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UncategorizedSad World: An Entire Generation of Video Game Deaths
My darling Robert “the” Beschizza of Boing Boing made this wonderful video compilation of deaths from 8- and 16-bit games. I can think of no finer way to start your morning while you re-rez over some coffee. [Boing Boing]
By Joel Johnson Published March 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
Like Cherry Blossoms, The Force Is All Around Us
No, Luke, I Am Your Gardener | Bought these a while ago on my honeymoon and only just got around to putting them up. Looking good! (Photo: Luke Plunkett) Wake Up, Kotaku Let’s Play Left 4 Dead 2 ‘Cold Stream,’ The New, Outdoorsy Zombie Campaign Earlier this week, Valve released the beta version of “Cold…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
Report: Amazon Screws Up British 3DS Deliveries
There are some very unhappy Nintendo fans in the United Kingdom today, with mega-retailer Amazon reportedly failing to deliver 3DS consoles to many customers who paid extra for “expedited delivery”. It’s 11:30am in the UK at the time of posting, and Amazon’s forums are filled to the brim with customers complaining that not only had…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Monsters Of Minecraft Shed Their Blocks For Flesh And Bone
Indie darling Minecraft is a scary game! Scary in tone, though, not appearance. In appearance it’s adorable. To help the tone match the look, then, some artists decided to paint Minecraft’s monsters as they’d actually appear. The results? Let’s just say I’m glad the game only deals in bright, colourful blocks. The artists featured here…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2011 -
UncategorizedLady, Don’t Touch That Coin Block, Or You’ll…Oh, Never Mind
You see a mysterious coin block from another realm floating around the streets of Germany, you don’t just touch it. You call the Landespolizei! They’d have told this lady, for example, that touching it would put the people of Offenburg in grave danger OK, so this university project takes more than a few cues from…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
Where Do Your Video Game Bad Guys Come From?
Here’s a hint: they don’t come from countries where people speak English. Complex sat down with a number of recent shooters and plotted where on the map the game’s villains (or at least opposing force) came from. And, this may shock you, but they nearly all came from either former communist states, communist states or…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
StarCraft’s Developers Have Been More Influential Than You Might Realise!
Want to see just how influential World of Warcraft developers Blizzard have been to other video games? Check out this chart which shows where a legion of ex-Blizzard employees have ended up. While, understandably, you can see a lot of employees leaving to go work on other MMO games – at least after the release…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
The Colorful Concept Art Of Bulletstorm
Gears of War is a very brown video game series. Bulletstorm, a new game that was co-developed by the same team, is a lot more colourful, something that began right back with the game’s early concept art. Polish artist Maciej Wojtala drew these pieces of environmental concept art for People Can Fly and Epic, and…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2011 -
UncategorizedScrew Madden 12, Go Back To Making Indie Games!
Some men and women working for big-name developers got their start toiling away on indie games. Do you think they ever wish they could go back to those carefree days? Seeing what those carefree days involved, courtesy of comedy troupe Mega 64, the answer is “probably not”. Suck it up and get that next Call…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
The US Navy Has The Coolest Flight Simulator In The World
This is the T-45C “visual simulator” at the Naval Air Station in Kingsville, Texas. It makes my 50″ plasma look like a Game & Watch. It’s part of a US Navy pilot’s earliest stages of training: this is a simulator not of something badass, but of the humble T-45 Goshawk, a small jet the US…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
So, How Much Does It Cost To Make A Nintendo 3DS?
Unless you’re reading this from the accounts section of Nintendo, we may never know. But experts in the field can estimate, and they estimate that the 3DS costs Nintendo $101 to manufacture. If that’s correct – and even if it’s not, it’s likely to be damn close – there’s a big gap between the handheld’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2011 - CultureTotal Recall
Nintendo’s First Console Is One You’ve Never Played
So Nintendo’s first home console was the Nintendo Entertainment System/Famicom, right? Nope. The company’s first foray into home video gaming actually dates back to 1977, six whole years before the Famicom was released in Japan. That “home console” was actually a series of machines called “Color TV”, which were living room versions of popular arcade…
By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2011 - Uncategorized
Russian Devs Blame Antiseizure Requirements for Crummy Sturmovik
IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover, bravely carrying the flag for the decimated flight combat genre, has released in Russia where its devoted following is complaining of crippled gameplay and terrible framerate issues. One of the game’s developers says anti-seizure controls mandated by Ubisoft, the game’s Western publisher, is the culprit. Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover is…
By Owen Good Published March 24, 2011 - Uncategorized
Stay To The Right
Please, Kotaku readership, won’t you join us for some late night off topic conversation? This is the place to do it, even if you’d prefer to talk about video games. Have at it. Mr. Crecente’s out at his fundraiser, so feel free to raid the Kotaku liquor cabinet. He won’t notice. Please, take a moment…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 24, 2011 -
UncategorizedFanfare — and a Green Jacket — for the Common Man [Update]
One thing you can count on in the NCAA basketball tournament, playing now, are the CBS promo spots for The Masters, full of pomp and grandeur, with Jim Nantz invoking the Tradition Unlike Any Other. That’s what makes this spot for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters so fantastic. I don’t know if any…
By Owen Good Published March 24, 2011 - Uncategorized
Fight Night Champion DLC to Include Bare Knuckle Fighting
Fight Night Champion notably included bare-knuckle fighting during the prison chapters of its narrative mode, but the fighters in the main roster didn’t participate in such bouts. Now some will. The game’s first DLC extension, due out next Tuesday, adds bare-knuckle “Old School Rules” to online and offline play. Bare-knuckle boxing will play out like…
By Owen Good Published March 24, 2011 -
UncategorizedLet’s Play Left 4 Dead 2 ‘Cold Stream,’ The New, Outdoorsy Zombie Campaign
Earlier this week, Valve released the beta version of “Cold Stream,” the community-made campaign coming to the PC, Mac and Xbox 360 in the next big Left 4 Dead 2 update. Let’s see what it looks like, shall we? Cold Stream is a mix of things old and new. There’s no real story to speak…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 24, 2011 -
UncategorizedWhy Put a Cartridge in a Console When You Can Put a Console in a Cartridge
I get the feeling I’ve seen this before somewhere, and the creator, dany32412 on Instructables, himself says it was inspired by another source. That’s still a functioning Nintendo Entertainment System within a modified NES cartridge, which is a great novelty mod. The difference here is the original gamepads are supported. NES in a Cartridge [Instructables]
By Owen Good Published March 24, 2011