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Bobbyball Winners
The big moosie slobbering all over me, that was Bob. Kotick. Rattled by the Activision CEO’s cameo appearance in Moneyball, we decide to revise Hollywood history before it was revised for us. That meant inserting Bobby Kotick into Brad Pitt movies in last week’s ‘Shop Contest, or vice versa if necessary. Turned out vice versa…
By Owen Good Published June 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
Don’t Hate the Game, Hate the Player
The lie I faced on the seventh green at Costa Navarino was so steep, it’s a wonder I didn’t need rappelling gear to address the ball. My caddy, who has recommended twisting shots that skip over bunkers and thread between trees, suddenly had no advice. Without any starting point for my read, I had no…
By Owen Good Published June 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Week in Gaming Apps
Whoops! Week in Gaming Apps returns, sans your usual host Fahey, who has been playing with the high-stakes tamagotchi called “newborn babies.” When they cry, you had better goddamn well feed ’em. What games offer less risk (and, admittedly, not as much reward?) This week I flicked some balls on a virtual golf course, Luke…
By Owen Good Published June 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
Chrome Skins are Gears of War 3‘s Unlockable Reward for Loyal Gears Players
In December, Epic Games creative boss Cliff Bleszinski said Gears of War 3 would feature unlockables that fans can acquire by playing other Epic games, such as the first two Gears of War. Yesterday, Gears 3‘s executive producer let slip what some of them will be. “If you did something in ‘Gears’ PC you get…
By Owen Good Published June 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Best Videos of the Week
Maybe you were working all week and missed the best of your favorite Gawker Media sites. Or maybe you’re still working and in need a little diversion. Well, whatever the case, we’ve got you covered. Here are some of the most amusing and entertaining videos we watched during the week that was. Can You Fall…
By Matt Cherette Published June 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
Is ‘Familyville’ Zynga’s Answer to The Sims on Facebook?
Some URL sleuthing by the domain-watching site Fusible revealed that the domain familyville.com has changed hands and hosts in a manner similar to URLs for Zynga properties like Cityville What most ties familyville.com to Zynga was its brief ownership, in March, by IPCybercrime, which acquired the domain cityville.com on behalf of Zynga in June 2010…
By Owen Good Published June 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
By Wisdom and Courage
Giving hope to a hopeless franchise is part of what makes season modes in sports video gaming so fun. But in FIFA, a side that comes up from nothing finds itself with new big-league obligations, and when the money runs out, can answer them only with heart. Sean (Kotaku user seanomatopoeia) created an 18-year-old Be…
By Owen Good Published June 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
Video Game “Poems” Get a Luxurious Special-Edition Release
A Slow Year, the anthology of “video game poems” Dr. Ian Bogost wrote for the Atari 2600, has published a special edition befitting a work of art. The box is hand-crafted and bound in red leather, with foil-stamped gold lettering. The set sells for $500 and only 20 are available, but admiring it is free.
By Owen Good Published June 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
You Can Learn a Lot, Watching Things Eat
When you decide to be something, you can be it. That’s what they don’t tell you in the church. When I was your age they would say we can become cops, or criminals. Today, what I’m saying to you is this: when you’re facing a loaded gun, what’s the difference? The FBI bagged Whitey Bulger…
By Owen Good Published June 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
Microsoft Sounding Out Developers for Free-to-Play Xbox 360 Games?
From Develop comes a rumor that Microsoft is now contacting studios “to discuss possible free-to-play game deals,” while it builds an operating system for the 360 that incorporates a microtransaction service. Develop says Microsoft offered no comment when contacted about the plans. The report attributed the rumor to “several sources connected to the matter.” This…
By Owen Good Published June 24, 2011 - Uncategorized
Monday’s Expected Supreme Court Decision Will Tell America How Much Free Speech Protection Video Games Deserve
Monday will be a day that could radically change the status of video games in the United States. We’re expecting the Supreme Court of the United States to finally issue a ruling, based on arguments they (and we) heard back in November, about whether the state of California can make it a crime to sell…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 24, 2011 - Uncategorized
How Badly Do You Want The Last Story, Pandora’s Tower and Xenoblade for Wii?
Bad enough to write Nintendo a letter? On actual paper? That’s what some passionate North American Nintendo fans have resorted to, pleading with paper and ink for Nintendo of America to bring more Wii games stateside, including The Last Story, Pandora’s Tower and Xenoblade Nintendo of America has not confirmed those games for release in…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 24, 2011 - Uncategorized
Star Wars Galaxies Designer Eulogizes the Dying MMO
The original MMO set in a galaxy far, far away, Star Wars Galaxies, is ending its online existence this December, making way for Star Wars: The Old Republic. Contracts expire and so too must the occasional online community. Star Wars Galaxies designer Raph Koster, also notable for being lead designer on Ultima Online, offers his…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 24, 2011 - Uncategorized
Furious Over Microtransactions, EVE Online Community Explodes with Rioting
I don’t pretend to understand the culture of EVE Online, but when a fiasco gets a Downfall-meme video, that’s a kind of visual Esperanto for “this shit is officially fucked.” Our tips box has been exploding with reports that EVE’s culture is on the verge of collapse over publisher CCP’s decision to sell microtransaction items…
By Owen Good Published June 24, 2011 -
UncategorizedRetro Game Master Episode 1: Ninja Gaiden
In this first episode of Retro Game Master, our hero, Shinya Arino, faces off against grueling Nintendo Entertainment System game Ninja Gaiden Released in Japan in 1988 on the Famicom to coincide with the release of an arcade game by the same name, Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden featured 20 levels spread over six acts and a…
By Brian Crecente Published June 24, 2011 - Uncategorized
Labor of Love Brings Marathon to the iPad for Free
Thanks to the spare-time efforts of a single coder, Marathon the beloved FPS from the zenith of Mac gaming’s days, will be released on the iPad by Bungie for the low low cost of zero dollars and zero cents. You may thank Daniel Blezek, who is a computer engineer “for a large medical center,” and…
By Owen Good Published June 24, 2011 - Uncategorized
They’re Called “Goodbye Cookies”
Goodbye Cookies | Today was to be my last as a Kotaku intern. I brought cookies…but only three of us were here to eat them. (Photo by Drew Cohen) The New, Better Beast Mode is Gears of War 3’s No-Longer-Secret Weapon Much has changed in the year since Epic Games last showed Beast Mode, the…
By Drew Cohen Published June 24, 2011 - Uncategorized
To-Do In Los Angeles: Play Skullgirls and Skulls of the Shogun at Giant Robot
Angelenos, Santa Monicans and sundry Southern Californians, if you’d like to play some video games outside this weekend, join us for Giant Robot’s “Game Night 5” in Los Angeles on Saturday night to get your hands on future indie hits Skullgirls and Skulls of the Shogun Giant Robot, with a little help from my friends…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 24, 2011 - Uncategorized
The King Of Kong Director Is Launching A WarGames Reboot
Global Thermonuclear War is coming back to the big screen courtesy of the man who brought a battle between two Donkey Kong high score warriors to film. Seth Gordon, director of 2007’s The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is re-directing WarGames Deadline reports that Gordon is tackling a reboot for MGM of the…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 24, 2011