If Madden‘s Any Measure the NFL’s Bandwagon Teams are the 49ers and Eagles

Through the first week of play in real life of the NFL, some 81.5 million games have been played in Madden NFL, according to this video commissioned by EA Sports. The teams taken online most so far are the San Francisco 49ers and the Philadelphia Eagles (rated No. 5 and No. 3, respectively, as “teams…

The Atari 2600 Joystick In Its Purest Form

“Pure” can have a lot of interpretations. For artist Andrew Miller (whose work we’ve covered before) and his “Brand Spirit” series of photographed objects, it means removing all traces of brand and color. And the results are quite pretty. Stylish, even. Though I can see how that NES controller might be initially confusing to use.…

Take a Good Look at the New Enemies of Halo 4

Looking at this 10 minute video from 343 Industries, makers of the upcoming Halo 4, it’s clear that the mark of Forerunner technology is in something like a break action shotgun that, like, actually breaks apart and re-forms as it is reloaded. You see the same kind of telekinetic influence in other concepts of the…

This David Lynch-Inspired Text Adventure Is Gross, Weird, And Pretty Cool

If you’re looking for something truly different to do with a few minutes of your time tonight, look no further than Adam Dickinson’s weird tape in the mail, a text-adventure that combines crude drawings, paranoid story, and weirdo Lynchian touches into something wretched, strange, and surprisingly compelling. According to Dickinson, weird tape in the mail…

Midweek Moneysaver: Double Hockeysticks

This Wednesday edition of Kotaku’s The Moneysaver catches all the offers, promotions and bargains that can’t wait until the weekend. The Midweek Moneysaver is brought to you by Dealzon. Software • Yesterday’s release NHL 13 (PS3, 360) is $49.99, free shipping from Amazon, matching the price drop at Toys ‘R’ Us. Elsewhere $60. [Dealzon] •…

This is Not an Xbox 360 Game. It’s an iPhone Game. Serious.

Sure, racing games have it easier than most when it comes to making things look pretty, but still. Come on. Just look at this. There are enough jaggies to make me think it’s almost a 100% genuine screenshot, but enough of everything else to think that, yeah, maybe the new iPhone 5 will be pretty…

Minecraft‘s Latest Xbox Update Will Let Your Avatar Shear A Sheep

Look I mean hey, I always wanted to watch my little guy get down to business and pull some wool. Thanks to the coming update to Minecraft for Xbox 360, gamers finally can. Via Mojang, here are some screenshots:

This Kid Gets To Sleep Inside A Video Game Every Night

A couple is expecting their second child almost any day now. In order to accommodate the baby, they’ll need to move their first child out of the nursery and into her own room. The nursery is Mario-themed. So what to do for the older kid room? Turn it into a full 360-degree surround representation of…

NHL 13: The Kotaku Review

My ice hockey knowledge comes primarily from being an obnoxious and uninformed fan. When Nashville came to San Jose for the 2007 playoffs, I was the guy trying to start the “Child Predators” chant. In Raleigh, before the Carolina Hurricanes arrived, my friends and I would go to IceCaps games and try a stunt called…

How Video Game Fans Mourn the Death of One of their Own, Slain in Libyan Attacks

Grief, in an online community, can be a shockingly intimate thing. People who have known each other as a collection of digital avatars and assumed names gather together to mourn the genuinely painful loss of one of their own. The best and most generous parts of a community’s nature often show when tragedy strikes it.…

Wreck-It-Ralph Really Looks Like It Might Be Toy Story for Video Games

Disney’s been promoting Wreck-It-Ralph with cleverly faked vintage arcade machines and tie-in games that do a good job of channeling the old-school appeal of games like Donkey Kong and Dig Dug. (There’s an Activision game coming, too, but that doesn’t look quite as charming.) But, all those things exist around the orbit of an actual…

The Doomed Kingdoms of Amalur MMO Would Have Explored the Darker Side of Everlasting Life

The sad tale of the closure of 38 Studios and Big Huge Games and the cancellation of the Kingdoms of Amalur becomes even more tragic with each new scrap of information on the massively-multiplayer game. That’s why author R.A. Salvatore explaining the story behind the game at DragonCon earlier this month made me so melancholy.…

An Iconic Baldur’s Gate II Scene, Re-Created In Glorious 3D

Remember that awesome scene near the beginning of Baldur’s Gate II, when you’re escaping that first (annoying) dungeon and Irenicus comes out, kidnaps one of your companions, and wreaks havoc everywhere? Here it is in 3D, created in the Dragon Age map editor by YouTuber Dahlia Lynn. Cool stuff! (via David Gaider)

The iPhone 5 Might Be the Best Smartphone for Gamers

Today, Apple announced the iPhone 5. Once again, it’s thinner and more powerful than its predecessors. Mobile gaming just got that much better. One of the biggest complaints about playing games on Apple’s iPhones has been how cramped the screen feels. The iPhone 5’s taller screen translates into more room in which to draw a…

Guild Wars 2, Log Three: I Made A Thing! Then Another Thing, and Another Thing…

Oh, dear. I have begun crafting. I put it off until I reached level 20 with my main, and truth be told it’s just as well. I’ve never yet sold or traded away any of the crafting materials I’ve come across (though I should really put the ones I can’t use into the guild bank),…

New iPod Touch Is Faster, Bigger, Better For Gaming

This is the new iPod Touch, announced at Apple’s press conference today. It’s got the iPhone 5’s screen and the A5 processor, which makes it about as fast as the iPhone 4S. The new iPod Touch is out in October. $299 for 32gb; $399 for 64gb. The iPod Touch is “the world’s most popular music…

Apple has announced that iOS6, the latest operating system for their iPad and iPhone, will be available on September 19.

Hey, Mom, Your Seven-Year-Old Knows Uncharted 2 Isn’t Real

I can’t say I was happy when my wife’s friend brought over her seven-year-old terrorist of a child, Charlie, one summer afternoon in 2010, the same day I brought home a freshly cellophaned copy of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. All I’d wanted to do was pop it into my first edition PlayStation 3 (the one…

Konami’s New Little King’s Story—sequel to the quirky Wii RPG—comes to the Vita on October 2.

Here’s A Video Game Running On The iPhone 5

Announced at Apple’s press conference today, this is the iPhone 5, out September 21. The new iPhone will come with a bigger screen, a faster CPU, and better battery life. In other words, it’ll be a more powerful gaming device than any previous iPhone to date. (Check Gizmodo for a full breakdown of the new…