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…

The Tester: Episode 6: “Focus, People, Focus!” Liveblog: No Big D Is Bad For Your Health

PlayStation Network reality show The Tester continues today with its sixth glorious episode, with just five potential candidates gunning for a spot in the illustrious PlayStation QA department, ready to fulfill a dream of filing bug reports. This week’s episode will be lighter on the LARPing and smaller on the Big D, the most recent…

NCAA 11’s Lighting Strives for Postcard-Perfect Saturdays

Upgrades to lighting and shadows have become something of a trend in sports gaming – we saw it in both baseball games that just released, and we’ll see it improving the photorealism in July’s NCAA Football 11. Here’s a closer look at the new game’s screen: EA Sports released this screen comparison showing what Ohio…

The Day Before

To: Bash From: Crecente Re: Cornell And Suicides Tomorrow morning Mike Fahey and Stephen Totilo head out to Boston for the inaugural Penny Arcade Expo East that kicks off tomorrow night. The two will be filing stories all day and through the weekend. They’ll also be partying at our official party… a party with some…

The Next Club Nintendo Exclusive Is Ultra Handy

North American Club Nintendo members are in for a treat, as long as they have the 80 coins needed to purchase themselves a copy of Grill-Off with Ultra Hand!—emphasis Nintendo’s—the latest Nintendo fan reward for WiiWare. The game, released via Japan’s version of Club Nintendo as Wii de Ultrahand at the end of 2009, is…

Resource File Might Hint at Future Plans for Xbox Game Room

Someone picked apart the resource file for the Microsoft Game Room – the PC version of the Xbox Game Room that launched this week – and found a curious Star Wars image that doesn’t seem to fit anything. Blogger TechKnight looked in the Game Room’s director and noticed a sizable file. Figuring it held clues,…

This 3D Dot Game Heroes Trailer Is Zelda-Riffic

It might not be a real word, but Zelda-riffic is the only one I can come up with for this first full trailer for Atlus’ PlayStation 3 exclusive 3D Dot Game Heroes. The word applies to the gameplay as well. I’ve spent a little time with 3D Dot Game Heroes since I last posted on…