A Wooden Neo Geo Is A Masterpiece Of Fine Craftsmanship

This is a Neo Geo. A working, fully armed and operational Neo Geo. Made entirely of finely-crafted walnut. I don’t know the precise moment master craftsmen and video games got together, but it’s a union worth celebrating. The entire console’s casing is made out of walnut. Even the cartridge slot. Everything inside, though, is pure…

When Paper Robots Kick Ass

Everything is now digital. This sentence, for example, doesn’t exist in tangible space. But there was a time when you could reach out and touch everything. There was a time when paper was king. That time is over. But don’t tell that to Tomohiro Yasui. In his hand-made ring, paper is still king – and…

Madden 12’s Cover Vote Gets A Little Farcical

When EA Sports drew up 32 options for Madden fans to vote on to determine who would be this year’s cover star, they probably had an absolute worst-case scenario of how the votes would unfold. This is that worst-case scenario. The two finalists – and this is a decision based on public voting, not EA…

Surprise, “Minecraft” Is A Big Hit On The Xbox 360

FortressCraft, a new game on the Xbox 360 which is, to put it kindly, borrowing gameplay elements from indie smash Minecraft, has proven about as popular as you’d expect, given you can’t actually get Minecraft on the Xbox 360. According to FortressCraft’s developers, Projector Games, the game’s trial was downloaded 84,006, with 58,572 then committing…

Did Valve Just Take Everyone For A Ride?

Over the past few weeks, Portal developer Valve and its more devoted fans have been engaged in an alternate reality game, which was believed to have resulted in people getting to play Portal 2 early. Just hours from its conclusion, it hasn’t really worked out that way. Were it just a game, that would fine.…

Inversion Screen Shots

The Tax Man Kometh

It’s the start of a new week, so let’s ease the pain with our semi-nightly open thread on Kotaku, a chance to speak up and speak to your fellow video game-loving friends. I’ve got some Mortal Kombat to play, some Portal 2 co-op to go hands-on with and some dinner to cook. So I’ll get…

Wii Party And Wii Sports Follow The Wii’s Price Cut

The Wii is now $169.99 USD at most U.S. retailers (Best Buy, Target, Amazon, GameStop) as of this week. Budget minded Wii owners will also be happy to know that two Nintendo games, Wii Party and Wii Sports Resort, have also had their prices slashed a cool ten bucks. Both are $39.99 USD, Nintendo of…

The Next Hit Music Game is Already Out There on Facebook

French developer MXP4 says they want you to “play with your music.” They just launched Bopler Games, a set of classic games on Facebook with an added musical slant. To play, choose a song from the Bopler library, (which features an inordinate amount of 80s pop) choose a game, and go. The kicker is that…

Farm, Chill, Whatever—It’s All Cool With Facebook Game Pot Farm

Virtual agriculture has recently become a bit more spliffy. If conventional farming simply isn’t your thing—or if you’re too half-baked to feign an interest in produce and husbandry—then the Facebook game Pot Farm may be just the foray into horticulture you’ve been jonesing for. Pot Farm (which is is still currently “totally Beta or whatever”)…

Posters From The Great Mushroom Kingdom War

This killer set of WW2 / Mario Bros. propaganda posters by Fernando Reza is now up for sale. You can buy the 11″ x 17″ hand signed pieces as a group (cheaper) or individually HERE. Each is a limited edition of 100. Each Poster: Victory! | The Enemy! | Power Ups! | The Boos! MARIO…

Telltale Games Nabs Law & Order: Los Angeles For Its Latest Episodic Series

The Telltale Games factory has added one more property to its lengthy episodic games portfolio, NBC crime procedural Law & Order: Los Angeles. With Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, The Walking Dead and many, many more episodic series on its plate, why Law & Order? Well… “Law & Order: LA fits very well with…

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DISARRAY | New York, New York: My new, temporary desk in Gawker HQ. (Photo by Crecente) The Mother of All Motherboard Shoot-Outs Chipset delays aside, Sandy Bridge has been one of the most anticipated and impressive releases we’ve seen from Intel in recent years. The first wave of processors have demonstrated superior efficiency as they…

American McGee Says American McGee’s Alice Is Coming To The New Alice: Madness Returns

Perhaps you’re interested in playing the new fantasy adventure Alice: Madness Returns, but have never enjoyed the 11-year-old PC original. Worry not, for it appears that the first game, American McGee’s Alice is coming to consoles as a downloadable game as well. So says American McGee of American McGee’s Alice fame, who tells CVG that…

Hunted‘s Crucible Unlocks Unlimited Replayability

Finishing story mode is only the beginning of the adventure in inXile Entertainment’s Hunted: The Demon’s Forge. With the Crucible, players can spend their hard-earned gold pieces on creating and sharing endless custom dungeon romps. The Crucible is a feature in Hunted that allows players to craft their own dungeon adventures for play alone with…

Microsoft Carves Out Its E3 2011 Keynote Plans

Just a few days after Sony told us when to expect its E3 2011 showing of all things PlayStation, Microsoft chimes in, letting us know when and where to expect their big E3 media briefing. We were invited to the the Xbox 360 E311 Media Briefing earlier today, which is slated for Monday, June 6…

What Defines A Huge Video Game Fan?

In today’s highly collectible installment of Speak-Up on Kotaku, commenter Korio8 wonders what the requirements are to be considered a “huge fan” of a video game or game series. What games do you consider yourself an above average fan of, and why? How do you consider yourself as a “huge fan” of someone or something?…

These Drugs Were Smuggled In A Wii

Late last year, authorities from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency released the photo here. It shows a bundle of drugs, unsuccessfully hidden inside a Nintendo Wii and intercepted in Newark, New Jersey. The authorities haven’t been clear about just how they were tucked in there. Were the Wii’s circuits all removed? Was there…

Homefront Vs. The Canceled Heartland, A Tale Of Two U.S. Invasions

The co-creator of Twisted Metal, David Jaffe, wanted to make a game about the Chinese military invading the United States once upon a time. Heartland for the PSP would have been “a very liberal response to the Bush administration and the Iraq War,” Jaffe has said, a first-person shooter that evoked intense emotion. While Heartland…

A Video Game About The Anger We Can’t Express

The creators of the video game Asura’s Wrath think you might be holding back. They think that, if you’re an adult, you might be bottling your rage. They’re making a violent video game to help you express your anger within, because they believe that’s how violent video games can help us. Their game, Asura’s Wrath,…