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How The Hobbit’s Incredible CG Visuals Were Made

Wired and effects studio WETA have put together this video showing how many of the big battle (and dragon) sequences for the third Hobbit movie were put together. It’s pretty good! A little infomercial-y in parts, sure, but there are plenty of effects breakdowns, as well some interesting info: the fact that Smaug’s wings were…

You Need A Friggin’ Screwdriver To Change Memory Cards In The New 3DS

The most annoying thing about the new 3DS? You can’t just put in a new SD card, like you could in the old system. Instead of popping off the SD card cover, like you could on the older systems, the new 3DS requires the use of tools. Full disclosure: yesterday, Nintendo provided me with a…

Hope You Didn’t Just Pay $400 For An Xbox One

Did you buy an Xbox One at some point in the past two weeks? Well, Microsoft’s got some fun news for you: they’re dropping the price yet again That’s right, after selling the Xbox One at $350 late last year and then hiking it back up to $400 on January 3, Microsoft is now offering…

The ZX Spectrum is coming back in a radically different form, according to a report from BBC News. The Sinclair Spectrum Vega version of the old-school console is set to arrive in April, with plans afoot to have 1,000 games from the Spectrum back catalog preloaded on the new hardware.

What It’s Like To Play The Hottest Upcoming Games On The New 3DS

Majora’s Mask. Xenoblade Chronicles. Code Name: Steam. Monster Hunter 4: Ultimate. The 3DS’s lineup for the next few months is strong, of that there is no doubt. What’s less certain is whether or not these new games are worth playing on the newest 3DS. Luckily, yesterday I had a chance to test drive all of…

A StarCraft Tournament That’s Only For Robots

We are training robots to excel at outer space future war. In a video game. This is sure to end well for humanity. The Student StarCraft AI Tournament pits 42 bots—all programmed to excel at stars and the crafting thereof (also war)—in a total of 861 games against each other. Each match is 1v1, and…

Dark Souls II Patch Doesn’t Really Fix Multiplayer Problems

Bandai Namco’s has released details on a major patch forDark Souls 2, which both tweaks a bunch of game elements and tries to address a major flaw with the game’s multiplayer. This patch also lays the groundwork for The Scholar of the First Sin, an expansion arriving in April. Some mysterious story elements are being…

Rifick, an avid Super Smash Bros. stage builder who’s made some of the coolest custom levels I’ve seen for the game, just posted a handy tutorial for some of the mode’s trickier parts. Give it a look if you’ve been having any problems with your own custom stages. And let me know if you have…

Twitch Is Trying To Solve Its Music Problem

Twitch kicked up a huge storm last August when it started muting users’ archived footage that used copyrighted music—a sudden and unpleasant change that lead many to accuse the service of taking the worst possible cues from YouTube. Today, the company offered a concrete idea for a new way forward: a music library. The newly-minted…

Suikoden II Has Great Animal Noises

Hey Suikoden II, what sound does the horse make? Oh. OK. And what sound does the chicken make? Good talk. You can reach the author of this post at [email protected] or on Twitter at @jasonschreier

The Hackers and Cheaters Who Break Pokémon 

Nearly every Pokémon player I know has, at one point during their career as a trainer, handled a hacked Pokémon. Even prominent Pokemon players have been suspected of cheating, and in a single competition, The Pokémon Company has caught thousands of cheaters at once. Pokemon’s online bank system, which stores monsters for players, has also…

Official Minecraft Simpsons Somehow Look More Deformed Than Fan Ones

It was only a matter of time before Minecraft put out an official licensed something related to The Simpsons thanks to its new corporate overlords at Microsoft. What’s genuinely surprising about the Simpsons “skin pack” announced today is just how…unsettling it looks. The Simpsons “content packs,” which will cost $1.99, are coming out for the…

Witcher 3 Collector’s Edition, Cheap 4K Display, and More Deals

The Witcher III: Wild Hunt Collector’s Edition is back in stock at Walmart. The regular version of the game is also available for pre-order The excellent (if a bit redundant) Civilization: Beyond Earth is free to play on Steam this weekend, and only $30 to buy outright. Don’t stay up too late. [Steam] Want more…

Chinese Show’s Imitation Of Adventure Time Is Actually Pretty OK

I firmly believe that having more Adventure Time around is a good thing. So what do I think of this Chinese short that looks a hell of a lot like Adventure Time? Well, that it’s pretty damn cool. The name of the short above is The Legend of Lucky Pie, and I’ll be damned if…

Hotline Miami Creators Say Australia Is Wrong To ‘Ban’ Them

The developer and publisher of Hotline Miami 2 have responded to news of the hyper-violent action game being refused classification in Australia, which effectively bans it. Kotaku AU learned a scene implying sexual assault against a female character prompted the decision. The people behind Hotline Miami 2, however, believe the ratings board “incorrectly portrays” this.…

Five New Things In The Majora’s Mask Remake

The weirdest Zelda game, 2000’s Nintendo 64 great The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, is finally coming to the 3DS on February 13th. Yesterday, I had a chance to play the game for a little bit during a Nintendo event in San Francisco, and I got to see some of the changes featured in the…

Today’s selection of articles from Kotaku‘s reader-run community: The Apologist Problem • AniTAY Fall 2014 Seasonal Overview • 5 Shoji Meguro Tracks You Shouldn’t Miss • How Aldnoah.Zero Is Punishing Fans • Pokémon One a Day Series Two: Totodile, Croconaw • Fabulous Fyst’s Trainime Winter Season Impressions Part 2 TAY Classic—TAY Open Forum—Beginner’s Guide To…

The Majora’s Mask 3DS Is Sold Out For Now [UPDATING]

We’re updating this post with all the latest information on the hot limited edition Majora’s Mask New 3DS XL. Updates will be listed in reverse chronological order, with the newest info we have on top. UPDATE 25 (3/24, 1:58pm): It’ll be back at GameStop tomorrow UPDATE 24 (2/13, 5:13pm): And now Target is cancelling orders…

Seven Video Game Scientists, Killed By Their Own Creations

Chances that you end up dead in a video game are really good if you’re one of the inventors or scientists with cutting-edge inventions. If it all happens in a Bioshock game or if this particular genius is the main character’s father, then you can even bet money on their fate. Here’s Outside Xbox and…

Meal Gear Solid Fan-Film Is All About Cardboard Boxes

Instead of “Punished Snake” or dramatic monologues in the rain, Fury Fingers‘ Metal Gear short focuses on another aspect of the series. The enemy soldiers in this one chose the worst possible HQ—a warehouse full of Snake’s favorite infiltration aid: cardboard boxes. There’s behind the scenes footage as well with CG tanks and CG boxes.…