Five New Arcade Games To Get Excited About

Arcades are not dead. Here are five upcoming arcade titles that prove it. During 2008 and 2009, the financial crisis hit the Japanese gaming industry hard. Arcades and home consoles felt the crunch. According to Capcom’s most recent financial statement, “Performance up year-on-year on existing-arcade basis, indicating that the market downturn has ended.” (Capcom not…

You Row, I’ll Game

As seen in Hakodate, Japan by HitBit.

Scott Pilgrim Actor Talks World of Warcraft Movie

Director Sam Raimi might only be in the nascent stages of the World of Warcraft movie, but that hasn’t stopped folks from expressing interest in the film. Even Brandon Routh, who’s appearing in the upcoming Scott Pilgrim movie, seems keen. “I’m kind of a gamer,” Routh recently told MTV. The actor, decked out in a…

Let’s Watch A Pokemon: Black And White Commercial

Nintendo’s fifth generation of Pocket Monsters, subtitled Black and White, will be released next month in Japan. The game will feature wall-to-wall new Pokemon. It will also make use of the DSi’s camera, so you can wave at the other nearby players. No, the game doesn’t actually send out a glowing blue ring when it…

It’s Kinda Like Tekken, But For Real

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship fighter Roger Huerta made his acting debut in the Tekken movie as the character Miguel Caballero Rojo. Rojo’s fighting style is brawling — perfect for a street fight. That’s exactly what happened over the weekend. At around 2AM, a dispute broke out in front of a bar in Austin, Texas. A…

How Activision Pissed Off Pro Paintballer Greg Hastings

Activision has lost a fan in Greg Hastings, the paintball playing pro who lent his name to two Activision-published games. According to Mr. Hastings, the mega publisher not only tried to “steal” his franchise, but also his identity. Hastings, who also has a game to promote in Greg Hastings Paintball 2—this one’s published by Majesco—tells…

Inside Kinect Gallery

Image courtesy Microsoft Image courtesy Microsoft Image courtesy Microsoft

Kinect Design Gallery

Appetite For Distraction

Good evening, Kotaku readers. Come, join us in this post where we open our minds, our threads and maybe even our hearts to the things not necessarily video game related (like New Yorker cartoons). Did anyone out there 100% Achievement Unlocked 2 like I did today? And did you see these re-captioned cartoons from The…

Is There A Space Invaders Coffee Table Book As Well?

Did you get your Space Invaders couch? Because now there’s a $130 Space Invaders coffee table to match it. Seen on Etsy via Hot Blooded Gaming.

Report: Fable III Will Not Work With Kinect (At Launch)

Peter Molyneux, the main man behind Fable, dropped some good news and some bad news about the next game in that series today: Fable III will not support Microsoft’s Kinect controller when the game ships later this year. But Molyneux says that Kinect support—in some still unknown form—will come to Fable III at after launch,…

The Cooperstown Model Comes To Video Games

Whether you think it should be in Tokyo, Silicon Valley or elsewhere, the International Video Game Hall of Fame inducts its inaugural class this weekend in Ottumwa, Iowa. Today, the mayor went on NPR to justify why it belongs there. Mayor Dale Uehling appeared on this afternoon’s All Things Considered and invoked Cooperstown, home of…

The Killer Robot Dog That Almost Made It Into Vanquish

Vanquish, Platinum Games’ high-speed futuristic shooter for Sega, left some fascinating concepts on the cutting room floor. One notable deletion was protagonist Sam’s best friend—a robot dog that launched missiles, provided mobile cover and more. Borrowing a page from another Sega game, Shinobi sequel Shadow Dancer, it appears that Sam would have had faithful four-legged…

Gaming Surpasses Email In Time Spent Online

Gaming accounts for 10 percent of time spent online in the United States – overtaking email – according to research by Nielsen, which doesn’t sound like a lot but it is the second-leading reason, and one that’s growing. Social networking is first, accounting for 22 percent of online time, surging above the 15.8 percent share…

Racer Blurs The Finish Line Between Real World & Video Games

“Interactive video game installation” Racer may not have the most creative name, but its implementation—part video game, part real world race—is delightfully inspired. This arcade game combines a sit-down cabinet, RC cars and “lots of cardboard” beautifully. Conceived by Malte Jehmlich and taking inspiration from PlayStation series WipEout, Racer puts the player behind a remote…

Nintendo Lets You Paint Happy Little Trees On Your DS This Fall

Want to use your Nintendo DS as a virtual canvas on which to paint, a virtual art studio in which to learn? Good, because Nintendo of America will release Art Academy for the DS this October. Nintendo will be bundling the formerly DSiWare-only apps Art Academy: First Semester and Art Academy: Second Semester, throwing in…

Get Your PC Love-Meter Rating In Kotaku Talk Radio

Crecente and Totilo discussed the robust year PC gaming is having so far in 2010, and also what they love and hate about a gaming platform with plenty of polarizing topics. Kotaku Talk Radio, available for download now! Hosts: Stephen Totilo and Brian Crecente Ranter: Owen Good Listen to the podcast here. [Chat About It]…

Santa Fe

To: Ash From: Crecente Re: Santa Fe Sure Is Pretty Sante Fe is pretty great. It’s a short day’s drive from Denver, so we’ve gone there a couple of times over the past few years. While it’s true that the biggest draw to the town is the beautiful town square, there’s plenty of stuff to…

The Beautiful Anatomy of A Video Game Controller

What lies beneath the plastic skin of your PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 controllers? If concept artist Mads Peitersen was designing the gamepads we play with, they’d be bony, fleshy living things with teeth. Peitersen’s anatomical paintings of the DualShock and Xbox 360 controller (and the iPhone!) are awesome works of art, but they’re also…

You Don’t Need Shoulderpads To Play Madden, But It Helps

Madden NFL 11’s remade cooperative online play this year, but rather than bog down in a technical discussion, let’s see what happens when Ray Lewis and Mario Williams show up to pit two rival Texas high schools against each other. Online Team Play now supports up to three players per side, and gives them control…