Is Sony’s New Handheld Called “Vita”?

It’s the week before E3. There are rumours buzzing around like flies on a turd. Here’s the biggest fly, then, from the weekend: that the NGP has a name. And that name is “Vita”. Now, there’s a sordid tale behind this, beginning with “leaked” snaps from a supposed marketing brochure and ending with the original…

Slingshot AI

Free the Indianapolis 500 | The U.K.’s Dan Wheldon won on the 100th anniversary of the Indianapolis 500 today, zipping to the checkered flag first when rookie J.R. Hildebrand crashed in the final turn of the final lap. (Photo: Jonathan Ferrey | Getty Images) Bankrupted Studio Says Square Enix Demanded Code by Fax, Didn’t Recognize…

Reaching for the Brass Ring on NCAA Football 12‘s Coaching Carousel

Ben Haumiller’s got a job for me. Several jobs, actually, but they’re all in NCAA Football 12‘s new career mode, the “Coaching Carousel.” Haumiller, the game’s producer, explains it all using an offensive coordinator named Owen O’Cain as an example. Who the hell is Owen O’Cain? More on him in a moment. The real story…

A Quiet Week for Games

Holiday weekends and the period around E3 typically are slow, and this coming week fits both bills. The big drops: Hunted: The Demon’s Forge; BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II comes to PSP and 3DS; PC players get the BioShock 2: Minerva’s Den and Call of Duty: Black Ops-Escalation expansions. Tuesday Hunted: The Demon’s Forge (PC, PS3,…

Practice Your Marksmanship with This Gears of War 3 Target Poster

Microsoft sent out a big thank-you email to every participant in the monthlong Gears of War 3 beta, noting the outrageous stats it compiled and directing everyone to a set of desktop wallpapers and a printable target-practice poster. That might come in handy, as it took 25 rounds per kill, on average. The email went…

Catch ‘Em All (but Maybe Avoid These)

Each week throws off several new video game lists ranging from the humorous to the trivial. What’s better? A list of those. Here’s a roundup of the rundowns out there. •10 Ridiculous Pokémon Products [UGO] I’m appalled that the Pikachu menstrual pad didn’t make this list. •The 10 Greatest Poop Moments in Gaming [Ranker] We’ve…

Sony Exec to Testify Before Congress on PlayStation Breach

During the PlayStation Network outage, Sony was asked to appear before a U.S. House of Representatives committee to explain the situation. The company declined, sending an eight-page letter instead. Now it will go before Congress, when the president of Sony Network Entertainment visits a Tuesday hearing to answer questions. Tim Schaff will testify before a…

Here are the Pictures That Guy Took with his 3DS at the WWE SmackDown Event [Update]

Friday, Totilo noticed someone sitting ringside with a 3DS at WWE SmackDown’s recent event in Spokane, Wash., apparently capturing the action with the device’s 3D camera. (Kotaku commenter Dr. Zaius: ‘Guy was watching the match through the 3DS’s 3D lenses. ‘Whoa! It’s like I’m RIGHT THERE!'”) Yesterday, that guy contacted us to share the photos…

Million-Dollar Winners

Many of you pointed out this perfect candidate for a ‘Shop Contest when the story published on Thursday, and I agree. There’s so much you can do to this image. Let me make a humble request though: If you’re going to goof on Brian Kingrey, the guy holding the check, make it good-natured. Because he’s…

WWE SmackDown Pictures by the Guy with the 3DS

Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves

Welcome back to WTAY, Talk Radio AM. Our lines are open and we’re ready to take your calls about video games this Memorial Day weekend. Incursor is a back-to-back winner of the TAYpics Derby, with an inspired look at the Citadel Council from Mass Effect. Want to be featured atop TAY? Submit your ‘shop to…

Sunday Comics

Welcome to your Sunday read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic. Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published May 23. – Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by Josué Pereira published May 24. – Read more of Nerf…

You Can Have Any Sports Video Game You Want, But There’s Only One

About this time last year, at E3, I was chewing the fat with a 2K Sports representative about NBA 2K11 which already looked to be the monster it would become. Long dominant in the pro basketball genre, the game with Michael Jordan on its cover was going to be 2K’s Sunday punch to EA Sports.…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: V.G. Noire Winners

There are a million ‘Shops in the Naked City. Here are 20 of them. Last week we took the ‘Shop Contest to L.A. Noire, and brought back another goldmine of entries. There were 540 comments in all, which means usually something like 400 entries at least. So making the final cut to 20 was pretty…

V.G. Noire Finalists

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War Pigs and Brothers to the End: Here is Gears of War 3‘s World Premiere Trailer

Airing moments ago in Europe and Mexico following the UEFA Champions’ League Final, here is the full Gears of War 3 E3 trailer, with special musical guest Black Sabbath performing “War Pigs.”

L.A. Noire, in Five Seconds

This is true. Another way to handle it is the roommate going apeshit at an innocent response to a procedural question. [5 Second Films, thanks Carlos L.]

Poland Gives President Obama The Witcher 2‘s Collector’s Edition

President Obama, on a tour of Europe this week, stopped in Poland today to meet with Prime Minister Donald Tusk. As is customary, Tusk presented Obama with several gifts to commemorate his visit. One of those was the collector’s edition of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings The Witcher is not just a Polish-developed video…

Oh Yeah … PlayStation Network is Back Online in Japan

If you’re on the PlayStation Network in Japan, chances are you already know this. Chances are you are also asleep as it’s past 3 a.m. now. But just to make a record of it, PlayStation Network service was restored to Japan, as promised. Here’s Sony Computer Entertainment boss Kazuo Hirai welcoming everyone back

Bankrupted Studio Says Square Enix Demanded Code by Fax, Didn’t Recognize FFXII Screenshots

In a feature story published today in Sweden, the founders of GRIN lay their studio’s precipitous demise at Square Enix’s feet, saying the publisher reneged on payments during the development of a Final Fantasy game and saddled them with ridiculous requirements as the project went sour. This is according a story (translated via Google) published…