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  Olivia Munn Not Nude, Not for a Lack of Effort

  No matter what was discussed, agreed, or signed, when you’re in front of a Playboy lens, the nudity negotiation never ends. Olivia Munn learned that after two days with one of their more persistent stylists. The stylist, whom she impersonated with a swishy, faux-frenchy accent, kept suggesting she try outfits that were plenty evocative of…

  By Owen Good Published June 20, 2009
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  Weekend Coupons: War, What’s It Good For?

  About $25 on Steam this week, if you’re a fan of the Total War series. Toys R Us has a dea; if you’re already planning on grabbing one of this week’s new releases. Software • Toys R Us is pegging next week’s major releases to some serious savings on current titles. This is a pretty…

  By Owen Good Published June 20, 2009
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  Kotaku Originals: Bustin’ Makes Me Feel …

  Sunday to Monday saw three separate references to Ray Parker Jr’s quasi-orgasmic catchphrase in the refrain of the Ghostbusters theme. Can I make it four in a week? Oh hell yes I can! This week’s roundup includes Bobby Kotick telling other people what to do with their business; Microsoft slapping down the Natal/”720″ rumors, and…

  By Owen Good Published June 20, 2009
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  PlayStation Home Has Finally Lost The Plot

  But in a good way. See, my biggest criticism of PlayStation Home is that it’s sterile. Boring. But this Saturday night, that sterility will be temporarily relieved. By this…dance-off…thing. Apparently it’s a dance-off between humans and hamsters. Presumably with lots of grinding. And with a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man somehow involved. It’s all a little…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 20, 2009
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  Do You Ever Get A Specific Gaming Itch

  It’s Friday. Our throats hurt, we’re feeling sick. So let’s talk in low hushed tones. Whispers, even. This is Tell Us Dammit, no, make that TELL US DAMMIT. Here’s how it works: We ask a question, you answer it. Simple and no strings attached! This isn’t some marketing survey or whatever. It’s an emotional investment…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 20, 2009
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  Lord Of The Rings Subscriber Base Actually Growing

  Ever since World of Warcraft launched, subsequent MMOs usually (EVE aside) go a little something like this: they launch, they do OK, then numbers slide, then they disappear. Not so for Lord of the Rings Online. Maybe because it’s based on Lord of the Rings, maybe because it’s actually good, we don’t know, but we…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 20, 2009
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  A Week In Comments

  Talk Amongst Yourselves Comment by: Kobun Nominated by: MaxDragon7 Twas a long time ago, on BBS of old, where the origins of trolling began to unfold. As the systems evolved thus did trolls as well, and threaded topics gave way to a new Internet hell. The arrival of images brought in the mainstream, and a…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 20, 2009
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  GameStop Have Head In Sand Over Digital Downloads

  The future of games distribution is digital. Whether that’s in 5 or 15 years’ time, that’s what’s going to happen. Your grandkids won’t be buying games in boxes. But don’t tell GameStop that! The retailer has said that an “addressable market” for the digital download of games – as in, one that needs addressing by…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 19, 2009
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  Ninja Gaiden II Stretches Definition Of “Only On”

  As contributed to society by a Master Ninja of NeoGAF

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 19, 2009
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  Left 4 Dead Creation Tools Coming Next Week

  While the campaigns that shipped with Left 4 Dead were all pretty good, you do get sick of them after a while. Which is where custom, user-generated campaigns come in. Next week, Valve will be updating Left 4 Dead so that these custom missions – like the Resident Evil 3 mod we showed you earlier…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 19, 2009
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  Developer Copied Source Code For Buggy Xbox 360 Shooter

  As far as troubled Xbox 360 maniac shooter ports go, they don’t get more troubled than DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou Black Lable EXTRA. Let’s recap: The game was slated for release on Christmas day, but was delayed because it needed extra time. Then it was dated for February 19. When released in February, the game…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 19, 2009
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  Tales of VS. Versus a Trailer

  Tales of VS. (versus — all caps) is Namco Bandai‘s PSP fighter, populated with characters from its Tales franchise. You know, kinda like what Square Enix did with Final Fantasy and PSP action game DISSIDA. Tales of VS. features 35 characters from Tales that range from titles like Tales of the Abyss to Tales of…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 19, 2009
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  Crazy (Good) Super Mario Brothers Artwork

  I hate Twitter, but I should be grateful to it for exposing these 45 completely amazing stylized portraits of Mario and Luigi. Brandon Boyer from Offworld tweeted the article from The Design Inspiration, which is a site where designers upload and share various works of art and design patterns to inspire each other. This collection…

  By AJ Glasser Published June 19, 2009
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  Fat Princess Won’t Be Out This Month

  Sony’s super-enjoyable Fat Princess was originally slated to be released in June. That’s this month! Now, sadly, it turns out it won’t be out this month. Instead, it will now be out “at some point this summer”. So sometime in July or August, then. Shame, but if it gives them extra time to make it…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 19, 2009
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  A Not So Brief History Of Video Game Names

  How did Mario get his name? You may be familiar with the official story, that it was based on Nintendo of America landlord Mario Segale, but that may not be the whole story. It’s just the easy version. According to an impressive and exhaustive look at some of the more famous video game characters—and plenty…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 19, 2009
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  Gender Equality At Nike: Pac-Man Shoes

  Remember those sexy Ms. Pac-Man Nike Dunks from last month? This month, Nike is previewing their male counterpart. Though the shoes don’t bear Pac-Man’s actual likeness, they’ve got the same color palette as the classic arcade marquee. That means lots of yellow, lots of blue and not very much pink. As awesome as the shoes…

  By AJ Glasser Published June 19, 2009
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  Another Look At Midway Newcastle’s Necessary Force

  We got a brief peek at an early trailer for Wheelman developer Midway Newcastle‘s in-development title Necessary Force the other day, but the team, currently shopping the game and studio around, is lifting the veil further. The violent cop drama is said to be only a few months old, but currently playable, focusing on a…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 19, 2009
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  Happy Father’s Day!

  To: Ash From: Crecente Re: Hey Kids, Don’t Sleep In Your Contacts I’m heading off to the mountains tonight to spend the Father’s Day weekend with my family, including my son and my father-in-law. Should be quite a bit of fun. We’re having a cheese fondue tomorrow night. I’m psyched!!! Do you have any Father’s…

  By Brian Crecente Published June 19, 2009
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  Watch Bayonetta Kick Out Megaton Combos For Five Minutes

  .html PlatinumGames’ Bayonetta should give you ample combo perfecting practice, as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 action game lets players kick, punch and shoot during loading screens. Here’s an extended look at that feature. Anyone suspicious of the breadth and depth of Bayonetta‘s combo system should give the video a peek, as it shows…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 19, 2009
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  Dirt 2 Impressions Sans Porn Star

  Unlike E3, there were no stars of adult movies to distract us from focusing on Dirt 2 when the game showed up in New York this week. It’s muddy racing with some unexpected narrative touches. The developers had to make some big changes to the second Dirt, for both gameplay’s sake and due to real-life…

  By Stephen Totilo Published June 19, 2009