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Every Girl’s Crazy ‘Bout a Sharp Dressed Avatar
Clothing puts flesh on the avatar. I’m with Tim Gunn on this one (and really in a sense anthropologists and sociologists before him, like Erving Goffman), fashion is a form of rhetoric. What you put on tends to communicate, be your desire to align yourself with your favorite sports team or with a musical subculture,…
G. Christopher Williams Published May 6, 2010 -
Death and Ethical Violence
It is no secret that much of the world sees our beloved hobby as a nothing but juvenile, ultra-violent, and ultimately irresponsible. Some have gone so far as to coin the term “murder simulators” for first person shooters and titles like Grand Theft Auto. These statements are often met with either blind rage or immediate…
Daniel Carbone Published April 29, 2010 -
Nice Guys, Stressed Ladies And The Curious Ways They Play Video Games
A galpal and I are discussing video games over cocktails at a bar. Well, kind of. She’s trying to tell me why she plays FarmVille, and in the course of the discussion I find out her life is a mess. This new acquaintance of mine and I have recently bonded over our fondness for farming…
Leigh Alexander Published April 28, 2010 -
Guru, Rapper Who Portrayed Grand Theft Auto III‘s 8-Ball, Dies at 43
Keith Elam, a hip-hop artist who performed under the name Guru, died Monday after ending a long battle with cancer. Elam voiced 8-Ball, the demolitions artist with whom the protagonist escapes at the very beginning of Grand Theft Auto III. Rockstar Games noted Elam’s passing in a brief obituary on its newswire today. “Guru was…
By Owen Good Published April 20, 2010 -
Grand Theft Auto Used To Steer Children Away From Violence? That’s New
Grand Theft Auto, often the whipping-boy for the anti-violent video games movement, is being used by a program in Merseyside, England to help stop children becoming desensitized to violence. Welcome to Bizarro world. Whenever the subject of violent video games arises, Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto franchise seems to be the go-to example of a game…
By Mike Fahey Published April 9, 2010 -
The Amazing Video Game Art Of Patrick Brown
We’ve featured the art of Australian artist Patrick Brown a few times before here on Kotaku. But you know what? When someone has such a dense gallery of amazing video game art, a few times isn’t enough. So here’s a good look at some of Brown’s more recent works. While displaying an unhealthy obsession with…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 9, 2010 -
Rumor: Grand Theft Auto Developers Pressure Magazine, Writer Sacked
A report on news.com.au says that a former editor for Zoo Weekly, an Australian “lads mag”, has been sacked after making public an email from Rockstar, developers of the Grand Theft Auto series, demanding more “favourable coverage” from the writer. Toby McCasker, who used to be deputy entertainment editor for the magazine, says that Rockstar…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 7, 2010 -
Chinatown Wars Accounts for Half of all M-rated DS Sales — All Time
Considering the ESRB lists all of 10 Nintendo DS titles rated M, this isn’t surprising. Still, the publisher of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars bragged the game accounts for more than half of M-rated game sales on that platform. Speaking to MCV, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive addressed Chinatown Wars’ disappointing sales performance by saying…
By Owen Good Published April 2, 2010 -
Smart Lady Sets CNN Straight (Or Tries, To!)
What did CNN decide to do after covering out-of-print Japanese adult computer game Rapelay years after the title was originally released? Follow that up with more blown out of proportion with an expert’s opinion. Unfortunately for CNN, the expert, Grand Theft Childhood co-author Dr. Cheryl Olson knows what she is talking about. “Parents, we’ve got…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 2, 2010 -
The Grand Theft Auto ‘Hot Coffee’ Payout Checks Are In The Mail
If you ever owned a copy of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, specifically the naughty version that contained the crude, digital doggy-styling mission known as “Hot Coffee,” you may already be five U.S. dollars richer. Publisher Take-Two is sending out checks. Those checks are part of publisher Take-Two Interactive’s efforts to “voluntarily fulfill all properly-submitted…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 29, 2010 -
From Productive Writer To Cocaine Addict, Just Add Grand Theft Auto
Tom Bissell was a productive, healthy, and somewhat disciplined young award-winning author, before his passion for Grand Theft Auto helped transform him into a cocaine-addled gaming addict. As a travel writer with an eye for politics and history, Tom Bissell has visited Uzbekistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan, but it wasn’t until his first forays into Vice…
By Mike Fahey Published March 23, 2010 -
BioShock 2 Moves 3 Million, GTA IV Sales Pass 15 Million
2K’s BioShock sequel is off to a good start. Take-Two Interactive announced today that the 2K Marin-developed BioShock 2 has surpassed 3 million in sales since its release on the Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3. Good job, Mr. Bubbles. That’s a positive step in the BioShock 3 direction, with BioShock 2 quickly catching up…
By Michael McWhertor Published March 3, 2010 -
L.A. Noire‘s Lead Actor Says He Skips the Cutscenes
The voice actor for the lead character in L.A. Noire is “Mad Men’s” Aaron Staton, while Staton says he enjoys games, particularly Grand Theft Auto IV, he usually skips over the cutscenes. Staton, who portrays Ken Cosgrove on the AMC series, tells Game Informer in its latest edition that he’s played all of the Grand…
By Owen Good Published March 2, 2010 -
Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City Announced for PS3 and PC
Released on the Xbox 360 in October 2009, Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City is coming to the PlayStation 3 and Games for Windows – LIVE. Episodes from Liberty City is a compilation of the episodic downloadable content for Grand Theft Auto IV and includes expansion packs The Lost and Damned (originally released on…
By Brian Ashcraft Published January 29, 2010 -
+ Muscle, + Stamina, – Fat
Poster seen by reader Reagan M. in a gym – not in Ganton, but New Zealand.
By Owen Good Published January 25, 2010 -
I Guess He’d Already Completed “Violation of Probation”
Guess what game Michael Ray Ekes was playing when the fuzz came to arrest him for stealing a car. Hint: It wasn’t “Possession of Burglary Tools with Intent to Use,” although he was also wanted for that. The Tampa Tribune had a big ol’ time informing us Ekes, 30, was playing hisself some Grand Theft…
By Owen Good Published January 22, 2010 -
Chinatown Wars Spread To The iPhone
As is the way with most iPhone releases, Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars has been set loose upon the App Store with absolutely zero warning or pre-emptive fanfare. One moment, we’re busy getting on with our weekends, the next, we simply receive word that it’s out. Early reports say that the game is as…
By Luke Plunkett Published January 18, 2010