PlayStation Hacker Won’t Do Hard Time

The teenager who got so miffed at Sony over a game of SOCOM that he hacked the company’s website has been sentenced for his crimes. He will not be hung, drawn or quartered. Instead, the boy must now serve 250 hours community service, and also pay Sony Computer Entertainment the sum of $5000. If that…

Backbreaker Shows Madden How To Run The Football

Tired of Madden’s arbitrary approach to contact? How its running looks, and feels, more like ice skating? Upcoming football game Backbreaker is, which is why it does things a little differently. This clip, showcasing the running game, does a better job than any previous video for the game in showing how Backbreaker doesn’t deal in…

The Monster Hunter…Credit Card?

Joining THE iDOLM@STER credit card is this: a Japanese Monster Hunter branded credit card. Popular in Japan, Monster Hunter is an action role-playing game that allows players to, wait for it, hunt monsters. The franchise sell millions of copies in its native Japan with games on the PS2, the PSP and the Wii. There is…

How Chesty Jake Prepared For Being Chesty Jake

In the Hollywood version of video game Prince of Persia, Jake Gyllenhaal plays Chesty Jake Prince Dastan. How did he get ready to play the part? Preparation for the role began when Gyllenhaal was a small boy. “I used to play the side-scrolling version of The Prince of Persia on the first Mac computer in…

What Did Nintendo Call Super Mario Galaxy 2?

When it was developing the upcoming Mario game, the character’s creator Shigeru Miyamoto says that the game had a *slightly* different temporary title: Super Mario Galaxy 1.5. But as Nintendo was making the game, the developers kept coming up with new and interesting level designs and ways to play. The game features new spins on…

Microsoft Saudi Arabia Dates Project Natal [Update]

In an interview with Saudi television, Microsoft Saudi Arabia marketing guy Syed Bilal Tariq has given a release date for Microsoft’s motion controller, Project Natal. That’s right, Microsoft Saudi Arabia. “I do have great news to share with everybody that Project Natal will be launched in Saudi Arabia and in the world that is going…

South Korea Gets 3D Xbox 360 Gaming

Nintendo is getting a glasses-free 3D handheld. Sony is updating PS3 consoles to full 3D. And Microsoft? South Korean electronics giant LG has joined forces with the Xbox 360 to bring 3D gaming to Korean gamers. LG will be marketing its 3D capable LED televisions alongside 3D capable games in South Korea, reports website Engadget.…

Say Hi To The Best-Selling Games Of 2010 (So Far)

Courtesy of Nintendo, let’s take a look at the thirty top-selling games in the United States so far this year. As a bonus, we’ll look at the top 30 from Europe, too. These figures, covering January 1 to March 31, were part of Nintendo’s recent fiscal results report, and while they’re not as handy as…

Nintendo’s Lovable Code Names For Consoles

The 3DS isn’t the first Nintendo console to enter the public consciousness with a name that’s never actually used. Plenty of other machines have also been revealed with names never destined for a retail shelf. Yes, we know, Nintendo isn’t the only company to do this. Pretty much anyone and everyone involved in making anything…

Fallout: The Movie (With Hookers)

Desert Story is a fan-made short film set in the Fallout universe, in which a transaction over hookers goes a little pear-shaped. You may be wondering why there isn’t a dog or a blue jumpsuit in sight, or how nice the lighting is, or how weird the guy’s accent is. Me? I’m just wondering how…

Nintendo: It Is Not Game Over For the Nintendo Wii

Nintendo Wii sales are down 21 percent. 21 percent! That’s a lot. But Nintendo certainly hasn’t given up on the Nintendo Wii. In a recent financial briefing, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata stated that Nintendo is “always” developing new game hardware. So once a game console is finished, the company begins thinking about the next console.…

These Halo: Reach Problems Are Being Fixed

While the Halo: Reach beta is largely a blast, not everything is perfect. Thankfully Bungie knows this, and is letting us know the things that will be fixed by the time the final game rolls around. Things like FLAG TAKEN…FLAG DROPPED…FLAG TAKEN…etc etc. It’s annoying as hell, but has “already been fixed for fall”. So…

What Is The Nintendo 3DS’s Final Name?

The Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo’s upcoming glasses-free 3D gaming handheld, does not yet have a finalized name. The “Nintendo 3DS” is a temporary moniker for the portable. So what will it ever be called? At a recent financial briefing, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata was asked about the 3DS name — whether or not Nintendo will stick…

Han Will Always Shoot First With A Network Accelerator Card

Bigfoot Networks has unveiled a PC network card that it claims is “the fastest network card available for online games”. What does this mean for you? It means you may get an unfair advantage in online shootouts. Able to automatically detect which incoming traffic is related to an online game and which isn’t (and prioritise…

Uncharted Book

A Week In Comments

Yoshi: Behind The Dinosaur Comment by: p.e.r.e.g.r.i.n.e. Nominated by: Erwin Oh! Yoshi’s Safari! *drives to parents house* *Rummages through boxes in garage* *Finds old snes games* *digs for still longer to find super scope* *sets up the system and puts in the game* *gets killed by hammer bro several times before giving up* *drives home*…

Why Are People Pirating A Charity Game?

Last week, a pack went on sale that let you name your own price for five great indie games, all in the name of charity. Know what a ton of people then went and did? Pirated the thing. Wonderful. To recap, this was a pack that let you pay what you want. With all proceeds…

Call Of Duty: Black Ops Has 4-Player Co-op

A few more details on Treyarch’s Call of Duty: Black Ops popped up today, answering a few of the more pointed questions arising from the game’s debut trailer Intrigued by the presence of an SR-71 Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft in the clip? According to this report there’ll be another “C-130” sequence in Black Ops, with a…

If This Video Game Thing Doesn’t Work Out For EA, It Can Still Clean Up

Mario receives a brief respite from the copyright infringing small businessman as EA Carpet Cleaning speeds presumably towards John Madden’s house to clean up another massive mustard spill. Thanks, Robby!

Kotaku Off Topic: Burbank

Back to the grindstone, back to the pleasure of Monday editions of Kotaku Off Topic. Let’s talk about our weekends, whether they were packed with gaming goodness or pleasures of another sort. I did, as previously posted, see Iron Man 2 this weekend. Yes, it drags and, yes, it packs in way too much into…