The Flimsy Mass Effect 2 Instruction Manual, One Year Later

The 2011 PlayStation 3 version of Mass Effect 2 is superior to the 2010 Xbox 360 in some ways, but not in the way of the printed instruction manual. Witness the further decline of the tree-slaughtering gaming manual and/or its digital rebirth. Personal note: I played the Xbox 360 version of Mass Effect 2 and…

A Teenager Tackles Respect For Girl Gamers

Seventeen-year-old Jessica Cernadas is tired of the way she is treated online and games designed for men. She vents her frustrations in an NPR piece called “Why Do Girl Gamers Get So Little Respect?” Listen to it here. Jessica’s piece, part of a Radio Rookies program at NPR member station WNYC in New York, covers…

Is Buying Used Video Games Worse Than Stealing Them?

This morning on Speak-Up on Kotaku, commenter Wocalax ponders which is worse: Stealing video games or buying them secondhand. Is buying used games just as bad as pirating? Is it worse? Now this might seem preposterous to some of you, but think about it: when you buy a used game from Game Stop you not…

The Mayor Welcomes You To New Rage Screens

Bethesda has given the website for id’s upcoming sandbox shooter Rage a striking new facelift, and they celebrate by capturing the essence of the game in three new screenshots. These three screens tell you all you need to know about Rage. For instance, the screenshot up is an example of one of the eccentric characters…

Talk Amongst Yourselves: The Video Game

Usually, our daily Talk Amongst Yourselves post is merely an official forum where you can discuss video games. Today, it is also a portal to an “exciting” new video game. Let us stand and salute reader KindaGamey for creating the first TAY video game (play it here), inspired by this month’s artwork. Bravo! Submit your…

Are You Ready For Some Big Playstation News?

It’s going to be a long day and a long night especially if you have any interest in the future of the Playstation Portable. Although the subject of Sony’s big press conference tonight is still officially a mystery, all signs point to the unveiling of the next Playstation Portable. Way back last year we were…

Cheap Beer, Expensive Italian Cars And Neck Stubble

¥180 for a beer is super cheap in Japan! Ferraris and Lamborghinis are not. Sorry about the constant neck footage. It’s been a long day. What you missed last night What We Think We Know About The PSP2 Baby Dies While Man Plays PlayStation Nintendo And Sony Didn’t Invent 3D Gaming, You Know Review: Dead…

Resident Evil Studio Working On Two Big Original Titles For 2011

It’s January, typically gaming’s slow month. But Capcom, best known for Street Fighter and Resident Evil, is hard at work on two big time original games. One will make you question Capcom’s sanity. Capcom is not one to shy from sequels or resurrecting its popular games. But in the latest issue of Japanese game magazine…

Papier-Mache Wii Ends In Punches And Tears

Over on Yahoo! Japan’s popular “Bag Full Of Wisdom” advice site, one fellow writes in panic, asking for help. He needed a Nintendo Wii, and the one he made totally pissed off his girlfriend. According to internet person exbywhxoda, his girlfriend wants a Nintendo Wii bad. “I really don’t have any money,” he writes, wondering…

Gears of War 3 Controllers, Headphones and More Coming from Mad Catz

Mad Catz is in the process of creating a range of Gears of War 3 branded specialty controllers, headphones and peripherals for the Xbox 360 title, the company said today. Among the Gears’ items will be console skins, faceplates and a crate for transporting and storing your console.

How Japanese Gamers Express Nerd Rage

Let’s say you don’t like a game. It pisses you off. If you nerd rage, you might do something to the game. Something bad. In Japan, that typically involves scissors. One Japanese YouTube user with the handle “XboxFunBoy” unwrapped a new copy of Wii role-playing game The Last Story and then tears up the the…

What We Think We Know About The PSP2

Tomorrow, January 27, the world is expected to officially greet the PSP2 for the first time at a showcase event in Tokyo. With the real thing’s reveal on the horizon, let’s look back at what we know about the handheld. Or, to be more precise, what we think we know. The PSP2 is expected to…

Texting Of The Bread Feasts On The Flesh Of The Ginger

Mmmm… Bread. Texting of the Bread has players clack out words to defeat seemingly endless streams of, ahem, gingerbread men. The game is from website ScrewAttack and is an iOS take on Sega’s Typing of the Dead, which was originally an arcade game based on rails shooter House of the Dead 2. Texting of the…

The Wii Plays Take Nintendo’s Console Off Broadway

Next week, New York’s Ars Nova theatre company will be presenting twelve plays based on…Wii games. Those selected include Wii Tennis, Let’s Tap and…oh dear. Buck Fever. Each is a “short” play that, while named after a Wii game, may not necessarily be a direct adaptation of one. So “All Star Cheer Squad” may start…

A Visual Guide To Playing To Wiin

Playing To Wiin Offers More Than Wii Puns

Nintendo is gaming’s comeback kid. Just when everybody counted them out with the GameCube, the Kyoto-based game maker fired back with the hugely successful Nintendo DS and the Wii. But there’s more to the Cinderella story than that. Specs Price: US$24.95 Platform: Hardcover What’s in the book: 256 pages, black and white pictures. The Basics…

All The Marios Under The Sun

Kotaku commenter GeshGav (art blog here) is sprucing up one of the hallways in his home. Not with wallpaper, or a fancy coat of paint. But with this amazing Mario picture. Bravo!

Man, Wii Skiing Is More Dangerous Than It Looks

Wii Fit’s skiing looks harmless enough. You ski by…leaning a little. Don’t tell that to this guy’s living room, though. He ends up doing quite a number on it. Which considering the game is requiring him to just stand up is quite an achievement. God forbid someone give him a Kinect. He’d probably end up…

The Secret Service Will Train On Fancy Video Games

The US Secret Service, in a throwback to the 20th century, currently train using tabletop simulations. Realising that 1944 was a long time ago, they’re now looking to replace that with video games. Specifically, with a “virtual reality” environment that uses a 55-inch stereoscopic 3D display to let trainees enter a simulated training area and…

Baby Dies While Man Plays PlayStation

While a 5-month old baby died from internal bleeding, 21-year-old Trent Owen Ngaruhe Hapuku apparently continued playing his PlayStation. The New Zealander faces manslaughter charges after Mikara Ranui Jarius Reti died on January 11. Hapuku was left in charge of young Mikara. The baby’s mother, Jamie Reti, supposedly left the child alone with the 21-year-old…