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No, Nintendo Didn’t Call Wind Waker‘s Tutorials ‘Annoying’

An article floating around the web yesterday claimed that Nintendo had sent them a press release calling Zelda: Wind Waker‘s tutorials “annoying” and sailing “a bit of a chore,” but the Zelda makers tell Kotaku that’s not true. Yesterday, the website Operation Rainfall—a blog originally formed as a fan campaign to petition that Nintendo bring…

A BitTorrent study tackles some common misconceptions about video game piracy, mainly finding that that the “previously reported magnitudes in game piracy are too high.” It also (unsurprisingly) finds that there is a correlation between a game’s review score on Metacritic and how much activity that game sees on BitTorrent.

Nintendo: Tom Nook Is ‘Misunderstood’

As I play an advance copy of the newest version of Nintendo’s beloved Animal Crossing games, I’ve again been pondering the nature of Tom Nook, a character who could teach Bowser and Mother Brain a thing or two about tormenting a Nintendo gamer. Tom Nook, if you don’t know, is one of the recurring characters…

Assassin’s Creed IV‘s Protagonist Is Pretty Damn Angry

The newest trailer for this year’s Assassin’s Creed game explains why Edward Kenway’s prowling the Caribbean with vengeance on his mind. Kenway’s cranky voiceover carries much more personality than anything we saw from ACIII‘s Connor. Maybe Ubisoft listened when people complained that Connor was too bland. The clip gives a peek at the tropical environments…

Gran Turismo 6 Comes to PS3 for the Holidays

Gran Turismo 6 is headed for the PlayStation 3 this holiday season. The game will feature 1,200 cars in its fleet at launch, along with seven new racing locations for a total of 33 tracks (with dozens of layouts.) There are plans for additional cars and tracks as downloadable content after release. The UK’s Silverstone…

Screw It, I Can’t Wait To Tell You How Good Bombcats Is

Luke Schneider of Radiangames has created some of the coolest bite-sized shooters I’ve played, starting with Xbox Live Indies and then graduating to mobile platforms. Just check out the Radiangames tag here at Kotaku and see how much well-deserved love we’ve given him. Radiangames latest doesn’t hit iOS until tomorrow, but I can’t wait for…

Add WWE 2K14 to the list of sports video games with no announced Wii U version. (NBA 2K14 is “TBA,” says Take-Two.) No Madden, no FIFA, no NCAA, no NHL. Will the Wii U see any sports titles?

Here’s what’s going on Talk Among Yourselves, our reader-written blog: Part II of Zarynx’s Pokemon photo essay is up . And Odin lets the anime flock know which shows that he TAY anime Club will be watching and talking about for it first cycle. And you can always go join the voices talking about video…

Moneysaver One-Shot: Turtle Beach For $40

Wake up, you’re in the Moneysaver baby, time to save. Looking for the current Moneysaver roundup? Click here Nothing like a no-brainer purchase to start your Wednesday off right. This Turtle Beach Limited Edition Kilo Headset is currently sitting at $40, it’s lowest price ever, and $20 cheaper than the Corsair Vengeance we featured a…

Current Pros Give the Old College Try in NCAA Football Ultimate Team

There will be real football players, using their real names, in the debut of NCAA Football Ultimate Team this year. They just won’t be anyone suiting up on a college football field this fall. A deal with the NFL Players’ Association gives NCAA the rights to use up to 2,500 current NFL stars, pictured in…

This BioShock Infinite Replica Weapon Fell Right Out of the Sky

Last time we saw anything from Vector Sigma Creations’ Weaselhammer, he’d made a weapon from the future in the form of the M-12 Locust submachine gun from the Mass Effect games. This time, he goes back into the past and crafts a swell looking machine gun from BioShock Infinite. The Triple R Repeater wasn’t my…

This Is Some Incredibly Impressive Marker-Free Facial Capture

It’s really amazing how flawlessly this motion capture demo—sharedby yasser3d—works in real-time without markers to capture every tiny movement of the actor’s face. Just look at the wrinkled skin animations at the 1:30 marker, it’s absolutely stunning, also the random facial movements around 3:30. Markerless Facial Motion Capture Demo [YouTube] To contact the author of…

This Game Might Include Every DC Comics Hero (And Villain) Ever

Imagine a video game that includes 33 Batmans (Batmen?), 130 Green Lanterns and even Aztek The Ultimate Man. Imagine a game that, its creators say, includes ever super-powered hero or villain in DC Comics’ nearly 80-year history. That game is real. It’s scheduled for a fall release. The game goes by the name Scribblenauts Unmasked:…

Okay, This Is A Rather Cool Way To Link Defiance Game and Show

I’ve been skeptical about the extent that SyFy’s Defiance television show would be interacting with Trion Worlds’ Defiance MMO, but this is pretty cool. This is Tiio Horn as Rynn, a member of the Irathient race that found herself in hot water in the TV series over the past two episodes. She’ll be spending a…

Obscure And Awesome Japanese Video Games Now In Motion

It’s relatively easier to find hidden video game gems than it was back in the pre-internet days. Now, there are fantastic sites, such as Obscure Video Games, dedicated to weird old games that most people have forgotten about. It’s still amazing how many cool, undiscovered games are out there. Obscure Video Games not only features…

Classic 1994 Platformer Putty Squad Is Getting A Modernized Remake

System 3, the developers behind this remake—and the original early nineties games—are promising not only a new coat of paint, but also a complete overhaul of the game to better fit the expectations of 2013’s gaming public. Above’s a teaser to give you an idea what it looks like. Putty Squad is coming out this…

Among the Sleep Has A Playable Alpha, and It’s Terrifying

First-person horror game/toddler simulator Among the Sleep now has a playable alpha you can try out. It starts out innocently enough, with your mum singing you to sleep, but from there, it goes downhill. Rapidly. Also, their Kickstarter managed to hit its funding goal. Huzzah!

Here’s A Huge Truck Driving Through Mud. But With Excellent Physics!

Oovee Game Studios took to Kickstarter to ask for help with creating Spintires, their off-road driving game which, while nowhere near done, already looks amazing. Oovee’ Spintires will feature missions taking place in eighties Russia where you, as a truck driver, are tasked with driving cargo from point A to point B. The better you…

This New Pokémon 3DS XL Looks Like Grandma’s Sofa

But that’s okay! Because this Eevee themed 3DS XL is still really cute—and interesting looking. Joining the previously released Pikachu 3DS XL, the Eevee themed one is also limited edition and sold only via the Pokémon Center stores in Sapporo, Tohoku, Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, and Fukuoka. Apparently, this is the first image of the…

New Star Wars Games Might Bring Back Old Series

Despite big layoffs in other areas, publisher Electronic Arts is opening a brand new office in Los Angeles for Battlefield developers DICE, the Wall Street Journal reports. The office isn’t a development studio per se; it’s there to “help with recruiting talent” for the company’s upcoming Star Wars games, which the report says are still…