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UncategorizedTurns Out Kinect Can Read Sign Language
Kinect’s patent application said the device could recognize American Sign Language. Microsoft then backed off the claim, at least for the initial generation of the device, saying that sort of application would be supported in later models. Then people started developing open-source Kinect drivers and doing all sorts of cool things with them. And lo…
By Owen Good Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Fortified With Vitamin D
As a guy who works from his home and plays video games as part of his job, you can guess which vitamin deficiency my doctor found during my last physical. It’s the big D, i.e. the one you get from being out in the sunshine. (You do get some from milk, but not as much…
By Owen Good Published May 18, 2011 -
UncategorizedRecord-Seeker Restarts 70-Hour Assault on All-Time Q*Bert Mark
Last month, George Leutz set out to topple a high score nearly 28 years old: Q*Bert‘s all time mark of 33,273,520. It’s believed that it would take playing for 70 hours on a single quarter to beat that score. Halfway into it, someone kicked a power cord, (seen above) and all of Leutz’s work was…
By Owen Good Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Video Game Hall of Fame Cancels This Year’s Gala Weekend
After a grand opening that last year enshrined the first class of the International Video Game Hall of Fame and attracted nationwide media exposure, the IVGHOF has found it does not have enough money for an encore. The Hall of Fame, based in Ottumwa, Iowa, is indefinitely postponing the “Big Bang” but says a second…
By Owen Good Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Old Republic, Silver the Hedgehog and a Surprisingly Interesting Rocketeer Revival
There are new comics in comic books shops every Wednesday, plus new ones on the iPad and other portable devices with nice screens. Some of these comics are about video games, some aren’t. I’m here to recommend a few. Comics You Should Consider Buying (from comics shops) Rocketeer Adventures #1 Why is the Rocketeer popular?…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
We Have a Winner in MLB 2K11‘s Million-Dollar Perfect Game Challenge
When 2K Sports vowed to declare a winner in its second Million-Dollar Perfect Game contest as soon as a winner could be verified, most assumed we’d have heard of a winner in April. Last year’s inaugural challenge was won on the very first day, as a matter of fact. Yet as April dragged into May,…
By Owen Good Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Kotaku, You’re On The Air, Go Ahead
NEWS | Ron Burgundy, who looks nothing like the news anchor I spoke with today. An iPhone Game You Can Win, Even If You Can’t See Close your eyes and play an iPhone game. With Stem Stumper, a game made for both blind and sighted gamers, you can do that. Play it by sound, and…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Japan’s Still Hot for Haruhi Games, But What About Steel Diver?
Now that Japan’s game release schedule is back on, well, schedule, what are Japanese video game fans spending their hard-earned yen on? Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 Professional for one thing. Haruhi Suzumiya games for two more. Square Enix’s Dragon Quest spin-off continues to dominate Japanese sales charts, but a pair of Haruhi Suzumiya adventure…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
It Takes a Special Sort of Death to Become a Pac-Man Ghost
According to Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy there are several different circles of hell, each reserved for a particular type of sinner. What do you have to do to wind up on the Pac-Man circle? Blinky reveals the truth. There are many different theories about how the ghosts in Namco’s classic arcade game found themselves in…
By Mike Fahey Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Check Out the World’s Largest Working NES Controller
Students at a Dutch university on Tuesday unveiled what they claim is the world’s largest working Nintendo Entertainment System controller, some 30 times bigger than the console’s actual game pad. It’s so big, the only way to manipulate the D-pad or buttons is to stand on them Built by electrical engineering students at TU Delft,…
By Owen Good Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Chainsaw Dudes In Half at Your Next Family Game Night with Gears of War: The Board Game
The visceral thrill of Gears of War is (indeed) coming to a tabletop near you with Gears of War: The Board Game, the latest video game to board game adaptation from Fantasy Flight Games. They’re the people who have turned video games like StarCraft and Civilization into board game form, but they also do plenty…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Microsoft Says Xbox 360 Disc Read Problems Caused by an Older Update
Yesterday, Kotaku Australia reported that a software update for the Xbox 360 was causing some consoles to stop reading game discs, which Microsoft was addressing in the form of all-new replacement Xbox 360s and free Xbox Live subscriptions. The original report believed that the issue was related to the forthcoming software update for Xbox 360…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Oh How Serious Sam‘s Headless Kamikaze Has Grown
Lacking any meat above the neckline and hands replaced with ticking time bombs, the headless kamikaze of Serious Sam fame has come a long way over the past decade. Developer Croteam took a break from developing the next game in the SS series, Serious Sam 3: BFE, to show off the new look for one…
By Mike Fahey Published May 18, 2011 -
UncategorizedThe Difference Between L.A. Noire and Grand Theft Auto
I enjoy L.A. Noire. I enjoy it for reasons that have nothing to do with why I enjoyed Grand Theft Auto IV. Despite superficial similarities, two games are barely alike, which I’ve carefully explained before But when I put L.A. Noire in the hands of someone who loves GTA, guess what he tried to do…
By Stephen Totilo Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
The PlayStation Network Inevitably Fails in PSN Protector
If Dutch game designer Kenney Vleugels’ Flash interpretation of the PlayStation Network security system were anywhere near accurate, PSN would have been down for the count years ago. PSN Protector is a tower defense variant based on Sony’s recent troubles keeping the PlayStation Network hacker-free. Hack attacks styled after the PlayStation controller buttons attack from…
By Mike Fahey Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
Sorry, There Will Be No Valve Games at E3 2011
Hoping for the continuing adventures of Gordon Freeman and the long-awaited revelation of Half-Life 2: Episode Three at this year’s E3? Well, hope a little less today. Valve has said it’s not bringing any games to this year’s expo. “Lots of folks have mailed asking about appointment times with Valve,” reads an e-mail from the…
By Michael McWhertor Published May 18, 2011 - Uncategorized
7th-Graders Make a Paper-Mache Video Game You Can’t Play
Elisabeth Willis is my kind of art teacher. She’s encouraging her students to create their own video game characters in real life. Her 7th grade class assignment was so popular this spring that she’s already been asked to put together a panel for the National Art Educators Association—and she’s not even a full-time teacher yet.…
By Joel Johnson Published May 18, 2011 -
UncategorizedThe Witcher 2 is Blurry in All the Right Places
Amidst all of the nudity and subtle gags lurking in CD Projekt Red’s latest PC role-playing adventure, the aspect of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings that has impressed me the most so far is how blurry it is. I’m not talking muddy graphics, but rather the purposeful motion blur effect seen when the camera…
By Mike Fahey Published May 18, 2011
