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Why is Luigi green? “…because of memory limitations, the second character had to be identical to the first character in appearance,” says Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto. “And so we looked at that and said, ‘Well even if we have the same character, we could potentially change the color of the character.’ But again we were…

The Beautiful Alien Worlds of Mass Effect

Three games and a truckload of books, comics and supporting material supplied the Mass Effect universe with heaps of amazing-looking alien planets, moons and space stations. Over the course of the trilogy, we visited planet-sized cities, tropical beaches, and space-stations the size of moons. Some visits were short, others lengthy, but each place we visited…

Here’s the newest trailer for Animal Crossing: New Leaf, which comes out for 3DS on June 9. It’s… relaxing.

When I Step Out The Door, My 3DS Is As Essential As My Phone

The plan was simple: we would meet on the hotel’s party floor and have a good time. Simple, and yet not quite what happened. My friends got to the hotel and found out the party floor was convention pass-only, and there was no way to buy a pass that late at night. We hung out…

One Last Tribute, Before Commander Shepard Is Gone Forever

Commander Shepard, hero of the Citadel, last hope of humanity, could well spend the rest of his or her life rotting on a hard drive. With most games, the characters live on well after people have stopped playing the game, even if the gaming systems on which they first appeared have long since broken or…

Welcome To Mass Effect Week At Kotaku!

The galaxy has been saved; the battle with the Reapers has been won. The last robot zombie has been obliterated, and the final sexy alien has been romanced. The Mass Effect trilogy has ended. What a journey it’s been. With the recent release of the Citadel downloadable add-on, the current era of Mass Effect drew…

Here’s your round-up of Durango rumors for today: Bloomberg says the next Xbox won’t be backwards-compatible, and The Verge‘s Microsoft expert Tom Warren confirms a Paul Thurrott report that Microsoft plans to announce their new console on May 21

Those Addicted to Video Games Should Visit a Slaughterhouse on Kill Day, Says Unhinged Caller

I enjoy public broadcasting and I value public affairs programming, but I reach for the knob as soon as a political show brings in callers. Rarely are they interested in continuing a discussion or offering a point that starts a new one. They’re more likely to disguise an opinion as a question, show off in…

The Moneysaver: Raid The Tombs, Not Your Wallet

Lara Croft has gone back to her beginnings and you can join her for a discounted fee on both consoles and PC. Hit the jump to take the plunge. In the New York Times, Kotaku’s Stephen Totilo called Tomb Raider “…stunning to look at and satisfying to play.” Lara’s vulnerability may be short-lived, but her…

Months after fan voting ended, you can finally download and print the alternate covers for BioShock Infinite over at Irrational Games’ website

These Cosplayers Are Sick Of Being Treated Like Pieces Of Meat

A huge problem in the cosplay community is harassment: some people see cosplayers and assume that because they’re dressed up, they no longer get a say in what happens to their body. Hence, some cosplayers have horror stories about being inappropriately touched or verbally abused, particularly those that dress “provocatively.” In response, the folks at…

Life After Xbox

Over the weekend, I donated my Xbox 360 Elite to Goodwill. It represented a time in my life as a developer that I’m not overly proud about living. I worked for a couple years designing games at Microsoft. It is honestly difficult to say the exact group I was in since the organization was hit…

Director Shane Carruth—the man behind cult favorite indie films Primer and Upstream Color—names Portal and Grand Theft Auto IV as influences on his work in a profile on Vulture. As video game players become creators in other mediums, this kind of thing becomes less surprising. But it’s still cool to see.

Survey Hints EA Sports’ Canada Studio is Back to Working on NBA Games

Well, this is strange. Chris Sanner of Operation Sports spotted a survey looking for people in the Vancouver area to serve in a focus group on a “New NBA Concept.” EA Canada, in nearby Burnaby, for years was the studio responsible for the label’s NBA products, right up to the ignominious cancellation of NBA Elite…

Want Your Vita Game To Be A Best-Seller? Just Don’t Tell Anyone It Exists.

Last month, the Japanese publisher Tecmo Koei released the Vita version of Japanese role-playing game Atelier Totori: The Adventurer of Arland. They told nobody that it was out. In an e-mail to Kotaku at the time, one of Tecmo Koei’s PR representatives joked that this was a “new tactic to get the community involved and…

Navi Actually Sounds Adorable in This Catchy Zelda Music Video

A nice choice of music and some slick animation by Mélissa Goudjil make this Legend of Zelda video a cheerful way to start the week. The music is “Humbug” by Goldfish. Hey, Listen! [Mélissa Goudjil]

What video games did you play over the weekend? Go join the voices talking about video games and life in Talk Amongst Yourselves, our reader-written blog.

Witness How Much BioShock Infinite Has Changed Over The Past Few Years

(Warning: the following video contains spoilers for BioShock Infinite.) Perhaps you remember seeing BioShock Infinite at E3 2011. What you might not remember is that it looked totally different. Yes, the critically-acclaimed shooter has changed quite a bit over the past couple of years. Blame it on the rigors of development, or maybe it’s just…

After a botched debut, Marvel’s #1 promotion—which offers 700 free first issues from the comics publisher’s archives—is coming back this week. Registration ends tomorrow so hop to it, true believers.

The Estranged Creator of Dark Age of Camelot is Making His Own Damn Dark Age of Camelot

As co-founder and former president/CEO of Mythic Entertainment. Mark Jacobs introduced the online multiplayer world to the concept of realm-vs.-realm combat with 1999’s Darkness Falls. That MUD-style game paved the way for Dark Age of Camelot, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game that focused on the conflict between three fantasy realms — humans, elves and…