Stephen and Kirk are contributing to an ongoing series at The New York Times about the year in gaming. Give it a read!

War Z Creator Says His Game’s Trademark Wasn’t Suspended

Over the past few days, I’ve received tons of tips and e-mails about the trademark for controversial zombie game The War Z, which seems to have been suspended in November after a claim from Paramount, the studio behind World War Z Depending what the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office does next, the people behind The…

As An Artist, I Hope Video Games Really Do Affect People

The most important thing right now is that games don’t make people violent. That’s what needs to be said. The scientifically-sound research that supports that mostly has it covered. As an artist, though, I don’t think we can honestly say we don’t wish to affect people’s behavior with the art we make—or that it doesn’t…

‘Twas The Night Before Christmas, And All Through The House, Team Fortress Was Stirring…

Murraythis breaks out the Source Filmmaker to bring the internet a very Team Fortress Christmas. Such great animation, and the Scout was the perfect choice to play the Christmas Eve sneak. He’s such a dick Night Before Christmas… [YouTube]

There Are Reasons I Don’t Talk About Video Game Violence Much

As a writer, it’s my job to put things together, to construct a narrative out of disparate pieces. As human beings who try to make sense of the world, we all do that unconsciously: when everything is a story, the world makes sense. The stories don’t help sometimes. Hell, the stories go away sometimes. In…

Uncharted Craft Maker Is Taking Online Donations To Battle His Cancer

David Vigil has stomach cancer. He’s been fighting it for a while now, but without health insurance, the 24-year-old is having a hard time paying for the medical procedures he needs to battle his disease. So he’s turning to the Internet. Vigil, who runs a company called Vigilante Leather (and whose Uncharted-themed work has been…

Don’t Have A Christmas Tree? Hang This Donkey Kong One Up On Your Wall.

It’s like a Christmas tree, but cooler. Designed by Carlos Leituga, this tree takes the original, arcade Donkey Kong game and morphs it a little. I never realized how perfect that level is for a tree until now. It’s on like Holiday Kong [Carlos Leituga via Save Room Mini Bar]

Your Best and Worst Gaming Gift Memories

It’s Christmas morning and there are presents under the tree. You’d been pining away at that Super Nintendo for months. You start tearing away like a mad fiend at the wrapping paper and what do you find but… “Oh wow…A ColecoVision.” “It was the one you wanted, right?” “Sure Dad, sure.” We’ve all been there…

Sony ‘Employee’ Review: ‘I Don’t Have A Lot Of Confidence That Orbis Will Sell Well’

Will the next PlayStation have more of a casual focus than its predecessor? One person claiming to be a former senior manager at Sony seems to think so, posting in a Glassdoor review of the company that he doesn’t think Sony’s next-gen system, codenamed Orbis, will do very well: Take this with a healthy grain…

It May Be Expensive, But It’s Still Final Fantasy IV

While not the best Final Fantasy game of all-time (in my reality that’s IX), Final Fantasy IV was one of the first role-playing games to feature a deep, character-driven plot and introduced the world to the Active Time Battle system, adding an element of urgency to pressing one button over and over again. That’s at…

Lazlow Saved Grand Theft Auto‘s Radio Station Master Recordings from Superstorm Sandy

Lazlow Jones co-wrote the radio scripts for all the Grand Theft Auto games (save Chinatown Wars, of course) going back to III, and appears as a radio personality in all of the games. He also, evidently, has all of the master copies of the recordings. In his home. Which is on Long Island. Or, well,…

The Best Cold Weather Friends a Mobile Gamer Can Have

Winter is coming, and we’re going to need gloves. Not just any gloves, mind you, but gloves that allow us to interface with the touchscreen devices that have become such a huge part of our everyday lives over the past few years. I’ve been looking for a good pair for ages. I believe I’ve finally…

My Gaming Year

I’m obsessed with video games. No news flash there. I can mark months of my life with the games I’ve played, the games I heard about, the new systems I got or the articles about video games that I wrote. For me, it’s games, games, games all the time, which is why, when I look…

Here, Have Some Rockin’ Minecraft Wallpaper, Courtesy Of A Screenshot Artist

What was that? Did you say you were in need of some new wallpaper? And what? You love Minecraft too? Don’t worry buddy. Dead End Thrills—the screenshot artist—has got your back. Hit the site for higher resolutions of these beauties.

What Facebook is Playing This Week: Farm for the Holidays

Twas the day before Christmas and all through the house, these are the games that are keeping parents from cooking and wrapping presents and the children from stumbling over internet porn. I was pretty sure we all agreed to stop playing FarmVille 2. I let my crops wither, stopped working on my seasonal quests. Now…

The Year in Cosplay

The 2012 year is almost over. Soon, it’ll be time to get out those top hats and ring in the New Year. But many you don’t want to wear a top hat. Maybe you want to wear something else. Like these folks. Here is a look back at the year that was in cosplay, sans…

$355 Will Get You Your Very Own Giant Mortal Kombat Femme Fatale

Next year, Pop Culture Shock will be releasing this Mortal Kombat statue based on Kitana. Priced at $355, and due in Q2, it’s an enormous 20″ tall. There’s also a limited edition version available for an extra $10, but seeing her face… it’s weird. Nothankyou. Kitana [Sideshow]

Merry Christmas! Here are Five New Screens of Grand Theft Auto V.

Rockstar Games’ next giant crime caper is going to be massively huge, big enough to warrant lots of air travel. This we know. But it looks like players will be getting up to no good in the oceans, too. The bathysphere, scuba gear and colossal frikkin’ shark in these new screens hint that you’re also…

Your Cat Needs Tiny Little Nintendo Hats, OK?

Etsy seller SarabiRose makes hats for cats. Adorable, hilarious hats. So if you ever wanted to name your new kittens Mario and Luigi—or if for some reason you’d already gone ahead and done that—your cat cosplay needs are almost officially taken care of. Just get some cat overalls and you’re set Sarabirose [Etsy, via Incredible…

I’ve had a great time moonlighting as a Kotaku editor, even if it was only for a weekend. Thanks again, Kotaku!