Ubisoft to Nintendo: Sell More Systems and We’ll Make More Exclusives

Ubisoft won’t release more games exclusive to the Wii U until Nintendo sells more Wii U systems, the president of the French gaming giant told Kotaku here at E3 this week. “We need more sold,” Ubisoft boss Yves Guillemot said during a brief interview. “They are coming with five of their biggest brands ever. And…

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: BattleBorn runs down his 1o favorite moments from this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo. PyramidHeadCrab asks about what should’ve been announced at E3 but wasn’t. And GiantBoyDetective offers some purchase planning with a buying schedule for the rest of 2013 And you can always go join…

Trion Worlds’ PC fantasy MMO Rift is now officially and fully free-to-play. Lovely day for it, what with nothing else going on and all. You can poke at ithere.

Let’s See How Superman’s Shield Changed Over 75 Years

When it comes to Superman, most people have one static image in their heads for the Last Son of Krypton’s look. And, yeah, the big costume changes over the decades tend to stick out—the mullet and all-black bodysuit after he died and came back—but the smaller changes that happen over time tend to be more…

Atlus’ Parent Company Is Under Investigation for Shady Practices

Atlus is famous for role-playing games, like the Persona series. In Japan, its parent company is now in trouble with Japanese authorities for dodgy bookkeeping. The name “Atlus” only exists on paper as a brand name in Japan. The company was dissolved and removed from the stock market a few years back, after it became…

The Villager In Smash Bros. Is One Scary Character

The villager character from Animal Crossing got introduced yesterday as a playable character in the new Smash Bros. Let’s be honest: his face is rather psychotic and insane for a brawler game. Even the Team Fortess heavy and spy have to get their acts together after hearing about him. Look at those eyes. They’re just…

Producer Hints Call of Duty: Ghosts May Release on Wii U [Corrected]

Through the game’s original announcement and since its next-generation console reveal, Activision has steadfastly refused to say if the game was coming to Wii U. The game’s executive producer, however, indicated that it may. [Correction] An earlier version of this story reported that Rubin confirmed the game’s appearance on Wii U. He only said they…

There’s A New Warhammer 40K MMO In The Works

And no, it’s not Vigil’s Dark Millenium, sorry. From Quebec-based developer Behaviour Interactive comes Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade, a “wholly new MMORPG persistent war experience” set in Games Workshop’s Warhammer 40K universe, arriving in 2015. In Eternal Crusade, you’ll get to fight in huge battles for control over the planet the game takes place on.…

Thanks For Using My Picture To Sell Your $300 E3 Skylander

As I predicted, the E3 2013 exclusive Skylander is flooding onto eBay, as evidenced by this successful auction featuring the top photo I took for the previous article. Brand new and Sealed. Straight out of E3 Expo 2013. Extremely RARE and a must for Skylander fans and collectors. The following is “Color Shift” Hot Dog…

Three Screenshots To Prove That Lords of the Fallen Is Still Amazing

A little while ago, we showed you an absolutely stunning piece of concept art for City Interactive’s upcoming hardcore action-RPG, Lords of the Fallen. This time, the developers have been kind enough to grace us all with three gorgeous screenshots. Check them out below! Lords of the Fallen is expected to come out next year…

Put The Guns Down, Let’s Just Float To Pretty Music For A While

First announced last month, Hohokum is a collaboration between developers Honeyslug and artist Richard Hogg. It is, as the devs describe, “a game where a colourful serpent flies around helping people”. Lovely. It’s due next year on PS3, PS4 and Vita.

Get Your (Virtual) Ass To Mars

ArmA developers Bohemia Interactive picked a bad week to announce Take On Mars, a new simulation game that has you rolling, bouncing and cutting your way across the red planet doing all kinds of boring science stuff. How they expected it to compete against the blockbuster stuff being shown elsewhere during E3 I have no…

Tyrion Lannister Is In Bungie’s Destiny

Ghost – a character described as your “interactive companion”, your “wingman” – will be one of the most important voices you hear while playing Bungie’s Destiny. Good thing they got someone popular to do it then. The character will be voiced by Peter Dinklage, aka Tyrion Lannister, as you can see confirmed in the video…

Thief Looks About As Cheerful As A Funeral In The Rain

Not that we expected anything else. I mean, this is Thief. It’s hardly going to be about unicorns and puppies. But still, even by Thief’s standards, this artwork is grim. I’m not sure on who the artists responsible for this are, as like most corporate concept piece dumps prior to a game’s release no credit…

Crafty Team Fortress Players Have Made Ten Million Dollars

Over 400 “contributors and partners” have been paid over ten million dollars for their creations ever since Valve started letting fans design – and sell – Team Fortress 2 gear. In highlighting the sum, Valve pays particular attention to the users behind the recent Robotic Boogaloo update, which was made by around sixty fans and…

“Honour & Death Go Together Like Hot Sauce And My Balls”

That’s a direct quote from this trailer for YAIBA: Ninja Gaiden Z. Just so you know what you’re getting yourself in for. The game, which is being directed by former Capcom legend Keiji Inafune, was slated for 360, PS3 and iOS, though this clip says it’s now coming to PS4 as well. Bonus: below is…

Your Desktop Might Like This Enormous Wind Waker Art

It’s not just Wind Waker’s graphics that have got the HD treatment. The game’s best piece of key art – a simplified version was seen on the GameCube version’s manual – has been too. For better or worse. Like the game itself, I prefer the GameCube’s more hand-drawn take, but that doesn’t mean I hate…

Diablo III on PS3 Will Have Uncharted and Journey-Themed Loot

Ponder this while you watch the new multiplayer trailer for Diablo III: how do you feel about pre-order exclusives? Usually they’re are the kind of things that make players everywhere gnash their teeth. At worst, you feel forced into making a purchase decision about a game that you’re not sure about. At best, you’re sheepishly…

The Xbox One Isn’t Hitting Asia Until 2014 (But What About Japan?)

Americans look at the Xbox 360 and see a dominant home console, one which has topped the sales charts for literally years, but it’s not the same story worldwide. The PlayStation brand remains stronger in Europe, while in much of Asia – especially Japan – it’s the dominant console. Which probably explains why the list…

Sony’s E3 Booth in Nine Photos

Just nine! That’s it. That’s all you are getting. You want more? Tough! Here’s a look at Sony’s E3 booth, which is filled with games, consoles, screens, people, fake race cars, and a real one. To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft