Finally, A Mos Eisley Cantina Simulator

THQ has revealed a new Star Wars game in development for the iPhone, that forgoes the usual stiff like lightsaber duels and X-Wing dogfights in lieu of…simulating the experience of running the Mos Eisley Cantina. It’s called Star Wars Cantina, and is a light strategy game, which tasks you with matching the drinks you’re serving…

Bulgarian Sacked For Milking Virtual Cow

What a way to start the morning, with news that a Bulgarian city official has been sacked for milking a virtual cow in popular Facebook title Farmville. During government meetings. Dimitar Kerin, a member of the Plovdiv city council in the country’s capital, Sofia, had been warned – along with several of his colleagues –…

Yup, That Rain Sure Is Heavy

As seen on Reddit

Sonic 4 Gets The Blue Skies Right

Sega today released some new screenshots for its upcoming love-letter to Sonic fans, Sonic 4. Whether the game – the first console title to consist entirely of 2D side-scrolling since most of you were small children – is any good or not, we still don’t know. But I know one thing: they sure got that…

Hey, EA Sports, Why Aren’t Basketball Games As Good As Football Games?

When you think football games, you think Madden. When you think football games, you think FIFA. When you think basketball, you think NBA Live, NBA 2K, and the fact neither of them is really that huge. Why is that, EA? “I’m not a programmer by any means, but I know enough to say there’s this…

Street Fighter? Zombies? Zombie Street Fighters!

Zombies don’t just bite regular people. They bite World Warriors as well, meaning not only do these zombies know all kinds of crazy martial arts moves, they also know how to eat your face off. Formidable! And no, it’s not wrong to think Cammy is still easy on the eyes. It would be wrong to…

Mario Creator’s Priority Is Entertainment, Not Online

To say Nintendo lags behind Microsoft and Sony when it comes to online gaming is an understatement. Want to know why? It’s because the Japanese company’s priorities lie with entertaining everyone “It is often said that Nintendo was rather late in advancing into the network world”, Nintendo designer Shigeru Miyamoto told The Economist. “Actually we…

Who Remembers Their First Gaming Experience?

This Tuesday was a very important day. It was the first day my 1 and a-half-year-old son played his first video game. The game? Wii Sports baseball. And by playing he held the Wii Remote and kinda swung his arm. My older son doesn’t really play that many video games — instead, he likes to…

Hands-On With Breach, The New Breed Of Destruction

With its Iraq War shooter Six Days In Fallujah still in publishing limbo, developer Atomic Games is working on a new plan of attack with its new multiplayer shooter Breach, a game that’s about finding a new angle on warfare. Breach’s most talked about feature during our hands-on time with the Xbox Live Arcade and…

Kotaku PAX East Party ALERT!!! Change of VENUE!!!

Don’t worry, the party is still on, but due to some unforseen events we’ve had to move to a much cooler venue. Apparently the old location couldn’t handle how kick-ass the Kotaku party was going to be, so we’ve moved it to the appropriately named Rattlesnake Bar and Grill While I can’t verify if any…

This Might Be The Best Game Trailer I’ve Ever Seen

Much like it did with Assassin’s Creed, Ubisoft is making a short film to help promote the upcoming Ghost Recon: Future Soldier. This isn’t a clip from that movie. It is, instead, simply a trailer for the game. As a piece of film, it’s pretty good. As an exercise in game promotion, however, it takes…

Breach Screen Shots

Library Seeks $300K in Funding for Video Game Collection

With the goal of one day offering 150 titles for checkout across its 38 locations, Toronto’s public library has taken steps toward building a video game collection – but figures it needs $300,000 to make it happen. Library administration says such a collection would foster literacy and problem-solving skills and reach younger patrons in ways…

Kotaku Off Topic: We’re Here

Let’s end this Thursday—if it’s still Thursday in your part of the world—with a little off topic conversation, exactly what this post is all about. Me? I plan on leaving the conversation up to you, but if you’re heading to PAX East tomorrow, please let us know. And then let us know what your plans…

GameStop Hit With Class Action Suit Over “Deceptive” Used Game Sales

Attempts to stem used game sales at GameStop have just turned into a legal headache for the retailer who thrives on selling pre-owned video games. The company has just been hit with a lawsuit over “deceptive and misleading” sales practices. According to a class action suit spotted by IGN, GameStop is being sued for “fraudulently,…

Hydro Thunder For Xbox Live Making Surprise Appearance At PAX? Update: Yes!

Midway’s classic speedboat racer Hydro Thunder may be making its way to Xbox Live Arcade soon. And it may be playable at PAX East even sooner—as in tomorrow. According to a report from /gamer, the Xbox 360 booth at PAX East features at least one kiosk with a playable copy of Hydro Thunder, indicating an…

Yes, the Ol’ Zig-Zag Still Works in Tecmo Bowl Throwback

This interview with the producer of the upcoming Tecmo Bowl Throwback delivers tons of gameplay video and tells us what to expect from the game – although it still doesn’t tell us when it will release. Throwback will give you a 2D and a 2.5D/3Dish game mode, and it looks as though both play with…

PlayStation Store Update: Blue Toads, Hamster Balls And Ripped Abs

We’ve got a bit of a traffic jam on our hands in this week’s North American PlayStation Store update, with almost too much to highlight this Thursday, including Section 8, Blue Toad Murder Files and Cho Aniki Zero. Yes, that downloadable PSP shoot ’em up is the source of the “ripped abs” in the headline,…

The Ginormous Flow Chart History of Game Studios

Before Tecmo and Koei, before Square met Enix, before Namco found Bandai – this chart seeks to catalog the history of game studios – spinoffs, mergers, acquisitions, defections. It’s also suitable for posterizing on your laundry room wall. The chart’s creator, Eric Wall for Games Are Evil, advises that “this is by no means the…

Splatterhouse Screens Get Chunks Of Stuff All Over The Place

Is it time to start age-gating screen shots? The newest Splatterhouse screens, full of blood-soaked ghouls, chunky guts and flying severed limbs, might be better limited to mature audiences only. Or are we overreacting? Maybe the very idea of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 update to Splatterhouse will turn your stomach and this much…