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  How a Lightweight Console Lay the Foundations of Game Design

  A book by two professors of media studies examines the challenges of designing games on the Atari 2600, and posits that the infamous port of Pac-Man wasn’t a half-assed effort after all. Racing the Beam sets up the Atari Video Computer System (later 2600) as a console that profoundly shaped game design because its limitations…

  By Owen Good Published March 14, 2009
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  The Pitt: a Confluence of Mutation

  .html Lots of running-and-gunning in this here debut trailer for Fallout 3’s “The Pitt”, which drops March 24. So I guess I’ve been playing wrong. See, my instinct when I’m down in the tunnels and I hear a feral ghoul (or, in this case, a trogg) snarl is to bring up VATS, take a deep…

  By Owen Good Published March 14, 2009
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  Kotaku Originals: Up Your Nose With a Rubber Hose

  Kinda presumptuous to welcome myself back, but, I don’t see anyone else doing it. Anyway, it’s nice to be missed. I was missed, right? This week was Resident Evil 5’s big closeup, but others still managed to crack the news lineup. Namely, BioShock 2’s Big Sister stomped on in and said, where you saw but…

  By Owen Good Published March 14, 2009
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  Soccer JRPG Anime Moving Into Prime Time TV

  The upcoming Professor Layton film isn’t the only anime from Japanese developer Level 5. An animated version of Level 5’s soccer RPG Inazuma Eleven is slated for prime time special in Japan this April. Until now, the cartoon series has been shown on Sunday morning at 9am. The original DS game was released last August…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 14, 2009
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  Bashcraft Penned Arcade Book Getting French Edition

  Arcade Mania, the book on Japanese arcades I wrote, will be translated for an upcoming French version. French game book publisher Pix n’Love Editions will be bringing the book to wider audience. Pix n’Love is best known for its books on the PC Engine and the history of Nintendo (Pix n’Love’s Florent Gorges has a…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 14, 2009
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  A Week In Comments

  The Periodic Table of Video Game Characters Comment by: Ghede Nominated by: Abad Sonic should be under the radioactives. It has a half-life of seven years.” A Week In Comments Comment by: 超外人 Nominated by: 天 I was put off by that comment as well, since the statement is basically hypocritical in my eyes from…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 14, 2009
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  Tomatoes Can Play Asteroids Too, You Know

  From the same people that brought you the history of gaming (in Sauerkraut) comes this: a game of asteroids. Played with tomatoes. Don’t ask why. Just ask "Zaxxon with celery next, please". [via GameSniped]

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 14, 2009
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  Capcom Explains Paid DLC Multi-Player Patch

  Resident Evil 5 has three new multi-player modes, which will be available via paid DLC. The new Versus modes are called Slayer and Survivor. The US$4.99 PSN/400 MS Points patch does not add weapons or characters, so it’s unclear what it actually does. According to Capcom, however, the patch doesn’t simply unlock already in-game content.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 14, 2009
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  The Mario Paint Strategy Guide Is So 1992 It Hurts

  These days, strategy guides are big business, but it hasn’t always been this way. In the early 90s, for example, magazines and cheat lines ruled, leaving strategy guides to, well. Do their own thing. Not that this was a bad thing. Indeed, in this case, it’s an awesome thing, because we’re talking about the 1993…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 13, 2009
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  Where Do You Read Kotaku?

  F-R-I-D-A-Y! Time for 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 in you. Yes, we’re interested in knowing you, Kotaku reader person. You probably know oodles…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 13, 2009
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  Meet The 007 Of Wii Gun Accessories

  Or the Transporter of Wii accessories. Depending on your standards. Our standards, well, we don’t much care for the gun. We do care for the fact it’s a Wii accessory that’s putting some effort in. Take the shape of Cobalt Flux’s “Dark Ops Wii Light Gun”, for example. It’s different. Like, it’s not a shark.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 13, 2009
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  Street Fighter For Crate Diggers

  Most of you reading this are not DJs. Those who are, this is for you, because Capcom have just released the The Street Fighter II Turbo Battle Vinyl. What it isn’t: a spoken-word version of the Raul Julia/Kylie Minogue movie. What it is: a record that, on side A, has a ton of Street Fighter…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 13, 2009
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  Secret Agent Clank Also Getting The PSP To PS2 Treatment?

  Looks like Sony will be bringing former PSP exclusive Secret Agent Clank to the PlayStation 2, one those 70 games coming to the last-gen PlayStation, according to a new listing from GameFly. Ratchet & Clank fans may remember the previous PSP outing, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters also went from the PlayStation Portable to the…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 13, 2009
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  Nike’s Nintendo Shoe Blitz Continues With Wii Blazers

  The checklist of Nintendo-themed Nike brand sneakers gets a 1-UP today, with the first peek at another Wii-inspired shoe, this time of the Nike Blazer variety. WeeklyDrop tipped us off to the new shoe, due this Summer, which joins the Wii inspired Nike Air Force 2 High—complete with Wii Remote condom details—and the Nike Air…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 13, 2009
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  Even In-Game Advertising Is Hurting, IGA May Be Up For Sale

  IGA, one of the companies that serves up dynamic in-game ads for games like Burnout Paradise, is feeling the advertising pinch, reeling from a recession that has spawned mass layoffs and closures. VentureBeat reports today that the in-game advertising group—not to be confused with Castlevania developer Koji “IGA” Igarashi—is in the process of securing funding,…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 13, 2009
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  Assassins Creed Discreetly Shivs The iPhone In The Back

  Assassin’s Creed 2 may be well underway, but it’s not the only AC game on the horizon, as it’s been announced today that mobile port specialists Gameloft will be bringing the series to the iPhone. Apparently the gameplay will still feature free-running over city rooftops and across multiple cities, though we’d think these would be…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 13, 2009
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  LittleBigPlanet Team’s New Project Is “Really F*cking Cool”

  The creators of LittleBigPlanet and the highly marketable Sackboy aren’t resting on their laurels, ready to churn out Sackboy Kart Racing as their next project. Media Molecule co-founder Alex Evans has even begun teasing. He tells Gamasutra in a recent interview that there’s already a secret LittleBigPlanet project underway, one that capitalizes on what he…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 13, 2009
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  Burn Zombie Burn!: It Is What It Sounds Like

  Typically, Friday the 13th is a day reserved for black cats, bad luck and Jason Voorhees. But this year, in which we get three Friday the 13ths, I’m willing to make an exception for zombies. Actually, there’s been a lot of zombie this month. Between Burn Zombie Burn!, the Resident Evil 5 release and a…

  By AJ Glasser Published March 13, 2009
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  The Rock Deems Doom Movie A Failure

  Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, like everyone else, says that the 2005 Doom movie adaptation was an example of “trying and failing” at making the jump from video game to movie. Yes, he went there! Strong words coming from the star of Race To Witch Mountain. Johnson tells MTV News’ giggly Josh Horowitz that the “writing…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 13, 2009
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  Batman: Arkham Asylum Collectors Edition Has A Batarang, Bruce Wayne Budget Price

  The upcoming release of Eidos and Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham Asylum is getting the collector’s edition treatment. The bad news? It’s a cool $100, forty dollars more than the standard edition. The good news? Batarangs!! According to solicitations from retailer GameStop, by way of a Kotaku tipster, the pricey collectors edition comes equipped with a 12″…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 13, 2009