This Week in the Business: ‘Nintendo Has Set Up the Wii U for Failure.’

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “Nintendo has set up the Wii U for failure.”—Dan Hsu, editor in chief of GamesBeat, talking along with journalists and analysts about the mixed critical reception to the Nintendo’s launch of the Wii U STAT | $500 million—Amount that Call of…

Czech diplomats have been invited to Greece in the matter of two ArmA 3 devs held for 75 days on espionage charges.

Fans Asked to Pick Sonic & All Stars Racing DLC; Will Sega Hear Them Out?

Four days before the game’s release, Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed was already getting suggestions from its community for future downloadable content additions. Steve Lycett of Sumo Digital, the game’s developer, popped into the thread, joked about how tough it was to please the fans, then set down a challenge: if they could come…

At a Tokyo Event, Sony Turned Western Games into Video Game Ambassadors

Today, Sony held the “World Game Project” in Akihabara, in which the electronics giant showed off twenty PS3 and PS Vita games. These titles were developed outside Japan, and the point of this hands-on event was to give Japanese gamers a chance to check out titles they might not otherwise and maybe remind them that…

The Best of Kotaku, This Week

Welcome to the Best of Kotaku, where I round up all of this week’s best content. I just had to showcase the awesome Scribbelnauts mash-up art with all of you one more time as this week’s best image. Moving on to our Best Of content this week, we kick things off as usual with a…

Get A Load Of This Goofy Hitman: Absolution Ice Cream Truck Easter Egg

Hitman: Absolution begins with 47 driving an ice cream truck, so it’s not that much of a stretch that one of the weirdest easter eggs in the game features the vehicle’s deadly return. Up top, the guys at Gamefront walk us through how to unlock a crazy easter egg midway through the game (I have…

Disney Epic Mickey: The Power of Illusion: The Kotaku Review

Up for consideration as the saddest noise in the world: the sound Mickey Mouse makes when he dies/gets knocked out/whatever in Epic Mickey: The Power of Illusion It’s a depressing, elongated “ohhhh ” groan that immediately makes you feel disappointed in yourself for letting a beloved slice of your childhood keel over. Childhood—both personal ones…

Can Someone Please Save This Cat from the Crane Game Machine? Please?

Children have accidentally crawled into crane games before, so why wouldn’t there be a cat in one? And look how comfy the animal is, just sprawled out on those soft, plush toys. Still, I do hope someone got the cat out—and not by using the claw. Ganar un gato en máquina de peluches [tinchovm85@YouTube]

All the Gaming Deals of Black Friday [UPDATED with 80 More Deals]

Our deals partners at Dealzon have scanned all major retailers in North America for the video game offers of Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when many Americans begin their holiday shopping. Whether you’re picking up something for yourself, a loved one or a friend, here’s more than 60 deals on current video games, gaming…

Show Us The JRPGs You’re Most Thankful For

As I write this, turkey is trying to burst out of my stomach, the Jets are embarrassing themselves on national television, and I’m using Persona 4 to distract me from the pain of both. Thanksgiving is great. So in the spirit of this wonderful, gluttonous holiday, let’s take some time to celebrate the genre of…

“There’s a lady on the ground” – Scenes of Black Friday Video Game Shopping Madness

Scenes of people shopping for video games today on Black Friday—specifically at Wal-Marts across the country—don’t resemble shopping as much as they resemble feeding frenzies. Why they do it like this is beyond me. This kind of thing is a great argument for downloading games or at least ordering them online. Here’s the video referenced…

Two of the Year’s Biggest PC Games Are Missing From One Country’s Steam Store

Two of Ubisoft’s biggest games for the year—and indeed, two of the bigger PC releases for the year—are Assassin’s Creed III and Far Cry 3. So it’s weird that, unlike most other places on Earth, neither is yet available on the UK’s Steam servers. “We’ve been in discussions with Valve about Assassin’s Creed 3 and…

Whatever You Do, Don’t Look Down

David Smit is a concept artist with a ton of experience working in video games, from stints with studios like Guerilla Games (Killzone 2) and Crytek (Project: Ryse). He’s now a freelancer, who in addition to his video game work has also provided art for clients like Adidas and Playboy. If you like what you…

The Wii U’s First Week: The Highs, The Lows, The Massive Downloads

It’s been an interesting week for the Wii U. Nintendo’s—well, anyone’s—first new home console in six years has been met with a curious mixture of joy, bewilderment and even disdain by early adopters and critics alike. Let’s look back, then, on the week that was for the Wii U. Below you’ll find the biggest, most…

Sony’s Glass Controller Sure Beats a Gold Watch

After five years with the team, Sony Computer Entertainment America PR man Jeff Rubenstein recently left the company. In leaving, though—or at least for being there for five years before he left—we get a chance to see something neat. Behold, SCEA’s five-year service reward/award. Sure, five years doesn’t sound long, but in a world where…

The Next Hitman Game Won’t Be Like Other Hitman Games

Danish studio IO Interactive, as the creators of the series, have been doing Hitman games forever. But the next Hitman game, the one after Absolution, won’t be made by them. And it won’t be like other Hitman games, either. No, the next Hitman game, in development at new studio Square Enix Montreal, sounds like it…

Sometimes a Bad (Read: Tired) Game Just Needs a Little More Time

I had a very strange thing happen to me this week. I went back and re-played a game I hadn’t previously enjoyed. Only this time, a year removed from my first experience, I actually enjoyed it. The game in question was Assassin’s Creed Revelations. With Assassin’s Creed III out this week, and being a fan…

The Oliver Twins want to make a brand new Dizzy game. Here’s the Kickstarter

Your Official Holiday Gift Guide, For All Your Shopping Needs

Another year, another round of holiday gift shopping. But what should you buy all those special people in your life? What should you be looking for on this hectic Black Friday? We’re here to help. We’ve covered a ton of gift-buying options, from games on various platforms to specific price ranges to help make things…

This Lady Cosplays in Cute Outfits and Then Shoots Deadly Assault Rifles

Japan seems to have an idol for everything. Besides all the typical singing schoolgirl idols, there’s a glasses idol, a retro gaming idol, and even an “ugly” idol. So you can bet there’s also a military idol. Meet Mii Aihara. She got her start working at a Mia Cafe, a maid cafe in Tokyo’s geek…