Twas The TAY Before Christmas….

Gather round the tree and talk about video games. Are we a day early? No big deal. Credit to reader buckyboy2009 for the festive image. Submit your best take to #TAYpics

He Kept His Faith In Music Games This Year — And In Kinect

Greg LoPiccolo didn’t have to leave his office in a brick building near Boston this year to see how two of the biggest trends in the last half-decade of video games were playing out. There were doubters outside. Inside? In the offices of Harmonix Music Systems, the place where the hit Rock Band games are…

Thank You Sandwiches, Thank You!

To: Owen From: Bash RE: From Rafts To Surfboards In 24 Hours Happy Christmas, Owen! What you missed last night Does The New Pokémon Copy NYC, Ground Zero And All? What’s The Worst Christmas Game You Ever Got? Did Nintendo Just Copyright A Goddess? Motorola Wants Ban On Xbox 360 Sales Super Meat Boy’s WiiWare…

And A Marvel vs Capcom 3 Trailer In A Pear Tree

Merry Christmas, Marvel vs Capcom fans. Here’s a brand new trailer for MvC3, featuring enough cinematic shots to stuff even Santa’s Yuletide stocking.

Does The New Pokémon Copy NYC, Ground Zero And All?

New Pokémon game Pokémon: Black and White is set in the fictional Unova. According to the game’s designer Junichi Masuda, it’s modeled after New York, complete with Brooklyn Bridge, Financial District and Ground Zero? Certainly looks that way, evident by this map. As blogger Brad O’Farrell points out, Pokémon: Black and White’s Unova map lines…

Fallout MMO Might Need To Duck & Cover

For over a year now, two companies have slugged it out in the courts, battling over the past – and in some cases future – of the Fallout franchise. This month, that battle took a slightly ridiculous turn. Bethesda — who published both Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas, and who also own the rights…

What Presents Are You Getting?

It’s Friday. Did you know that? I did. Let’s talk. Here’s how it works: We ask a question, you answer it. Simple and no strings attached! This isn’t some marketing survey or whatever. It’s an emotional investment in you. Yes, we’re interested in knowing you, Kotaku reader person. You probably know oodles about us –…

A Visual Guide To XtendPlay

When Assassin’s Creed Meets Strategy Gaming

Massive, a studio that has only ever made real-time strategy games, is working on an Assassin’s Creed project. Wonder what that could be? Ubisoft revealed the move via Twitter yesterday. What makes it interesting isn’t just the fact that Massive has only ever made strategy games (Ground Control and World in Conflict), it’s that in…

Deus Xmas

The video game Deus Ex is wishing us a happy holiday. Though I believe it’s more of a Merry Christmas message here. It’s the hat that gives it away.

What’s The Worst Christmas Game You Ever Got?

With Christmas Day almost upon us, no doubt many of you are asking for games to be crammed in your stocking. But such requests aren’t always the stuff of fond memories: sometimes Christmas games can scar you. I remember December 25, 1990 like it was yesterday. The world was in the grip of Teenage Mutant…

Did Nintendo Just Trademark A Goddess?

And you thought it was bad when Nintendo filed to trademark the phrase “It’s on like Donkey Kong.” The Japanese Patent Office recently revealed that Nintendo trademarked the kanji “Amaterasu” (天照) as well as the katakana form (アマテラス) in relation to video games. “Amaterasu” certainly seems to refer to the Shinto goddess, but the full…

A Challenger De-Rezzes

Tron-inspired Street Fighter art, by BossLogic; seen on DeviantArt (via Ripten). BossLogic’s also done Tron concepts for M. Bison and Akuma, see them in his gallery.

Motorola Wants Ban On Xbox 360 Sales

The US International Trade Commission currently has Microsoft under investigation, following a complaint from Motorola that the Xbox 360 violates a number of patents held by the telco. It’s seemingly a response to a lawsuit filed by Microsoft earlier in the year, alleging Motorola was ripping the Xbox 360 manufacturer off with “royalties that are…

Super Meat Boy’s WiiWare Release Canceled; Disc Release ‘Looking Grim’

The creators of PC and Xbox 360 hit Super Meat Boy have aborted the game’s WiiWare release, saying they’re unable to fit a quality version of the game under the size limit Nintendo imposes on titles for the download service. Team Meat’s struggles to pare down Super Meat Boy delayed its originally planned November release.…

Brother Against Brother In Fight Night Champion

After watching the latest trailer Fight Night Champion’s new narrative mode, Champion, four times, I’m still shaky on what’s going on here. Andre Bishop, the protagonist, I recognize. His brother, I know, ends up in the ring. Who’s scorpion guy? Fight Night Champion producer Brian Hayes filled in IGN on the mode’s themes and features…

Cataclysm Review Gallery

A musical tribute to the Worgen starting experience. The music makes the Goblin starting area. My experiences under the sea as a Worgen Mage in Vashj’ir. I wanted to use “Under the Sea” from The Little Mermaid for this, but Disney is high on my list of companies to not get sued by. Just oe…

Oh, Great, QWOP Just Got 4000 Percent More Impossible

QWOP’s staggering, shambling sprinters have entertained and infuriated us in a flash game for two years. How can we make this game even more frustratingly difficult? Why, let’s use the iPhone’s multitouch and accelerometer controls in concert! QWOP’s now out on the iPhone (it went up on Monday). If you don’t know what the joke…

Can You Smell What Santa Is Cookin’?

The Rock’s been a bad boy this year and Saint Nick’s gonna give him a big lump of coal. From THQ and its arcade wrestling title, WWE All-Stars, due next year.

From Rafts To Surfboards In 24 Hours

To: Ashcraft From: Totilo Stories from the day shift you may have missed Giving your loved one a Wii this holiday season? A piece of Congo’s war zone may be inside Why The Wii Cooled Off Stacking, An Adventure Game Of Class Struggle, Doll Collecting & Fart Skills Rock Band Creators Gone From MTV, Taking…