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  QuakeCon Kicks Off Tomorrow

  To: Bash From: Crecente Re: Learning For The Pokemons Totilo flew to Texas today, he was actually in the air as we recorded our second live podcast, preparing for tomorrow’s launch of QuakeCon. It’s sounding like there’s going to be some interesting news, at least Rage news, coming out of the show. Stay tuned! What…

  By Brian Crecente Published August 12, 2009
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  The Beatles: Rock Band Gets Rubber Soul, Sgt. Pepper’s & Never Before Heard Audio

  That The Beatles: Rock Band will eventually be adding two of The Beatles’ most acclaimed albums shouldn’t come as a surprise. Most of us are expecting the entirety of The Beatles’ catalog to hit the game. But coming they are. The New York Times confirms the two albums will follow the already announced Abbey Road…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 12, 2009
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  Alpha Protocol: More Sex Than Mass Effect, More Interrogations Than Fallout 3

  A brief look at Alpha Protocol yesterday brought to mind how what may be the western-made role-playing-game time-sink of this fall compares to some recent big ones. A quartet of love scenes is but one difference. Alpha Protocol, the spy-themed role-playing game from development studio Obsidian Entertainment and publisher Sega, once expected many months ago,…

  By Stephen Totilo Published August 12, 2009
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  Nintendo Releases Free Animation App To DSi Owners

  North American Nintendo DSi owners can download and enjoy Flipnote Studio—for free—starting today, giving them access to the DSiWare animation tool that Japanese consumers have been enjoying since last December. The flipbook animation software, known as Moving Memo in Japan, is relatively simple to use, letting budding animators draw, record audio and upload their creations…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 12, 2009
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  Team Fortress 2 Adds King Of The Hill, Still No Class

  Yes, the Soldier was trying to tell us something in his recent rant, as confirmed by today’s Team Fortress 2 update… update. The newest gameplay mode to hit Valve’s team-based shooter will be King of the Hill. In addition to eighteen new hats for the nine Team Fortress 2 classes, Valve will introduce the point…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 12, 2009
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  Sega: Bayonetta Was Delayed To Avoid November Danger

  Sega announced the delay of Bayonetta last month, making American gamers wait until 2010 to beat up angels as a hot woman dressed only in the hair wrapped around her body. The alternative was too risky, the company told Kotaku. Sega West president Mike Hayes said that theories about the economic recession forcing so many…

  By Stephen Totilo Published August 12, 2009
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  Sony Enhancing PSN Trophy Bragging Online

  PlayStation 3 owners with a thirst for Trophy collecting are likely familiar with the above. It’s the old way of seeing your PS3 e-accomplishments online, something Sony is planning to update with enhanced PlayStation Network Trophies feature on PlayStation.com. What’s changing? The ability to view more detailed info on your Trophy collection online for one…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 12, 2009
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  PAX 2009 Schedule Drops – We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Calendar

  The full schedule for the 2009 Penny Arcade Expo has been posted on the PAX website, featuring 43 hours of programming, all over the course of three days, all for you. It looks like Totillo and I are going to have our hands full when we drop in on PAX 2009 September 4th through the…

  By Mike Fahey Published August 12, 2009
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  Mario And Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games Preview: Luigi Controlled with a Rear End

  Mario and Sonic are bringing their friends to the Winter Olympics, and somehow that got me playing a Wii game with my rear end. Butt-on impressions follow. What is it? Mario And Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games is the Wii sequel to the first team-up of gaming’s two most popular characters, Mario and Sonic…

  By Stephen Totilo Published August 12, 2009
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  Summermodo Will Keep You Cool and Make You Cool This Summer

  What’s summer without a radio-controlled chum boat? Nothing, that’s what. Get the most out of your sun-loving days with Summermodo, a summer-gadgetry wonderland brought to you by Heineken Light. Check out Summermodo.

  By Chrissie Lamond Published August 12, 2009
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  GameStop Strikes Back At Best Buy In Used Game Price Wars

  Retailer GameStop has responded to Best Buy’s plan to price match new games at used game prices as expected—by slashing prices on used games. But like Best Buy’s pricing scheme test, this is extremely limited. These prices come from a West Jordan, Utah area GameStop, the same location that Best Buy is testing its “buy…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 12, 2009
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  If Wolfenstein Beats Madden, Wolfenstein Is Free

  Raven Software designer Manveer Heir has mounted a one-man Twitter Wolfenstein marketing campaign, offering to pay for your copy of the game if it manages to outsell Madden 10. Yes, he’s completely serious folks. If the latest game in the long-running first-person shooter franchise manages to topple the game that generally dominates the month of…

  By Mike Fahey Published August 12, 2009
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  Sega Updates Us On Wii Strategy, Aliens, “Sega-ness”

  Kotaku sat with the new chief of Sega’s American and European divisions yesterday to get an update on everything from Aliens to Yakuza. Only on his new job for about two and a half weeks, Mike Hayes is the man who now oversees Sega West, the combined domain of Sega of America and Sega of…

  By Stephen Totilo Published August 12, 2009
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  Kotaku Talk Radio: QuakeCon

  During this week’s Kotaku Talk Radio we had on MTV’s Russ Frushstick to talk about QuakeCon, cheating in Madden 10, playing easy and other spicy topics. More importantly we had on you, our readers, phoning in live to ask questions and talk games. If you missed the live, call-in show you can stream the full…

  By Brian Crecente Published August 12, 2009
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  Halo: Evolutions – Essential Tales Of The Halo Universe

  Republic Commando author Karen Traviss takes her first stab at the Halo universe in Halo: Evolution, a story anthology coming in November from Tor Books. Halo: Evolutions presents fans of Halo literary fiction a little light reading to help them pass the time before Greg Bear’s Halo trilogy kicks off in 2010. Tor has lined…

  By Mike Fahey Published August 12, 2009
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  GRIN Is Officially Dead, Spawns Outbreak

  It’s official. No more gold teeth will be added to that gruesome smile, as GRIN, the Swedish developer responsible for games like Bionic Commando, Wanted: Weapons of Fate and more is closing its doors due to “an unbearable cashflow situation.” In a letter from GRIN founders Bo and Ulf Andersson, the CEO and director, respectively,…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 12, 2009
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  MAG Beta Invites Going Out To Way More Than 256 People

  Time to check your e-mail, PS3 fans. Those desperately wanting to get into the MAG beta might already have an invite cooling in your inbox, getting you one step closer to shooting the bejeezus out of your PlayStation 3 peers. Zipper Interactive’s Massive Action Game has already been beta testing for a select few, but…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 12, 2009
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  Go Play Lumberjacks So You Don’t Have To

  It’s been quite awhile, but now we’re back, playing the Nintendo Wii family party game Go Play Lumberjacks, so you don’t have to. Go Play Lumberjacks is, oddly enough, part of Majesco’s new Go Play line of family-friendly titles. Of course, on the Nintendo Wii, family-friendly generally translates into mini-games, and Lumberjacks is no different.…

  By Mike Fahey Published August 12, 2009
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  Pieces of You: Rebuilding Myself On Consoles

  It’s been three months since the breakup and I still can’t delete my ex’s Mii. I still have Achievements and Trophies to win back and a stack of used games to re-beat. This is what a console identity crisis looks like. It’s not the same as having to return a sweater or divide up a…

  By AJ Glasser Published August 12, 2009
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  Gimli And Gollum Voice Risen

  It’s a Lord of the Rings reunion on the PC and Xbox 360, as Andy Serkis and John Rhys Davies join the voice cast of Piranha Byte’s next big role-playing game, Risen. No stranger to portraying digital creations, Andy “Gollum” Serkis will be portraying someone named The Inquisitor in Risen, which sounds fairly ominous and…

  By Mike Fahey Published August 12, 2009