Government Affirms Mom’s Right to Confiscate PS3 Until Piano Practice is Finished

The police in Lake Oswego, Ore., a Portland suburb, pride themselves on the motto “no call is too small.” And they took one, yesterday, that comes straight from the Sheriff Andy Taylor manual of community policing. Yesterday, an 11-year-old picked up the phone and dialed 911 to report that his mother had taken away his…

What the Hell is Mutant League Football Doing in NFL Blitz?

Finish off the “Blitz Gauntlet” mode in the recently released NFL Blitz for PS3 and Xbox 360 and you’ll unlock a team full of zombies. And the logo on their jersey isn’t that of the National Football League, but of another league, one from a future of decaying flesh and dismembered bodies. That shot above…

A Bad Day for SOPA and PIPA

Gaming against SOPA | On a day when Wikipedia and Reddit blocked their content to protest two controversial potentially speech-squelching, Internet-mangling bills—and legislators fell over themselves dropping support for those bills—an online guild, the makers of Minecraft and FarmVille giant Zynga all made their hatred of SOPA and PIPA known. Midweek Moneysaver: New Games Galore…

Midweek Moneysaver: New Games Galore

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 • Jan. 31 release Soul Calibur V (360, PS3) comes with a $10 credit for $59.99, free shipping from Amazon. [Dealzon] • Feb. 7 release…

There Is Half-Life Stuff Hiding in Counter-Strike: GO

The people at Valve Software like to tease. They don’t, however, like to confirm the existence of new Half-Life games Kotaku reader ZombieK says he spotted these images in the beta for Valve’s spring-scheduled multiplayer shooter Counter-Strike: GO. Let’s classify them as teases. Or taunts. Or.. Easter Eggs? The shots first appeared on the Steam…

Today’s Best Use of Unauthorized Video Game Footage

Chinese songstress Yang Yuying couldn’t have chosen a better video game to accompany a live performance of her song “I’ll Be Waiting For You In The Spring” than ThatGameCompany’s PlayStation Network masterpiece Flower, though she probably should have asked permission first. Something being bootlegged in China? No way! I can understand why Yang (or more…

The Many Ways to Stay Alive in I Am Alive

Ubisoft’s “Encounters” trailer for I Am Alive has what seems to be the protagonist giving advice on life in a dog-eat-dog world. “People more than dust are the most dangerous thing you’re going to encounter,” and the ways to deal with them are numerous. I Am Alive clearly rewards players for the use of cunning…

…And Yet Another Senator Drops Support for PIPA

The rough day for the the Protect IP Act, the Senate’s version of the notorious SOPA, continues. Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, once a co-sponsor, has pulled his support. He Tweeted: “It is simply not ready for prime time.”

NPR’s Morning Edition Covers MAGfest and Video Game Music

Today, NPR’s Morning Edition dedicated a nice segment to the recent Music and Gaming Festival. They interviewed Final Fantasy composer Nobuo Uematsu, among others, closing out with this epic tune. Well played, NPR.

The Lovely, Colorful Platformer ScaryGirl Arrives on XBLA

ScaryGirl, a platformer based on Nathan Jurevicius’s graphic novel, has been released on Xbox Live Arcade, with a PSN release scheduled for next week and a “coming soon” release date for PC. As you can see in the trailer and screens above, it’s looking mighty nice! I had been under the impression that this was…

Conker’s Bad Fur Day Was Supposed to Include Pokémon and KKK Jokes

The most outrageous game Nintendo ever published could have been more outrageous if Nintendo hadn’t nixed a couple of jokes, the game’s creator, Chris Seavor, said in a recent interview. The game is Conker’s Bad Fur Day, which let Nintendo 64 owners control a foul-mouthed but cute squirrel through a series of adventures—many of them…

Remember to Come Talk About Portal 2 Tomorrow with the Kotaku Game Club

Remember Game Clubbers, we’ll be continuing our series on Portal 2 tomorrow at 4pm Eastern. Be there!

Star Wars: The Old Republic Patch 1.1 Breaks High-End PVP

Before Star Wars: The Old Republic‘s 1.1 patch went live early this morning, player-versus-player combat on the level 50 world of Ilum was slightly broken, with more players focusing on completing non-PVP goals than fighting. After patch 1.1 the zone has been transformed into an Imperial PVP wonderland. There are plenty of non PVP-related issues…

Another PIPA Co-Sponsor Bails on the Bill

In a statement made on his Facebook page, Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) announced that he is withdrawing his support for the Protect IP Act, which he co-sponsored, though he still supports “the original intent of [the] bill.”

GL Screens

This Yakuza: Dead Souls Trailer is a Feeding Frenzy

SEGA’s new trailer for the zombie-ridden Yakuza: Dead Souls skips the foreplay of human connection and solidarity. The shambling hordes come first, picking their way through Tokyo’s red light district with a hunger for human flesh… and bone marrow, and organs, and brains. Fans of splatter-house gore will enjoy gameplay footage of what seems like…

Ubisoft Closes Down Vancouver Studio

French publishing giant Ubisoft has closed down its Vancouver development studio. The branch had taken on an ancillary role for other Ubisoft studios as of last November, developing assets rather than new games.

Atlus Makes Tactical Role-Playing Fans’ Wishes Come True with Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time

Despite being considered by many to be the finest entry in the Growlanser series of Japanese tactical role-playing games, Growlanser IV: Over Reloaded for the PlayStation 2 never made it to this side of the globe. Atlus fixes that oversight this summer with the release of Growlanser: Wayfarer of Time for the PSP. A renamed…

Rockstar Wants Max Payne 3 To Have the Sharpness of a First-Person Shooter

How’s Max Payne supposed to shoot in May’s Max Payne 3? How’s a third-person shooter supposed to feel as good to control as a first-person shooter? Rockstar Games delivers its answers in the video here.

Prinnies and Ponies Invade PlayStation Home

If ever there was a reason to sit in front of your PlayStation 3 waiting for PlayStation Home to load it’s today’s North American debut of the prinny-powered Disgaea 4 Home Space. And for everyone else, there’s pet ponies. While plenty of people visit PlayStation Home on a daily basis (really lonely people; people that…