We Don’t Just Need Better Game Publishers. We Need Better Everything.

Following the publication of last week’s “We Need Better Video Game Publishers,” written by an anonymous developer, we asked our buddy Anonymous Publisher to write a rebuttal. Here it is. You would probably expect that, as someone who has provided Kotaku with an inside look at the publisher perspective in the past, I would be…

Grand Theft Auto V’s New Viral Video Says “Sperm Does Not Exist”

Way back in August of last year, Rockstar Games started putting out weird tweets into a feed for the Epsilon Program, a religious cult that appeared in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and GTA IV. Now, the NYC-based developer is featuring an Epsilonism promo video on their official page. A thread on NeoGAF alleges that…

This NPR segment discusses how jobs in high-tech industries—including video games—can be a good fit for people on the autism spectrum.

Watch a Game of Pong Played on the Side of a 29-Story Building

Frank Lee, a professor at Drexel University’s Westphal College of Media and Design, brought a five-year obsession to a successful conclusion on Friday: play the world’s largest game of Pong, using the side of a building in Philadelphia. Lee pulled it off on Friday, using the north wall of the Cira Centre, which over looks…

Jetpack Joyride Creators Make Another Damn Game I Can’t Stop Playing

While I can understand the appeal of Jetpack Joyride, one of the best mobile games ever made, I could never figure out why Halfbrick Studio’s other huge seller, Fruit Ninja, drove so many gamers crazy. Now, days after the release of the developer’s latest game, I’ve finally figured out the secret: Halfbrick Studios is staffed…

Moneysaver PSA: $20 Bonus Amazon Credit On Your Unwanted Games

If you’ve got games, consoles, and peripherals gathering dust and cluttering up your minimalist entertainment center, today is the day to convert them to credit Gamestop has been the de facto black hole for trade-ins for longer than any of us can remember, but in recent years other retailers have jumped in to the fray.…

Game of Thrones: Ascent is More Up-to-Date With the Show Than You Are

Well before the first episode aired on HBO late last month, members of Boston-based developer Disruptor Beam had already seen a little over half of season three of Game of Thrones. They flew down to New York City and sat within a well-guarded theater, taking in the aftermath of the Battle of Blackwater and catching…

The Coming Death of the Television

I used to think it would take maybe 50 years until we reached the day people would laugh when reminded that human beings of the year 2013 had television sets. Lately, I’ve been expecting that laughter to come even sooner. Maybe in a decade. Maybe not even that long from now. Do you see it,…

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: contributor AzureGuy talks about a boss fight that he took on before he was supposed to. Nothing like a little discouragement to make you love-hate a game, right? And you can always go join the voices talking about video games and life in TAY Classic…

Are you unemployed or under-employed, yet still buying and playing video games? We want to hear your stories. How do you clear space in your budget for an expensive hobby? Have you ever spent money on a video game that you really shouldn’t have? What have you done to help pay for your gaming habits?…

Dead Island: Riptide: The Kotaku Review

There are so many things so wrong with Dead Island: Riptide that I’m not even sure where to begin. Sometimes you have to dig and climb your way through a game before the payoff hits. If you’ve ever played a lengthy RPG, this might be a familiar feeling to you. In the end, you won’t…

No, sports fans are not thoroughly fatigued by social media-driven cover votes. What gives you that crazy idea? So after Madden gives us either Barry Sanders or Adrian Peterson on Wednesday, you can enjoy another monthlong tournament as NHL 14 selects its star.

Maker of 3 of the Best Games Ever: ‘I think everything we do sucks’

Most interviews with game developers are stuffed with predictable hype about how wonderful everything in their game will be. It’s pre-release time. A season for optimism! Here’s something different—something brutal yet refreshing… …from Mark Pacini, former game director of the incredible Metroid Prime games. His studio’s now making a side-scrolling Metroid-style Batman game for the…

It’s a Good Week to Be a JRPG-Loving Android Gamer

Japanese developer Kemco has spent the past couple of years rolling out a steady stream of Japanese role-playing games to the Android market, delivering hours of old school goodness to fans of turn-based pixel battles willing to spend $5.99 – $8.99. Now through April 30,every Kemco game is $.99. I just spent $4.95 to complete…

Boring Tower Defense Game Spices Things Up With Poop

I don’t care for carrots. I don’t enjoy eating carrots. Throughout my lifetime, the few times I would knowingly eat carrots is when I’m consuming bahn mi, curry, or pot pies. Luckily, my disdain for carrots is only in the real world because saving carrots is literally the point of this tower defense game —…

Gawker just got Kinja’d. Expect lots of image-annotating, user-following and comment-starring in their future.

Chinese People Pulling Insane Loads

Alain Delorme’s photo series “Totems” shows an another side of China’s migrant workers. Make that, a truly amazing side. According to Delorme, each worker in the photo looks “like a superhero able to carry around this kind of load.” The photos, however, have a meaning that’s deeper than the sheer spectacle. “It is above all…

From “Penis” to “Horse Salmon”, Foreign Names Can Be Funny in Japanese

You might think your name is normal in your family’s native tongue. Maybe it is. But put it in a different language, and sometimes, all hell can break loose. In Japanese, foreign words and names are written in a writing system called katakana. Unlike most Japanese names, which use kanji characters that have intrinsic meanings,…

Hong Kong Residents Supposedly Can’t Live Without Their Phones

Many people have called the dawn of the smartphone the death of manners and conversation. Some people are often too busy checking their phones to mind their manners. While it’s not really a huge deal, Hong Kong’s Ta Kung Newspaper says otherwise. Ta Kung Pao, a Beijing backed Hong Kong based newspaper, put out a…

Hey Children, Here’s a $20,000 Mecha Just for You!

The mecha wizards at Japan’s Sakakibara Machinery Works are back. Previously, the factory rolled out the Landwalker, a large mecha you could buy. And now? It has a newly revamped mecha for little kids. How sweet. As pointed out by sister site Gizmodo Japan, the Kid’s Walker Cyclops has a claw to grab things and…