GTA Online Day Three: Still Not Really Working [UPDATE]

Two days have passed since the online version of Los Santos opened up for millions of players all over the world. It’s not been smooth sailing for the debut of Grand Theft Auto Online, as it’s been plagued with technical issues and server problems. But there are signs that some things are getting better. And…

“When I saw the rise of Zynga and tried out some of their games on Facebook, I noticed some of the same design patterns that we use in slot machines.” Kotaku reader SpiffyPirate works with slot machines and talks about the similarities he sees between design ideas in that industry and in Zynga’s games

Finally, A Super Mario Game We Can All Be Excited About

It’s been a while since a new Super Mario Bros. game looked amazing. Agree? We all respect the New Super Mario Bros. games, right? They’re classic… like Nintendo just baked a great new loaf of bread. Refined… like Nintendo just wrote a new sonnet. But exciting? Not really. That’s where November’s new Mario comes in.…

Top Microsoft Exec Says ‘Xbone’ Nickname Didn’t Even Occur To Him

It’s hard to believe they didn’t see it. And yet Microsoft’s Phil Spencer says he didn’t anticipate that their new console, the Xbox One, would immediately be dubbed the “Xbone” by fans and detractors alike. “At first, I guess the thing that bugged me the most is I didn’t see it,” Spencer told Gamespot in…

Deals: XCOM: Enemy Within, Howl’s Moving Castle, Vita Memory Card

If you’ve been waiting for the right deal to enlist in the XCOM series, wait no longer. Amazon has declassified a couple excellent bundles to bring you up to speed. Even better, we’ve got a great pre-order deal on XCOM: Enemy Within. Remember, we will be watching you save money. XCOM: Enemy Within [Steam] ($21.50)…

Internet Don’t Need No Warcraft Movie Trailers, Internet Makes Its Own

Using only the sparse information provided so far by Blizzard and Legendary Pictures and a whole slew of fantasy movie clips, YouTube editor BloodRunsClear delivers his vision of what 2015’s World of Warcraft movie might look like. Not a bad fake trailer, given the source material, which ranges from a commercial for a medieval festival…

You Won’t Believe How Many Little Changes Are In Zelda: Wind Waker HD

It’s fascinating, picking up The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker for the first time. You get something like culture shock—holy crap, everything’s so bright! The faces are so goofy. Is that really what Link’s grandma looks like? And then… after 10 or 15 minutes, you start to get it. Ah, yes. Here’s why this is…

Sega: Paying For Extra Lives ‘Will never be a thing in a Sonic game.’

Sega would like you to know that they do not plan to nickel-and-dime you and start charging for free lives in Sonic games. Nor do they have plans to imbalance their Sonic games by letting you buy free lives. Why is this is a thing? Well, our very own Jason Schreier sounded an alarm earlier…

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: What exactly should we be calling a hardcore game? Voltaire Crescent talks about getting drunk (kind of) in Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn. DrZaius shares a video of filmmaker/critic Rob Ager taking on the first-person shooter genre. And Stormborn gets back to his Smash…

iOS 7 Giving You Vertigo And Nausea? Here’s An Idea.

The motion of iOS 7’s redesigned icons has many iPhone users complaining of motion sickness and vertigo. Jimmy Kimmel’s solution is the only guaranteed cure. Stop Looking at Your F***ing Phone Every 5 Seconds! [Youtube]

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn: The Kotaku Review

Final Fantasy XIV Online, massively multiplayer online role-playing game — an MMO barely alive. Square Enix rebuilt it. They had the technology. They had the capability to build the world’s first relaunched FF title. A Realm Reborn is that game. Better than it was before. Better, stronger, faster. Unlike 1970’s action heroes, video games don’t…

Can you smell that, Android gamers? The earthy mingling of vegetation and death? That means Plants Vs. Zombies 2 is coming. Popcap has announced a “soft launch” of the timed iOS exclusive in New Zeland and Australia, indicating the worldwide launch of the acclaimed free-to-play sequelon Android platforms is due “shortly.”

South Park Teaches Us How To Play Minecraft

Last night’s South Park took Randy Marsh and the rest of the town’s parents to the blocky world of Minecraft, the unavoidable indie sensation that played a key role in the plot. That meant we got to watch Randy Marsh learn something new, which is always a treat, especially when he’s learning about something as…

For goodness’ sake, have some manners. They might be robots, but they still have feelings—as evidenced by this screenshot of a rather awkward situation in Starbound Dayshot is an image-based feature that runs every morning, showcasing some of the prettiest, funniest game-related screenshots and art that we can find. Send us suggestions if you’ve got…

Here’s What Mighty No. 9‘s Creator Thinks of Rain

Keiji Inafune of Mega Man Mighty No. 9 and Soul Sacrifice fame is a man full of opinions. And today, you’re going to hear his opinion on Rain. Rain? Yes, Rain Rain and Soul Sacrifice are entirely different games. But they share something in common you might not know about: Both were produced by Sony…

Oh Look, It’s Raining Steam Games Again

It’s been a productive three weeks for Steam’s Greenlight—not as preposterously productive as last time, but still, quite productive. This time, we have 57 freshly community-approved titles to examine, which should all hopefully arrive on Steam sometimes in the near future. Let’s dig in, shall we? Here’s the freshest batch of approved titles, revealed yesterday.…

Well, That’s One Way to Censor Animated Nipples

Ideas of what’s socially acceptable differ from country to country. What some might think is okay, others might not. Take blue pierced animated nipples, for example. That might be cool where you live. Maybe not. Note: This story contains content some readers might find objectionable. When Japanese anime Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic was broadcast…

Everyone Gets Pokemon X and Y At The Same Time. Here’s Why.

As the release date of Pokemon X and Y approaches, this will be the first game in the official series with a (for the most part) simultaneous international release, and those involved hope that by doing so, they’ll be able to level the playing field. “Until now, the pattern has been to release games overseas…

Space Engineers Makes Crashing Spaceships Into Things Look Crazy Fun

Because clearly, the best thing to do with a freshly-built spacecraft is to crash it into an asteroid. From the makers of Miner Wars 2081 comes Space Engineers, a heavily physics-based multiplayer sandbox game about mining asteroids and engineering, building and maintaining space stations and spaceships. It is, per the developer’s words, inspired by “reality…

Colorful Penguins Have Something To Do with the PS Vita Slim

I’m not sure what, but who cares? Colorful penguins might not be slim and light, but they sure are cute! PS Vita２０００　TVCM 「登場」篇 [PlayStationJp@YouTube] To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points…