World of Warcraft Gets Its Cross-Server Real ID Party Started

Blizzard’s Real ID system allows World of Warcraft buddies to chat no matter what game server they reside on, but talk is cheap, and we came to party. With the Real ID Party system, star-crossed pals can now team up to take on dungeons no matter what realm they roam. I’ve met plenty of World…

What Is Japan’s Fetish This Week? Catgirls

Damn, they’re cute. Not the girl—her ears. She is a catgirl—a female with cat ears. To underscore their feline traits, some have cat teeth,and even cat eyes. In Japan, the cat ears are called “nekomimi”, and they’re more than a simple personification of cats. Bikini models don cat ears when they want to be cute.…

The Day After Comcast Cut Off His Internet

Former Xbox executive Andre Vrignaud recently knocked Comcast for killing his broadband Internet for a year. He railed against what he considered unreasonable limitations. What next? He has written about the aftermath—and counters some criticism—on his blog, Ozymandias.

A Town With NPCs is the Most Exciting Thing About These Final Fantasy XIII-2 Screens

Look! It’s an actual town, complete with people with ellipses over their heads, indicating that they wish to speak to you! Oh Square Enix, you do love us. At times Final Fantasy XIII-2 feels like an interactive apology for everything that was wrong with Final Fantasy XIII, but that’s only because it is just that.…

Let’s Take a Tour of Netflix on the 3DS

Come with me as I explore the magical world of streaming video with the newly-released Netflix app for the Nintendo 3DS. Have all of our portable entertainment dreams come true? Small and serviceable, the Netflix app for Nintendo’s latest handheld does the job advertised. With the flick of the stylus you’ll be flipping through new…

Can You Spot the Difference in These House of the Dead: Overkill Extended Cut Covers?

It’s obviously much colder in North America than it is in Europe. Spotted on the U.S. and Euro PlayStation blogs by reader tomo_cjt.

Fan of The Guild? Show it off with your XBL Avatar!

Xbox Live now carries gear to dress your avatar like your favorite Guild member. Costumes and staffs are available for Zaboo, Codex, Tink, Clara, Bladezz and Vork. Bonus: according to Felicia Day’s Twitter, every Costume is unisex. Enjoy.

Who Cares About Downloadable Games? Let’s Watch Sons of Anarchy on Our 3DS!

Ridin’ through this world, all alone. God takes your soul; you’re on your own. That is unless you’ve got the Nintendo 3DS and an internet connection handy. Then you’ve got Netflix to keep you company, courtesy of today’s Nintendo Download. It’s Netflix day for the Nintendo 3DS, the day when streaming video fans everywhere download…

Modern Warfare 3 Multiplayer Will Borrow Gun-on-Gun Feel of Call of Duty 4, De-Emphasize Verticality of MW2

A reduction of the number of so-called hotspots on the multiplayer maps of Modern Warfare 3 will alter and accelerate the flow of action in this fall’s installment of the Call of Duty franchise juggernaut, one of the game’s creators told Kotaku this week in New York City. The makers of Modern Warfare 3‘s multiplayer…

To-Do in New York: Explore Alt-Sexuality Gaming at Future Babycastles

Join Kotaku contributing columnist and owner of some of the largest earrings in the industry Leigh Alexander tomorrow evening at Babycastles’ new arcade exhibition space in Williamsburg for the debut of Bad Bitches, a new exhibition of games featuring themes of alternative sexuality. How can that not be a good time? Tomorrow night from 6PM…

Someone Was Not Pleased With the Catherine Demo

The demo for Atlus’ Catherine came out earlier this week, at at least one of our commenters considers it a highly polished piece of crap. Voice your agreement or defend your enjoyment with commenter MonkeyChunks in today’s Speak Up on Kotaku. Today I played Atlus’ Catherine demo. I think it is a very well made,…

Does This Make Up for the Delay, Japan?

Shadows of the Damned is out in the West. Kotaku‘s Game Club has been playing it. Japan hasn’t. The game won’t be out in Japan until this fall. No worries, Japan, EA will make it up to you. EA is offering Japanese players the chance to get some Shadows of the Damned goodies when they…

Do You Have Ten Hours? Over a Hundred? This Post Is for You.

YouTube user TehN1ppe posts ten hour clips. Ten hours! Ten hours of endless loops, like Mario climbing a vine. For ten hours. Or Mudkip. Yep, Mah, Hiep, Mah, Hiep. For ten hours. Or Nyan Cat. For ten hours. Or epic sax guy. For ten hours. Trololo? Ten hours. As website Game Set Watch points out,…

Did Nintendo Just Out Netflix’s 3D Streaming Plans?

Buried in today’s news that Netflix is now live on Nintendo’s 3DS portable was a potentially much bigger piece of information: The mammoth movie and TV streaming service plans to start streaming 3D content soon. But apparently Netflix knew nothing about a 3D service being announced. Here’s how the press release put it: “The new…

Talk Amongst Yourselves

If you were to ask me what I do on Thursdays, I would, at the drop of a hat, say “Why, I talk about video games, of course! Don’t you?”. I know you would too, so please, share! What in the world of video games tickles your fancy today? Special thanks to our very own,…

This Historical First-Person Shooter is an Iranian National Treasure

In the mid 1700’s an Arab Amir took on the military might of Dutch colonials occupying Iran’s Kharg Island, capturing their fort and liberating the southern Iranian cities from colonial rule. This Amir, called Mir Mahna, is an Iranian national hero. And now he’s a video game hero as well. Shipping this week to local…

mir gallery

Magnetic Baby, An iOS Platformer With Gravitational Pull and A Portal or Two

If an iPhone game can surprise me, like Magnetic Baby does (but just a little), it’s because I seem to have become accustomed to playing with gravity and leaping through wormholes and understanding the physics of sentient little blobs in my video games. In Bravery Plus’ Magnetic Baby, you control a cute orange blob with…

Puyo Puyo Is Hilarious. I Guess.

So Funny | JAPAN: A still from Sega’s upcoming TV spot for its puzzler. (Photo: Sega) Where Does Batman Get All This Wonderful Concept Art? There may be over seventy years worth of Gotham City imagery to draw from, but that doesn’t mean the developers of Batman: Arkham City were allowed to get lazy. Lady…

Report: Zynga Creators Wanted To Buy PopCap

According to Forbes, Zynga, the folks behind FarmVille, CityVille and Mafia Wars, apparently wanted to buy PopCap, which was recently sold to EA for $750 million, for $1 billion in cash. [Gamasutra]