Hey Activision, GDC Is For Developers, Not Strippers

Activision, the company that publishes Guitar Hero and Call of Duty, did not get the memo. The recent Game Developers Conference is not the venue for half-naked pole dancers. Thing is, GDC is for game developers. Not silly PR stunts. To promote triad crime game True Crime, Activision turned part of the San Francisco W…

War Machine Toy Captures The Essence Of Don Cheadle

In the upcoming Iron Man movie sequel, Tony Stark won’t be going it alone. He’s got James Rhodes, aka War Machine, to help him out. And you know what that means: yes, Don Cheadle action figures. This 1/6 scale figure is by Hot Toys, the same people who brought you the amazing Iron Man Mk…

Direct Sequel For Final Fantasy XIII?

For the uninitiated, Final Fantasy XIII might seem like the sequel to Final Fantasy XII. It’s not. Each game is its own title, so if there was a FFXIII sequel, it would be FFXIII-2. When asked about the chances of a direct FFXIII sequel, the game’s producer Yoshinori Kitase replied, “In the past three years…

Rumor: DS Successor Has Nifty Screen, GameCube Power

RPAD spent the entire Game Developers Conference trying to dig up information on Nintendo’s successor to the wildly-successful DS handheld. His findings? Of interest. According to several third-party developers writer Raymond Padilla spoke with, the next Nintendo handheld sounds a lot like the current Nintendo handheld, only with better screens and better performance. Just like…

Modern Warfare 2 Map Pack Also Features Ridiculous Price

Capping off a fairly terrible fortnight of news surrounding Call of Duty developers Infinity Ward comes word this morning that Modern Warfare 2’s map pack is one of the most over-priced pieces of downloadable content we’ve ever seen. Popping onto Xbox Live spokesman Larry Hryb’s podcast to promote Modern Warfare 2’s upcoming “Stimulus Package” map…

Back stage with the winners of the 2010 Game Developers Choice Awards

Flower Creators: No New Games This Year, Intrigued By PlayStation Move

That Game Company’s Jenova Chen and Kellee Santiago, saw their team’s game Flower nominated for several Game Developer’s Choice Awards, winning for Best Downloadable. We talked about their future, Pokemon, and, since they made motion-games for the PS3, PlayStation Move. This is one of a series of Kotaku video interviews with many of the award-winners…

Stupid Sim

To: Luke From: Owen Anyone who’s played NCAA Basketball knows what a pain in the ass it is setting up a full 64-team custom bracket. I’ve spent the past 90 minutes inputting this year’s field into the game for a full bracket simulation – literally beginning after Greg Gumbel called Notre Dame as the final…

Uncharted 2 Creators Tip Hats To Killzone 2, Celebrate Lots Of Wins

Two of Naughty Dog’s top people collected five Game Developers Choice Awards lat week for Uncharted 2. Short on material for my backstage interviews, I asked them which awards they deserved most and least. They answered and offered Pokemon tips. This is one of a series of Kotaku video interviews with many of the award-winners…

Brilliant Five-Word Reviews of 94 Video Games

Haiku is so overdone, and would be verbose compared to these spot-on assessments of nearly 100 video games, done in just five words by Games Radar. Some rate a spoiler alert. “Max Payne: Dead family means bullet time.” “Bomberman: Trapped in a corner. F**k.” “Assassin’s Creed: Eavesdropping on conversations gets boring.” And, right after that,…

John Carmack Has Three Lifetime Achievement Awards, No Early iPad

Doom co-creator John Carmack earned a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 Game Developer’s Choice Awards, but he’s not done. Oddly, he wasn’t sent an early iPad despite being a big iPhone games booster. We discussed that, plus, naturally, Pokemon. Note that the iPad is set for release early next month. Carmack’s id Software has…

Week in Games: A Wrathful God

Tuesday is named for Tiw, the Norse god of war. Fittingly it’s also the day Sony’s God of War III releases. Other highlights: Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver are out today for the DS, the Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening DLC is available Tuesday for all three platforms, and Perfect Dark comes to Xbox Live Marketplace…

Proud Batman: Arkham Asylum Art Director Working Hard On Next Game

Batman: Arkham Asylum art director David Hego did better than I could, talking in a language other than his native one, about Batman winning Best Game Design at the Game Developer’s Choice Awards. Plus, he tolerated my Pokemon tips request. This is one of a series of Kotaku video interviews with many of the award-winners…

Kotaku’s Top Five List of Top 10 Lists

Each week throws off several new video game lists ranging from the humorous to the trivial. What’s better? A list of those. Here’s a roundup of the rundowns out there. •Ten Moments Where You Have Felt Like Shouting “MORTAL KOMBAT!” [Gaming Bolt] Though “not based on any kind of ranking,” I think we can all…

Embrace Bracket Madness

Play the SoBe Lifewater™ Zero Inhibitions Bracket Challenge and you could win up to $10,000,000. And there’s more —you could also meet Brooklyn Decker, Jerry Rice, Kenny Smith or Kendra (yes, that one). It’s simple. Click here, sign up (it’s free), and fill out a college basketball bracket (or three) before the first round games…

Valve’s Gabe Newell Predicts Gaming’s Future, Not Talking About “Episode Three”

After Valve’s Gabe Newell was honored as a Pioneer at the GDC Awards, I asked him to predict gaming’s future and to offer more Portal 2 teases, a Half-Life 2: Episode 3 update and Pokemon tips. My success rate: 50%. Notes: The “John” who Newell refers to is John Carmack. The Portal 2 thing he…

Lemmings in Real Life

Lemmings marching across a rail underpass in Copenhagen, Denmark, as seen by reader Staffan O. Note the exit over the second light.

Honored Penny Arcade Creators Offer Me Some Advice

The creators of fan-favorite Penny Arcade (comic, expo, cultural force) earned the Ambassador Award at the 2010 Game Developer’s Choice Awards. I asked these fine gentlemen for advice so that I too could win … and I got Pokemon tips. (Mild profanity in this one.) This is one of a series of Kotaku video interviews…

If Cut God of War III Ending Returns as DLC, It ‘Would be Free’

We’ve heard that God of War III had a pretty involved postscript that had to be trimmed from the game. The game’s director explained why to Kotaku Talk Radio, but said if it does come back, it’ll be free. Speaking somewhat generically to avoid spoilers, Stig Asmussen said the game originally called for so many…

Scribblenauts Inventor Needs A Name For The Sequel

Beating Zelda and Grand Theft Auto, Jeremiah Slaczka’s 5th Cell won top handheld and innovation honors at the Game Developer’s Choice Awards for Scribblenauts. After winning, he explained why the sequel isn’t “Scribblenauts 2” … and I got Pokemon tips. This is one of a series of Kotaku video interviews with many of the award-winners…