Final Fantasy XIV Had A Great Weekend. Let’s Celebrate Live.

The congestion issues of launch now a thing of the past and apologies accepted, we’ve got all the time in the world to play Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. Sounds like the perfect time for a live stream to me. Update: Hey now, hey now — the stream is over. Not only does server…

Manifesto: The 21st Century Will Be Defined By Games

Previous centuries have been defined by novels and cinema. In a bold manifesto we’re proud to debut here on Kotaku, game designer Eric Zimmerman states that this century will be defined by games. Below is Zimmerman’s manifesto, which will also appear in the upcoming book The Gameful World from MIT press. We invite you to…

Moneysaver: Anodyne, Tomb Raider, Star Trek Films, Last of Us, Storage

Big titles like Tomb Raider, Borderlands 2, Dead Space 3, Crysis 3, Halo 4, Pikmin 3, and the Mass Effect Trilogy are heavily discounted, so catch up on what you’ve missed out on, and don’t forget to pre-order Grand Theft Auto V. We’ve been tweeting a ton of deals, especially in the evenings and over…

Three Theories As To Why Metal Gear Solid V’s Sniper Is So, Um, Sexy

Metal Gear Solid has never been a franchise that’s lacked fan service when it comes to depicting attractive characters, but that doesn’t mean the characters don’t have a reason for looking the way they do. Last week, Hideo Kojima tweeted that he was making some of the characters in Metal Gear Solid V more eroticas…

The free-to-play “StarCraft MMO,” StarCraft Universe, being made with Blizzard’s approval—surpassed its $80,000 funding goal on Kickstarter with a day left in the campaign. A five-player boss raid demo (that’s the video) released in the last week of the drive is credited with pushing the team over the top.

We live in a world where the newest Nintendo 3DS doesn’t have 3D and one of the newest PlayStation Vitas doesn’t have any screen at all (other than your TV). What could possibly be next? Just asking…

When You Go Four Years Without A New Rainbow Six… Make Your Own

It’s been a while since the last Rainbow Six game, so Christian Allen decided to kickstart a spiritual successor to the franchise. A little over a year later, and I finally got to sit down and take a look at the beta version with him. I learned a few things — mostly that pistols don’t…

Activision Hires Big-Time Lobbying Firm as Violent Games Bill Looms

Activision has gone out and hired a lobbyist—one of the biggest lobbying firms in Washington—for representation when Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s violent video games bill, which would order research into any causal links between violent video games and violent behavior, comes to the Senate floor. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld is no joke. It’s a…

The Uncomfortable Line Between Free-To-Play And Premium

When one downloads a free game for their phone or tablet, there’s a fair chance they’ll be getting an experience that isn’t all it can be without additional purchases. That shouldn’t be the case with $7 premium title like 2K Drive, yet here we are. To be clear, not a single additional penny is required…

PS4 Developer Talks About The GIF That Made Him Famous

Nate Fox feels kind of weird about seeing his face everywhere on the Internet. Wouldn’t you? Fox, a longtime employee of Sucker Punch and the director of the upcoming PlayStation 4 game Infamous: Second Son, achieved a certain level of Internet fame in February, during the big PS4 reveal conference, when he made a funny…

Every Game Coming Out Between The PS4 And Xbox One

PlayStation 4: November 15. Xbox One: November 22. But when do the games come out? And don’t forget that they’re still making games for the Xbox 360 and PS3, which we will soon have to refer to as the “old consoles” (can you imagine?). In the one-week span that we’ll be getting Sony and Microsoft’s…

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: Sylverfyst explains what’s so great about sports-centric anime, JJtheTexan reminisces about a history growing up with Nintendo (and the game that beat him), and Arok Lazarus reviews Cytus Lambda on the PS Vita

Well, What Do You Think of the PS4’s Japan Launch Line-Up?

Today in Tokyo, Sony dated the PlayStation 4 for Japan. It also revealed the console’s launch lineup for the region. Let’s have a look. 　 Barring any last minute additions, gamers in Japan can look forward to titles like Watch Dogs, among others—there are 19 in total. According to 4Gamer, Sony also listed upcoming titles.…

The All-Android Week In Gaming Apps, As Foretold By Prophecy

What took the promised all-Android Week in Gaming apps so long? If you ask me, I blame Android. You see, while other platforms are standardized and uniform, Android covers a wide variety of devices, and not all of them work with all peripherals. For instance, the new Nexus 7 doesn’t use the older MHL HDMI…

League of Legends Player Raises $106,000 For Charity In One Day

Streaming League of Legends for 13 hours nonstop was enough for Siv HD, a League of Legends player mostly known for his unorthodox gaming methods, to raise a whopping $106,000 for starving children. Competitive gaming has seen fund raisers before—you may remember Athene’s $1 million attempt. But to achieve a goal this big in only…

Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs: The Kotaku Review

Some games are defined by a single place; others by a single character. Still other games are defined by action, by something you can do in the game itself. In its early goings, the horror game Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is defined by a single word: Nope. Near to the start of the game,…

Final Fantasy X/X-2 Isn’t the Only Game with a New Vita Slim

To mark the release of Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster, Sony is releasing a special Vita Slim. But this isn’t the only one. Sony is also releasing Vita Slims for Gundam Breaker and God Eater 2. The Gundam Breaker one is part of a “Starter Pack” that comes with plastic Gundam models. The set is…

Japan’s Getting Soul Sacrifice Delta, An Updated Re-Release, Next Year

Here’s a first look at the upcoming Soul Sacrifice Delta, which, according to Famitsu, will be playable at this year’s Tokyo Game Show. Designer Keiji Inafune said Soul Sacrifice Delta is a “brand new version” of Soul Sacrifice with a “brand new elements”—including a third, “Neutral” option for the game’s Save/Sacrifice system. Soul Sacrifice Delta…

It looks like the Pilotwings stage will be a great one in Super Smash Bros. Wii U Mario probably freaked out when he realized he’s on a plane, chased by The Villager, who doesn’t seem to care much about the heights. Dayshot is an image-based feature that runs every morning, showcasing some of the prettiest,funniest…

Today in Tokyo, D3 Publisher announced that a new Earth Defense Force game is in development for the PS4. Note that this is not the Xbox 360/PS3 title Earth Defense Force 2025, which is already out in Japan and will hit the West in February, but a completely new game.