• Uncategorized

  J Allard, We Will Miss You

  It’s official. Our most beloved Microsoft exec, James “J” Allard, is leaving Microsoft after 19 years. The Boston University grad tasked with injecting cool into the Xbox, Xbox 360 and Zune is moving on, leaving us with fond, hoodie-filled memories The man who once described himself and the original Xbox division as the “Eminem of…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 25, 2010
• Uncategorized

  Mecho Wars Creator Goes HD With Reaper

  Luc Bernard, the man behind the pretty yet flawed Eternity’s Child and the well-received Advance Wars clone Mecho Wars for the iPhone is thinking big again with Reaper, a gorgeous new 2D action-adventure game. Eternity’s Child was a charming little game that lacked depth and polish. Mecho Wars was a strategy game with some great…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 25, 2010
• Uncategorized

  Father of the Xbox, Head of Gadgets and Fun Leave Microsoft [Update]

  Sources have confirmed to Kotaku that both Robbie Bach, the current head of all things entertainment for Microsoft, and J. Allard, one of the top men behind the Xbox and Xbox 360, are leaving Microsoft. In a memo this morning to Microsoft employees obtained by Kotaku, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced that the two were…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 25, 2010
• Uncategorized

  Game Nation: A Massively Multiplayer Offline Role-Playing Game

  Game Nation is gearing up to make your live-action role-playing dreams come true, now scouting locations for the world’s first “Experiential Video Game Theme Park and Resort.” Sounds like some expensive LARPing to me! In 1981, Larry Niven and Steven Barnes produced Dream Park, a novel about an interactive role-playing game resort, where players participate…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 25, 2010
• Uncategorized

  Ratchet & Clank Maker’s Next Game Coming to the Xbox 360, PS3

  The next big gaming franchise from the creators of a decade and a half’s worth of some of the Playstation’s most beloved titles is coming to the Xbox 360. Insomniac Games, the studio behind Spyro the Dragon, Ratchet & Clank and Resistance, unveiled a deal this morning with Electronic Arts that will put their still…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 25, 2010
• Uncategorized

  New Splinter Cell, Built On Conviction, In The Works

  Ubisoft Toronto, the new big-game studio overseen by former Assassin’s Creed producer Jade Raymond, is making the next Splinter Cell. Development will involve tech and talents from Splinter Cell Conviction studio Ubi Montreal. No title, details or release date. [Gamasutra]

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 25, 2010
• Uncategorized

  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  You know how reading a book might give you +1 Intelligence? Contributing to Talk Amongst Yourselves is sort of like that. Just write your thoughts here about video games. Confused about commenting on Kotaku? Read our FAQ

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 25, 2010
• Uncategorized

  Do We Need Fair Trade Games?

  Red Dead Redemption came out last week and while I know I’m going to buy it, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t somewhat hesitant to do so. It seems the controversy is now mostly forgotten, but in January, the spouses of a number of Rockstar San Diego developers penned an open letter decrying…

  By Lauren Orsini Published May 25, 2010
• Uncategorized

  I Must Stay Off The Internets

  To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Kotaku Season Finale? I have not seen the last episodes of either Lost or 24. :/ Guess I’ll go read some magazines or the newspaper. What you missed last night Nathan Drake Back In The Snow For His Next Adventure? Hitman 2 Has a Director. He Is… Street Fighter II…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 25, 2010
• Uncategorized

  PlayStation Move Out In July? Maaaaybe

  So reckons this advert from a South African retailer. And before you go thumbing your nose at the ad’s origin and nature, bear this in mind: they’ve actually got a good track record when it comes to this stuff. The “COMING THIS JULY” line is part of a catalogue from BT Games, the same outfit…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 25, 2010
• Uncategorized

  Abbey Road, The Video Game

  As seen on I Heart Chaos NSFW

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 25, 2010
• 

  Uncategorized

  Rock Band 3 Is The Piano Man

  There’s a demo for Rock Band: Green Day currently up on Xbox Live. Of actual interest is this image greeting users when they quit the demo, teasing Rock Band 3 with a little ebony and ivory. Take a look up there at all those little icons. We’ve got bass, drums, guitar, vocals – the three…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 25, 2010
• 

  Uncategorized

  The Next (Next) Generation Of PC Graphics

  Crysis may have been the benchmark for PC graphics in 2007, but as we power on into 2010, it’s looking a little long in the tooth compared to what’s coming in the future This demo, for PC benchmarking tool 3DMark, shows what’s possible with new DirectX 11 technology, which should start to see some more…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 25, 2010
• Uncategorized

  Uncharted Developers Working On Killzone 3

  Naughty Dog, the studio responsible for the Uncharted series, doesn’t just do Nathan Drake and sexy ladies. Some of its staff are also lending a helping hand on upcoming shooter Killzone 3 Members of Naughty Dog – reportedly from Sony’s ICE Team, a crack squad of expert code wranglers – have been helping Killzone devs…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 25, 2010
• Uncategorized

  People Can Walk The Streets of Akihabara Again!

  It used to be that on Sundays and holidays, Tokyo’s electrics and game mecca Akihabara closed off its streets to cars and turned itself into a “Pedestrians’ Paradise”. Then, seven individuals were tragically killed in a stabbing spree. And all that changed. The streets were closed to foot traffic, and the area even installed security…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 25, 2010
• Uncategorized

  Here Is Your Resident Evil Movie Hunk

  You might know Wentworth Miller from the television series Prison Break. You might not have a television. I dunno! In the upcoming 3D feature film Resident Evil: Afterlife, the actor is RE protagonist Chris Redfield, star of the most recent Resident Evil game, Resident Evil 5. (Redfield made his debut in the first Resident Evil…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 25, 2010
• Uncategorized

  Exec Confronts Suicides, After Which Another Employee Dies

  After months and months of Foxconn employees dying, the company’s CEO finally addressed the issue. And then, another Foxconn worker fell to his death. That makes ten deaths this year — nine by falling out of windows or off buildings and one apparently beaten to death. (Two more employees were injured in failed suicide attempts,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 25, 2010
• Uncategorized

  These Images Might Be Different

  Anime Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance is being released with “adjustments” on DVD and Blu-ray as Evangelion: 2.22 You Can (Not) Advance. What kind of adjustments? Pictured is Evangelion pilot Mari Illustrious Makinami. The top image is from the original movie version, while the bottom one is from the “enhanced” version. So difficult! Wish…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 25, 2010
• 

  Uncategorized

  More Fire Emblem Ready To Burn Up Your DS

  For those who were left thirsty for more Fire Emblem tactical game action after 2008’s release, take heart. There’s going to be more. Nintendo has just revealed upcoming title Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem ~ The Light And Shadow Of A Hero. The game does not have a release date and no word…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 25, 2010
• Uncategorized

  The Legend Of Beatboxing!

  Link, with some help from his Four Swords co-stars, ditches the stealth approach and tries taking down the Forsaken Fortress the hard way: with beatboxing While it helps if you’ve played Nintendo’s GameCube Zelda title Wind Waker, it’s not necessary to get the most out of this. The straining-for-a-shit look on Red’s face speaks a…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 25, 2010