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Screw English, It’s All About C
This month, Japanese online retailer Rakuten.com decided the language that was used internally by the company would no longer be Japanese. By 2012, the company’s official in-house language will be English. That would mean all meetings would be conducted in English and all internal documents would be in English. English, English, English! Rakuten has been…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 8, 2010 -
Ex-Age Of Empires Devs Working On Microsoft Strategy Game [Update]
Microsoft’s “Project S”, a secret strategy game that we uncovered earlier today, isn’t a Halo title. It is, however, being worked on by former Age of Empires developers. Robot Entertainment, a studio that was formed by ex-Ensemble staffers following the closure of the venerable PC developers, appears to be the team responsible for “Project S”,…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 8, 2010 -
Centaurian Shows How To Make A Game Trailer
Flash game Centaurian already has one great trailer under its belt. But I think this “live @ E3” one is even better There’s just something about it. The horror, the bombed jokes, the furry cape, the vapid endorsements…it’s the anti-video game trailer, and for that, I love it. As a bonus, the game – which…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 8, 2010 -
OnLive’s Lag Tested With SCIENCE
OnLive, a streaming service that hopes to replace both PCs and consoles as the gaming setup of the future, has its sceptics, who say it’s too laggy to work. Why listen to them, when you can listen to science? The boffins at DigitalFoundry have rigged up a PC and some testing units to see just…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 8, 2010 -
The Action Figures Of Halo: Reach
New Halo game? That can mean only one thing. New Halo action figures. These guys are the first line of McFarlane’s Halo: Reach action figure series, and feature some of the Spartans making up the main cast of the game (except the lady one with the tiny arm). They’re the same size as the company’s…
By Luke Plunkett Published July 8, 2010 -
Microsoft Seeks Testers For Secret ‘Project S’ Strategy Game [Updated]
The people who publish Age of Empires and Halo Wars have a secret real-time strategy title in the works for Games For Windows Live, which Microsoft Games Studios is calling “Project S.” Other people are alpha testing it now. Microsoft is seeking more alpha testers for what it describes as a “groundbreaking,” “giant, revolutionary step…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 7, 2010 -
Life, The Universe, Beavis & Butthead
We interrupt our regularly on-topic conversation for something a little less so. Though, really, anything is fair game on Kotaku. But in this post, the game is even fairer! Join us, won’t you, for some random chatter. As exciting as today is, I’m not yet ready to believe that Beavis & Butthead is making a…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 7, 2010 -
Greatest of All-Time? These Cover Stars Belong, Too
This morning, NBA 2K11 revealed its box art featuring Michael Jordan, billed as “the greatest cover of all time.” But there are many others also among the greatest in their respective sports who’ve graced a game’s cover. Here’s a sampling. Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson Fight Night Round 4 (2008) Let’s not forget who has…
By Owen Good Published July 7, 2010 -
Madden Demo Possible on July 23?
An EA Sports spokesman has said that a week from tomorrow, through an unnamed media outlet, the final word on the Madden NFL 11 demo’s release date will be given. The smart money has it arriving July 23. That’s unconfirmed through EA Sports, but it would conform to past practice. Last year, EA Sports rolled…
By Owen Good Published July 7, 2010 -
EA Makes Dragon Age 2 Official, BioWare Teases Reveal Tomorrow
BioWare appears to be just a day away from revealing Dragon Age 2, officially, going by the role-playing game developer’s Twitter tease. Or was it today, when EA and BioWare officially said that Dragon Age 2 is in development? The BioWare biofeed wrote earlier today that “2morrow will be a great day for BioWare fans.…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 7, 2010 -
Crackdown 2 to Get More Colorful With DLC
Among many criticisms of Crackdown 2 was the game’s duller color palette, which swapped out the bright hues of the 2007 hit for duller, grittier tones. The developer said while this was intentional, it will be remedied with DLC. I suppose a spoiler alert is in order here. Haven’t played the game myself, but the…
By Owen Good Published July 7, 2010 -
Team Fortress 2 Engineer Update Adds ‘Hightower,’ Police Academy References Ensue
Faithful followers of Team Fortress 2’s week-long update focused on the Engineer will have a few new items to mull over today, including the new map “Hightower” and a painful looking new wrench. Today’s lower key dose of the Engineer Update for TF2 is largely focused on a new Payload-style map for Valve’s class-based first…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 7, 2010 -
Dead Space 2 Prequel Hits PS3, Xbox 360 This Fall
Visceral Games’ sequel to sci-fi horror game Dead Space won’t touch down on the PlayStation 3, PC and Xbox 360 until January 2011, but a new “interactive comic-style game” will hit those consoles this fall. The downloadable Dead Space Ignition will take place just before the events of Dead Space 2 and will pack in…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 7, 2010 -
How Much Would You Pay to Work in Video Games?
For a New York graphic artist, it’s $1,000 – just $998.95 more than the price of freedom. He’s offered $1,000 for information that leads to getting hired to a video games gig, but there are conditions. For starters, he means permanent, full-time and salaried work. And it has to be in New York – ideally,…
By Owen Good Published July 7, 2010 -
Roommate Charged In Murder, Dismemberment of Thundercats Writer
Florida police charged James “Jimmy” Davis in the gruesome murder of former Thundercats writer Stephen Perry (pictured here), who went missing from his Florida home in May and was reported dead later that month. Authorities found Perry’s arm and torso in two separate locations since the writer’s disappearance and today charged Davis with first-degree murder…
By Stephen Totilo Published July 7, 2010 -
Shipping Out
To: Ash From: Crecente Re: Rarely Use A/C Hey, it looks like we got the day note, night note bug fixed. Wheee! I’ve been a bit quiet about this, but I spent the weekend and part of the week in El Paso with my mom and step-dad because my step-dad’s health has been deteriorating recently.…
By Brian Crecente Published July 7, 2010 -
Xbox Live Is Microsoft’s New Billion Dollar Business (And Activision Wants A Piece)
Microsoft’s Xbox Live service has pulled in an estimated $1.2 billion for the Xbox 360 maker, with annual Gold subscription fees and sales of digital content combined, according to Bloomberg. Good news for… Bobby Kotick? According to Microsoft’s Dennis Durkin, the Xbox’s chief operating officer, sales of Live content like movies, TV shows, Avatar items…
By Michael McWhertor Published July 7, 2010 -
NBA Jam Calls Its Catchphrase Winners
NBA Jam may be headed for PS3 and Xbox 360, but don’t forget it’s definitely coming out on the Wii on Oct. 5, where original series announcer Tim Kitzrow will use four fan-submitted catchphrases emerging a surprisingly entertaining contest. The four winners actually came in June 25. Whoops. They cover three blocked-shot calls and one…
By Owen Good Published July 7, 2010 -
Space Wolves, Daffy Duck, And Coraline Have Graham Annable In Common
The man behind the look of Telltale Game’s twisted Puzzle Agent further explores the experiences that made him the delightfully twisted creator he is today, in part two of Graham Annable in His Own Words In part one of this Telltale-produced Graham Annable biopic, the artist discussed his early years with LucasArts, working on games…
By Mike Fahey Published July 7, 2010 -
How To Score A Beer Belly In Halo: Reach
If you want to look like a battle-hardened, Covenant-crushing space marine type, yet don’t want people to forget how much you love to party, then GameStop has the Halo: Reach preorder incentive for you. The UA Multi-Threat Mjolnir Mark V(B) Armor is a special bonus suit customers will score by preordering Halo: Reach in any…
By Mike Fahey Published July 7, 2010