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Midway Unloads San Diego Studio On THQ
Congratulations to THQ, new owners of a slightly used San Diego game development studio, previously owned by Midway Games. THQ bought the TNA iMPACT! wrestling game development house for $200,000 according to a filing with the SEC. That purchase gets THQ the development studio—well, “substantially all” of its assets—but not the rights to the TNA…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
LucasArts Teases Back-Catalog Announce; Says It Ain’t X-Wing
Now, they didn’t say it wasn’t TIE Fighter, either. But it’s a pretty safe bet this Tweet from LucasArts cools off talk that a reboot of the venerable space combat sim will be announced soon. Got a back-catalog announcement on Monday. It’s not X-Wing! I’m heading THAT rumor off at the pass! And, I mean,…
By Owen Good Published August 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
And Now For A John Hughes Tribute
Filmmaker John Hughes passed away yesterday and sadly there wasn’t much of a way to acknowledge it with video games. Until today, that is. We found two Hughes-worthy shout outs to the man and his legacy, which we’ll share with you here as a way to bid goodbye to the director who had an incredible…
By AJ Glasser Published August 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Retailers Point To Dragon Age: Origins Delay
BioWare’s fantasy role-playing game Dragon Age: Origins is officially on the books for an October 2009 release date, but two retailers are indicating a slight delay for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, pushing it into November. Shacknews caught wind of the change at two online game retailers, Gamefly and NewEgg, which now show…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Wii MotionPlus Is Wall Street Journal Approved
You know you’ve got it made when even the Wall Street Journal wants a piece of your sweet, sweet motion controlled action. In both written and video form, Wall Street Journal technology reporter Katie Boehret tackles Wii MotionPlus, Project Natal and something called Canesta, which works kind of like the Clap-on for your TV and…
By AJ Glasser Published August 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Watching Robots
To: Ash From: Crecente Re: You Know What’s Delicious? I guess I shouldn’t really call a SpotBot a robot. It’s really just a little carpet cleaner that you place on a stain, press a button and walk away… unless you’re me. If you’re me you sit nearby and stare at it because you think it’s…
By Brian Crecente Published August 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Valve Studying Sign Language For Deaf Half-Life Character
While Valve has been largely silent on what’s happening with Half-Life 2: Episode 3, a recent focus test at the developer may point to the inclusion of a deaf character that ties into supporting character Alyx’s past. Valve founder Gabe Newell discusses this character in a newly uploaded YouTube video, which appears to be from…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Notebook Dump: The Wrong Wii Question, Shopping Mama
There comes a time in the week to reflect on what got into my reporter’s notebook but didn’t turn into Kotaku blog posts. Shall we? This was a weird week, as a story I was chasing didn’t quite come together. New facts contradicted old facts. It was a wash. Plus, I did an interview on…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Indie Games Go Dirt Cheap On Steam, Direct2Drive
Digital distribution services Steam and Direct2Drive are battling it out this weekend, attempting to see which PC gaming platform can offer the best indie bundle. The clear winner in this price slashing bloodbath? YOU!! If you’re having difficult answering the question “What are you playing this weekend?” here’s a list of what you could be…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
LittleBigPlanet GOTY Edition Box Art Promises $30 In Bonus Content
The “Game of the Year Edition” of PlayStation 3 hit LittleBigPlanet is coming later this year with a cheaper price tag and some amount of downloadable content included on the disc. About $30 worth of content, apparently. While details on what that extra content thrown in for free will be aren’t specified in the Amazon.com…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
The Real Video Game Danger: They’re Too Safe?
The summers of my childhood were marked with scars. Good scars, not bad ones. There’s the time I split my knee racing friends while wearing flip-flops. The stitches in my head earned during a vigorous match of tag. The countless skinned elbows, bumps and bruises of a youth spent on skateboard and bike. Those were…
By Brian Crecente Published August 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
It’s been a busy month, with moving, travel and a handful of guests staying at Kotaku Towers West. Not much time left for gaming… until now! That’s why I’m finally breaking the seal on this copy of Raiden Fighters Aces. That’s just to cleanse the palette, as I’ll be digging into a few downloadable titles…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Second Skin Documentary Debuts In Theaters, On Hulu
Second Skin, Pure West Films‘ documentary about the lives of the people behind the players of massively-multiplayer online games, hits select theaters today, but if you can’t make it there’s always Hulu. Second Skin provides a rather balanced look at the relationships formed via online games, from friendships to romances to relationships that go even…
By Mike Fahey Published August 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Rabbids Go Home: The Stripping Gets Your Attention
In case you were planning on skipping Ubisoft’s new Wii-only adventure game, first consider that it will allow players to strip human beings to their underwear. I played a bit of Rabbids Go Home a little over a week ago at an event for developer and publisher Ubisoft in New York City. I was going…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Arkham Asylum: Making The Game, Respecting The Franchise
With the demo dropping today and the game right around the corner, Eidos and Warner Bros. release another behind-the-scenes video to make sure everyone knows how much they respect the franchise. If this were any other comic book franchise, I’d say they were laying it on a bit thick, but Batman fans have been burned…
By Mike Fahey Published August 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Penny Arcade’s Tekken 6 Comic Packs A Pouch
That’s no typo; Namco Bandai has enlisted the boys from Penny Arcade to create a Tekken 6 web comic, and they’re focusing on the most compelling fighter the series has ever produced. Yes, Penny Arcade is telling the secret origin of Roger, Tekken’s gestalt character, who is actually two fighters in one. When an erroneously-named…
By Mike Fahey Published August 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron Preview: To Fire The Ion Cannon
All I wanted to do when I played the newest Star Wars game on the PSP was fire the ion cannon. I became immature about it, even. Imagine a normally respectable Kotaku reporter badgering a LucasArts PR man: “But I want to fire the ion cannon!” Worse, imagine that turning into: “I’m going to go…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 7, 2009 -
UncategorizedPlaying Guitar Hero On Expert While Solving Two Rubik’s Cubes
That’s what happens in this video. Guitar Hero fan and “speedcuber” Julian plays Ozzy Osbourne’s “Mr. Crowley” in Guitar Hero World Tour on expert difficulty while also solving two Rubik’s Cubes with his free hand. Sorry, should’ve warned you to take your shoes off, because your socks were probably just blown right through them. Oh,…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
Best Buy Now Matching GameStop’s Used Prices On New Games
Electronics retailer Best Buy is firing a shot at competitors GameStop and Game Crazy, offering a price match guarantee on video games that would match prices on new titles against other retailers used prices. Yeah, that is awesome. One Cheap Ass Gamer snapped this photo highlighting the promotion at a West Jordan, Utah area Best…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 7, 2009 - Uncategorized
How Many Hours People Play Sports Games On Wii (Go, Madden)
People buy sports on the Wii, the only console currently bundled with a sports-based video game. But how much do they play these things? And how do the Maddens, the fishing games and the mighty Wii Fit rate? Yes, I’m defining “sports game” loosely. But, on the Wii, where the boundaries of gaming communities and…
By Stephen Totilo Published August 7, 2009