Lionel Messi Headlines FIFA 13‘s Lineup of Cover Stars

Lionel Messi, who once starred on the cover of two editions of Pro Evolution Soccer, will star on the cover of FIFA 13 in all regions when the game releases Sept. 25. He’ll be joined by other popular players local to other regions getting a separate cover. That’s the main cover art at right. The…

The Amalur MMO was Fun, Says a Former 38 Studios Employee. And Here Are Three Gameplay Videos to Prove It

All we’ve seen so far of “Project Copernicus,” the Kingdoms of Amalur MMO lost in the collapse of developer 38 Studios, are still shots and videos of in-game environments. It’s helped build up the idea that the game might have been pretty, but it wasn’t any good. Curt Schilling, the 38 Studios owner, himself said…

Kingdoms of Amalur MMO: Gallery Two

Kingdoms of Amalur MMO: Gallery One

Happy Wars is Xbox Live’s First Free-to-Play Game

Last year there was a lot of rumbling about Xbox Live someday offering free-to-play video games. Well, that day is coming soon. Happy Wars, by ToyLogic, will be available for free to all Xbox Live Goldmembers this fall. The game promises “large scale multiplayer action” that supports up to 30 players in a single battle.…

Guild Wars 2‘s early access is underway but Europe is seeing connection issues. See the Twitter feed or forums for more.

This Week in the Business: ‘Consoles May Quickly Go the Way of the Dinosaurs.’

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “Consoles may quickly go the way of the dinosaurs.”—Nexon America CEO Daniel Kim, talking about console developers and how they need to go free-to-play QUOTE | “I don’t believe an Xbox 360 price cut is imminent.”—Jesse Divnich, game analyst for EEDAR,…

Sony Pictures has registered 18 different domain names for a film with “Console Wars” as its title, reports Fusible.

The Moneysaver: Guild and Gridiron

Two big releases highlight the coming week, one of which, Guild Wars 2, is offering early access to those who preordered the game, beginning today. If you didn’t and want to get in on the action, you can grab it for $12 to $14 off, depending on which version you want. Madden NFL also offers…

A Correction to Our Black Ops Zombies Post

Earlier today, Kotaku published an item attributed to someone incorrectly identified as the community manager for Black Ops: Declassified. He is not, and does not represent Activision or the developer in any official capacity.

The Best of Kotaku, This Week

Welcome to the Best of Kotaku, where I round up all of this week’s best content. I sure do feature a lot of Mario in these Best of round-ups. That just speaks to how iconic Mario remains, that so much art is based off of him and his games. Well, here’s Mario mashed up with…

Well, One Guy Kept His Job at OnLive

That would be the CEO, Steve Perlman. More than 200 other employees were summarily dismissed when the cloud-gaming service caved in last week, though a corporate statement said half would be hired back, and others offered consulting gigs. That doesn’t exactly shut down speculation that this “rebooting” of the company was meant to vaporize employees’…

Guy Shows Snake Who’s Boss By Revenge-Biting It To Death

Generally the off-topic goes to an interesting story that maybe doesn’t have anything directly to do with games. But this one, about a guy in Nepal biting a snake to death after it bit him, seems sort of video-gamey, no? Guy shows SNAKE who’s BOSS by biting it to DEATH? (Okay the last one is…

Nintendo Wants to Celebrate Kirby’s Birthday With Chewing Gum

Kirby’s 20th birthday is this year, and Nintendo plans to observe it with a stunt at PAX Prime on Sept. 1. They’re trying to get more than 304 people together in the same place to collectively blow chewing-gum bubbles, which would set a Guinness World Record. Given how solicitous Guinness is of video game companies…

The Official Guild Wars 2 Mouse and Headset are Freaking Adorable

Guild Wars 2 launches in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow, and I am almost completely prepared. I’ve got my collector’s edition. I’ve got my caffeine. I’ve got SteelSeries’ gorgeous mouse and headset combo. Let me tell you about those last two before performing an emergency formatting of my hard drive and then attempt…

How To Turn Fantasy Football Into An RPG

Lots of people make jokes about how fantasy football is an RPG for jocks and blah blah blah. It’s really not. It’s more like a complex version of roulette. But hey, Bill Hanstock over at SBNation has put together a hilarious article that imagines fantasy football as an actual fantasy game. Here’s a basic summary:…

President Obama Isn’t In Madden‘s Championship Scene—But He’s Still On For NBA 2K13

One feature I was keen to check on in Madden NFL 13 was its treatment of the Super Bowl postgame. The past two years have included a trip to the virtual White House, complete with an in-game President Obama, for the winning team. That doesn’t happen in Madden 13 The reasons are very understandable. One,…

Madden NFL 13 Delivers the Ultimate Throwback Look: No Facemasks

Creating my player in Madden NFL 13, I was startled and confused by the new helmet options. There was the Riddell TK, and the Wilson F2000. Neither had a facemask. You could put a modern-day visor on them, in clear plastic, smoke or dark, but still there was nothing standing between Brian Urlacher’s forearm and…

Madden NFL 13: The Kotaku Review

The question is asked every year and yet it seems irrelevant for a franchise with no competition: “Is this the best Madden ever?” It’s a high and a low bar at the same time. Of course it should be the best Madden ever. They had a year to update and improve the last one, after…

Sleeping Dogs Recognizes A Good Photographer When It Sees One

I mean, just look at that. The angle, the lighting, the composition. Beautiful. Someone hire this man as a full-time photographer. Bonus is he can beat the shit out of anyone you ask him to. Yes I am [Reddit]