This Week in the Business: ‘There are Still Trolls Furiously Masturbating Under Internet Bridges.’

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “There are still trolls furiously masturbating under internet bridges.”—Rachel Weber, journalist for GamesIndustry International, talking along with other journalists about whether the game industry has grown up QUOTE | “I think Nintendo becomes completely irrelevant.”—Michael Pachter, analyst with Wedbush Securities, talking…

The Biggest Winners Helped This Year’s VGAs Tell a Different Tale

If the Video Game Awards are actually an awards show, and not just a keynote for promoting upcoming games, then the big news from last night was The Walking Dead: The Game. Eminently quotable analyst Michael Pachter said before the show that if this title, a downloadable self-published game, took home Game of the Year,…

The Moneysaver: TLC for THQ

Friendly reminder that there are four days left on THQ’s Humble Bundle, offering plenty of titles for just one buck and even more if you pay $5. Or you could pay more and donate the difference to a deserving charity, which in this case might be THQ itself. Most of the savings this week seem…

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 reuse one of those gorgeous shots from Far Cry 3. Look how pretty that game looks. And that island. If it wasn’t infested with sharks, tigers and thugs, I’d definitely want to go visit. Moving…

Dark Souls II Introduces a New Hero, a New World, New Multiplayer and a New Game Director

Dark Souls II, the surprise sequel announced at Friday’s Spike TV Video Game Awards, is going to be tough, its creators promised in a press release. That’s to be expected. But here’s a surprise: the series’ creator, From Software’s Hidetaka Miyazaki, will serve only as a supervisor on the sequel, while the game will actually…

Did Metal Gear Solid 5 Just Get Secretly Announced?

Kotaku editor-in-chief Stephen Totilo is out in L.A. for the Spike Video Game Awards. And he’s dug up some evidence that appears to support the theory that the mysterious Phantom Pain game is in fact another Metal Gear title. — See the trailer here — The moody trailer for The Phantom Pain took everyone by…

Minecraft Update Features Cool Things Like Creeper-Shaped Fireworks And More

Here’s a preview of an upcoming Minecraft update, showcasing fireworks, enchanted books and nether brick slabs. And, in case the you’re interested in the fireworks, here’s a closer look at how they work and how you’ll be making them. Creeper-shaped fireworks? Neat. EDIT: The fireworks update “will be out before Christmas, and 1.5 will wait…

BioShock Infinite Shoots Up The VGAs With An Explosive New Trailer

At the 2012 Video Game Awards, Ken Levine of Irrational Games previewed the latest trailer from BioShock Infinite, which is now releasing on March 26. This appears to be entirely in-game footage, with 75 seconds of that being straight gameplay and not cinematics. BioShock Infinite: VGAs Trailer

If Samuel L. Jackson Cameoed in Black Ops II, He’d Look Like This

Completing his cameo tour of the year’s biggest games, this is Samuel L. Jackson appearing in what he calls “The real motherf—-ing Black Ops.”

Halo 4‘s Multiplayer Soap Opera Continues on Jan. 21. 2013

The Spartan Ops episodic missions for Halo 4 have provided a whole other narrative experience for players of the Xbox 360 exclusive. The weekly UNSC vs Covenant drama will continue in January. Here’s a teaser of what’s coming. Skip ahead to 6:33 for the trailer: Halo 4: Spartan Ops: VGAs Trailer

Well how about that. Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead is the 2012 Video Game of the Year.

Half-Life 2 was selected “Game of the Decade” at the 2012 Video Game Awards.

Gears of War: Judgment Shows Us How the Fighting Started

The key takeaway to this prequel to Epic Games’ sci-fi shooter series is the idea that the humans of Sera thought they could win a fight against the Locust. You’ve got Delta Squad’s Baird and Cole front and center as the Slugs start to break through the surface. Giant subterranean lifeforms? Check. Cover combat. Check.…

This is All We Know About “Moby Dick Studio”, Alleged Makers of The Phantom Pain [Update]

The Phantom Pain was a world premiere trailer out of left field—not only is that a new series, it’s a new studio. Well, to most folks, anyway. Ever heard of Moby Dick Studio? Me either. [Update] It’s Kojima. [Update] Yeah, we hear you. “Joakim” is a rearranged spelling of “Kojima.” All sorts of things point…

And This is Mace Windu as an Angry Bird

Samuel L. Jackson, host of the 2012 Video Game Awards, is cameoing in some of the year’s most noteworthy games. Here he reprises his Jedi master role in Angry Birds: Star Wars

Here’s Samuel L. Jackson in Halo 4

Cortana, he’s not. The AI version of Samuel L. Jackson looks more like he should be holographically broadcast from an R2 droid. Master Chief probably won’t be making a poignant bond with this loudmouth.

Dark Souls II Debuts at the 2012 Video Game Awards

Dark Souls II just got a world premiere trailer at the 2012 Video Game Awards. It’s coming for the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. See for yourself. Looks… tough, and unforgiving. As usual. UPDATE: The game will star a new hero in a new world and will have a new director, as the series’ creator,…

Dark Souls II is Coming

Dark Souls II was just announced at the Video Game Awards. There’s a grab from the game’s trailer. The trailer presents a quest driven by some sort of romnace and graphics that look a great deal sharper than From Software’s previous Souls efforts.

The Last of Us Arrives in May

The Last of Us from Naughty Dog was a surprise reveal at last year’s Video Game Awards. This year it gets another trailer (above), and a release date—May 7, 2013.

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 Resurrects Dracula in the Modern Day

We knew some kind of sequel to the last Castlevania game was coming, and a new trailer shown during the VGAs offered up a ton more info. Narrated by the Belmonts’ sworn eternal enemy, the clip showed Dracula recalling past glories and vowing a return to power. The teaser seems to hint that you’ll be…