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Sports Video Games Try to Hold On, with Infinite Diversity in Finite Releases
The question was put forth this past week, in a podcast where I was a panelist: Are sports video games in a golden age? “No,” seems to be the most obvious answer. Ten years ago, we had competing simulation titles in college football, college basketball and in professional hockey at least, to say nothing of…
By Owen Good Published September 23, 2012 - Culture
The Week in Game: Kick a Panda
Only Warcraft could survive a matchup with both FIFA and Pro Evolution Soccer, and that’s what you get this week, along with Dead Or Alive 5 Tuesday • World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria (PC) • FIFA 13 (PS3, PC, Xbox 360, Vita, 3DS, PSP, Wii) • Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 (360, PS3, PC) •…
By Owen Good Published September 23, 2012 - Esports
Free-to-Play Considered for Multiplayer StarCraft, Says Designer
At the inaugural eSports Congress in Valencia, StarCraft II‘s lead designer was asked of the possibility his game would go free-to-play, considering the potential that has to grow a game’s user base and competitive population. According to PCGamesN, that concept has been discussed. Blizzard, the game’s publisher is “looking at free-to-play as an option for…
By Owen Good Published September 23, 2012 -
UncategorizedWhat Really Happened to Abe Lincoln? Skyrim has the Answer.
Two mods, the “Now you F**ked Up Mudcrab” mod, and the “Posh mudcrabs” mod combine for a near virtuoso reenactment of the climactic dialogue in The Whitest Kids You Know’s “What Really Happened to Abraham Lincoln.” [NSFW, language] I’m a little unclear, however. Despite the mudcrabs’ remonstrations, has the player in fact fucked up? YouTube…
By Owen Good Published September 23, 2012 - Uncategorized
For a Change, Here’s a Borderlands 2 Easter Egg in Another Game
Barely a week into its release, Borderlands 2 is sprouting Easter eggs like—OK, the hell with it, it’s already a mixed metaphor—mushrooms after rain. Fine. Borderlands 2 is paying homage to so many other great games, here’s Torchlight II paying tribute to its fellow alumnus of the Class of Sept 17, 2012. Image uploaded by…
By Owen Good Published September 23, 2012 - Uncategorized
Strange Xbox Live/Time-Warner Outage Now In Its Second Day
This is the best part of Internet outages—when the Internet service provider blames the hardware, and vice versa. The customers really don’t care what the problem is. But a “a subset of Time/Warner ISP users” that haven’t been able to connect to Xbox Live since noon yesterday still can’t get into the system today. The…
By Owen Good Published September 23, 2012 - Uncategorized
Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Brief Boxes
The Sega Saturn lasted about three years in North America. It hung on twice as long in Japan. These two cosplayers paid tribute to it (more specifically, to the console’s Hitachi and JVC models) at Tokyo Game Show. It’s been a while since we had a cosplay exploitable, and if any is good for the…
By Owen Good Published September 23, 2012 - Uncategorized
ChrisWarcraft’s Weekly NFL Quest, Level Three: Banish the Gold Farmers of the West [Update]
Haven’t you heard? Football is a role-playing game. Or at least, that’s how Chris Kluwe, the Minnesota Vikings punter and noted World of Warcraft and RPG fan, seems to be approaching it. Each week in the NFL, ChrisWarcraft characterizes his upcoming game in terms of an MMO quest. We’re going to chart his progress and…
By Owen Good Published September 23, 2012 - Culture
Sunday Comics: Champion Troll
Welcome to your Sunday read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic. Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published Sept. 21.—Read more of Nerf NOW!! Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Sept. 17.—Read more of Awkward Zombie Penny Arcade by…
By Owen Good Published September 23, 2012 - Uncategorized
Scenes from the Tokyo Game Show Part 2, Electric Boogaloo
The first public day of this year’s Tokyo Game Show drew a whooping 95,000 people. Year after year, the crowds seem to get bigger and bigger. Here’s a look at what it’s like covering the show, dealing with the crowds, and soaking up the atmosphere once the public days kick off! In case you missed…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 23, 2012 - Uncategorized
The Cosplaying Ladies of the Tokyo Game Show
You’ve seen the cosplaying dudes of this year’s Tokyo Game Show. And now? Now, it’s the ladies’ turn. These are some (by no means, all) of the female cosplayers, doing their thing and showing off their fancy outfits in the Tokyo Game Show’s cosplay alley.
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 23, 2012 -
UncategorizedThe Crowds, Oh My God the Crowds
The Tokyo Game Show is a crowded place. It’s not so bad on the business days where the attendance is around 25,000 people. On the public days, the amount of people usually skyrockets to over 80,000. But today it hit an all time high at 95,000 people. You may have seen that many people at…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published September 23, 2012 -
UncategorizedThe New Macross Movie Has a Rockin’ First Trailer
Announced back with the release of Macross: Do You Remember Love? on Blu-ray, the new movie Macross FB7: Listen to My Song! premiered its first trailer at Saturday’s Macross 30th Anniversary event on the Namco-Bandai stage at the Tokyo Game Show. Macross FB7: Listen to My Song! is the first major crossover between any two…
By Richard Eisenbeis Published September 23, 2012 -
UncategorizedAt Least Doctor Who Still Appreciates the Nintendo Wii
While the people from this particular planet are packing up their Wii consoles and preparing to trade them in for the next big thing, the last survivor of the planet Gallifrey is having a wonderful time flailing about in front of the television. In yesterday’s episode of Doctor Who, Matt Smith shows Wii Sports Tennis…
By Mike Fahey Published September 23, 2012 - Uncategorized
Brain Kissing, Giant Bugs, and More Excitement from Tokyo Game Show’s Third Day
And Kotaku‘s Tokyo Game Show coverage continues! Here’s the day three round up, with all the news, impressions, and fun in one place. If you missed the previous festivities, Kotaku has you covered: Day 1 and Day 2 The First Guy in Line Didn’t Come to Play Games Meet Keita Wada. The 24 year-old was…
By Brian Ashcraft Published September 23, 2012 - Uncategorized
Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: The More You Know: The Winners
We have five dual finalists in this week’s roundup of the Kotaku ‘Shop Contest, which asked for recognizable mashups of G.I. Joe with video games. Luckily, we have 19 overall candidates, which ejected from an airplane at the last minute, or weren’t shot by grossly inaccurate lazer fire from an M16, or managed to survive…
By Owen Good Published September 22, 2012 - Uncategorized
Six-Hour Xbox Live Outage Strikes Some Time-Warner Subscribers
For six hours now “a subset of Time/Warner ISP users” have had problems connecting to Xbox Live, says Microsoft. The problem appears to be regional. Kotaku staff have had trouble connecting in New York, but were able to get online in the Southeast. There is no word on what the trouble is or who it…
By Owen Good Published September 22, 2012 - Uncategorized
Yes, Super Hexagon has an Ending. The Creator Will Show It to You.
Terry Cavanagh creates some hellaciously difficult video games, like VVVVV, but it’s not like the man won’t eat his own cooking. Thanks to Joystiq, you can see the creator of the ultra badass puzzler/whatever-it-is Super Hexagon beat the game on its hardest mode, showing that the iOS game indeed has an ending. Not that you…
By Owen Good Published September 22, 2012 -
UncategorizedSkyrim‘s “Cribs” is Where the Magic Happens. Literally.
Lots of folks aren’t diggin’ Hearthfire, the homemaking Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim extension that some have called SkySims and others have noted does not do anything different from any PC mod already available. But that’s because you’re not using your imagination, bitches! Here, YouTube’s Tyrannicon introduces us to the most gorgeous digs in all Riften,…
By Owen Good Published September 22, 2012 - Uncategorized
Bayonetta 2 Going to Wii U Isn’t a Platform Change, from Its Creator’s Certain Point of View
Some interesting doublespeak comes out of Tokyo Games Show, as reported by Polygon. Platinum Games’ executive director Atsushi Inaba affirmed that Bayonetta 2 wouldn’t exist without Nintendo publishing it. Most folks already saw it that way, but he put it on the record with Polygon, so there you go. But then, “We are not viewing…
By Owen Good Published September 22, 2012