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Fake Gamers of the Week: A Couple Too Beautiful For This World
Joy. Bliss. Serenity. It’s difficult, almost impossible to believe that two human beings could achieve such eternal happiness, such unequivocal euphoria. Such… perfection. But the truth, dear readers, the truth is that this couple—this beautiful, radiant couple—is no couple at all. These two ecstatic video gamers died a long time ago. And now they’re in…
By Jason Schreier Published April 23, 2012 -
Norway Mass Murderer Was ‘Unremarkable,’ Says Former World of Warcraft Guildmate
The Norwegian mass-murderer responsible for the deaths of 77 people was “unremarkable” and “not very opinionated,” one of his World of Warcraft guildmates has informed Kotaku Last week, we profiled the virtual life of Anders Behring Breivik, who says at one point he spent an entire year playing Blizzard’s massively multiplayer online role-playing game for…
By Jason Schreier Published April 23, 2012 -
Game Developer Recreates the Solar System While Looking for Work
Chris Albeluhn’s out of work, like all too many Americans. But instead of wasting time on Facebook or sleeping until 3 p.m. like I used to do when between jobs, Albeluhn made an interactive 3D map of the universe using the popular Unreal Engine. The out-of-work developer started raising funds on IndieGoGo and currently has…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 23, 2012 -
Nearly 40% Of The US Population Enjoys Free-To-Play Games, And Bunches Of Them Pay
Free-to-play games are all the rage here in 2012. With MMOs, social games, and mobile games leading the way, some analysts see the model as the inevitable wave of the future across genres. And given how very well freemium games seem to be doing, they might just be right. The NPD analyst group’s newest report…
By Kate Cox Published April 23, 2012 -
Why the PlayStation Vita Needs—But Won’t Get—a Price Cut
Even when you’re at a a fan convention packed with wall-to-wall gamers, it can be hard to find people playing Sony’s newest handheld. The fact that the Vita is so difficult to spot is just one bit of anecdotal evidence that the gaming portable is having a rough time. But does this mean it’s time…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 23, 2012 -
Another Day, Another Death Threat From Gamers to The People Who Make Video Games
“The very first death threat I got was when we decided not to support dedicated servers in Modern Warfare 2,” Robert Bowling, the former public face for the Call of Duty series, recently told me. That was in 2009. He’s had many more since, including batches of them every month throughout last year. “They were…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 23, 2012 -
If You Don’t Mind Used, the PS Vita is Super Cheap at Amazon
Our spies at Dealzon say “The PS Vita must be getting a good volume of returns at Amazon for them to offer such a low drop in pricing for used models.” The WiFi model, refurbished is $162.49, free shipping. The cheapest you find it new is $250.
By Owen Good Published April 23, 2012 -
One Intrepid Indie Team Takes On Convention Booth-Building
Unknown Worlds, creators of Natural Selection were at PAX East this year. It was their first experience at PAX, and with that comes a lot of lessons. A bunch of programmers had to play carpenter that weekend to set up their presentation booth before a rush of gamers came to try their games. In the…
By Tina Amini Published April 23, 2012 -
In This Deer Hunter Game, You Don’t Play Russian Roulette. You Shoot Deer!
I’ve never been deer hunting. The words alone don’t even evoke images of wearing orange vests and shooting animals, but rather, images of Christopher Walkin playing Russian roulette. Oh yes, there is deer hunting in that movie, but I don’t really remember it. Does anyone? So going into Deer Hunter Reloaded, I was subconsciously expecting…
By Brian Ashcraft Published April 23, 2012 -
Mega64 Takes Skyward Sword Motion Control to the Streets
Normally comedy team Mega64 deploys just one of its members into public to act as a video game character. For The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword they sent two: one to be Link, the other to control Link. And you thought motion control looked silly in your living room. SKYWARD SWORDS AND SHIFTY SHIRTS!! [Mega64]
By Mike Fahey Published April 23, 2012 -
Monday Watch This, Play This
Watch! Link is difficult to control on the Wiimote. Watch! First-time PAX exhibitors tackle booth-building. Play! Ashcraft shoots Bambi in Deer Hunter Reloaded. Watch! Be careful of which Batman you invite to your kid’s birthday party.
By Tina Amini Published April 23, 2012 -
Four-Year-Old Boy Kills His Father After Not Getting a PlayStation
A preschool-aged boy in Saudi Arabia reportedly fatally shot his father this weekend because of a PlayStation. The AFP reports that according to Arabic-language press, the boy, about four-and-a-half years old, had asked his father to buy him a PlayStation of some variety. When his father returned without a Sony device in hand, the child…
By Kate Cox Published April 23, 2012 -
Designers Behind BioShock, Dragon Age, And Fallout Spill Their Game Writing Secrets
You’ve already read Kate’s summary of “Plot vs. Play,” the PAX East panel about storytelling in video games, but now you can watch the whole thing courtesy Mash Those Buttons From right to left: Ben Gilbert (Reporter, Joystiq), David Gaider (Senior Writer, BioWare), Chris Avellone (Creative Director, Obsidian), Ken Levine (Creative Director, Irrational Games), Jason…
By Jason Schreier Published April 23, 2012 -
Here’s What You’ll Need to Make Max Payne 3 Look This Good on Your PC
Now, PC gamers, you might be mad that you’ll have to wait a few weeks after the console release to get Max Payne 3 on your screens. But, as is often the case, Rockstar’s noir threequel finds its most beauteous iteration on the personal computing platform. Look at those crow’s-feet on Max’s eyes! The arm…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 23, 2012 -
Talk Amongst Yourselves
How was your weekend, dear readers? Did some stuff you need to confess to total strangers? You’ve come to the right place! Welcome to Kotaku’s official forum, known affectionately as Talk Amongst Yourselves. This is the place where we gather on a daily basis to discuss all things video game and existential. Want to talk…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 23, 2012 -
Max Payne 3 Multiplayer Is Good, Essential and Rockstar’s Boldest Move In Years
There must be something about the number three that signals that Rockstar Games is done messing around and is about to get serious. Grand Theft Auto III? That 2001 masterwork let the world know that Rockstar was ready to take over single-player video gaming. Eleven years later comes another “three” (they don’t do many of…
By Stephen Totilo Published April 23, 2012 -
I Am One of Those Horrible Neglectful MMO-Playing Parents
Whenever I post a story about a parent neglecting their children while playing a massively-multiplayer online role-playing game I can’t hide my disgust for that sort of person, so you can imagine how I felt about myself this weekend when my two ten-month-old children left the house in the middle of a boss fight. I…
By Mike Fahey Published April 23, 2012 -
The Goriest Video Game Deaths You’ll See All Year, In Less Than a Minute
If you’re the kind of person who gets grossed out easily, you might want to plan on ignoring Sniper Elite 2. That’s because the World War II shooter shows you exactly what it looks when a bullet enters a skull. Or a heart. Or male reproductive organs. We captured some of the disturbingly detailed kills—except…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 23, 2012 -
“Harley Quinn’s Revenge” Coming With the Batman: Arkham City Game of the Year Edition
As long rumored, the GOTY edition of the Dark Knight’s latest adventure will feature all-new story-based content focusing on Harley Quinn, the homicidal clown-girl that keeps the Joker warm at night. It comes with all of the previous DLC—which focused on new challenge maps, alternate outfits and playable outfits—and also includes a download code for…
By Evan Narcisse Published April 23, 2012
