Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: The Karting Dead

So, we’re back to an evergreen subject for this week’s contest after a couple of suboptimal candidates fell through. (One was a pic of my boss on vacation, and I have a daily goal of remaining employed.) So it’s time to raid Gergo’s Dayshot archive! I had eyes on this thing when Gergo dug it…

Does Your Gamertag Have Herpes? Beware Xbox Live Enforcement United

I do not envy Xbox Live’s enforcement moderators. They have an endless and thankless task policing the service’s notoriously juvenile user base. And mind-numbing, too, if a the experience offered by “Enforcement United”—Xbox Live’s new crowdsourced tattling system—is any indication. Announced last week, Enforcement United is going to be part of a self-policing strategy designed…

Sunday Comics: Infinite Variety

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. Brentalfloss the Comic by Brent Black, Andrew Dobson and Dan Roth. Published July 30. Read more of Brentalfloss the Comic Penny Arcade by…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Sharksassin: The Winners

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag played the shark card last week and you all called its bluff in the ‘Shop Contest. Today we have two dozen finalists compiled, including three double-finishers, plus SteveFish, a first-timer at overall number one! Gang, it is no secret the ‘Shop Contest has been through a challenging year, thanks to…

For the Last Time, Sony Shuts the Door on PlayStation All-Stars

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale fans, I am here to crush your dreams. There is no hope of additional DLC. There will be no more stages. Sony’s Santa Monica Studio, the studio in charge of the game (for as long as it continues), flat-out shut the door. But free costumes! It’s kind of sad Santa Monica…

“What if the classic arcade game Contra had been made into a live action movie back in the 1980s?” asked action-figure maker Mint Condition Customs. Interesting question, since Konami practically built the game with spare parts from 1980s action flicks. These custom figs are still outstanding. [via MTV Multiplayer]

Minecraft‘s Ending Makes for a Lovely Song

When you’re deluged within-game recreations of basketball, the first 15 minutes of Star Wars, and a giant Golden Toilet, in can be tough to remember that Minecraft is a game with a conclusion. Someone’s adapted a song from what happens after that conclusion—which I guess means this video should carry a spoiler alert. When you…

Alien Anal Probe Saved as Saints Row IV‘s Australian Crisis Ends

The absurd monthlong standoff down under has at last been resolved: Saints Row IV has been granted classification and may be sold in Australia, with one change. And, according to publisher Deep Silver, it isn’t the alien anal probe weapon. A 20-minute mission in which Shaundi takes “alien narcotics to obtain superpowers” has been stripped…

Tekken X Street Fighter Looking for the ‘Right Time’ to Release

Street Fighter X Tekken released on March 6, 2012, meaning Namco Bandai has been answering so-where-the-hell-is-it questions about Tekken X Street Fighter since March 7, 2012. Five games under the Tekken brand have appeared since, raising offhand speculation about TxSF‘s priority. Street Fighter‘s star producer certainly didn’t help things much when he joked that the…

Third Update to Super Mario Bros. Crossover Pays Tribute to Rare Port

The third update of fan-favorite flash game Super Mario Bros. Crossover has just released. This is the one that incorporates perhaps the rarest port of the series, a Japan-only version that gave Mario the hammer from Donkey Kong In addition to the features of Super Mario Bros. special, this update will offer new map skins…

This Week in the Business: ‘Like Having a Dead Body Handcuffed to You’

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “I don’t think they should have had a physical drive on Xbox One—it’s like having a dead body handcuffed to you.”—David Darling, founder of Codemasters, discussing the revolution of digital distribution QUOTE | “What I don’t like in the games industry…

The Best of Kotaku, The Week of July 29

We had some reviews this week, a really fascinating and promising EverQuest announcement and introduced a new mini-interview series, but let’s just all admit this was the best part of the week and be done with it. See the rest of my Kotaku Selects selections over here As for my image choice for today’s round-up,…

This Is What Breaking Bad Would Be Like In An Alternate Reality

Well, technically, it wouldn’t even be called “Breaking Bad” anymore, it would be called “Making Good.” And in that (parody) version of Breaking Bad, Walter White actually gives up the meth game and takes up teaching as a means of paying for his cancer according to Thats Whats Up Comedy It’s funny in concept out…

Torchlight 2 Mac Port Hit ‘Unexpected Complexities’

A couple of readers have asked about Torchlight 2‘s much-delayed Mac port, so we reached out to developer Runic to see what’s up. Here’s their statement: The official word as of right now is that we encountered unexpected complexities in porting Torchlight 2 to the Mac, simultaneous with our scramble to ramp up on our…

Ouya Gives Backers Store Credit To Make Up For Late Consoles

Granted, it’s not a lot of store credit. In fact, it’s just $13.37 apiece. But hey, it’s the thought that counts. Some of the people who backed the Kickstarter campaign for the open-source Ouya console were upset about late console deliveries, with some backers receiving their consoles after the retail Ouya had already hit store…

Folks Are Paying An Absurd Amount For A Weed Emoticon On Steam

The introduction of theSteam Trading card system—which allows players to earn tradable badges, profile backgrounds, emoticons, and coupons on Steam by playing games—has created a most peculiar market of digital items that people are willing to pay lots of cash for. To wit: one of the more expensive “items” one can purchase is a weed…

What’s Your Favorite Video Game Boss Music?

The journey’s at an end. A final challenge awaits. Time for a guitar solo. It’s also time to list our favorite boss music. I’ve been wanting to ask this one for a while, and since getting inspired by a few other lists I saw floating around, I thought I’d make one of my own. I…

Interesting Kickstarter project: Every Day Is Play, a book that will “showcase the works of designers, musicians, artists, writers and developers that have taken inspiration from the art that we grew up with.”

Dorklyhas the answer to the biggest mystery in Pokemon: what does the bottom of a Diglett looks like?

It’s Almost Like World of Tanks Is A Tony Hawk Game

There is no debate that Wargaming’s online tank simulator World of Tanks is as realistic as it can be. It’s relatively slow and tactical. But sometimes it gets a little too realistic and out of control, mostly when you land on other tanks. Tony Hawk and skaters would be proud of that huge 180. American,…