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What’s the Gray Market Like for the Wii U? Check Back After Black Friday
As of this writing there are at least 630 Wii Us listed on eBay for minimum bids or buy-it-now prices of $520 or more. Not a one of them has any takers. Even though it took less than a day for GameStop to sell out its preorder allotment, even though the retailer claims a waiting…
By Owen Good -
Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Spike This Award
That’s Samuel L. Jackson in a publicity shot for the Video Game Awards, which he’ll be hosting in less than three weeks on Spike. I can think of a thousand things Jules might rather be holding, and so can you, probably. So let’s get going with this week’s ‘Shop Contest, featuring a special guest exploitable.…
By Owen Good -
Wii U Owners Bummed Out By Huge Firmware Update
That’s a progress bar 1/8th full after 30 minutes—a four-hour process at this rate—for the Wii U’s infamous firmware update, said to be 5 gigabytes (according to Geoff Keighley of GameTrailers TV, and repeated by numerous others). Sony, you are officially off the hook with the PS3’s interminable, poorly timed and mandatory system updates. It’s…
By Owen Good -
Nintendo’s Miiverse Dreams of a Civilized, Spoiler-Free Online Community
Welcome to the Miiverse, the online community launching today with the midnight release of Nintendo’s Wii U, but before you can access it, you must read through the Miiverse Code of Conduct, portions of which may have been paraphrased from Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure. Let’s stroll through it, shall we? Welcome to the Miiverse,…
By Mike Fahey -
Ninja Gaiden III on Wii U: Well, It Sucks Less.
When Ninja Gaiden III came out, I was none too kind to it. As a long standing fan of the franchise, it just did too many questionable things: QTE’s in combat, Long-winded villains, and an uncomfortable scene in which you’re forced to murder somebody while he pleads for his life and the welfare of his…
By Chris Person -
Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Icing on the Chief: The Winners
Master Chief said it with cake when Halo 4 launched, though what exactly it says when he’s carving into his own noggin, I have no idea. That’s where our ‘Shop artists were supposed to supply a translation. We’ve got all the finalists above, plus overall No. 1 sciteach. GiantBoyDetective (3) had the best of the…
By Owen Good -
More Than a Million People Beat Halo 4‘s Campaign in the First Five Days of Its Release
In the first five days since Halo 4‘s release on Nov. 6, 1,116,882 people completed the game’s campaign, or roughly one out of every four persons who played campaign at some point in that span. Some 4.5 billion kills were recorded by all these players, roughly two-thirds of the projected population of Earth. About 13.5…
By Owen Good -
THQ Gets Tattooed by Lawsuit
If you think you’ve had a rough couple of weeks, pour one out for THQ. Its stock price did a swan dive on Nov. 5, the same day of a disastrous earnings call that sent up rumors the publisher is trying to sell itself off. Then word passed it was in default on a $50…
By Owen Good -
Sony and Microsoft Could Have Killed the Wii Long Before It Would Save Nintendo
The midnight launch of the Wii U is a perfect time to reflect on the craze, six years ago, surrounding its predecessor, and the industry-transforming success of the Wii. And there really is no finer story you could read about that than what Rob Crossley has written for CVG. Microsoft and Sony both had their…
By Owen Good -
Bad Port or Bad Hardware? We’re Already Hearing Complaints About Wii U Visuals.
As Nintendo’s first high definition console, Wii U will join the neverending, nothing-really-proven debate between the PS3 and the Xbox 360 over which console’s visuals for whatever multiplatform game are superior. Some people are convinced it’s a bad port, others are convinced it proves inferior hardware. It doesn’t sound like Mass Effect 3 or Ninja…
By Owen Good -
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Removed from Steam Over Music Licensing
When Grand Theft Auto: Vice City disappeared from Steam’s marketplace a few days ago, some suspected it was because of the game’s upcoming release for iOS devices. Instead, what appears to be a lapsed license for one of the songs appearing in the game has forced the takedown, until the matter is resolved. Gaming Blend…
By Owen Good -
Jimmy Fallon is No Match for Reggie in Metroid Blast
Before working the line at Nintendo World’s Wii U campout, Nintendo of America Reggie Fils-Aime went back on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon to show off the new console and play a couple of games, Metroid Blast in NintendoLand, and New Super Mario Bros. U. Reggie’s good at both games, which is refreshing to see;…
By Owen Good
