Katie Couric Gets Schooled On the Benefits of Violent Video Games

Yesterday we ran a piece exposing the scare tactics media like to use when discussing video games and violence. Flashy edits, buzzwords, complete ignorance, that sort of thing. Today Katie Couric, the host of the particular segment we analyzed, reached out to her Twitter followers to ask for the “positive side” of violent games. When…

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: A pair of reader reviews covers recent downloadable titles. Contributor GiantBotDetective breaks down just why he’s so massively excited for Rayman Legends to come out later this year. Then, Zarynx recounts the time he got to meet legendary Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto. NotGoodForYou also offers…

Zen Studios brings its pinball platform to Steam on May 10, with a free download for Pinball FX 2 and six expansion packs priced at $9.99 each — Star Wars, Marvel, Marvel: Vengeance and Virtue, Marvel: Avengers Chronicles, the Pinball FX2 Core Collection and Zen Classics.

If You’re In NYC Tonight, Check Out Some Art and New Video Games

NYU’s fourth annual No Quarter exhibition of new indie games takes place tonight in downtown Manhattan and is well worth attending if you can get in. Learn more and/or RSVP here Going there ensures you’ll be able to play some interesting new games. (Like this one from the 2011 No Quarter.) As a bonus, you’ll…

The MOGA Pro Should Have Led The Android Gamepad Invasion

Last October peripheral maker Power A made a bid for the Android gamepad market with the MOGA, a pocket-sized controller with a flip-up clip for holding your smallish Android gaming device. The idea was that this odd little controller, paired with a smart phone, was effectively its own handheld gaming system, a Google-powered Game Boy.…

Monaco: The Kotaku Review

The co-op heist game Monaco appears to be missing whatever qualities an online video game must possess in order to turn the strangers who play it into jerks. I’m worried about telling you this, because I’m worried that I’m wrong and that Monaco is as prone to being ruined by the burrs of humanity. I’m…

Grand Theft Auto V‘s Michael Looks Hideous in San Andreas

Rockstar is making another pretty game, judging from the trio of character trailers released on Tuesday, and why is the internet here if not to destroy pretty things? Youtube user NDstudio69 shows us what Grand Theft Auto V’s “Michael” trailer would look like in 2004’s San Andreas. Let’s hope the other two trailers will get…

Under 18 Years Old? You Cannot Use the PSN in South Korea

Last year, the “Shutdown Law” was created in South Korea to prevent gamers under sixteen from gaming during a six-hour block at night. A year later, it’s going to impact more than gamers under the age of sixteen. PlayStation gamers under 18 are getting screwed, too. The law went into effect July 1, 2012, and…

Japan’s Version of “Expectations vs. Reality”

If you’ve been on the internet, I dunno, ever, you’ve probably seen those Expectations vs. Reality pictures. Well, Japan has them, too. In Japan, the meme is “Risou to Genjitsu” (理想と現実). “Risou” (理想) means “ideal”, “to” (と) is “and”, and “genjitsu” (現実) is “reality”. The meme works in the same way as its Western counterpart,…

Air Hockey With Minecraft Blockiness Is Pretty Chill

With a little bit of experimenting, someone just found out that if you stack minecarts in Minecraft, you can create an endlessly sliding object that never actually stops. Build an ice rink around it, invite some friends and you got yourself your own hockey game. Sethbling built a rink for two players, but this would…

South Korea’s Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards Are Unexpectedly Sad

Yu-Gi-Oh! is fun. The trading card game from Konami is fun, too. So why is Korea’s version an out-of-the-blue bummer? Recently on 2ch, Japan’s largest forum, one member uploaded photos of a Korean Yu-Gi-Oh! pack. Let’s have a look. Here’s the pack (obviously). Okay. Alright. Business as usual, until… You get to the missing child…

Cosplayers Have Business Cards, Too, You Know

In Japan (and most of Asia), business cards are a big deal. You need business cards! There’s even a correct way to exchange them. So no wonder many Japanese cosplayers have business cards, too. Cosplayers having business cards is not new—and it’s not limited to Japan by any stretch. I’ve met plenty of Western cosplayers…

That New Zone of Enders Was Canned…for Now

Back in 2012, game creator Hideo Kojima unveiled a new Zone of the Enders project titled “Enders Project”. And now in 2013, the project is currently suspended. On a recent episode of Hideo Kojima’s online radio show, the game creator talked about Z.O.E. and the Enders Project. While discussing the difficulty of bringing Zone of…

Googlehas hired industry legend Noah Falstein (Sinistar, Fate of Atlantis) to be its “Chief Game Designer”. And won’t say why. Google Glass games? First-party Android development? Bigger/better search engine tie ins?

The Internet Reacts Stupidly/Hilariously To GTAV’s New Trailers

Continuing the trend begun last year, the internet has followed Rockstar’s release of three new Grand Theft Auto V trailers with a collection of some of the worst – and by that virtue the best – comments from YouTube. Collected on the Tumblr linked below, they are like diamonds, shining through the mud. Grand Theft…

Having Helped Build Halo 4, He’s Now Building Worlds At Valve

I like to think of Paul Pepera’s art as the realisation of childhood dreams. Rendering what we imagined our LEGO constructions to be in our heads, not as they actually looked, all clunky and basic and sharp. Now an artist at Valve, Pepera has also worked at places like 343 Studios, id Software and Timegate,…

Iron Man As Assassin’s Creed (And Dragonball, And…Daft Punk)

Aussie artist BossLogic has done these insane mashups of Iron Man, turning Tony Stark’s mechanical alter ego into an Iron Assassin, Iron Mega Man, an Iron Saiyan (hey, that sounds awesome) and even Iron Punk. Oh, and also Iron Gundam, Iron Magneto, Iron Wolverine, Iron Superman, Iron Predator… You can see more of his amazing…

Nobody Wants The Next Xbox To Be “Another Way Of Looking At Facebook”

Speaking with Edge, former Lionhead boss and Microsoft exec Peter Molyneux wins some brownie points for his hopes on what the next Xbox will offer. Peter Molyneux on the next Xbox: “I don’t want another way of looking at Facebook” [Edge] To contact the author of this post, write to [email protected] or find him on…

Aliens: Colonial Marines Dev In Trouble, Owe Pizza Restaurant Money

Timegate studios, the co-developers of the awful Aliens: Colonial Marines, are in serious financial trouble. Filing for bankruptcy protection in a Texas court, they owe a lot of people a lot of money. Some of the people on their list include Epic Games (for the Unreal Engine), online service Agora Games and a video game…

Wow, Rome’s Most (Allegedly) Debauched Ruler Looks Just Like Joffrey

On the left, the Emperor Caligula, one of the most famous – and notorious – rulers of ancient Rome. On the right, Jack Gleeson as Joffrey in the Game of Thrones TV series. It’s a cute likeness if the physical likeness is all you see. But Caligula has long held a reputation – one that,…