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  Kotaku Off Topic: Booze Hounds

  It’s been a day. A long day. So let’s relax in a warm bath of off-topic conversation while I enjoy a cold beer or three, a half bottle of wine and Demon’s Souls. We can talk booze if you want. What’s your poison? I’ve rarely met an alcohol that disagreed with me, with the exception…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2010
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  2K Makes It Official: No Gamepad Support in BioShock 2 PC

  It didn’t sound likely that 2K Marin would go back and accommodate gamepad support for BioShock 2 on the PC, a complaint that quickly arose after release this week. But now the studio’s made it official. “I talked to the dev team about controller support for BioShock 2, and I want to let you know…

  By Owen Good Published February 11, 2010
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  Sweat or Shadow: You Make the Call

  I’ve never thrown a 102-mph fastball in any inning of any game, let alone the ninth, but I’m guessing it requires effort. And Justin Verlander’s pit stains in this vid would seem to confirm that. OK, I know that’s most likely shadowing, but seriously, when Verlander starts his windup at 0:28, he’s not exactly a…

  By Owen Good Published February 11, 2010
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  PlayStation Store Update: The Heavy Rain Demo Is Here Edition

  Intrigued by the prospect of Heavy Rain? Still not sold by our review of the story-driven PlayStation 3 adventure? Then download the demo, which leads this week’s North American PlayStation Store update. The decision to download or not to download has been made easier for you by this week’s additions. It’s largely comprised of new…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2010
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  What Colorblind Hackers See In BioShock 2

  As Kotaku’s resident Pissed-Off Colorblind Gamer, I have yet to play BioShock 2, but I already knew the hacking mini-game would be bad news for mutants like me. Here’s a comparison of what colorblind gamers are up against. Negative Gamer took a screengrab of the hack terminal and ran it through a color contrast analyzer…

  By Owen Good Published February 11, 2010
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  Halo 2 Maps, Original Xbox DLC Returns To Xbox Live

  Microsoft’s plans to end Xbox Live support for original Xbox games had an unfortunate early affect — the removal of all downloadable content from Live for those older Xbox titles. The good news? That DLC is back. That means that your old Splinter Cell or Halo 2 downloadable content is once again accessible, the data…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2010
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  The Day The Gamers Took Over Reselling

  When it quietly went online for pre-launch testing early last year, Glyde was a reseller marketplace built with a midwestern, middle-aged book or music lover in mind. Then the gamers found it, and practically took over. “Even though we weren’t really aiming at gamers, one found it somehow, told someone else, and they told even…

  By Owen Good Published February 11, 2010
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  This Post Was Written While It Was Dark Outside

  To: Our Man In Japan From: Our Man In New York Re: This Is It Should there be more sunshine? What you may have missed during this very newsy day: Mile Marker 28: Trauma Dev Eyes Call of Duty: World at War for iPhone Married By Master Chief, One Year Later Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate…

  By Stephen Totilo Published February 11, 2010
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  NPD Instant Analysis: Things You Should Note

  Danger. You are at risk of discussing January’s U.S. video game sales data without the proper analysis at the ready. Grab a marker and consider scribbling the following cheat-sheet notes on your hand. For the raw data, check out the NPD’s U.S January video game hardware sales and video game software sales. Fact: The PlayStation…

  By Stephen Totilo Published February 11, 2010
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  Fable III’s Three Big Innovations: Touch, Weapons And Kingly Responsibility

  Three major shifts in gameplay mechanics will make Fable III the most innovative entry in the popular role-playing game franchise, developer Peter Molyneux told a gathering of journalists today at Microsoft’s X10 event. Fable III will present three key changes in play: In-game touching, highly-customized weapon morphing and the challenge of ruling a kingdom. Molyneux…

  By Brian Crecente Published February 11, 2010
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  Nintendo Is January’s Hardware Winner Once Again

  Wii fever swept the United States in January, another 465,000 units of Nintendo’s white wonder snatched up by consumers. Hey, when you’re selling that many copies of New Super Mario Bros. you’re gonna need a Wii to play it on. Nintendo once again took the top two spots in the hardware race in the U.S.,…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2010
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  New Super Mario Bros. Wii Was January’s Biggest Game In The U.S.

  Nintendo’s New Super Mario Bros. Wii had a big January, following its 2.8 million copies sold in December ’09 with another 650,000-plus copies to Mario-hungry Wii owners in the United States. The one game that came closest to Nintendo’s super popular platformer was BioWare’s Mass Effect 2, moving more than 570,000 copies on the Xbox…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2010
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  Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta Starts May 3

  Halo fans, make sure you have your copy of Halo 3: ODST handy in May, as Bungie and Microsoft have announced the official date you can start playing the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta. You probably already had May—or the entire spring season—booked, but put May 3 in your calendar as the day you’ll start playing.…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2010
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  Activision Takes Axe To Guitar Hero’s Neversoft, Shuts Down Luxoflux

  Prototype developer Radical Entertainment isn’t the only studio that got the axe from parent company Activision today. Sources close to and within developers Neversoft (Guitar Hero) and Luxoflux (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) are also being gutted. Luxoflux, also responsible for True Crime and Kung Fu Panda games for Activision, is said to have been…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2010
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  New Crackdown 2 Screens Show Off Shiny Preorder Armor

  As far as purchase incentives go it’s no Halo 3 multiplayer beta, but Crackdown 2’s preorder bonus armor is definitely…okay, I’ve got nothing. While the inclusion of access to the Halo 3 multiplayer beta definitely pushed sales of the original Crackdown, I think the game proved itself to be a worthwhile purchase on its own.…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 11, 2010
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  First Screens Of Left 4 Dead 2’s “The Passing,” New Infected, New Weapons

  Valve released new details on the first downloadable add-on for Left 4 Dead 2 today at Microsoft’s X10 event, explaining how “The Passing” will handle the meet up with the original Left 4 Dead survivors. Now, let’s have some media. These ten new screens of the new episode, coming to the PC and Xbox 360…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2010
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  More Alan Wake Footage, More Flashlights In The Dark

  Microsoft and Remedy released a new trailer for Alan Wake today. I love how he gets hit by a flying mine cart and just shrugs it off.

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 11, 2010
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  Left 4 Dead 2’s “The Passing” Coming March, Followed By Comic, More L4D DLC

  Valve is showing the first downloadable content pack for Left 4 Dead 2, “The Passing,” at today’s X10 event. The new campaign is now aiming for a March release, the start of new content for the zombie apocalypse shooter. In “The Passing,” players will meet up with the original Left 4 Dead’s survivors, Francis, Bill,…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 11, 2010
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  360 Scores The Only Final Fantasy XIII Bundle Outside Of Japan

  Microsoft confirms the March 9th release of a Final Fantasy XIII 250GB Xbox 360 bundle, noting that it’s the only console outside of Japan to come bundled with the game. At the X10 event in San Francisco today, the company revealed that the rumored Xbox 360 North American Final Fantasy bundle is indeed a reality,…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 11, 2010
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  Exclusive Dead Rising 2 Prologue Coming To Xbox Live

  Xbox 360 owners’ wait for Dead Rising 2 just got a bit more tolerable, with the announcement of an exclusive playable prologue, Dead Rising: Case Zero, launching on Xbox Live prior to the game’s release on August 31st. Crecente is embedded at Microsoft’s X10 event in San Francisco, where he sends word of a special…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 11, 2010