- Esports
Pro Gaming Fans Rush to Pro Gaming’s Defense
Yesterday, I wrote a post tweaking 27-year-old professional gamer David “Zaccubus” Treacy for his comments in an interview with Alienware, mostly for what seemed like an attempt to blame pro gaming’s lack of success in the mainstream on “cheesy” television productions. It sounded defensive, especially since, well, I don’t see the appeal of eSports at…
By Jen Schiller Published July 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Game Store Owner Sentenced To 290 Years in Prison for Making Child Porn
Leland Beasley, the 43-year-old owner of the Gamestation Sector 19 video game stores in St. Louis County, Missouri, has been sentenced to 290 years in prison for the possession and production of child pornography, videos he recording during all-night gaming sessions at his place of business. In the harshest federal sentence for child porn ever…
By Mike Fahey Published July 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Urban Champion Is the Next Nintendo 3DS *Ahem* ‘3D Classic’
Nintendo is mining its back catalog of 8-bit hits for re-release on the Nintendo 3DS. Two games, Excitebike and Xevious have been released—the latter only in Japan—as part of Nintendo’s 3D Classics line. After that… Urban Champion If the name Urban Champion isn’t ringing any bells, it’s a Famicom/NES head-to-head beat ’em up dating back…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
2010’s Big Piracy Busts Netted Probation, Fines, Millions in Seized Games
U.S. video game industry anti-piracy efforts last year led to more than 40 criminal cases and at least two convictions, the Entertainment Software Association reported today. The rundown of the industry’s anti-piracy efforts were reported in the association’s 2010 Annual Report released this week. In it, the non-profit outlined law enforcement training sessions it had…
By Brian Crecente Published July 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Gun-Toting, Serial-Robber Stalks Florida Game Stores
Pembroke Pines police are on the lookout for an armed woman who robbed three GameStops in the past three days, firing shots during the last robbery. The woman, said to be in her 20s to 30s, robbed GameStops in Miramar and Pembroke Pines On July 4 and today, police say. Two of the robberies occurred…
By Brian Crecente Published July 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Get Left 4 Dead 2‘s New DLC Early By Crossing the Streams
Valve’s asking players to test Left 4 Dead 2‘s Cold Stream campaign. If 20,000 players finish it by Sunday, they’ll release the Dead Air campaign early! Coincidentally Left 4 Dead 2 is on sale for $5 on Steam. [L4D.com]
By Sam Winstrom Published July 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Take Pity on a Newbie Today
Last night on the way back to my apartment in New York’s Lower East Side, I saw a crowd of men standing around two motorcycles. I’m a fledgling rider myself, as well as newly returned to the city. I’d spoken to these guys a few times before and did what I typically do when I…
By Joel Johnson Published July 6, 2011 -
UncategorizedCanabalt, Sword & Adventure Time!
What happens when the creators of Sword & Sworcery meets the man behind Adventure Time? Green screen insanity, Canabalt high scores and Austin independent game collective, Juegos Rancheros hosted a talk with Adventure Time creator Pendleton Ward and Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP‘s Kris Piotrowski and Craig Adams. The entire talk was hosted by Adam…
By Brian Crecente Published July 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Sony Confirms ‘PSN Pass’ Program, Required for Resistance 3‘s Online Modes
Sony will bring single-use registration codes that grant access to online modes to the PlayStation 3 later this year in the form of the unofficially named “PSN Pass,” the company confirmed today. As rumored, starting with Insomniac Games’ Resistance 3, PS3 owners will need to buy online-enabled games new if they want to play online,…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Can You Fathom Video Games and Movies Living in Harmony?
Movies and video games have a sordid history, but artist Joe Russ is looking to change that with “FATHOMS”. “FATHOMS” aims to combine the best of video games and movies in its visual style to tell the story of Evan, Sam and their rescued cat Hippo. Survivors of a pollution ruined world, they explore the…
By Sam Winstrom Published July 6, 2011 -
UncategorizedTouch Mai With The King of Fighters iPhone
Available now for the iPhone in Japan, The King of Fighters I delivers three-on-three team fights and one-on-one battles between 14 different fighters, with SNK Playmore promising six additional characters by October. Read all about it at Adriasang
By Mike Fahey Published July 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Who Said Plants Are Immune to the Zombie Plague?
When you get bitten by a zombie, you turn into a zombie. It’s one of the cardinal rules of the undead, but what if you’re a sentient plant? Are you immune? Says who? Well, says Popcap, obviously. In its smash hit Plants Vs. Zombies, plants don’t seem to be able to catch the undead plague.…
By Mike Fahey Published July 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
A Musical Celebration of 15 Years of NiGHTS
The astoundingly talented community at OverClocked Remix have released NiGHTS: Lucid Dreaming, a free album featuring twenty-seven tracks and tons of artwork celebrating the 15th anniversary of Sega’s beloved NiGHTS into Dreams. Download and love all over it
By Mike Fahey Published July 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Soon Your Kinect Space Requirement Woes Will Be a Thing of the Past
Come August 23 I will no longer need to move my couch in order to get my Just Dance on, thanks to Nyko’s Kinect clip-on Zoom device. How much would you pay to cut your Kinect’s space requirements by 40 percent? I’ll tell you how much you’ll pay. You’ll pay $29.99 and you’ll love it.…
By Mike Fahey Published July 6, 2011 -
UncategorizedGods & Heroes Looks Just As Exciting As It Did In 2005
Heatwave Interactive recently released Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising, a massively multiplayer online game that’s been in development since at least 2005, and it looks just as good as it looked back then. Unfortunately it’s 2011 now. Some of my earliest posts on Kotaku were about Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising, a promising massively multiplayer…
By Mike Fahey Published July 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Drinking And Gaming Can Kill a High Score
In this alcohol-soaked edition of Speak Up on Kotaku, commenter Ducce wonders how many of you break out the booze when it’s time to get your game on. Today during my lunch break I read this article in a magazine claiming that males between the ages 15-30 has been drinking less and less amounts (volumes…
By Mike Fahey Published July 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Can CivWorld Save Facebook Gaming From Itself?
I’m not sure Facebook can handle CivWorld, the brand new version of Civilization that launches on America’s favorite social network today. I’m not sure if Facebook is ready for Civilization, though I hope it is. What we’ve got today on Facebook is a free game that’s more cluttered and clunky than the likes of the…
By Stephen Totilo Published July 6, 2011 -
UncategorizedThe Secret World Reveals New England’s Dirty Little Secret
Funcom’s upcoming supernatural MMO The Secret World reveals the dark truth New Englanders have tried in vain to hide behind their colorful leaves and inexpensive lobster dishes: The place is brimming with evil. As far as secrets go, it’s not a very well-kept one. Stephen King has been tapping that evil New England ass for…
By Mike Fahey Published July 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Talk Amongst Yourselves
Wednesday? Again? Let’s make this day go by faster by chatting about video games, shall we? Today we’ve got a newcomer to the TAYpic gallery! Welcome Po5TMAN to the crew, and a big thanks for your fantastic first efforts! To get your TAYpic featured here, be sure to submit your images to #TAYpics, and please…
By Jen Schiller Published July 6, 2011 - Uncategorized
Nintendo Nixes Future iPhone, Android Games Despite Pokemon Title
The decision to bring a Pokemon game to the iPhone doesn’t mean that Nintendo has softened its views on Apple’s gaming phone. Speaking with Bloomberg, a spokesman said that Nintendo’s decision to only develop games for its own hardware “hasn’t changed and won’t change.” While Pokemon is typically only published on Nintendo game systems, it…
By Brian Crecente Published July 6, 2011