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On Its Fifth Anniversary, Star Wars The Old Republic Is Interesting Again

Star Wars: The Old Republic is celebrating its five year anniversary right now and has added some major changes. BioWare’s narrative heavy online experience keeps expanding. Last year, they began a large storyline that’s continuing forward in the new Knights of the Eternal Throne expansion. I sat down with producer Ben Irving to talk about…

By Heather Alexandra Published December 23, 2016

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The Gravity Rush 2 Demo Is A Good Time

Between the Nier: Automata demo we played yesterday and this dizzying 20 minute slice of Gravity Rush 2, PlayStation 4 owners have some pretty amazing trying-before-buying to do over the holiday weekend. Bright, colorful and cheery, the demo for SIE Japan Studio’s Gravity Rush 2 is a lovely complement to Nier: Automata’s monochrome post-machine invasion…

By Mike Fahey Published December 23, 2016

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Steam Is Down [UPDATE: Steam Is No Longer Down]

UPDATE (2:06pm): Steam has returned. Carry on. Original post follows: Happy holidays. Steam is down. We don’t know why. Could it be back up by the time this post goes live? Absolutely. But for now, rest assured that A) it’s not just you and B) Half-Life 3 is never coming out. As we all wait…

By Jason Schreier Published December 23, 2016

Culture

A Year’s Worth Of Dating Advice For The Modern Geek

Another year is on the record books, and with it another couple dozen Ask Dr. Nerdlove columns. Such love, loss, and heartbreak! So much bad sex, so many toxic partners and jealous exes! It was a lot to unravel. I’ve really enjoyed editing Harris O’Malley over the last few years, mostly because I get to…

By Kirk Hamilton Published December 23, 2016

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YouTube Views Are Down, Analysis Says

For months, YouTubers have complained that their view counts are down. New data from the third-party stat tracker SocialBlade confirms what YouTubers fear: viewership is lower “across the board.” SocialBlade crunched some numbers for Kotaku and determined that, since the first half of the year, YouTube views are now 5-7% lower. Between July and September,…

By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published December 23, 2016

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Luke Plunkett’s Top Ten Games Of 2016

I played a lot of games in 2016, and as someone who loves strategy titles, it was a very good year. So drawing a line in the sand like this is always tough. Ah, who am I kidding, half the fun of these end of year lists is pitting your favourite (and often entirely unrelated)…

By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2016

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Why Did Nobody Tell Me About This Incredible Dragon Quest Builders Commercial

I am extremely disappointed in you, Kotaku readers, for not bringing this Japanese Dragon Quest Builders commercial to my attention a year ago when it first aired. It is perhaps the most informative and helpful look at Dragon Quest Builders one could find. (Skip to 0:29 here.) If, after watching this, you still don’t see…

By Jason Schreier Published December 23, 2016

Culture

Nice Jacket, Robot Assassin

Alex Figini is a concept artist at Bioware. He made this robot, and I want his jacket very much. Figini, whose art we’ve featured before, has also worked at Sony. The robot you’re seeing below wasn’t made for a game, it was actually made for a ZBrush course over on Learn Squared, so if you’re…

By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2016

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Australian Court Fines Valve $2.1 Million Over Refund Policy

In a hearing earlier this afternoon, the Federal Court has fined Valve AUD$3 million (USD$2.16 million) over breaches of Australian consumer law for their lack of an advertised refund policy on Steam from 2011 to 2014. In the judgement published online, Justice Edelman ruled that Valve “engaged in conduct which was misleading or deceptive or…

Alex Walker Published December 23, 2016

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Krunch From Diddy Kong Racing Is Real, Lives In Florida

A Florida woman has won a battle which will allow her to keep her pet alligator. An alligator which wears a jacket, rides an ATV and looks a lot like Diddy Kong Racing’s Krunch. The alligator, which is named Rambo, was the focus of a disagreement between its owner, Mary Thorn, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife…

By Luke Plunkett Published December 22, 2016

Culture

Man, That’s A Brutal Battlefield Headshot

Today on Highlight Reel we have headshots, awkward dancing, Rainbow Six Siege aces, perfect Halo 5 timing and much more! Watch the video then talk about your favorite highlight in the comments below. Be sure to check out, like, and share the original videos via the links below. Subscribe to Kotaku on YouTube for more!…

By Chris Person Published December 22, 2016

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The Nier: Automata PS4 Demo Is Live, And It’s Awesome

Christmas comes a couple days early for PlayStation 4 owners with a playable demo of Nier: Automata. It’s a half-hour packed with slick hack and slash action, novel camera angles, a little drama and massive boss battles, and it’s so good. Platinum Games’ hack-and-slash follow-up to 2010’s Nier, follows combat android 2B, her companion 9S…

By Mike Fahey Published December 22, 2016

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Streamer Faces The Challenges Of Coming Out As Transgender On Twitch

When DistractedElf decided to transition, she worried that it could be the end of her stream. It was a big change, and she figured a lot of her audience would be pissed. But she couldn’t deny who she was. “I can’t pretend I’m not trans,” she said. DistractedElf first started streaming on Twitch after she…

By Nathan Grayson Published December 22, 2016

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Ask Kotaku‘s Staff Anything: Holiday Edition

It’s almost Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s Eve, and, perhaps most importantly, The End Of 2016. Come chat with the staff of Kotaku as we prepare to move on from this horrible year (and into what will inevitably be a worse one). You can ask us whatever you’d like.

By Jason Schreier Published December 22, 2016

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You Can Now Play Pokémon Go On An Apple Watch—But Not Catch Pokémon

Viral rat-hunting mobile game Pokémon Go is now on the Apple Watch. Starting today, you can find rats, some of which now have Christmas hats, on your $270 wrist-bound iPhone. Fans expected Niantic to release an associated Pokémon Go app closer to September, or at least, before the end of the year. A rumorrecently spread…

By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published December 22, 2016

Culture

The Steam Winter Sale Begins

It’s officially winter. Deep Winter. You know what that means: Steam Sale. This is the big one, or at least, the final big one of the year. If you need to get some last-second (Christmas is in three days WHAT ARE YOU DOING) holiday shopping done, here you go. This year’s sale is pretty barebones.…

By Nathan Grayson Published December 22, 2016

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What Did You Think Of The Yuri On Ice Finale?

Queer ice skating anime Yuri!!! on Ice closed out its first season yesterday with enough fanfare to crash streaming site Crunchyroll. Twelve episodes of triple axels, dashing costumes and raw male-on-male emotions made this cloying sports show a sensation. Some questions were answered, and more were asked—did the anime bait viewers with promises of explicit…

By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published December 22, 2016

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Five-Year-Old Makes Millions To Play With Toys

Ryan of Ryan ToysReview is a five year old YouTube star, playing with toys for an audience of millions. But, as reported in the Verge,his popularity and financial success raises new questions about the ethics of child stardom. To be fair, it seems like Ryan’s parents have a good head on their shoulders. As they…

By Gita Jackson Published December 22, 2016

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World of Warcraft Guild Forgets To Screenshot Raid Boss Kill, Starts Drawing Them In MS Paint

When European World of Warcraft guild Wiping with Enthusiasm missed capturing a screen of its Elerethe Renferal kill during the Mythic Emerald Nightmare raid, their guild leader started documenting their progress using MS Paint. And that is how art is born. Looking through the comments onKordusain’s Reddit post showing off Wiping’s non-wiping moments, capturing key…

By Mike Fahey Published December 22, 2016

CultureSplitscreen

Podcast: Super Mario Run Is Pretty Damn Great

Super Mario Run is surprisingly challenging, which is one of the reasons I like it more than I thought I would. Let’s discuss—on today’s Kotaku Splitscreen On today’s show we talk about Mario’s first foray into mobile gaming and fantasize a bit about what Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem iOS games might look like. We…

By Jason Schreier Published December 22, 2016