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  PETA Beats Mafia Wars At its Own Game

  After receiving a plea from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to cease using the often-abused Pit Bull as a weapon in popular social game Mafia Wars, Zynga has decided to let sleeping dogs lie. Last month Mafia Wars developer Zynga introduced animal-based weapons and vehicles to Mafia Wars, allowing dons to purchase ferocious…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 7, 2010
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  The Military and the Art of War Gaming As Explained By The Creator of SimCity

  Earlier this year, Will Wright spoke to a gathering of military and Department of Defense personnel about the intersection of commercial gaming and military gaming at Gametech 2010. While some of this talk touches on the ideas he brought up during his Game Developers Conference in March, there’s plenty of new material here that crosses…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 7, 2010
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  So That’s What A Living 3D Monopoly Game Looks Like

  Yesterday I wondered if EA’s new 3D board game Monopoly Streets might be the Grand Theft Auto III of Monopoly games. As these first two screens show, there’s at least one car and some pedestrians. Now we need guns. Of course we won’t get guns in Monopoly Streets when it ships this fall for the…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 7, 2010
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  Fight FarmVille Facebook Spam With FarmVillain

  Are you tired of constant FarmVille updates on your Facebook feed? Strike back against the mystery eggs and wandering stallions with zombie Jesus and surface-to-stork missiles in FarmVillain. FarmVillain is a Facebook app created solely for the generation of truly horrible FarmVille-style notifications on your and your friends’ Facebook feeds. There’s no game to play,…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 7, 2010
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  Game Design as Make-Believe: Principles of Generation

  Based upon part three of the Mimesis as Make-Believe serial. In Walton’s make-believe theory of representation, what is prescribed to be imagined by a particular prop is fleshed out in the imagination of the individual by mechanisms of implication. Although there seems to be no single coherent pattern to how this process works, Walton identifies…

  Chris Bateman Published May 7, 2010
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  Romance Games: Chesty Men, For The Ladies

  Many video games have been, and still are, sexist. So what’s to do? Level the playing field, tone everything down? No, no, that’s boring. It’s more fun when ladies make games for ladies. Warning: Naked man butts ahead. This is Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box, a casual adventure title from PassionFruit Games, who…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 7, 2010
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  We don’t usually let zombies comment about video games here, because bad things might happen. You, however, are welcome. Confused about commenting on Kotaku? Read our FAQ

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 7, 2010
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  Brave Man Conquers Super Mario Bros. With Dance Dance Revolution Pad

  Footloose Dracula slayer Nick Hagman and his stuffed anipals have done it again. The man who bravely defeated Castlevania using nothing but his feet and a DDR dance mat has danced his way to another victory, defeating Super Mario Bros. Hagman puts his Dance Dance Revolution Mario Mix controller to use once again on the…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 7, 2010
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  I Could’ve Sworn I Wrote This Night Note

  To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Boulder’s APB Had it all typed up and ready to go. And now I can’t find it. It has disappeared into the ether. Hence, this. So now, I leave you wonder what it said. How mysterious! What you missed last night Report: Nintendo Thinks It Has Won, Sees Apple As…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 7, 2010
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  Bombs? All Out, Sorry

  As seen on EPICponyz

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 7, 2010
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  Report: Nintendo Thinks It Has Won, Sees Apple As “Enemy”

  Console wars decided. A rival comes into view. Time to buckle down, because things seem poised for a shake up. While Wii sales might have been down 21 percent last year, Nintendo still saw its third best year in the history of the company. According to the Times Online, sources close to Nintendo’s Japanese headquarters…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 7, 2010
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  Nintendo’s Next Big Game Is Wii Party

  Wii Sports led to Wii Play. Wii Play brought us to Wii Fit, then Wii Music. The next major Wii-branded game from Nintendo is also a Mario Party successor. Ready for Wii Party? Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed the new game in a presentation to investors this week as part of a show of confidence…

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 7, 2010
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  Who Supports Aussie Game Ratings? Catholic Bishops!

  There is widespread support amongst both Australian voters and politicians for the introduction of an adults-only rating for video games. Oh, and Catholic bishops, too! The Aussie government has released some preliminary findings from its look at introducing an R18+ rating, and amongst the support is this, indicating the backing of the Catholic bigmen: The…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 7, 2010
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  Know How To Double Xbox 360 Sales In Japan?

  Japan isn’t only The Land of the Rising Sun. It’s also The Land of Xbox 360 Indifference. There must be a way to double weekly consoles sales. Turns out, there is. Well, at least once. In last week’s hardware sales tally, the Xbox 360 sold 2,214 units in Japan. By comparison, there were 28,758 PSPs…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 7, 2010
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  A Story About Ms. Pac-Man, Arkanoid And Machine Guns

  This starts off as a bit of a love story between Ms. Pac-Man and Arkanoid’s paddle. Then there’s machine guns and a giant, evil NES controller, and a boss battle for the ages. Look, just…watch it, it’ll make sense. “The Bug” was created by Yongsub Song for his thesis at Manhattan’s School of Visual Arts.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 7, 2010
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  Chesty Jake Seems Content With Chesty Jake

  With a Best Supporting Actor nomination under his belt, Jake Gyllenhaal’s status as a serious actor has been cemented. But he doesn’t necessarily want to only be a serious actor. Because in the upcoming Prince of Persia, he’s Chesty Jake. And Gyllenhaal seems to be totally contend with his role in the upcoming adventure flick.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 7, 2010
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  Beards Make Games Better!

  Fallout 3 knows the rules: beards make video games better. Take these pics as example, showing that even some of the all-time greats – like Mario, Metal Gear and Zelda – can be made greater by handing out beards. Look at Mario! He’s now got a face befitting his steadfastness. Snake? His chin is now…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 7, 2010
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  Capcom Profits Plummet 73.1 Percent

  Last year was a rough year. Just ask Osaka-based Capcom. The game company, which is best known for the Street Fighter series, sales profits down. Way down. According to an official statement, Capcom saw new sales down 27.3 percent to ¥66.8 billion. Net profit was down 73.1 percent from the previous year to ¥2.17 billion.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 7, 2010
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  What Are You Afraid Of, Gamers?

  I raised this in a recent night note, but since I got so many interesting responses, I figured I’d throw it out to the masses: is there anything in real life that scares you so much it affects your gaming? For me, it’s underwater monsters. Mostly when it comes to games, that means sharks, but…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 7, 2010
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  This Man Would Like To Make A Video Game

  George Romero’s name is synonymous with horror. Romero isn’t a huge gamer, but he’s interested in making a video game. If only a game company would allow him to do just that. There’s shit he’d like to hide and stuff. Romero is best known to moviegoers for his groundbreaking zombie films Night of the Living…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 7, 2010