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PlayStation Network is Down Tomorrow; Don’t Worry, This is Intentional
As PlayStation Network outages this time of year may arouse fears and bad memories, Sony wants everyone to know a 12-hour blackout tomorrow is entirely intentional, and necessary for “routine scheduled maintenance.” The PSN outrage will last from 9 am U.S. Eastern time until about 10 p.m., spanning about 13 hours. “During much of this…
By Owen Good Published April 15, 2012 -
Coloring Outside the Lines of Sports Video Games’ Pretty Picture
Brent Nielsen has a corner office catching 270 degrees of Florida sunshine, and his face lights up whenever you tell him a good golf story. Especially one that happened inside the game he makes, Tiger Woods PGA Tour. “OK, so, I’m a stroke back of Tiger on No. 17 at Augusta,” I open. Nielsen has…
By Owen Good Published April 15, 2012 -
PAX Ejection
This news happened a little late for it to be properly parodied last week, but there’s no way we’re going to let it pass without a fight this week. A couple of ejections at PAX East seem to be fertile grounds for a ‘shop parody, and if they aren’t, well, we’ve got a cosplaying B.A.…
By Owen Good Published April 15, 2012 -
Two Monkeys Play Angry Birds Space—and One of Them Gets Three Stars
These two capuchin monkeys, Sasha and Thor, are mascots for Houston’s Gallery Furniture. Here, some brave iPad owner handed them Angry Birds Space to play. Not only did they not completely break the device, Thor even three-starred a level. See for yourself in the video above. Their Angry Birds technique is remarkably similar to mine,…
By Owen Good Published April 15, 2012 -
Check Out What’s New On Off-Kilter, Our Very Own Comedy Section
Brought to you every Monday, from 3:30pm-5pm (EST), Kotaku ventures to lighten your spirits in Off Kilter. Helmed by Kotaku‘s own Mike Fahey, we bring you funny moments in games, silly fan fiction, and sometimes even the most ridiculous stock photos that make paltry attempts at portraying gamers. And then sometimes Fahey will eat something…
By Tina Amini Published April 15, 2012 -
Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves
Have you done your taxes yet? Me either. The good news is not only do we have an extra day because April 15 falls on a Sunday, we have an extra two days because tomorrow is Emancipation Day, which is an official holiday in the District of Columbia. Has been since 2005. That means for…
By Owen Good Published April 15, 2012 -
Inflata-Tank Commander: The Winners
A plushy piece of mechanized armor at PAX East rolled into the ‘Shop Contest last week, seeking orders from our talented artists. Yes, there’s a Tiananmen Square reference inside, but we also have 19 other winners, including first-timer hampstasandwich! Element (5) gets us started with the flying-tanks glitch in Battlefield. JimThePea (8) supplies the obligatory…
By Owen Good Published April 14, 2012 -
An Exercise Bike is the Controller for this Mario Kart Mod
Now, this is exergaming with a purpose. Modder Brent Smith of Canada rigged an old exercise bike with some sensors, switches, transistors, and the indispensable Arduino microcontroller, turning the whole thing into a Super Nintendo controller for use in Mario Kart. Pedaling at a certain rate equals holding down the A button for acceleration, and…
By Owen Good Published April 14, 2012 -
Space Quest Creators Reunite and Promise a New “Spaceventure”
Mark Crowe and Scott Murphy, creators of the Space Quest series of adventure games by Sierra Online, today announced they were gettin’ the band back together, under the (Two) “Guys from Andromeda” nickname they coined for themselves so long ago. There isn’t much yet to announce in the way of funding, game direction or details,…
By Owen Good Published April 14, 2012 -
This Sure Does Look Like a Tease of SSX Tricky
Yesterday, the official Facebook page for SSX tossed up that splash image, and the deliberately-worded caption underneath sounds very much like SSX Tricky has a hand in the snowboarding title’s upcoming DLC release. “SSX fans have shown their love for the game’s rich history,” the game’s makers said. “We love that history as well, and…
By Owen Good Published April 14, 2012 -
Turn a GameCube into a Handheld Thanks to the Magic of Tupperware
This Tupperware cereal container (I think that’s what it is) forms the casing for a fully-functional handheld Nintendo GameCube built by user CKmods of YouTube. You can pop the top off it to get to the guts of the machine, but I wouldn’t advise laying the thing down on its back. That’s because the disc…
By Owen Good Published April 14, 2012 -
The Ability to Destroy a Planet is Insignificant Next to the Power of this LEGO Star Wars Street Organ
This enormous cylinder made of LEGO may look like a Katamari wad that rolled through Hoth, Naboo and the Death Star, but it’s actually a drum driving a synthesizer, player-piano style, that plays the main Star Wars theme. As you can see, the middle section and its structures are what appear to be driving the…
By Owen Good Published April 14, 2012 -
Live, Without a Net, Prototype 2‘s Latest Trailer Falls from a Rooftop
There is no gameplay in this Prototype 2 trailer, which went out late Friday. But there is some rather badass live action, explaining the backstory of protagonist James Heller. He is burning alive with the Blacklight virus—and his desire for revenge upon Alex Mercer. Prototype 2 arrives April 24. If you’re wondering about the vocals,…
By Owen Good Published April 14, 2012 -
Taking a 3DS with You Inside the Louvre is Like Actually Being Inside the Louvre
As mentioned back in December, the audio guides used by the Louvre, one of the most famous museums in the world, were to be replaced this spring by the Nintendo 3DS, using content programmed by Nintendo. This promotional video shows the device in action. I may be missing the point, but beyond the narration explaining…
By Owen Good Published April 14, 2012 -
Four Base Hits
A foursome of March releases including, finally, MLB 12 The Show have all seen $10 price cuts, leading us into this week’s edition of The Moneysaver. If this bunch doesn’t appeal to you, a sale on PC downloads ends today, as another one on Kinect games begins. There are more than 70 deals, incentives and…
By Owen Good Published April 14, 2012 -
Valve is Working on “Wearable Computing” (Among Other Things)
In a lengthy and detailed post on what looks like an interesting new “employee blog” section of the company’s site, Valve’s Michael Abrash, a very smart man, has outlined a project he’s working on at the games developer and online network operator: wearable computing. Yup. Computers you can wear. Think Google’s Glasses, only, made by…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 14, 2012 -
The Best of Kotaku, This Week
Welcome to the weekend round-up of everything Kotaku that is awesome. While I was away you got some furry images from Fahey. I hope you enjoyed that. But I’m back with an image of Metal Gear Kirby. Solid Kirby? Kirby Snake? Something like that. As usual, we hit the Best Comment From The Community before…
By Tina Amini Published April 14, 2012 -
Catch the First Proper Trailer for Pokemon Black &White 2
Here, take a look at the debut gameplay trailer for upcoming Pokemon sequels Black & White 2 on the DS, showing some of the new trainers in action. Both games will be out in Japan on June 23, and in the US and Europe sometime in the Fall. [thanks Sam!]
By Luke Plunkett Published April 13, 2012 -
Super Comfy Movie-Theater Seating That You Can Fall Asleep In
Welcome to your open thread, Kotaku! And happy Friday the 13th! Since not everyone seemed to appreciate the Titanic movie-going experience I posted the last time I did open thread, I have a new movie theater suggestion for those looking more for comfort than experience. You’ll just have to go all the way to Malaysia…
By Tina Amini Published April 13, 2012 -
Remembering PAX East, in Splashes of Black and White
PAX is always a good time. You run into old friends, and meet new ones. You check out games before release, attend concerts featuring your favorite chiptunes bands, feast your eyes on impressive cosplayers, and play games and tournaments with strangers that share your passion. We saw a ton of this and more, but it’s…
By Tina Amini Published April 13, 2012