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  Modern Warfare 2’s Next DLC Brings More Old Maps

  Repeating a pattern set by the game’s first batch of downloadable content, Modern Warfare 2’s “Resurgence” pack will contain a mix of maps, some new, some not so new. This, of course, was the focal point of many consumer’s anger over the first pack, being that they were spending $15 for something that only contained…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 14, 2010
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  The DS Is About To Become The Biggest-Selling Console Of All Time

  The PlayStation 2 deservedly holds the record as the top-selling video game console of all time. It won’t, however, hold the record for much longer. Because the Nintendo DS is nipping at its heels, and despite having released five years after the PS2, will – barring an unforseen disaster – overtake Sony’s console towards the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 14, 2010
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  How To Pose With A Large Plastic Mecha

  This is from 2006. Eons ago. Just look at that outfit! Shorts, a tutu and make-up from 1985? I…don’t geddit. It’s now 2010, and we are living in the future. Technology is more advanced. Plastic mechas have improved. Posing, too. Priced at ¥350,000 (US$3,700), this 35 kilogram, 1.5 meter high “Hyper Hyrbid” HY2M RX-78-2 Gundam…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 14, 2010
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  Comparing The Worldwide Sales Of The Wii, 360 & PS3

  In the past month, all three platform holders have handed in their financial results for the 2009 fiscal year. Bean-counters are pleased, but so are we, because we now know how many consoles have been sold worldwide. As you know, the Wii leads, yet despite its head-start on the market the Xbox 360’s lead over…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 14, 2010
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  Portal On Mac, Brought To You By Aperture Laboratories

  Portal may be free on the Mac for a limited time, but nothing’s ever really free. It’s just being subsidised. Sponsored by a benevolent artificial intelligence, who is only too glad to motivate you for Portal 2. The term “marketing engineers” sounds made-up, but in Valve’s case, you can never be too sure. Ideas like…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 14, 2010
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  A Lovely New Selvaria Bles For The Valkyria Chronicles Fan

  Too few chesty Valkyria Chronicles statues on display in your bedroom, workplace or dungeon lair? Japanese figure maker Alter’s take on Selvaria Bles will remedy that! We’ve already seen Alter’s top heavy Selvaria in prototype form, but here it is in its near final form, ready to pre-order. This is 10,290 yen worth of finely…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 13, 2010
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  Kotaku Off Topic: Frankly

  Did you know that the first off topic thread was posted by the ancient Sumerians? Yeah, little known fact. Just the type of trivia we like to talk about in Kotaku Off Topic. Here’s another little factoid. I’m viciously competitive when it comes to contests of trivia. Jeopardy, Trivial Pursuit, Buzz, pub quizzes and the…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 13, 2010
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  Pokémon’s ‘Smugleaf’: A Meme In The Making

  It’s been a couple days since the new starter Pokémon for the upcoming Black/White were leaked in a Japanese magazine, CoroCoro. But already, we may have a new meme. The grass starter Pokémon, whose Japanese name is Tsutaja, has risen above the others and become an overnight internet sensation, inspiring conversation and not a small…

  By Lauren Orsini Published May 13, 2010
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  We Get ‘The Signal’ For Alan Wake In July

  In advance of the Xbox 360 game’s release, Alan Wake developer Remedy brings word that the first downloadable add-on episode for the suspenseful adventure will arrive in July. It’ll be free, provided you have a new copy of Alan Wake. Keep your Alan Wake “token card” in a safe place, Xbox 360 owners, because it…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 13, 2010
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  The Car Dashboard of the Future – A New Place To Play?

  The same kind of touchscreen-controlled, widget-enabled technology that lets us customize and personalize devices like the iPad and Android-powered phones could be coming to your car dashboard. Naturally, we’re thinking “So, what kind of games can we play on it?” The New York Times’ Wheels blog takes a look at one offering from Cisco that…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 13, 2010
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  Don’t Hate Crysis 2 Because It’s Beautiful

  Instead, appreciate the photorealism of Crytek’s New York set sequel, which looks a lot like this in-game—provided you have the hardware to make Crysis 2 run this well, of course. Crysis 2 is suiting up for a release on the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 later this year, some time during EA’s third quarter.…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 13, 2010
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  Will White Knight Chronicles 2 Turn Things Around?

  This brand new look at the sequel to Level 5’s so-so Japanese role-playing game certainly looks to ramp up the excitement, the big bad guys and the JRPG cliches. But White Knight Chronicles 2 will do it in style. This is our first longform look at the PlayStation 3 sequel since its Tokyo Game Show…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 13, 2010
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  Game Design as Make-Believe: Fictional Worlds

  Based upon part four of the Mimesis as Make-Believe serial. When one plays most videogames there is a tacit understanding that one is entering into a fictional world – the term virtual world, is often deployed to mean exactly this. It is self-evident that this also happens when one plays a tabletop role-playing game, the…

  By Lauren Orsini Published May 13, 2010
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  Today… My Son is a Gamer

  To: Ash From: Crecente Re: I Have Slightly High Blood Pressure And Am Concerned One word: Kendo! Today Tristan decided to take the plunge into online gaming, spending some of his 9th birthday money to purchase a year’s gold account on Xbox Live. I had nothing to do with this decision, I’m pretty sure it…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 13, 2010
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  Write a Snappy Catchphrase, Hear It in NBA Jam

  EA Sports just opened a contest to get four fan-written catchphrases announced in NBA Jam‘s reboot for the Wii. Note: “Boom-shakalaka” is already taken, but “boom-shakalaka-lakalakalaka” technically is still eligible. Enter the contest through the game’s Facebook page. They need submissions for the following plays: Dunks, assists, alley oops, blocks, three pointers, regular field goals,…

  By Owen Good Published May 13, 2010
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  Nintendo Continues Hardware Kill Streak In Slow April

  The Wii and Nintendo DS killed the competition in the United States last month, partly because the other hardware makers didn’t put up much of a fight. It was, bluntly, an ugly month for video game sales. The Nintendo DS, with a little help from those lovable Pokemon, easily dominated the NPD Group’s sales chart,…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 13, 2010
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  Splinter Cell: Conviction Was April’s Big Winner [Update]

  Sam Fisher used little stealth in his slaying of the competition in April, with Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Conviction clearly visible at the top of April’s bestselling games list, according to the NPD Group. Ubisoft’s Xbox 360 exclusive Splinter Cell beat out the latest Pokemon games for the Nintendo DS and New Super Mario Bros.…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 13, 2010
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  Green Day Sounds Pretty Certain It Will Have DLC for Rock Band

  Although a producer said earlier there will be no additional DLC for Green Day: Rock Band – giving a rather sophisticated, creative reasoning for the decision – the band’s drummer sounds certain there will be more tracks coming via download. Speaking to Game Informer, Green Day’s Tre Cool said: We wanted it all to go…

  By Owen Good Published May 13, 2010
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  Who’s Killing Who In Alpha Protocol

  There’s so many different battling factions in Sega’s Alpha Protocol you’d need a score card to keep up, or perhaps an explanatory trailer. Alpha Protocol drops on June 1, with plenty of different factions packed in for Agent Michael Thorton to shoot at, make deals with, and play against each other in a high stakes…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 13, 2010
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  Good Girl Artist Does A Very Good Bayonetta

  Platinum Games’ good witch Bayonetta gets the pin-up treatment from comic book artist Adam Hughes—”I have no idea what they are using it for,” he says—in a piece commissioned by Sega. As seen (larger) at Hughes’ deviantArt page.

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 13, 2010