The Best of Kotaku, The Week of July 22nd

We got some more Xbox One news this week, right in time for our round-up refreshers of both next-gen PS4 and Xbox One consoles. You can check out those articles and the rest of our best content from the week over on Kotaku Selects, where I hand-pick stories to showcase for you. Otherwise, it’s been…

What Do You Think of Orange Is The New Black?

I spent the last week glued to Netflix, watching one thing: Jenji Kohan’s Orange Is The New Black. It’s a show about a well-educated and sheltered white woman named Piper Chapman who has to serve a little over a year in prison after transporting a suitcase full of drug money for a drug smuggler. Not…

A Beautiful Cover Of A Classic World of Warcraft Song

Here’s composer/songwriter Laura Shigihara with a lovely a cappella version of “Lament of the Highbourne” from World of Warcraft

Boy Does Pokemon’s Professor Oak Have Some Messed Up Nightmares

What would Pokemon’s Professor Oak dream of? Having a complete Pokedex, perhaps? According to jaxamoto, he’d have slightly NSFW dreams of adventure with none other than terrible explorer Ash Ketchum. Also, Oak would have an accent. Listen, it’s a nightmare. Just go with it…stick till the end, too, there’s one final joke in there. Pokemon…

A Launch PlayStation 4 Versus A Launch PlayStation 3

We’ve compared a DualShock 3 and a DualShock 4. We’ve sized up the PS4 against a bevy of objects, like a Macbook. We’ve even gotten intimately close with the PS4. But what about a PS3 versus a PS4? PlayStationAccess delivers on the size comparison, if you’re curious. To sum: the PS4 is far from the…

The Week In Gaming Apps, Now With 100 Percent More Video

What, you wanted a text Week in Gaming Apps? Well I wanted a pop filter, and I didn’t get that, a fact that’s p-p-p-painfully evident in this, the first all-video Week in Gaming Apps. That’s right, after years of spending my Fridays typing and taking screenshots, now I’m capturing footage, recording voice overs and learning…

Minecraft Is Now ‘Mine-Crack,’ Says Local News Everywhere

Remember when the local news discovered that girls play video games? Now intrepid reporters everywhere have discovered Mine-Crack, the dangerous drug that could be affecting our youth in all sorts of disturbing ways. Video editor Chris Person put together this super-cut. Enjoy.

Ride To Hell Has Serious Issues. So It’s Perfect For Animated GIFs.

Ride To Hell: Retribution, an action-adventure about the bikers of the 60s is a bad game—it’s full of glitches, bugs and weird, incomprehensible moments. It’s something I’d only play for the laughs and funny footage. That’s what the always superb YouTuber motdef did in his video, the best moments of which we now present here…

Spider-Man Has the Best Superhero Instagram Picture. Of Course.

Tony Stark may have the technological know-how and Bruce Wayne is probably better with nocturnal photography but really Peter Parker would probably them have them both beat if superhero Instagram actually existed. These mock-ups are the work of Sierra Katow over at the Comediva website. There are a few more on the site. What other…

The Most Convincing Argument For Playing Left 4 Dead 2 on PC

Left 4 Dead 2 mods aren’t new—we’ve written about some cool ones before—but this game by Hurricane333 manages to cram an absurd number of good mods together. So many mods, in fact, that this video is bonkers from the first second we see a raptor holding a baby. That’s just the beginning. Then just about…

Requiem For A Steam Sale

Moneysaver talks. “Just wait for the Steam Sale.” When calling the Steam Summer Sale “lackluster,” there’s a thin line between evaluation and entitlement. Valve did set a precedent with their previous sales that they would obliterate your wallet- a feeling so strong among the gaming populace that Internet memes persist around it. To that end,…

The Year In JRPGs So Far (Part Two)

Earthbound! Etrian Odyssey! Shin Megami Tensei! It’s time for part two of This Year In JRPGs So Far, with special guest Kirk Hamilton. (For part one, head on over here.) Jason: Hey Kirk – it’s time for part two of This Year In JRPGs (So Far)! Last we talked, you had just bought Earthbound and…

Super Mario Recreations of Famous Surrealist Paintings Are Magnifique

Three years ago, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto told me that he had the work of Surrealist painter Rene Magritte floating around his head when he was crafting the few first Super Mario games. It makes sense when you think about it. There’s a certain mind/eye trickery in the Mario games that definitely has its roots…

Ask The Kotaku Staff Anything, Live, Right Here

You guys have had an opportunity to ask me—and sometimes Evan, and sometimes even the entire staff—any question you want in this Ask Kotaku segment. Today I want to try something a little different. I want to open the floor to you all to ask every one of us (that’s on shift) anything you like.…

Wow, Replicating Skyrim’s Fus Ro Dah In Real Life Sounds Horrifying

Shouting in Skyrim—a special ability that Dragonborn have—isn’t a thing that exists, obviously. But if we were to make it real, getting a sound strong enough to physically move someone, like the Fus Ro Dah shout does, would mean suffering devastating effects according to Vsauce3 We’re talking like, the type of shock wave that would…

Nobody Wins When Horror Games Stigmatize Mental Illness

Public attitudes regarding mental illness are frequently apocryphal and damaging, and a major source of these views is media portrayal of a topic that affects all of us to some extent. A few months ago, an open letter was posted in response to a Kotaku article on the upcoming horror game, Outlast, which takes place…

Cosplay crossovers are officially over. These two win. Image credit: Comikaze, via College Humor

Moneysaver: Wind Waker HD, PS3 Bundle, 3DS/XL Discounts, iTunes Money

Take the Moneysaver and run. Welcome to another farm fresh edition of the Moneysaver. Today we’ve got $10 off pre-order of the hotly anticipated Wind Waker HD. Since Nintendo’s latest console has not really had a major releases since I took over the Moneysaver, this is one of the best Wii U deals we’ve had.…

This Comedian Thinks Video Games Are Done

As games get more immersive, and technology becomes more advanced, sometimes you wonder “Where do we go from here?” Well one comedian thinks video games are done. In the video above taken from last night’s Conan, comic Dwayne Perkins goes through the absurd history of technological advances in console gaming and wonders where we’re going…

Here’s a Quick Glimpse at Neil Gaiman’s First Video Game

Yesterday morning saw the news of Wayward Manor—the video game debut of beloved writer Neil Gaiman—breaking all over the internet. The site for the game has launched after word got out and it’s got a message from the Sandman creator and info on rewards available for various crowdfunding tiers. Of note is the fact that…