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  1 Vs. 100 The Victim of Mismanagement?

  This morning’s news that Microsoft was killing off their Xbox Live video game show 1 Vs. 100 didn’t come as a surprise for a lot of people, including those working on the project. But what happened? Sources close to the project tell us that 1 Vs. 100 fell victim to, among other things, some game-killing…

  By Brian Crecente Published July 15, 2010
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  Does The Gears Of Warring Of Harry Potter Go Too Far?

  The next Harry Potter game is a darker third-person magic-shooter with a cover system. No chainsaws in this game. But it sounds like even the people making Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 sense an overstep here. As Brian Crecente reported in his positive June impressions of Deathly Hallows, the video game based…

  By Stephen Totilo Published July 15, 2010
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  Assassin’s Creed Goes To Russia In Comic Book Mini-Series

  Last month UbiWorkshop teased a secret project featuring the talents of acclaimed comic book illustrators Cameron Stewart and Karl Kerschl. Today that project stands revealed as an Assassin’s Creed comic book mini-series set in Russia, introduced via old-timey film reel. As we expected, Cameron Stewart and Karl Kerschl are indeed lending their talents to an…

  By Mike Fahey Published July 15, 2010
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  K-Mart Puts Your Reviews Where They Matter Most, On Store Shelves

  Want to have massive influence over the powers of marketing and publishing that back the world’s biggest video games? Then you might want to try writing a game review for K-Mart. The big-box retailer said that starting this week they will start sifting through user-created reviews on MyKmart.com to select snippets of gamer-written reviews on…

  By Brian Crecente Published July 15, 2010
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  APB Human Avatar Project: Stage Two

  In the name of marketing, Human Avatar Josh gets an APB-themed haircut. Next stop, septum ring

  By Mike Fahey Published July 15, 2010
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  FarmVille’s First Real-World Crops Sprout Next Week

  Zynga’s massive community of fake farmers will plant its first branded crops in-game next week, teaching FarmVille players about organic farming and green living through a partnership with General Mills subsidiary Cascadian Farm. Starting Monday and running through July 26, FarmVille players will be able to plant Cascadian Farm-branded organic blueberries on their plots, a…

  By Mike Fahey Published July 15, 2010
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  Drew Brees Isn’t Afraid Of The Madden Curse

  New Orleans quarterback and Madden NFL 11 cover athlete Drew Brees give the audience of last night’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno a special gift for helping him overcome the Madden Curse. The Madden Curse is not real, but if it was, Drew Brees figures he’s managed to find a way around it. He points…

  By Mike Fahey Published July 15, 2010
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  The Battle For Hoth Comes To The iPhone

  The huge list of video games depicting the opening battle from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes back gains another entry with Fluffy Logic’s Star Wars: Battle for Hoth for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Fluffy Logic, the developer behind Savage Moon for the PlayStation Network, takes its tower defense expertise and applies it to the…

  By Mike Fahey Published July 15, 2010
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  Kinect Kind Of Compatible With Push-Ups

  For a week in June, Team Kotaku played Microsoft’s hands-free control system Kinect, standing up. Kinect has problems with seated players, we reported. Yesterday, I tried doing a push-up in front of it. I was trying — no, testing — the Kinect-enabled version of EA Sports Active 2 at a showcase event in New York…

  By Stephen Totilo Published July 15, 2010
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  Tim Schafer’s Team Now Working On FOUR Games, Not One

  Tim Schafer’s Double Fine, the team behind Psychonauts and Brutal Legend (and Bespin regrets!), has forever been working on just one game at a time. Hasn’t worked too well, that, so time for a change! “We got a phone call from a publisher saying ‘we’re not going to do a sequel to Brutal Legend’. My…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 15, 2010
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Talking about video games is good for you. You can do it here. Want to know more about commenting on Kotaku? Read our FAQ

  By Stephen Totilo Published July 15, 2010
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  I Have Two Weeks Of Dinner!

  To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Over the Hump Tomorrow morning, Mrs. Bashcraft and Mini-Bash board a plane for the U.S. They’ll be gone a little over two weeks, leaving me and Micro-Bash back in Japan. As I’ve previously mentioned, the purpose of the trip is for both of them to pick up some English and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 15, 2010
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  Helicopter Combat Game? Yes Please!

  It’s been awhile since I’ve played a decent helicopter combat game, and there’s no telling whether this will be decent, but Apache: Air Assault will most definitely be all about helicopters shooting it up. Apache: Air Assault is being developed by Gaijin Entertainment, makers of Wings of Luftwaffe and IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey, for…

  By Brian Crecente Published July 15, 2010
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  Dashboard Redesign Coming in November? [Update]

  The Xbox 360 dashboard, the user interface for Microsoft’s gaming console, looks like it may be getting a slight polish in November when the company launches their Xbox Live Gold Family plan. The Family plan includes four one-year Xbox Live gold memberships for $100, as well as a new Family Center on the dashboard and…

  By Brian Crecente Published July 15, 2010
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  No More Heroes Gets Heroic Box Set In Japan

  Wii game No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle was released this past January in North America. The game is *finally* coming out in Japan in October. Wait, shouldn’t that be backwards? No! While many Japanese games get released first in Japan and then localized into English eons later, No More Heroes 2 is doing things…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 15, 2010
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  Calling Activision Boss “A Total Prick” Was A Total Accident

  Game designer Tim Schafer called Activision honcho Robert Kotick a “total prick” yesterday. Activision then replied to his claim that Kotick was a “total prick”. Schafer now says calling Kotick “a total prick” was an “accident”. “That was an accident,” Schafer told website Eurogamer. “I was going to change the title of my talk to…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 15, 2010
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  And Now For Some Drawings Of Oregon Trail, A Game Boy & Robocop

  Reader Bill emailed us earlier this week, asking if we would like to post some of his drawings. “Sure would”, we replied, because they’re great They’re not all about gaming, but still, they’re all about stuff you’ll still find interesting. Like Admiral Ackbar’s pizza party, the ULTIMATE Oregon Trail WARRIOR and what appears to be…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 15, 2010
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  The Duck Hunt Dog Found In Sweden

  As seen on a local Swedish newspaper by Spell of Play

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 15, 2010
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  Okami’s DS Sibling Goes Overboard With Its Collector’s Edition

  For such a revered game, Okami shipped on PS2 and Wii with little fanfare. There was no “Legendary Edition” shipping with a set of paintbrushes and an authentic wolf’s skin. Okamiden is looking to make amends! The DS successor to the PS2/Wii classic will in Japan ship in this collector’s edition, which for a humble…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 15, 2010
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  So Many Square Enix Toys, So Little Time

  At this year’s Tokyo Toy Show, Square Enix showed off…toys. There are loads of Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts figures and knick-knacks. Makes sense, because there are loads of Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts games. I like the inflatable Slimes. Have a look for yourself. ［東京おもちゃショー2010］スクウェア・エニックスでフィギュア三昧 [Gizmodo Japan]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 15, 2010