Well Played is a weekly internationally syndicated news and opinion column about the big stories of the week in the gaming industry and its bigger impact on things to come. Feel free to join in the discussion.

Square Enix Probing Altered FFXIII Comparison Shots [Update]

Sonia Im, Square Enix’s North American spokeswoman has said the company is investigating a batch of suspicious screenshots purporting to compare Final Fantasy XIII on the PS3 and Xbox 360, yet are apparently the same image with different control overlays. Update: Square Enix has released this official statement on the matter: Unfortunately we did mistakenly…

Sunday Comics

Penny Arcade published Feb. 8 PvPonline published Feb. 8 ActionTrip published Feb. 8 EXTRALIFE published Feb. 10 GU Comics published Feb. 12 Dotgif published Feb. 8 Ctrl+Alt+Del published Feb. 9 Dueling Analogs published Feb. 8 Nerf NOW published Feb. 12 Rooster Teeth published Feb. 11 Monday Night Crew published Feb. 12 Virtual Shackles published Feb.…

Kotaku Off-Topic: Tron Roller Derby

That’s what I call short-track speed skating, something we only pay attention to every four years. I also want to pronounce “Apolo Ohno” as “App-oh-low” for some reason. Second L please! And the Olympics are underway. This is one of the largest global television sports properties, which means we get two weeks of ads featuring…

Is Street Fighter 3’s Dudley Coming to Super Street Fighter IV?

I received a special Saturday delivery package from Capcom today. Inside a blue boxing glove clutching a red rose. Sound familiar? Either Capcom is trying to tell us something about Dudley coming to Super Street Fighter IV, or they have a wicked mad crush on me. I’ll take either. 😀

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Proto-Natal Edition Winners

Last week’s picture of a strangely sentient-looking Project Natal camera drove a flood of entries to our fourth ‘Shop Contest, with multiple mentions of Sauron, RRoD, Geordi LaForge, and at least one semi-NSFW entry. My favorite, if a bit small, is the fact Dr. Zaius saw the camera and somehow thought of Gov. Schwarzenegger yanking…

It Might be the Law, but It Don’t Mean It’s Right

It’s hard to tell who’s good, who’s bad, who’s corrupt and who’s just incompetent in this brief profile of law enforcement in the lawless land of Red Dead Redemption. Red Dead Redemption rides to town April 27.

Last Minute Video Game Valentines for the Soon-to-Be Single

If you are just now making Valentine’s Day plans, son, you are hosed. But these cutie-pie cards from Valve and Capcom might – if minimally – defray the ass-beating you’ve got coming. Alexandra Neonakis has followed up last year’s splendid Left 4 Dead Valentine series with another five featuring the special infected of Left 4…

Five More Screens Show Off The Show

Five new MLB 10 The Show screens sent our way from Sony highlight some of the special animations for this year’s game, including a bang-bang play at second and an attempt to throw out a would-be base thief. That view of cover man Joe Mauer throwing down to second isn’t from Road to the Show…

Plenty of Contractions, and a Lower Birth Rate in Sports Gaming

Although hardly a shock, the demise of the NCAA Basketball series is still on some level surprising. It’s a publisher with an uncontested, major team sports title throwing in the towel, after all. NCAA Basketball was not a poor game, but nor was it exceptional, and as such it didn’t have either the sales figures…

Three Original Command & Conquer Games are Now Free

And the weekend parade of free stuff keeps marching on. PC gamers can now get all three original Command & Conquer games free through the official website. The freebies are a promotion for the release of Command & Conquer 4 next month. The free games include Command & Conquer, Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun with…

No, This is Not Confirmation of the ‘Wii 2’

Some of you might have noticed that in the latest edition of Nintendo Power, which is someone holding a Wiimote labeled “Wii 2.” We contacted the editor and were told it was a straight goof-up, not a surprise leak. The story behind the error sounds a little familiar. Nintendo Power’s editor, Chris Slate, said the…

Weekend Coupons: The Make Good

Remember that profile we ran Thursday about the newly launched reselling marketplace? The one that got, as we say around here, Kotaku’d by all the traffic? All’s well now and they’ve thrown our readers a coupon as a goodwill gesture. Glyde, the site that’s been a big hit with gamers since well before its official…

Today Only: Fl0w is Free on PlayStation Network

Headline says it all: Sony’s made Fl0w, the acclaimed indie hit adapted by thatgamecompany for the PS3 in 2007, free for today only over the PlayStation Network, so run go get it. The offer’s good in the North American PlayStation Store (if the deal’s active in other regions, let us know in the comments.) The…

Kotaku Originals: Ronnie the Hedgehog

Who better to guest star on Kotaku in Valentine’s Week than porn star Ron Jeremy? His opinion on sex versus violence in video games was one top story in a week that saw major reviews and news from X10. Kotaku Talk Radio Top Stories Activision Shutters Guitar Hero Creators, GH: Van Halen Developers [Update] The…

Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves

I got like five e-mails asking me that question after the last WTAY. Hopefully this clears it up. BTW, Totilo always posts the painting’s name and creator when he changes these in the first TAY of the month. Confused about commenting on Kotaku? Read our FAQ.

X10: Microsoft Shows Its Hand For 2010

Yesterday, Microsoft drew a green line in the sand, showing off much (but not all!) of the platform holder’s lineup for the remainder of the year. There were screenshots, trailers, even interviews. Here’s the pick of it all. What most excited you? For me, it certainly wasn’t Peter Molyneux’s promises. While I admire what the…

“Free” Copies Of Red Faction Going Out To Early Darksiders Purchasers

If you were among the first people to pick up THQ’s Darksiders, you will have noticed a coupon inside the box, with a code on it and instructions to hang onto it. Hope you did. Because the publisher finally got around to finding a use for them today, announcing that those who still have a…

Alan Wake Won’t Be Shining A Torch On The PC

Once upon a time, Alan Wake was a game coming for both the PC and Xbox 360. Then mention of the PC version began to simply disappear, culminating in the final announcement yesterday that the game’s for the 360 only. A statement from Microsoft reads: Some games are more suited for the intimacy of the…

Should BioShock 3 Revisit Rapture?

Now that BioShock 2 is out, a sequel that didn’t initially didn’t seem “necessary” but, upon release, sure played like it, what’s next for the franchise? Can BioShock 3 return once again to the underwater city of Rapture? That’s the question we posed to BioShock 2 creative director Jordan Thomas during today’s podcast, wondering when…