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Tapping Into the Power of Collective Gaming
With the number of gamers playing online, why don’t more video games tap into that millions-person collective to achieve something interesting, socially grand or just fun? Turns out that sometimes they do. While efforts like Sony’s Folding@Home project, which uses the collective processing power of unplayed Playstation 3’s to research and better understand disease, have…
By Brian Crecente Published July 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
NPD Top 20 Home To Ghostbusters, Nintendo Dominance
Yesterday, the NPD Group released its estimates for U.S. video game sales for the month of June, with Activision’s Prototype and THQ’s UFC 2009: Undisputed topping the list of bestsellers. That list was missing a few key releases. Games like Atari’s Ghostbusters failed to find a place in the top ten, as did the perennially…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Brütal Legend Adds 4v4 Multiplayer Skirmish To Set List
When we spoke to Double Fine Productions‘ Tim Schafer at E3, he teased the reveal of Brütal Legend‘s then unannounced multiplayer modes. Consider (one of) those multiplayer modes a secret no more, thanks to the ancient tomes of Xbox.com!! The game’s product page describes the “four-versus-four ‘skirmish’ multiplayer” mode as a holy union of “action…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Notebook Dump: Key Modern Warfare 2 Ratio, Dragon-Free Chatpad, More
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? Another Chatpad Dream Dashed: On Monday I ran my preview of Dragon Age: Origins. I included most of what I learned about the game’s contents in there. I omitted something…
By Stephen Totilo Published July 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Braid Developer Hiring For “Quiet, Philosophical Puzzle Exploration Game”
The official Braid news blog offers some helpful hints about developer Number None‘s follow-up to the time-bending puzzle-platformer. Just don’t expect that particular game any time soon. The unnamed, unannounced title is described as a “puzzle-exploration game that is philosophical, and quiet” in listings for 3D Environment Concept Artist and Lead Artist positions. The game…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
BioShock 2’s “The Sisters” By Jhonen Vasquez
2K introduces the BioShock 2 Artists Series today, with a rendition of sisters both big and little by Jhonen Vasquez, creator of Invader Zim and Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. Several talented artists will be contributing to the BioShock 2 Artists Series, which celebrates the impact the look and feel of Rapture has had upon the…
By Mike Fahey Published July 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Microsoft: “Gay” Almost Always Used as a Pejorative on Live
This weekend the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is hosting a talk about homophobia online and in games and Xbox Live’s head of policy and enforcement will be on hand to hear what they have to say. Stephen Toulouse is going top the talk at Electronic Arts as his team works to find a…
By Brian Crecente Published July 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Sony One Step Closer To PSP Ad Hoc Party Support In U.S.
A recently filed trademark from Sony may be good news for PSP and PlayStation 3 owners in the West, as better wireless multiplayer support on the PlayStation Portable may be in our future. Sony Computer Entertainment filed for the trademark “adhocParty” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office this week, the name of the service…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Red Faction: Guerrilla’s Road Warriors Of The Badlands
See Red Faction: Guerrilla‘s chief mechanic Samanya channel her inner road warrior in this set of screens from the upcoming Demons of the Badlands downloadable content. Demons of the Badlands, the first of three planned DLC packs for Red Faction: Guerrilla, is a new story arc that takes place three years before the start of…
By Mike Fahey Published July 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Surprise! Your Disgaea 3 Saves Are Safe After All
NIS America‘s warning that the Disgaea 3 trophy patch would render previous saved games useless turns out to have been a false alarm, with multiple readers reporting that their saves work just fine. We’ve been emails since yesterday regarding the Disgaea 3 update, which was originally thought to provide trophy support for the PlayStation 3…
By Mike Fahey Published July 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
See Just How Well Dragon Quest IX Helped The DS In Japan
Dragon Quest IX went on sale in Japan last week. It sold a lot. It also sold a lot of Nintendo DSis. And it certainly didn’t help the competition. While Nintendo DSi sales more than doubled—in part, thanks to a limited edition Dragon Quest-branded version of the device—every other platform saw a decline in sales…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Layoffs Hit Sony Online Entertainment
Despite the runaway success of Free Realms and the growing anticipation for DC Universe Online, Sony Online Entertainment feels the layoff lash, confirming a 5% workforce reduction with Kotaku. Upon getting word of the layoffs from IndustryGamers, we contacted our SOE rep to see if we could glean any more information regarding the layoffs, which…
By Mike Fahey Published July 17, 2009 - Reviews
Battlefield 1943 Review: Battling In The Pacific
EA DICE, the developers behind Mirror’s Edge and Battlefield 1942, bring us Battlefield 1943, a PlayStation Network and Xbox LIVE Arcade downloadable first person shooter set against the backdrop of World War II’s Pacific front. This is the latest entry in the Battlefield franchise and the first downloadable-only console version. The shooter rolls out three…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
I’ll be giving Twisted Pixel’s ‘Splosion Man a go this weekend, the Xbox Live Arcade game that will kick off Microsoft’s Summer of Arcade festivities. With Totilo going on about Shadow Complex lately, a side-scroller sounds good right about now. In between playing that and prepping for another Blizzard and Comic-Con next week, I will…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Harmonix, Msoft Will Filter Artist Music Uploads
News of Rock Band‘s new gamer-driven network which allows artists to upload and price their own music, didn’t come without a warning and some help from Microsoft’s Xbox Live Enforcement Squad. The Rock Band Network, which launches later this year for the 360, has artists submit their songs to a group of “Harmonix-trained freelance game…
By Brian Crecente Published July 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Fourteen Big Titles Hitting This Year
Earlier this week Totilo detailed the thinning of the fall release schedule, pointing out all of the games that have been getting bumped back to next year. GameDaily, always ready to find the silver lining, put together this list of more than a dozen titles that will be making the year. Who needs Bioshock 2…
By Brian Crecente Published July 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
APB Won’t Have Normal Subscription Fees
While players will still have to pay to play Realtime Worlds’ massively-multiplayer online game APD, head honcho David Jones says they won’t be paying a flat monthly fee. APB has cost Realtime Worlds around $30 million between development data centers, and hardware, so we’d certainly forgive them if they wanted us to pay a monthly…
By Mike Fahey Published July 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Bayonetta Joins Ranks of Delayed Games
Bayonetta, the over-the-top action brawler from Platinum Games, just got bumped into January 2010, Sega announced this morning. It will, however, still be launching in Japan on Oct. 29. “Bayonetta is an extremely important new IP for SEGA and adds a new level of depth to our growing portfolio. As a result of market analysis…
By Brian Crecente Published July 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Vaughn Gittin Jr. Drifts Through Need For Speed: Shift
Slightly Mad Studios is serious about drifting in the upcoming Need for Speed Shift, tapping champion drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr, to make sure everything feels just right. Vaughn, commonly referred to as JR in racing circles, is a world-class drifter, which sounds an awful lot like a guy who just moves around from place to…
By Mike Fahey Published July 17, 2009 - Uncategorized
Shadow Complex Preview: To Get Past Metroid
It would take more than a double-jump, grappling hook and a screw attack to reach the lofty goal of being a new generation’s 2D Metroid or Castlevania. But that’s what Shadow Complex could hope to be. I’ve spent two hours and twenty minutes this morning with the game, a game made with great love for…
By Stephen Totilo Published July 17, 2009