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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Morning all, you prepped and ready for the Battlefield 3 beta? Perhaps you feel you won’t have the time because you were one of the lucky few to get into the Diablo 3 closed beta? Or maybe you don’t give a damn about either because there’s another upcoming release that has your attention. Now’s your…

  By Nick Partyka Published September 21, 2011
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  The World’s Average Download Speed is 580KBps

  That figure comes courtesy of a Global Download Report published by the global game-delivery company Pando Networks. The study, which was conducted from January 1 through June 30th, 2011, tracked the download speeds of 21 million gamers around the world. Most of the gamers Pando works with are in the MMO/Free-To-Play realm, playing games like…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published September 21, 2011
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  Grazing Goats From a Llama-Loving Game Maker

  Goat Up is a love letter to perhaps the one genre of game that game maker Jeff Minter and his team at Llamasoft had never made: The platformer. In Goat Up players control a grass-grazing goat as he makes his way up an endless series of platforms, discovering hidden items, and occasionally love, and having…

  By Brian Crecente Published September 21, 2011
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  She Could Probably Kick Your Ass

  Pon Pon | CHIBA, JAPAN – Yuzuki Aikawa showed up at the Acquire booth at this year’s Tokyo Game Show. (Photo: Game Watch Impress) Are There Not Enough PlayStation Vitas to go Around? The signs were there for Sony. This year’s Tokyo Game Show was shaping up as the biggest ever, and its new Vita…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 21, 2011
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  How Adobe Is Going To Make Flash Gaming Awesomer

  Flash gaming is just about to get better. Adobe is bringing full hardware-accelerated 3D graphics to both Flash and Air. It’s also improving 2D graphics as well. All this would mean that Adobe could bring console style gaming to the Flash platform and improve integration with social networking sites like Facebook. It also makes it…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 21, 2011
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  Nintendo Reminds Japan that the 3DS Has Games

  It does! So stop all that nonsense that the 3DS has zero games. More impressive is that the 3DS has a strong line-up of third party titles. The 3DS might be making its way through a rough patch, but right now, it could just be some temporary turbulence. You can contact Brian Ashcraft, the author…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 21, 2011
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  Japan Likes Gears of War Just Fine, Thank You

  Back when the first Gears of War was launched in 2006, so many Japanese gamers used to turn their noses up at Western games. Slowly, but surely, that’s beginning to change. While at this year’s Tokyo Game Show, many members of the Japanese press I talked with expressed interest and excitement about Gears of War…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 21, 2011
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  Are There Not Enough PlayStation Vitas to go Around?

  The signs were there for Sony. This year’s Tokyo Game Show was shaping up as the biggest ever, and its new Vita handheld would be many people’s main attraction. Why, then, did the company do such a poor job of actually letting people play the thing? We’ve told you how ridiculous the lines for the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 21, 2011
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  Science Finds Some People Can’t Tell the Video Game World From the Real World

  Research carried out by Nottingham Trent University, and which is soon to be published in the International Journal of Cyber Behaviour, Psychology and Learning, says that hardcore video gamers are having trouble distinguishing the real world from the virtual one. Having polled an astounding 42 gamers aged between 15-21, some of the most extreme cases…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 21, 2011
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  This Particular Geth is Ready for Mass Effect 3

  Patryk Olejniczak used to make incredible Mass Effect fan art. Now he actually works for the series’ developers Bioware, so this is less fan art and more…work art? It’s a portrait of Legion, and if you don’t know who Legion is, you really need to finish Mass Effect 2 Mass Effect – Legion [Patryk Olejniczak]

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 21, 2011
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  Forza 4 Demo Overtaking You In Early October

  Microsoft has announced that a demo for upcoming racer Forza 4 will be released on the Xbox Live Marketplace on October 3. The actual game is out just over a week later, on October 11 (Oct 14 for Europe).

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 21, 2011
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  Kotaku Japan Looking for a Mascot

  While Kotaku.com has that Kotaku-tan Meat Bun and Jason Chan dreamt up or Brian Crecente’s hair, Kotaku Japan does not. This month, our sister site is hunting for a mascot. Here are some of the Kotaku-tans that were uploaded on Japanese illustration site Pixiv. It’s now asking KJ readers to pick their favorite. The mascot…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 21, 2011
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  Sony Hoping to Make Firmware Updates Less Torturous On Vita

  The bane of Sony’s current systems is the way in which they update their firmware. They’re updated often, and tie the system up while they do it, meaning impulsive gaming sessions sometimes become boring installation sessions instead. It’s a problem the company is looking to fix with the release of the upcoming PlayStation Vita. Speaking…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 21, 2011
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  A Gears of War 3 Figure to Close out the Trilogy With

  It’s been a long road – five years long, if you can believe it – but the Gears of War franchise can finally take a breather with the end of the third game in the series. To celebrate, toy company NECA is releasing this “Journey’s End” version of Marcus Fenix. If Marcus ever got an…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 21, 2011
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  Do Not Object to this Game Trailer!

  Level-5’s Professor Layton and Capcom’s Ace Attorney are joining forces for a puzzle lawyer game, complete with witches and big swords. It looks great. The art style for both games looks totally different, but it all works somehow. The game’s tagline notes that all the puzzles this time are “filled with contradictions”. Professor Layton vs.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 21, 2011
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  This Indie Game is Giving me Flashbacks of, Well, Flashback

  Gunpoint is a game where you’re a secret agent-type guy, who has to break into high security facilities by either jumping around and sticking to walls, shooting at people and, most importantly, rewiring the entire place and its security system. It’s an indie title that’s the work of games writer Tom Francis, along with artists…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 21, 2011
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  So How Does That Crazy Steel Battalion Kinect Game Work?

  Capcom is bringing Steel Battalion to Kinect, minus the enormous controller. In its place, Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor uses a combination of Kinect controls and the Xbox controller. During my Tokyo Game Show eyes-on, I was able to observe the game in action. When the demo started, Kinect scanned the player sitting in a chair…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 21, 2011
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  Get a Little Half-Life, Day of the Tentacle in Your Magicka

  There’s a new piece of downloadable content for PC co-op shooter (spellcaster?) Magicka called the “Gamer Bundle”. Normally I don’t look twice at a pack offering mere player skins, but these are no mere player skins. The three new robes for your wizards are heavily inspired by three of the best PC games ever made.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 21, 2011
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  The $131 Million Rock Band Lawsuit

  Last year, Harmonix shareholders sued the Rock Band developer’s former owner Viacom for a ton of money. This week? Viacom sues them back. I am rubber, you are glue, etc etc.

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 21, 2011
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  What If You Want To View Porn Sites on Your Japanese PS Vita?

  And what if you have the 3G version? Well, things might get embarrassing. Docomo is the PS Vita’s official 3G carrier in Japan, offering two plans: a prepaid 20 hour plan and a 100 hour plan. To protect underage gamers, the PS Vita’s default settings do not allow access to “unsuitable sites” through the 3G…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 21, 2011