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  The Disabled-Friendly NES Controller From The 1980’s

  While it’s easy to think that – through the wonders of subtitles and the Wii Remote – making games accessible to the disabled is a recent trend, it’s not. It’s as old as the hills. This is the Hands Free, a controller setup manufactured by Nintendo for the original Nintendo Entertainment System. It consists of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 6, 2009
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  Bullet Hell Developer Offers Arcades Its Games For FREE

  Cave, the Japanese developer behind such shmup classics as Mushihime-sama Futari, recently announced a revolutionary way to release arcade games in Japan: For free. Not free for me or you, we’ve still gotta pay. But rather, free for arcade owners. Instead of having arcade owners buy costly arcade set-ups and then trying to make money…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 6, 2009
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  Sony Now Publishing Ghostbusters In PAL Territories

  Yesterday, Ghostbusters was being published by Atari, and was due to be released across PS3, 360, PS2, Wii and DS. Today, in a strange move, that’s no longer the case. Sony have swooped in late and signed a new publishing deal, whereby the PS3 and PS2 versions of the game will be released in PAL…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 6, 2009
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  Atari Jaguar Getting New Game This Year

  The Atari Jaguar was a flop. Though, despite being discontinued in 1996, the console continues to get lovely made games from indie devs. Never say die! The latest game is Mad Bodies, a Breakout-style shooter. The game’s developer Force Design worked on this title for six years — something even more remarkable when you consider…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 6, 2009
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  If New York Was A Halo, It Would Look Like This

  This picture of Manhattan, by graphic designers Jack Schulze and Matt Webb, shows what the island would look like rolled up over the horizon. Looks familiar, doesn’t it? That’s because the work, called “Here & There”, was partly inspired by Halo (which, it must be noted, was in turn influenced by the work of Larry…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 6, 2009
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  One More Day For Red Faction Entries!

  This is it, we’re a day from the day we’ll stop taking your red Red Faction contest entries. Contest closes next Thursday at midnight! What’s happening? We’re giving away a copy of futuristic third-person-shooter Red Faction: Guerrilla, platform of your choice. Here’s how you can win it: Take a picture of red things — the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 6, 2009
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  Mother 3 Handbook Is Sheer Indulgence

  Remember that Mother 3 handbook we told you about? My copy just arrived in the mail. And I’m lost for words. Presented as, basically, a strategy guide for the cult Nintendo title (which has never been released in the West), were this from Prima or BradyGames you’d be shocked by the quality and attention to…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 6, 2009
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  Final Fantasy Creator Mentions New Projects, Says Something About LEGO

  Hironobu Sakaguchi, the game developer behind Final Fantasy and Xbox 360 RPG Lost Odyssey, is hard at work on a new role-playing-game and building four-wheel-drive LEGO. “Making Legos is when I’m troubled with something,” Sakaguchi blogs. “What I’m troubled with is graphic settings for the next new game project.” While he says the project is…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 6, 2009
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  Square Enix Has “No Plans” For English FFXIII Blu-ray Demo

  Just because the Final Fantasy XIII Blu-ray demo powered Japanese PS3 sales, don’t expect the same for the West. Heck, don’t expect a Blu-ray demo for the time being. When Final Fantasy XIII producer Yoshinori Kitase was asked by website VideoGamer.com whether there will be a Blu-ray FFXIII demo, the producer replied, “The type of…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 6, 2009
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  Civilization IV Is The Gift That Keeps On Giving

  It’s testament to the longevity of Civilization IV that, four years on from release, not only am I still playing it, but that 2K can repackage the game safe in the knowledge it will sell. The publisher has announced today the impending release of Civilization IV: Complete Edition, which will be out next week and…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 6, 2009
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  Richard Garriott Suing NCsoft For $24,000,000

  Late last year, Ultima creator Richard Garriott split from NCsoft, the developers and publishers behind his latest game, Tabula Rasa. Sounds like the split wasn’t exactly amicable. While at the time it sounded like Garriott had – fresh from his trip into space – simply walked away for a new challenge outside of games development,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 6, 2009
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  How’s That Gears Of War Movie Coming Along?

  Unlike certain other big-name gaming franchises, it looks like a Gears of War movie may actually get made. So how’s it shaping up? Screenwriter Chris Morgan has an update. Speaking with MTV, the Wanted and Fast & Furious writer says that a first draft of the screenplay is in, and that consequently the studio (New…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 6, 2009
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  That Crecente Guy Sure Is Influential

  GamePro is listing its 20 most influential people in gaming from 1989 to 2009. Ranked at number 20 is Kotaku Managing Editor Brian Crecente — or as GamePro calls him “The Provocateur“. How provocative. “Kotaku was a little-known, little-read blog in Gawker Media’s online publishing empire until Brian Crecente transformed it into the PR-terrorizing powerhouse…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 6, 2009
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  Microsoft’s In-Game Ad Company Hit By, Ahem, Massive Layoffs [Update]

  We’ve heard today that, as part of Microsoft’s already-announced round of 5000 job cuts, up to 75% of the workforce at Microsoft’s in-game advertising service, Massive, have been laid off. With advertising down across the board thanks to the economic slowdown – and with the opportunities presented by in-game advertising perhaps not as great as…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 5, 2009
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  Which King of Fighters XII Cover Do You Want?

  There are two fighters: Iori Yagami or Kyo Kusanagi. American publisher Ignition has narrowed down the choices for The King of Fighters XII cover boy and is asking folks to choose between these rivals. Because forthcoming The King of Fighters XII is a multi-platform game, there are actually four different covers to choose from. Us?…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 5, 2009
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  Here, Your New Dawn Of War II Maps

  As part of the big Dawn of War II update announced last week, Relic will be releasing two new maps for the game. This is what they look like. Both maps are built for the game’s new 2v2 multiplayer mode, and while there’s nothing terribly new about them (they’re both built using Calderis assets, so…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 5, 2009
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  Marvel: Marvel vs. Capcom 2 Slated For June Release

  In its financial report, comic book giant Marvel dated the re-release of classic fighter Marvel vs. Capcom 2. That date is June 29. And that date is, if you check your calendars, a Monday. Marvel does note “scheduled release dates are subject to change” in its report, so that means just that: this release date…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 5, 2009
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  A Day Without A Crecente

  To: Ashcraft From: McWhertor Re: I Like My Women Like I Like My Gamers – Covered In Fingers Another day, another panic-filled dozen or so posts on Kotaku, frantically hoping that Brian “Mr. Infuential” Crecente will show his face at Kotaku Towers. Ironically, the man is a mere 17 miles away from my house right…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 5, 2009
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  EA Spring Break Event Round-Up

  The embargoes for the EA Spring Break Event were spaced out throughout the month of April and into early May, but now that they’ve all expired, we can put them in one convenient post. The only games missing from this list that were at the event are Spore Hero, Battlefield Heroes and Need for Speed:…

  By AJ Glasser Published May 5, 2009
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  Screenshots From Movie Games You Only Wish Existed

  A recent competition tasked the members of the Game Artist Forums with creating scenes from famous movies using Unreal Engine 3.0 and CryEngine 2. The results are dreamy. There were entries covering everything from Hellboy to Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas, but the best are those we’ve selected below, with locations modelled from Blade…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 5, 2009