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  Sony Promoting Safe Online Play With Handy Website

  Game companies, whether they be console manufacturers or publishers, are always the victims of bad press when it comes to keeping kids safe from questionable content online. So it’s nice seeing one – Sony – doing something proactive about it. While every console has measures in place to restrict content for minors, Sony are going…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 24, 2009
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  Doctor Advises No Games Before Sport

  A doctor working with the British Olympic Association has advised athletes to avoid playing games before sport, as it adversely affects their sleep patterns. Writing on his blog, Dr. Marco Cardinale has four suggestions for those who enjoy their games as much as their athletic activity: 1) If your are travelling to train and compete…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 24, 2009
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  Colorado’s Gaming Graffiti Wall

  As seen on Seetwist’s flickr page via Albotas.

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 24, 2009
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Please comment here about video games. Objection? Confused about commenting on Kotaku? Read our FAQ.

  By Stephen Totilo Published December 24, 2009
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  What Do You Want From Santa?

  To: Kotakuland From: Bashcraft RE: Games For My Break Kotaku already asked the gaming folks what they want, so now I’ll ask you: What do you want from Santa? What you missed last night Robin Williams On The Wii The Twenty Best-Rated Games Of The Decade More Final Fantasy XIV Screens Than You Can Shake…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 24, 2009
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  Segata Sanshiro Toy Filmed For Your Pleasure

  Segata Sanshiro was SEGA’s mascot character for the ill-fated SEGA Saturn. The character was a parody of Sanshiro Sugata, the character from the Akira Kurosawa film. The mascot even got his own toys back in the day — one of which was recently uploaded to YouTube. The packaging has phrases like “Forever Hero! He became…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 24, 2009
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  Final Fantasy XIII’s Sazh Cosplay In Japan

  Sazh Katzroy. You know, the FFXIII dude with the afro, dual pistols and the chocobo chick living inside said afro. He’s also got an adorable kid, and now, a hardcore cosplayer. Snapped at the recent Jump Festa in Japan, this cosplayer didn’t stop at the costume, oh no, but sports a solid effort at the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 24, 2009
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  NSFW: A Brief Peek At Heavy Rain’s Adult Content

  Adult games and games for adults are different. European developer Quantic Dream doesn’t just dream of making games for adults, it is. With upcoming PS3 title Heavy Rain, the developer aims to make the video game equivalent of something like an R rated film — adult characters, adult content. As mentioned previously, some of that…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 24, 2009
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  Non-Blurry Look At Final Fantasy XIV Customization

  Yesterday, Kotaku detailed the character customization for upcoming MMO Final Fantasy XIV. Today? Today brings non-blurry images and new screens.

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 24, 2009
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  Christmas Eve In Japan — With 2D And Plastic Girlfriends

  For Japanese, Christmas dinner is usually chicken and cake. Booze is involved as well. And the more discerning individuals, spend their meals with those closest to them. Alone. These types of photos are very much a Japanese internet meme — people showing their Christmas meal and female characters with whom they are eating. They’re more…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 24, 2009
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  More Games Released In 2009 Than In 2008

  You’d think the one-two punch of a global economic crisis and a string of delays would mean 2009 saw less game releases than 2008, but no. Oh no. Instead, according to Electronic Entertainment Design and Research, the number of games released this year increased. In 2008, 1092 titles reached a retail shelf in the United…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 24, 2009
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  More Fancy Street Fighter Clothing

  Triumvir, who last year brought us a range of snazzy Street Fighter clothing, are back for 2010 with a whole new line, again going with the “dress like a Shadaloo foot soldier” theme. In theory, you could outfit yourself head-to-toe in a Shadaloo uniform, as there are caps, beanies, shirts, jackets and even jeans on…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 24, 2009
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  Gold, Diamond-Covered PS3 Needs A Price Cut

  Let’s say the world’s most expensive Wii doesn’t appeal to you. You figure, “If I’m paying $300,000 for a console, the least it can do is play Blu-Ray”. So you instead focus on the world’s most expensive PS3. Made by the same guy, it’s covered in gold, emblazoned with 58 diamonds, and costs around $320,000.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 24, 2009
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  2009 In Review: Motion-Control Gaming Grabs The Spotlight

  In the dark, distant future, when people write about the history of video games and get to the part labelled “2000-2010”, they’ll note one thing: 2009 was the beginning of the end for the control pad. Not that it’ll go away any time soon; indeed, as I’ve said, I think the humble d-pad-and-buttons-thing has a…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 24, 2009
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  More Final Fantasy XIV Screens Than You Can Shake A Chocobo At

  Square Enix today not only updated Final Fantasy XIV’s North American website, but passed along a ton of screenshots for the upcoming MMO. Here they are.

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 24, 2009
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  The Year, NSFW

  Every year has its moments suitable for framing. Here, our look back at 2009 presents the ones meant for stuffing under your mattress: It’s Kotaku’s Year NSFW, which, as the title implies, is NSFW. Bayonetta’s Got It, Flaunts It: Without a doubt, Bayonetta was the high-amp vamp of gaming in 2009, and she hasn’t even…

  By Owen Good Published December 23, 2009
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  The Twenty Best-Rated Games Of The Decade

  Lost slightly amidst all this “end of year” review business is the fact this is also the end of the decade. Which means it’s time to take a look back and what the best games of 2000-2009 were. According to review aggregation site Metacritic, the top twenty games of the past ten years are…well, pretty…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 23, 2009
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  A Nomination For Coolest Game Developer Of The Year

  This is Uber Entertainment‘s Aung Zaw Oo an animator and man of… other talents. Great, yet another game developer who eats potato chips. Oh, and he can juggle. And sit in a chair. But look at how he does it! You may remember Aung Zaw Oo, who goes by AZO, from April, when he posted…

  By Stephen Totilo Published December 23, 2009
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  Left 4 Dead 2 Now Officially Supports Custom Campaigns

  Valve’s gift to the Left 4 Dead 2 customization community has arrived with the release of official campaign authoring tools and add-on support. You want to play custom campaigns of your own or someone else’s creation? Go nuts. The Left 4 Dead 2 authoring tools include support for AI Director logic for variable level layouts…

  By Michael McWhertor Published December 23, 2009
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  Pac-Man Getting the Fighter Treatment?

  In Europe, Namco Bandai has trademarked something called “Pac-Man: Battle Royale,” which sounds less like a reboot or remake of a pellet-chomper, and more along the lines of Tekken with ghosts. That’s straight-up speculation. Siliconera hazarded the guess when it found the registration, and it sounds good to me, if only because it sounds better…

  By Owen Good Published December 23, 2009