to-play.”—EA COO Peter Moore, talking about how F2P is just a way to get more people into gaming, and it’s growing QUOTE |…

The Official Xbox One Doritos And Mountain Dew Are Here

A new flavor of Mountain Dew Game Fuel, a shiny bag of Doritos and a card explaining what these things have to do with the Xbox One arrived on my doorstep bright and early this morning, so I made a video and drank some soda. For you. As mentioned in the vid, there’s a party…

A Man Who Makes Video Games Move

No disrespect to concept artists, but it’s always great when I get to run a Fine Art on something other than traditional 2D work, if only because that’s what we end up running most of the time. Today’s a great day, then, because we’re looking at one of the animators who has brought series like…

Oh, Nothin’, Just Thinkin’ About Some Great Game Art

Artist Karla Ortiz, who has worked at NCSoft and Ubisoft, and also done stuff for Wizards of the Coast, is currently doing some stuff with Lucasfilm. She is very good. I’ve posted some of her work below, but really, you’re going to want to go to her site to see more, it’s fantastic stuff. To…

Watch The Fastest Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker Run In The World

Speedrunner Cosmo Wright is on a roll—last week, he was able to nab the world record for fastest Ocarina of Time run, beating it in nineteen minutes and fifteen seconds. Today he’s back with another record: the fastest Wind Waker playthrough as of this writing. You can watch it for yourself. The time is four…

More Stunning Art From 2013’s Prettiest Video Game

If you’re just joining me on the Banner Saga hype train, know that it’s a turn-based combat/strategy game, and that it is already one of the most beautiful video games of all time. So any chance I get to post more art from the game, you can bet your shieldmaiden I’ll be doing just that.…

Some Of The Earliest Images Of An “Adult” Link

Last month, we took a look at some of the earliest Zelda art available, some production and marketing pieces done by Katsuya Terada for A Link to the Past. Today, we’re looking at something similar, albeit a little rougher. The pieces you’re seeing below are ancient sketches by Terada that were published in a commercial…

The Wonderful Robot Art Of Elysium

I sometimes take a break from video games here on Fine Art to show the very best in concept art from the movie business. Today is one of the days, because Elysium’s art is worth the detour. The images you’ll see below are the work of Ben Mauro, an artist we’ve featured previously here on…

The Week in Games: Pigskin Picks

Lots of heavy hitters in the lineup this week, as Madden NFL 25 is joined by Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn and Lost Planet 3 on Tuesday. New Super Luigi U already is out today on Wii U and the Mac version of SimCity arrives Thursday. There’s more on the jump. Today • New…

Sunday Comics: Planned Obsolescence

Welcome to Kotaku‘s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics, chosen by our readership. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon in the lower right corner. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira. Published Aug. 20. Read more of Nerf NOW!! Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins and Mike Krahulik. Published Aug.…

This Week in the Business: When Ads Go Bad

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “They’re using words like amateur, crass, gross, disgusting … nothing that you’d want your brand associated with.”—A veteran game marketing executive describes the widespread negative response to Ouya’s ‘vomiting gamer’ ad QUOTE | “The handheld market, in terms of the media…

Here’s How You Can Make Your Very Own Ramen Burger

Remember that ramen burger we wrote about a few months ago? It’s only available in Japan and New York…but it’s not like you can’t make your own. popsugartvyum here walks us through it—mind, this is the kind of ramen burger that uses the ramen as buns, not as the patty. I’m sure you could adapt…

Sunday Comics: Effective Anti-fungal Fighter

Welcome to Kotaku‘s Sunday Comics, your weekly roundup of the best webcomics, chosen by our readership. The images enlarge if you click on the magnifying glass icon in the lower right corner. Another Videogame Webcomic by Phil Chan and Joe Dunn. Published Aug. 16. Read more of Another Videogame Webcomic Penny Arcade by Jerry Holkins…

Potato Girl Loves Their Hash Browns: Who knew that Denny’s were such big fans of Attack on Titan? After someone sent the diner chain a picture of “Potato Girl,” calling her “your mascot,” Denny’s Twitter account sent out this scrumptious mash-up. [CrunchyRoll, h/t mr_raccoon]

This Week in the Business: Fortune Also Favors the Cautious

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “Being too ambitious, as we have seen with THQ for example, is not always a good thing.”—Koch Media co-founder Dr. Klemes Kundratitz, on rapid growth at Koch Media and its publishing arm Deep Silver QUOTE | “GameStop has at least 10…