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Here’s Gears of War‘s Top Designer Going Bald for a Good Cause

I may be bald, but Cliff Bleszinski is both unemployed and bald. But I wouldn’t worry about the former lead designer of the Gears of War series. He’s been doing alright for himself since leaving Epic Games, and this weekend he pulled in enough dough—$15,000, the highest contributor in this fundraiser—to make good on a…

College Athletes are More Than a Number, and Everyone Knows It

For many sports fans, a number is as identifiable as a name. Growing up far away from a professional team, those numbers didn’t really imprint on me until I covered football for four years at college. Ever since, I remember uniform numerals not with a name, but as a name. No. 85? Carl Reeves, one…

A 20-minute chunk of gameplay from The Elder Scrolls Online MMO leaked overnight, and was quickly taken down from YouTube on ZeniMax Media’s orders. PCGamer, however, has the clip if you want to see it. Early verdicts are not good.

Concerned Lawmaker Proposes Banning Video Games That Do Not Exist

Following Massachusetts’ successful crackdown on Time Crisis and Lethal Enforcers, a New Jersey lawmaker is also looking to make the state’s beautiful and historic Turnpike safe from light-gun games no one plays anymore. Except the language of the law she has in mind has a teeny tiny problem that renders it entirely meaningless. Here it…

Kotaku Shop Contest: Le Chateau What If

Earlier this week we heard the unusual story of the French prisoner whose PS3 was banned because of its consumer-friendly onboard WiFi. Fahey was pressed for time when he ‘shopped our lead image—so pressed that I didn’t notice that what I’d given him had someone’s stupid watermark in it. So by crowdsourcing this to the…

Bring on Sandman with a Mega Man Sleep Hoodie and Mega Buster Pillow

Capcom is now taking preorders for this Mega Man sleep set (yet only through its Japan site, for now) that will run about $60 once it arrives in the summer. It’s a brilliant idea, and I expect to see a ton of these running around Comic-Con. What might also be a good idea is to…

Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: The Bad Guys: The Winners

Is Electronic Arts the worst company in America? It is once its secret leaders and evil plans are laid bare by the Kotaku ‘Shop Contest. This week’s finalists send a dozen strongly worded messages to corporate America, led by overall No. 1 arniejolt, the first-ever three-time finalist in a single week. Editor’s Note: Wiegraf, you…

Is the Decision to Buy Call of Duty or Battlefield a Moral Choice?

Before you skip everything in this video and run straight to the comments, understand the question: Many (not “most”; not “all”) shooter video games feature licensed, real-world firearms. Gunmakers are compensated for the appearance of their brands as much as the NFL Players Association is paid for its members appearing in Madden. Does this present…

If you can’t sign into Xbox Live, it’s not because of your home networking setup. Microsoft acknowledges the problem and says they are looking into it.

Dark Souls got a “half-assed” PC port, said the game’s director himself. He promises that Dark Souls 2 “will definitely put more priority on the PC.”

In the Video Game World of Retail, No One Walks Out the Door Unless They’re Dissatisfied

Cracked offers a spot-on satirization of the miserable buyer/miserable seller relationship fostered by video gaming’s simplified retail economies. However, it overlooks some enormous bargains you can find in real estate. For example, an entire golf course for $5. Why Shopping in a Video Game Universe Sucks [Cracked]

Delayed XCOM Shooter’s Official Site and Videos Taken Offline

The official web presence for the shooter/RPG variant of XCOM, a reboot concept that never seemed to capture gamers’ imagination from the moment it was announced in 2010 through its E3 2011 appearance, and several delays thereafter, has been taken down and, further, the game’s YouTube videos also have been set to private. 2K Games…

The physical release of Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition has been delayed about a month, from April 30 to June 4. Major Nelson said the delay is necessary “to include the very latest content.”

MMA Contender Trained for His Title Shot with Tekken

Tonight, Uriah Hall faces Kelvin Gastelum in the middleweight final of The Ultimate Fighter. Hall is an up-and-comer in top flight mixed martial arts, thought to be a contender in a middleweight division whose title holder is Anderson Silva, one of the best fighters in the world. But how Hall got to this stage is…

Watch PSY’s Newest Music Video, the Follow Up to “Gangnam Style”

Yesterday, Kotaku posted PSY’s newest song, “Gentleman”. And today, here’s the video, which also includes PSY’s latest dance. Have a look.

The Best Of Kotaku, Mass Effect Week Edition

It was Mass Effect Week here at Kotaku. We, uh, we might’ve overdone it a bit! It’s the first time we’ve tried a themed week and we probably got a bit too excited at the prospect of sharing all of our thoughts with you, in light of the conclusion of the trilogy with the release…

A Look At The Crazy (And Not Totally Accurate) Science In BioShock Infinite

Pay attention, there will be a quiz at the end. No but seriously though: check out this educational video by outsidexbox, which looks at quantum mechanics, and how it relates to BioShock Infinite. Or in other words, the science behind stuff in BioShock Infinite (like floating cities, or multiple universes), along with a look at…

Hey Look, It’s A Dude Blowing Up A Wii U With C4

The headline says it all—the guys at Rated RR have gone ahead and blown up a Wii U using C4 plastic explosive. (Though first, they shot the Wii U controller with a Barrett MRAD sniper rifle.) They’ve filmed it all in slow-motion. Enjoy. (Thanks, Richard.)

Here’s a new trailer for State of Decay, a ridiculously ambitious RTS/shooter/zombie survival game that will be out this June for XBLA.

Game Developers Really Need To Stop Letting Teenage Boys Design Their Characters

This is the newest trailer for Dragon’s Crown, the Vanillaware-developed game that will be out this year for PS3 and Vita. It features the sorceress, one character from the game. As you can see, the sorceress was designed by a 14-year-old boy. Perhaps game development studios should stop hiring teenagers? At least they’re cheap, I…