• Uncategorized

  Ben Heck’s New Mod: The “Atari 3600” Stick

  Everyone’s first big complaint with this — a 360 controller stuffed into a 2600’s casing — is the lack of a second analog joystick. So it’s not your new Halo stick. But Braid? Sure. Heck also admits he cheated a little on this, gutting a Guitar Hero III guitar for the stick’s circuitry. Other fun…

  By Owen Good Published January 10, 2009
• Uncategorized

  MLG Gets More Moolah

  Major League Gaming got another $7.5 million from one of its venture capital firms, which called the pro video gaming league “a cultural phenomenon.” I don’t know MLG’s financials but, usually, you don’t get another round of funding because you’re insanely profitable. At least it’s from one of MLG’s original partners, Oak Investment Partners, which…

  By Owen Good Published January 10, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Kotaku Originals: Frankly Mint

  Every time I see the Goatie coin I imagine Montel Williams on my TV at 2 a.m. hawking a set of collector’s edition 50 State quarters with Fahey and Crecente painted on them. Kotaku’s annual awards were one highlight in a week that also featured McWhertor operating el lobo solo at CES. Nintendo came up…

  By Owen Good Published January 10, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Here, The Ten Best-Selling Games In The UK For 2008

  We’ve seen Japan’s. America’s will be in, oh, next week. So for now, let’s all take a look at the ten best-selling games in the UK for all of 2008, shall we? Regular followers of our weekly British sales charts will find no surprises here. The top four games are published by Nintendo, the fifth…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 10, 2009
• Uncategorized

  What Kind of Hypothetical Trophies Or Achievements Would You Like?

  Hello there, Friday. It’s time for TELL US DAMMIT. We’ve got a question, you’ve got answers. Here’s who 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…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 10, 2009
• Uncategorized

  CES 09: Hands On With Mad Catz’s Street Fighter IV Tournament Sticks

  Get ready to change your opinion about Mad Catz. The third-party controller maker may have made one of the best arcade sticks to ever grace these shores, thanks to its Tournament Edition Arcade FightStick. Not only does this stick have authentic Sanwa arcade parts, sturdy construction and an arcade-perfect button layout, it comes loaded with…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 10, 2009
• Uncategorized

  A Week In (Very Long) Comments

  U.S. Army Testing Out Recruitment “Arcades” Comment by: Soldier_CLE Nominated by: Witzbold I’m late to this show, but I’m going to chime in, regardless. The truth is that because The United States have an “all-volunteer” Armed Forces with only a “selected service” registration that hasn’t been acted upon since the 70s, the recruiting branches need…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 10, 2009
• Uncategorized

  New Dawn Of War II Trailer: Tyranids!

  THQ have released this new trailer for Relic’s upcoming RTS, Dawn of War II. Shows the Tyranids. And how they’re going to a royal pain in the Imperium’s ass.

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Final Fantasy Versus XIII Site Also Opens Today

  It’s not just Final Fantasy XIII that is just getting a site with new stuff, but also Final Fantasy Versus XIII — minus the new stuff. The FFVXIII site is barebones — things like it’s release date and rating are still TBA. That screen grab is pretty much it! Still, if you are interested in…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 9, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Nintendo, Microsoft Sued Over Parental Control System

  All three current generation consoles have a form of parental lock-out controls. They’re a good idea. A good idea that has, however, landed Nintendo and Microsoft in court. Around Christmas time, 36 companies – including Best Buy, Dell, DirecTV, Motorola, Tivo and Wal-Mart – were sued by Guardian Media Technologies, who hold a patent for…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Xbox 360 Helps Japan’s Greatest Sumo Stay Fat

  Mongolian-born Asashoryu is sumo’s most successful yokozuna. When not injured or playing soccer in Mongolia, he keeps his 300 pound plus sumo weight by eating chankonabe, sleeping and, apparently, playing Xbox 360. For as much money as Asashoryu makes, we’re glad to see his hasn’t wasted it on, I dunno, a non-crappy TV. How can…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 9, 2009
• Uncategorized

  X-Men Origins: Wolverine Site Launches

  Invitations to “slash it up!” on the freshly-launched X-Men Origins: Wolverine site make me distinctly uncomfortable. That’s probably because I associate the word “slash” with the tender love expressed between two men in fanfiction written by thirteen-year-old girls. Not with the beloved Canadian X-Man who’s getting his own movie and accompanying game later this year.…

  By AJ Glasser Published January 9, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Relax, Klonoa Is Getting An American Release

  Klonoa is coming to the Wii. We learned that at TGS last year, but seeing as the PlayStation original was so roundly ignored, there was never a guarantee they’d bother with a Western release. BUt it’s OK! Namco Bandai have confirmed today that, yes, Klonoa will be coming to North American Wiis sometime in 2009.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Dissidia, White Knight Keep Sony’s Japanese Hardware Sales Up

  Japan’s best-selling Dissidia: Final Fantasy helped the PSP outsell the Wii this week, even though it couldn’t muster enough sales to dethrone the Nintendo DSi. Also seeing a big boost was the PlayStation 3. It even outsold the Nintendo DS Lite, still going strong in Japan to the tune of almost 50,000 handhelds sold per…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 9, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Final Fantasy XIII Site Opens, Has New Stuff

  Square Enix have gotten around to opening up a dedicated website for Final Fantasy XIII. Within? Aside from the soothing piano score, there are more screenshots (not scans!) than you’ll know what to do with. It’s hard telling which are new and which aren’t, what with the number of scans we’ve seen over the past…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2009
• Uncategorized

  CES 09: Activision CEO Dazzles CES Crowd With 2008 Line-up, Guitar Hero: Metallica

  Good news. If you missed Activision Publishing president Mike Griffith’s CES talk this morning, you didn’t miss much. Outside of seeing double-bass pedals in action in Guitar Hero: Metallica, Griffith kept Activision’s 2009 plans quiet. Not so with the intro, which featured Neversoft employees wailing away at Metallica’s “Fuel” in the upcoming Guitar Hero: Metallica.…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 9, 2009
• Uncategorized

  CES 09: Microsoft Responds To Sony’s Console Add-On “Peddling” Claims

  Earlier this week, Sony sent us an oddly timed media bulletin, trumpeting the PlayStation 3’s value versus the Wii and Xbox 360. It also accused Nintendo and Microsoft of “peddling add-ons.” What say you, Microsoft? “First, I would say we absolutely would not want to trade places with Sony,” said Aaron Greenberg, group product manager…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 9, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Lay Offs Strike Crystal Dynamics

  Crystal Dynamics laid off 30 people this morning in the wake of underperforming Tomb Raider Underworld sales, reliable sources tell Kotaku. The cuts were made across the board, we’re told, to eliminate redundancy and give the studio tighter focus moving forward. Earlier this week, UK publisher Eidos said that sales of the latest Tomb Raider…

  By Brian Crecente Published January 9, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Dissidia Ends 2008 As Bestseller In Japan

  Square Enix’s Dissidia: Final Fantasy returned to the top of the charts in Japan, after a week off thanks to previous champ White Knight Chronicles. How did the Level 5 RPG fare in week two? While the PlayStation 3 game slipped, it held strong in the top ten, slipping to sixth. We call that “legs.”…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 9, 2009
• Uncategorized

  Rockier Trail

  To:Owen From: Crecente I’ve been speaking to folks over at the Rocky lately. Things don’t look good. Not at all. In fact I’m writing a game of the year feature for them right now and it seems like there’s a chance it will never see the light of day. It’s due on the day that…

  By Brian Crecente Published January 9, 2009