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  Let The Wookiee Win

  In tonight’s open thread, we can talk about getting stoned and porn, if you’d like. This is the place for off-topic discussion after all. And it’s relevant to tonight’s links! So, yes, Kotaku is posting porn today (update your blog) or at least a teaser for the Star Wars-themed porn coming from Vivid Entertainment. To…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 10, 2011
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  A Fantasy RPG Sails into Pirate-Infested Waters with Risen 2

  Deep Silver has a game forthcoming that features islands, water, and people in pirate costumes, and it ain’t Dead Island. No, it is Risen 2: Dark Waters, the sequel to a game that was a fantasy RPG. What Deep Silver is doing is listening to its customers. One of the most popular side quests in…

  By Owen Good Published August 10, 2011
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  A Lockout Could Cost NBA 2K12 $40 Million, Says Analyst

  You thought we were done with this lockout nonsense when the NFL and its players came to terms about two weeks ago. Nope! The NBA and its players are in a similar dispute and, good news, it seems to be even more intractable. What does this mean for its premier licensed video game? Arvind Bhatia,…

  By Owen Good Published August 10, 2011
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  Feel the Parental Fury of the Super Nintendo Launch, As Told By Local News

  You may have fond memories of the 1991 launch of Nintendo’s SNES, but according to a recently unearthed local news broadcast, some parents were steaming at the notion of the new 16-bit console. The segment “Video Mania,” via NeoGAF, from Los Angeles affiliate KNBC features Rogue from the X-Men and the upper torso of newsman…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 10, 2011
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  Co-Op Multiplayer May Have to Wait in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

  Earlier today, a post on the official forum for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine said that cooperative multiplayer for the game would not be available at launchand would be added into the game 30 days after launch “give or take.” The post has since been removed, but publisher THQ has yet to confirm any plans or…

  By Owen Good Published August 10, 2011
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  I’ve Played Deus Ex. She Hasn’t. Now We’re Playing It Together

  Earlier this year, games journalist-about-town (and Kotaku columnist) Leigh Alexander and I did a little experiment—I had never played the classic JRPG Final Fantasy VII, a game that she counts among her very favorites. The idea was that I would play the game for the first time, and as I went through it, we’d write…

  Kirk Hamilton & Leigh Alexander Published August 10, 2011
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  Activision Says No Thanks to Facebook Gaming Because It’s Already Kicking Ass In Pay-to-Play

  The CEO of Activision Publishing (that’s not Bobby Kotick—he is the CEO of Activision Blizzard) pointedly said his division does not share rival Electronic Arts’ interest in Facebook gaming because “Call of Duty has more players who pay-to-play online than any Facebook game.” Ruh roh. That’s another bon mot offered by Eric Hirshberg at the…

  By Owen Good Published August 10, 2011
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  A Whole Lot of Mega Man and 8 Million new Spider-People Headline a Big Week in New Comics

  There are new comics out every week, but this week doesn’t just have a strong batch of new books that are hitting store shelves. It’s also got an unusually strong amount of legitimate digital downloadable comics, including a re-issuing of a few issues of the Detroit-era Justice League of America. You know, the worst incarnation…

  By Stephen Totilo Published August 10, 2011
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  Marvel Vs. Cute Capcom

  MvC – Yes, yes. I’m going a bit Minimates crazy lately, but those tiny bat wings are just SO cute. Gamification is Bullshit In his short treatise On Bullshit, the moral philosopher Harry Frankfurt gives us a useful theory of bullshit. We normally think of bullshit as a synonym-albeit a somewhat vulgar one-for lies or…

  By Brian Crecente Published August 10, 2011
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  Epic Mickey Lands In Japan, But Is Less Epic Than Kirby

  Disney’s Epic Mickey made its (rather late) to the Wii in Japan last week, debuting in the top ten, but not in the top five. Another adorable mascot, Nintendo’s Kirby, fared much better overseas. The week’s real winner, however, was Sega’s J-League Pro Soccer Club o Tsukurou! 7 Euro Plus for PSP. The soccer sim…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 10, 2011
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  Mortal Kombat: Legacy Komes to Blu-ray This November

  The nine episode web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy will come to a Blu-ray near you this November, courtesy of Warner Bros. and director Kevin Tancharoen, delivering live action Jax, Sonya, Scorpion, Sub-Zero and more onto one high-def disc. Hi-Def Digest has details on the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Blu-ray, hitting November 8 for $19.98 USD, revealing…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 10, 2011
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  Madden Munchies Find a Winning Flavor and Stick With It

  Following a breakout rookie year, “Stadium Nacho,” the Madden NFL Dorito flavor, returns for a sophomore campaign on grocery shelves. There’s free stuff in the bag, too. “Stadium Nacho” helped right the ship with stoners after a meal deal with with Kentucky Fried Chicken turned in a Jamarcus-esque performance in 2009. Nacho overshadowed teammate “Tailgater…

  By Owen Good Published August 10, 2011
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  Fan Pleas for Half-Life 3 Enter Negotiating-via-Cardboard Phase

  The two guys on the left showed up at Valve Software recently, hoping the guy on the right would hear (or read) their plea. I’m a little confused, though. Is the guy all the way on the left saying that Canada wants Half-Life 3 to be released? Or is he offering to trade Canada for…

  By Stephen Totilo Published August 10, 2011
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  PvP and Penny Arcade Turn The Horrors of Game Testing Into Our Own Version of The Office

  I’ve never been a game tester, not by choice, but reviewer is often one step up from that front line in the war against game-killing bugs. Testing by accident, finding bugs and even having a few “named” after me, is painless for me because I can just give up, waving the controller in the air…

  By Brian Crecente Published August 10, 2011
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  I Think the PlayStation People are Trying to Hypnotize Us

  There’s some sort of writing on the European PlayStation blog about the Dazzle Eye dynamic theme for the PlayStation 3 and PSP. Artists’ project, platform for creativity, etc., etc…. something about the pattern for Dazzle Eye originating in a World War I design that was intended “to bewilder the enemy.” Press play on the video…

  By Stephen Totilo Published August 10, 2011
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  This Lizard Piggy Went to Anarchy Reigns

  The latest addition to the cast of Platinum Games’ battle royale, Anarchy Reigns, also carries the best name of the bunch: Oinkie. Oinkie is a human mutant that uses a substance called “The Juice” to transform him from pig creature to lizard pig creature, sort of a Spider-Ham meets the Lizard meets the Kingpin, with…

  By Mike Fahey Published August 10, 2011
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  Might and Magic Heroes VI Gets an Announcement Trailer for Its Announcement Trailer.

  I confess, I find the practice of teasing a future tease frustrating, and I’m not quite sure why the video game hype machine is so fond of this. It befuddles me. The actual “trailer” in question however, is not befuddling, but quite rousing, in an inspiring, high fantasy manner. But again. Using a tease to…

  By Joshua Rivera Published August 10, 2011
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  Jonathan Blow, Opinionated Creator of Two Video Games, is ‘Attempting to be Profound’

  Jonathan Blow is a video game developer whose critics call pretentious and grouchy. He once had the audacity to wonder aloud why more people don’t make video games for adults who like reading books. That was some time after he had the temerity to criticize the game-making of the geniuses at Nintendo. That was also…

  By Stephen Totilo Published August 10, 2011
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  Rock Band 3 Has A New Publisher—Mad Catz!

  Harmonix’s rock solid 2010 rock ‘n’ roll game Rock Band 3 will be re-released later this year under the guidance of a new publisher, Mad Catz. That’s right. The people who make Rock Band guitar and keyboard controllers are now publishing the game. Mad Catz, better known for its joysticks, gamepads and expensive flight sim…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 10, 2011
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  So You Want to Score a 3DS for $170 Two Days Early?

  In addition to news that Wal-Mart was getting all antsy and selling the 3DS for $170 before its official August 12 price drop, shoppers on Twitter and Cheap Ass Gamer are also reporting that Target has also joined Wal-Mart in dropping the price early. We called a few Target locations, and while most still quote…

  By Joshua Rivera Published August 10, 2011