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Bungie and Blizzard Both “Enormous” Investments
We already knew The folks behind World of Warcraft and Starcraft are hard at work on a totally new massively multiplayer online game. We didn’t know that Activision Blizzard was pouring gobs of money into it. Ditto for the new game from Bungie, the creators of Halo. Bungie has inked a deal with Activision to…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 6, 2010 -
Jillian Michaels Fitness Game Getting Story Mode
Why? No, really? Why? Please tell me. I’m flummoxed. Jillian Michaels’ Fitness Ultimatum 2011 will have, for some reason, a story mode. A fitness game. For the Nintendo Wii. With a story mode. According to the game’s developer, …Jillian and the player use fitness skills and nutritional expertise in a series of missions to shut…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 6, 2010 -
Ditching 3 Games, Japanese Developer Bets On Girl Spanking
Nippon Ichi Software is suspending new game development and halting work on three games currently in production due to a “severe marketplace”. That isn’t stopping it from releasing a game in which players spank bad little girls. The Gifu-based company is best known (and loved) for its Disgaea tactical role-playing games. Earlier this year, the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 6, 2010 -
Voice Actress Pisses Off Otaku
Voice actress Aya Hirano doesn’t seem to want to be a voice actress anymore. The 22-year-old is trying to make the leap to mainstream celebrity and ticking off her rabid fan-base in the process. Hirano is best known for voicing schoolgirl character Haruhi Suzumiya in the animation adaptation of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. She…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 6, 2010 -
Scary Pokemon Sculptures
As seen on GoNintendo
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 6, 2010 -
And Another Foxconn Worker Dies
Foxconn is famous for two things: Manufacturing electronics (the PS3, the Nintendo Wii, the Xbox 360 and the iPhone) and having employees that commit suicide. This year, 12 Foxconn workers have taken their own lives. A 22-year-old female worker from Jiangsu Province has fallen to her death this week at the company’s Kunshan factory. Foxconn…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 6, 2010 -
Adult Game Gets Twitter Service
Micro-blogging service Twitter allows people to share what they are doing with others. That might include playing erotic computer games. Game developer Moonstone is shoehorning Twitter functions into its adult title AngelRing. Those functions will allow players to tweet, reply, tweet about the scene they are currently playing, collect tweets about the game and the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 6, 2010 -
Kid Icarus’ Pit “Feels Like A New Character”
Masahiro Sakurai of Smash Bros. fame is currently hard at work on a 3D version of Kid Icarus. His version of Kid Icarus’s protagonist Pit, he says, “feels like a new character”. Here’s why. “One thing I can talk about is that Pit uses a lot of weapons and this is a very important aspect…
By Brian Ashcraft Published August 6, 2010 -
Is This How Microsoft Will Fix Kinect’s Couch Problem?
Microsoft’s forthcoming Kinect camera controller for the Xbox 360 plays better with standing humans than it does with couch potatoes. Microsoft says it’s still “calibrating” Kinect for seated players and may accomplish that with a little help from Amazon.com. The Xbox 360 maker may have turned to Amazon’s Mechanical Turk service to make Kinect’s depth-sensing…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 6, 2010 -
The Alderaan Trail Is Littered With Imperial Entanglements, Bad Motivators
Dysentery may be a thing of the past, but bad R2 motivators and fully operational Imperial space stations are a real threat on The Alderaan Trail. Part of Matt Marchini’s brilliant Star Wars homage, as seen on Picasa, via BoingBoing
By Michael McWhertor Published August 5, 2010 -
Better Red Than Dead
As Kotaku transforms into Kotaku After Dark, let’s enjoy the transition with a little off-topic conversation. Though, when the conversation may touch on The Matrix Online, the line may begin to blur. Stay with me! See, this weekend, I opted to watch portions of The Matrix Revolutions, an entry in the Wachowski… siblings trilogy that…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 5, 2010 -
Gamer With Stolen Credit Card Leads Cops To Parents’ Pot
A kid in suburban Chicago boosted a credit card and bought some games and virtual currency online. When the cops showed up to ask some questions, they found his folks, uh, “Victory Garden.” This news comes out of Buffalo Grove, which you might remember is where some kid called the cops after his parents took…
By Owen Good Published August 5, 2010 -
We Might’ve Called It Montana NFL 11
In 1990, Electronic Arts reverse-engineered the Sega Genesis to begin development of a game for it, fully aware that if the project became known, they were in for a major lawsuit. The game was John Madden Football. Even when Sega learned of the gambit, EA still faced up the console maker and acknowledged its right…
By Owen Good Published August 5, 2010 -
New Vanquish Trailer Likes To Play Gruff
Do you like your action heroes gravel-voiced from chain-smoking, battle-worn and gruff? Do you dream of shooting rebellious Russian robots in space? Platinum Games’ Vanquish, even without its robo-dog, might be your cup of tea. Shinji Mikami, creator of Resident Evil, God Hand and more, is trying his hand at a third-person shooter with Vanquish,…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 5, 2010 -
First Tuning Update Arrives For NCAA Football 11
We seem to have gotten things out of order. The first gameplay tuning file for NCAA Football 11 went live this morning, so it was not dependent on a mid-August patch. The adjustments will be incorporated into existing dynasties. Tuning is a way to address game adjustments without going through a certification period or deal…
By Owen Good Published August 5, 2010 -
New Deus Ex: Human Revolution Screens Black, Gold & A Little Old
The next Deus Ex game, now in development at Eidos Montreal, will be dark, glowing with gold light and, occasionally, feature a hint of seafoam green. We know this by looking at “new” screen shots of Deus Ex: Human Revolution These purportedly new shots of the Xbox 360, PC and PlayStation 3 game due next…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 5, 2010 -
The 8-bit Version of DJ Hero Comes Complete With Chiptune Mashups
The man responsible for the 8-bit version of zombie shooter Left 4 Dead has turned his “de-make” skills to another recent franchise—Activision’s DJ Hero. Pixel Force: DJ Hero, as it’s known, is musically true to its 80s roots. The chiptune mash up you hear in the first trailer for Eric Ruth’s latest retro creation blends…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 5, 2010 -
NFL Player Returns From Games Addiction
Quinn Pitcock was an all-America defensive lineman at Ohio State, and a third-round draft pick by the Indianapolis Colts. But he quit the NFL in 2008, at age 24. The reason? Video games addiction. That remarkable admission is in today’s Tacoma News-Tribune, covering the Seattle Seahawks training camp, where Pitcock has returned to restart his…
By Owen Good Published August 5, 2010 -
The Big Apple
To: Ash From: Crecente Re: Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee Is Pretty Good I’m off again for a little less than a week. This time Trish and I are flying to New York to do check out some homes in New York and Connecticut. I’ll be back next Thursday, just in time to prepare and pack for…
By Brian Crecente Published August 5, 2010 -
The Next Borderlands Add-on May Have Just Been Seriously Spoiled
Gearbox Software’s loot-centric first-person shooter Borderlands recently got an update, one that added Steam achievements and new hardware support. That update also may have laid out, in extreme, spoiler-filled detail, the next downloadable expansion for Borderlands. According to contributors to Gearbox’s online forums, that new Borderlands patch featured a folder chock full of potential details…
By Michael McWhertor Published August 5, 2010