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Xbox Live Offering “Thriller” for Free
The Michael Jackson Grief-a-Thon rolls into its fourth big moneymaking day. Except that “Thriller” is being offered free for the rest of the weekend on Xbox Live Marketplace. Ordinarily it goes for 160 Microsoft points. “Beat It,” “Smooth Criminal” and “Billie Jean” join Thriller in the top 10 of the Most Popular in XBLM’s Marketplace…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
Alright, What, Exactly, is “Xbox 360 Beta?” [Update]
Natal? ODST? Whatever it is, Major Nelson, Stepto and other Redmond regulars have been playing it lately. I thought it might be 1 vs. 100, but other friends show that as “Xbox 360 Dashboard.” So that’s two Xbox rumors before the morning’s out. I have emailed Larry to see if he wants to say anything…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
Ten Minutes of Batman: Arkham Asylum — in Polish
If you don’t know Polish, the narrative gets in the way, but you can watch Bats skulk around Arkham’s grounds and get a feel for the stealth takedowns the game is engineered to deliver. I was particularly impressed by his ziplining up to a guard tower and clonking a sniper, forehead-first, into the railing. Of…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
Win Prizes in 1 vs. 100 Next Week? [Update]
Last night on 1 vs. 100, it sounds like host Chris Cashman let slip that this coming week the game show’s beta is over, and players can finally take home Microsoft points. The accidental leak came after The One, as many have been wont to do during the beta, either ignored or didn’t remember the…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves
It was 80 degrees, in the shade, at 7 a.m. where I am. That’s too hot to be easy like Sunday morning. Stay inside and enjoy the air conditioned comfort of Kotaku’s official open thread. (P.S. If you don’t get the reference made by the word balloon.) Confused about commenting on Kotaku? Read our FAQ.
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
College Freshman Gets Life in Console-Dispute Tragedy
A Fresno man was sentenced on Friday to life in prison for shooting a 19-year-old to death in a dispute over a PlayStation 2, bringing to a close a tragedy first reported on two years ago. Jonquel Brooks (pictured at right), a freshman at Fresno State, shot and killed Brant Daniels, 19, and wounded Daniels’…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
Marvel vs. Capcom 2 not Releasing June 29
Marvel’s financial report back in May said Marvel vs. Capcom 2 would release for download on June 29. The Capcom-Unity Twitter account has officially nixed that date, setting it back about a month. Says Capcom-Unity: MvC2 is not actually coming out on June 29, sorry guys. Not sure where that rumor came from, but it’s…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
There Will Be No “New Game Plus” in Mass Effect 2
Restarting a character, with all of his attributes, weapons and perks, at the beginning of the game is sometimes called “new game plus.” Mass Effect had it, but Mass Effect 2 won’t. Preston Watamaniuk, the lead designer for Mass Effect, addressed the question today on Bioware’s forums, and the explanation has as much to do…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
EverQuest I & II Get 16th and 6th Expansions
The dedicated players of Everquest – and after nearly 10 years, hell yes they are dedicated – will get expansions for the first two games in the series beginning in November. At its Fan Faire in Las Vegas, Sony Online Entertainment announced the 16th expansion for EverQuest, will be released in November. Called “Underfoot,” it…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
Right-Wingers Cite 1982 Arcade Death in Legal Brief
The fun-killing neighborhood scolds at the Eagle Forum filed a brief [pdf] supporting California’s violent video game law, and invoke the 1982 death of a Berzerk player as evidence that games even cause physical harm. The Eagle Forum isn’t much different from your typical gasbag family values think tank, except that it was founded in…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
EA Might Let You Remap Fight Night — Through DLC
How’d we miss this? In a chat a couple weeks back on IGN, Fight Night Round 4 producer Brian Hayes said that remapping the face buttons to throw punches might be “an option via DLC.” His full reply: There is no option for face button punching in the final version, but we are investigating providing…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
“News Gaming:” Lots of Buzz but No Breakout
Dad, a newspaper publisher, always told me, “the news is what people are talking about.” Video games can be that, too, as we’ve seen lately with mobile or flash games based on much-discussed current events. The Christian Science Monitor wraps its arms around a long list of “news games,” from the lighthearted “Swinefighter” (pictured) to…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
Want to Meet Final Fantasy’s Composer?
You need to be in Seattle from July 9 to 11, and you need a hundred bucks. The Seattle Symphony is giving a three-day performance of Final Fantasy‘s score, and Nobuo Uematsu will be attending. “Distant Worlds” will be performed July 9 at 7:30 pm and July 10 and 11 at 8 pm. The Grammy…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
That Hulu That Your PS3 Won’t Do
Some PS3 websurfers have reported that, as of this morning, they’re no longer able to play Hulu videos. Engadget dug through the Hulu TOS and thinks it knows why. The PS3 had access to Hulu thanks to the console browser’s flash support, leading some to wonder if this was a glitch or a block caused…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
Weekend Coupons: Boxed Up
There’s a long list of games you can trade in for a free Fight Night: Round 4 at GameStop, but of course, these are high value targets. The rest of the week’s values seems to indicate a post-Dad’s Day lull, with retailers clearing off stock and offering regular bundles as major value-adds. Eh, whatevs, let’s…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
Announcement: There Will Be No Mass Effect DLC Announcement
Earlier this week, Evil Chris on the Mass Effect Twitter channel told us to expect some ME1 DLC news by Friday. Well, Friday happened, so what’s the word? Tweeted Evil Chris yesterday: “Due to circumstances beyond my control (me being stupid on timing), any news of more ME1 DLC will have to wait. Sorry folks.”…
By Owen Good - Uncategorized
Kotaku Originals: The Beer Frame
We learned some important lessons about the physical world this week, notably that Fallout sees no difference between a tall frosty cold one and a device used to rip out nosehairs. Yes, unbeatable refreshment. In addition to the behemoth study of video game weights and measures, we gave a look at Nintendo’s major goods and…
By Owen Good -
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