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  Developer Reaches Back-Pay Deal With Government

  Sensory Sweep, accused of not paying its 200 workers since at least October, has entered into a consent agreement with the federal Department of Labor under which current and former employees will be repaid. The agreement is in a consent injunction ordered by a federal judge on Thursday. It grew out of an injunction the…

  By Owen Good Published January 31, 2009
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  Well, That Didn’t Last Long

  Remember Duck Hunt for the iPhone? Yeah, it was booted from the App Store, and not because of its piece of shit controls and absence of the Asshole Dog, either. LawlMart’s Duck Hunt was “developed” on the “iPES” for the iPhone and iPod touch, and just in case that didn’t rip off Nintendo’s IP enough,…

  By Owen Good Published January 31, 2009
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  Can B-Movies Make an A-List Game?

  Headstrong, developer of House of the Dead: Overkill, thinks they can. In this video, the creative staff discuss the game’s grindhouse style and how this won’t necessarily be a rail shooter. Of course, this isn’t the first M-rated game for the Wii. Seventeen titles have gotten it for “Blood and Gore” even. But it’s definitely…

  By Owen Good Published January 31, 2009
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  THQ Axes a Hundred as it Fixates on Smart Phones

  THQ fired 100 employees following a decision to shift its mobile game development to the smart phone platform only. Three studios are closing, in San Diego, the U.K. and Germany. VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi reported the development yesterday. Previously THQ had made games for all kinds of phones. Now they’re focusing only on smart phones —…

  By Owen Good Published January 31, 2009
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  Rumor: World of Goo Publisher Files for Bankruptcy Protection

  GameDaily BIZ cites an unnamed industry source that Brighter Minds Media, publisher of the acclaimed World of Goo, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The move would allow the company to retain control over its operations while it reorganizes to pay its creditors. We searched the filings for U.S. District Court in the Southern…

  By Owen Good Published January 31, 2009
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  Kotaku Originals: Broken Record

  Not the good kind either, the roid-infused home run record kind. I mean the old-school “broken record” which repeats the same phrase until you lift the needle. In this case: Workers fired, business sucks. Here’s the roundup of Kotaku’s original reporting the last week: Umlauts: Köööööln!!! Third Prize is You’re Fired: Rumor: Need For Speed…

  By Owen Good Published January 31, 2009
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  Penny Arcade Survey Offers A Terrifying Glimpse Into Gamer Demographics

  For those who did not take part, last week Penny Arcade ran a survey on their site. Asking for details on the site’s readers. Since 38,000 people responded, we find the answers very interesting. I mean, 38,000 people? That’s a hell of a lot of people/internet gaming nerds. It’s a veritbale gaming census. So let’s…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 31, 2009
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  What’s Your Comfort Game?

  Time for…drum roll please…Tell Us Dammit — no, make that TELL US DAMMIT. 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 probably know fucktons…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 31, 2009
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  Lost TV Show Goes A Little Bit FPS, A Little Bit Rock N’ Roll

  We’ve seen it in a sequence in Doom already, but that was a movie about an FPS, so it doesn’t count. This, though – an FPS sequence in the TV show Lost – counts. Counts for…something. What it is, exactly, we’re not sure. But hey, since there’s a very good chance the writers and creators…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 31, 2009
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  A Week In Comments

  Ryu Ga Gotoku 3 Has Mandatory Install Comment by: phinehas Well, it was either the mandatory install or they cut off a finger. Midway Finds New Chairman In Booty Comment by: Modus_Operandi Nominated by: Spoony Bard So now Booty is synomous with Midway. People are going to have their hands full with Booty. But dont…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 31, 2009
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  Nintendo Has Some New Graphs To Help You Understand Its Success

  Nintendo is doing well. The “$17 billion in sales last year” type of well, with more than $2 billion in profit. To help illustrate just how smashingly the company is doing, it generated some charts. Sure, the Negative Nellys out there are going to point out falling profits, but just look at those brightly colored…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 30, 2009
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  Kyoto Prefecture Still Using DS For English Instruction

  Back in 2006, we brought word that middle and high school students in Kyoto Prefecture’s Yawata City were using the DS to study vocab. Now, in 2009, the front page of today’s Yomiuri Shimbun says… Elementary school students in Kyoto Prefecture’s Yawata City are using the Nintendo DS to study English starting this April. The…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 30, 2009
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  There Is A Fourth, Mysterious Need For Speed Game In Development

  EA have hit the big, red reset button on the Need For Speed franchise. As we heard, three new games are coming. No, wait. Seems there are four new games coming. Blackbox – despite recent layoffs – still have the manpower and the time to work on not just NFS: World Online, but a “future…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 30, 2009
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  But Can You Spot The X-Blades Boxart Discrepancy?

  Apparently the Xbox 360 and PS3 X-Blades box art are different? NSFW, even, someone somewhere said. We can’t tell, there’s got to be something. Please, please help us get to the bottom of this. We’d like to crack this case. Cheeky of us to ask, I know. X-Blades PS3 and X-Blades Xbox 360 [Ubisoft via…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 30, 2009
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  Twenty Minutes With Batman: Arkham Asylum

  The first twenty minutes of Batman: Arkham Asylum say a lot about the game: we’ve got the voice cast of the 90s cartoon, action-stealth gameplay and the writer that brought us episodes of Animaniacs and Lost. But if Paul Dini isn’t enough to convince you that this Batman game is on the level, there’s plenty…

  By AJ Glasser Published January 30, 2009
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  Xbox Live Catches Super Bowl Fever

  Super Bowl’s on this weekend. People are excited. Few as excited as Microsoft seem to be, as they’ve just announced that, all day Sunday, Xbox Live will be going bananas for all things football. For the 24 hours that encompass the day, Microsoft will be setting up a dedicated Xbox Live “channel” called “Football Fanfare”,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 30, 2009
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  Nintendo Shares Fall As Far As They’re Allowed To Fall

  Some people are beginning to seriously question whether the Wii bubble has burst. They may be right, they may be wrong, either way, investors are listening. And investors seem to be taking it all on board. Following comments made by analysts such as Hiroshi Kamide yesterday, Nintendo share prices started falling. And falling. And falling…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 30, 2009
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  Six More Batman: Arkham Asylum Screens

  Yesterday we got our hands on a few screens and a trailer for Batman: Arkham Asylum. Today, we got a twenty minute preview and a few more screens. Not much going on here besides some bloom effect from the Unreal Engine. But as a preview to the preview that I’m frantically writing right now: Harley…

  By AJ Glasser Published January 30, 2009
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  Sony: Yes, We’ll Still Be The Most Expensive Console

  Sony Computer Entertainment Europe boss David Reeves isn’t going to cave. He simply will not tell you when the PlayStation 3 will get a price drop. For now, it will remain the most expensive option. That’s Reeves’ “armadillo” strategy, also known as the “value added” tactic that the PlayStation brass have been touting for many…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 30, 2009
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  Japanese Weekly Hardware Sales: How Low Can They Go?

  If you thought hardware sales in Japan couldn’t bottom out any harder than they did last week, we ask you to politely reconsider. Frankly, we’re starting to worry. You okay, Japanese gamers? ‘Cause if you’re a little short on cash, we could let you borrow some. Admittedly, post holiday sales aren’t typically spectacular, nor is…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 30, 2009