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Would You Play Kinect Games In The Arcade?
The Game Gate VU is an arcade cabinet that houses an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 – a coin-op kiosk, more or less, with some other features. It’s now been outfitted for Kinect. Anybody seen one of these yet? BMI Gaming, a heavyweight distributor of arcade machines, lists the unit for $4,875 – with a…
By Owen Good Published January 14, 2011 -
The Xbox 360 Is Scarce Right Now, Due To ‘Viral’ Kinect Effect
Microsoft warned this week that getting your hands on a new Xbox 360 right now may be more difficult than normal. You can blame Kinect‘s eight million sales for part of that, says Microsoft. This is essentially Microsoft saying “Bad news, guys: we had a totally awesome Christmas. Sorry!” The Xbox maker boasted at CES…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 14, 2011 -
Watch Me Unbox Batman And The Game He Comes With
After four days of impassable, ice-covered roads the mail finally made it through, and the Batman statue Sony Online Entertainment sent has arrived. Can you believe it came with DC Universe Online packed inside? At least it arrived before the weekend, right? I was certain the roads around my neighborhood wouldn’t be clear until Monday…
By Mike Fahey Published January 14, 2011 -
The Terrorist Zombie Is Not The Ultimate Enemy Of Our Times
Who do we the people of the 21st century fear? In real life, it’s the terrorists. In movies and TV, it’s zombies. The combination of the two should be the perfect bad guy of our modern era. It’s not. The iPad/iPhone game Terrorist Zombies has a catchy title and a promising concept, but this is…
By Stephen Totilo Published January 14, 2011 -
Did You Know There Was Crazy Duck Racing In Shenmue II?
Why did Sega’s beloved and ambitious Shenmue series fail to progress beyond its second game? Because Sega never really promoted one of Shenmue II’s most spectacular features: underground duck racing. From the man who brought you video game racing classics like Out Run and Super Hang-On comes Shenmue II’s duck racing mini-game, a component of…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 14, 2011 -
Lovers’ Quarrel Ends With A Face Full Of Wii
An Oregon couple discovered an unexpected benefit of being a Wii gamer earlier this week: When your drunken girlfriend hurls the console in your face, it does less damage than an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. According to her boyfriend, 31-year-old Rebecca Varina Sloskowski was intoxicated on the evening of January 10, so he left…
By Mike Fahey Published January 14, 2011 -
Play Gran Turismo® 5 Online for the Chance to Become a Pro Racecar Driver
Thousands will enter, but only one will live the dream. Register for GT Academy to compete in a series of Gran Turismo® 5 online time trials for a chance to become a real professional racecar driver. After you register, race one of the pre-selected Nissan vehicles on Gran Turismo 5 tracks. This is where it…
By Gawkercreative Published January 14, 2011 -
What Are You Playing This Weekend?
I’ll be up to my plastic button eyes in LittleBigPlanet 2 this weekend, playing, creating, maybe even sharing a thing or two with Sackboy and friends. From what I’ve played of LittleBigPlanet 2 so far, mainly an hour long preview build of the game, I’m liking it much more than the first, which I lost…
By Michael McWhertor Published January 14, 2011 -
This Xbox Indie Combines Rhythm And Role-Playing
Puzzle Quest taught us how to cast spells by matching brightly colored gems. Iridium Studios’ Xbox Live Indie game Sequence will teach us how to wield the awesome power of dance. Due out in March in Xbox Live’s indie games section, Sequence combines the rhythm action of Dance Dance Revolution with the magic and combat…
By Mike Fahey Published January 14, 2011 -
Scientists Can Predict Your Gaming Skills By Scanning Your Head
Do you suck at StarCraft II? Do the intricate combo moves of Street Fighter escape you? Maybe you need an MRI. Researchers have found a method for scanning the brain that could predict how well you play video games. Some of us are just better gamers than other. Mind you I’m not putting myself in…
By Mike Fahey Published January 14, 2011 -
Dead Space 2 Doesn’t Disappoint
Dead Space 2 seems every bit as frightening, as innovative as the original. Developers Visceral Games still lean heavily, and quite successfully, on clever use of lighting and sound to create a constant tension in the creepy, space shooter. While you still play as space engineer Isaac Clarke, this time around the search for answers…
By Brian Crecente Published January 14, 2011 -
This Dog Is One Fierce Son Of An Xbox
This is Kapone, a dog that is doing very well learning to protect its owners. Kapone’s father is Xbox, a prize-winning German Shepherd a dog whose owner boasts is a North American champ. Let’s back up a second. In Canada, a group called Dei Precision German Shepherds is proudly raising the now five-year-old German Shepherd…
By Stephen Totilo Published January 14, 2011 -
Jared Lee Loughner’s Troubled Past, A Darkening Path Toward Tragedy
The man accused of murdering six people in Arizona during an attempted assassination attempt of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords descended in recent years from the apparent normal awkwardness many teenage boys suffer to something more inexplicable and bizarre. Jared Lee Loughner played long sessions of video games Starcraft and Earth Empires in his youth. He worked…
By Stephen Totilo Published January 14, 2011 -
Is Gamer A Dirty Word?
In today’s Speak-Up on Kotaku, commenter EcksJay22 explores the negative connotations video game enthusiasts give to the word most often used to describe them. I hate the word “gamer.” I really got to thinking about that term, as opposed to parallel ones I could come up with like, say, movie buff. The difference seems to…
By Mike Fahey Published January 14, 2011 -
What Were Your Greatest Gaming Moments of 2010?
We’ve talked about failed assassinations, world domination and a surprisingly funny video game based on a kid’s movie. We’ve had our say about our own greatest gaming moments of 2010. Now it’s your turn. Here for your easy perusal are the seven stories about what the writers of Kotaku thought were their personal greatest moments…
By Brian Crecente Published January 14, 2011 -
What If Pokémon Featured Real Animals And Tons Of Profanity
The world of Pokémon is bright, colorful, and filled with joy and wonder, but what if we replaced those colorful pocket monsters with real animals, and the kind-spirited characters with foul-mouthed Brits? I think it would go something like this. Much of the ground covered by this short has been covered before. It is ridiculous…
By Mike Fahey Published January 14, 2011 -
One Does Not Simply Tunnel Into GameStop
One does not tunnel into GameStop, unless of course they plan on robbing the place blind. Then they just need to prepare to be charged with felony burglary, just like Steven Paul Archer of Chuckey, Tennessee. Archer was arrested by police yesterday for allegedly breaking into an empty store adjacent to a GameStop in Greeneville,…
By Mike Fahey Published January 14, 2011 -
Dead Rising’s Shambling Descent From Thriller to FarmVille
Blood spattered across his pants and canary-yellow racing jacket, Chuck Greene stands uncomfortably in front of the bathroom stall. He sighs, he groans, bloody bat clenched in his right hand. There are zombies to kill. There is a name to clear, a daughter to save. But not just yet. Right now it’s time for me…
By Brian Crecente Published January 14, 2011