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Club Nintendo (of Japan) Rewards Mario Fans With Mario Tees
Another reason to turn green with envy at Club Nintendo of Japan’s member prizes? This new series of customizable Super Mario Bros. tees, only available to the serious (and in good standing) Nintendo super fan. Nintendo will be giving these Mario-themed tees to Japanese Club Nintendo faithful this year for a pittance. Just 600 points.…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 30, 2010 -
Redbox Kiosks Now Testing Game Rentals in Three States
The kiosk-rental service Redbox began offering $2-a-day game rentals at 150 locations in Nevada, North Carolina and Texas last weekend, but the selection was disappointing to analysts examining the offerings. An analyst with a New York firm examined kiosks in Austin, Texas, finding on average 2.8 different titles on three different platforms. In other words,…
By Owen Good Published June 30, 2010 -
Is Super Mario World On The List of Nintendo 3DS Remakes?
Mario creator and chief Nintendo fungineer Shigeru Miyamoto has given a firm “Maybe!” to that question, saying that a 3D revamped Super Mario World would be a “fun” fit for the Nintendo 3DS. In response to an IGN reader’s question about the SNES original version of Super Mario World—”What aspects of the game would you…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 30, 2010 -
Grand Theft Auto… Insurance?
Who knew that escaping a four-star wanted level in Grand Theft Auto was as easy as flashing proof of insurance to Liberty City’s finest? SafeAuto Insurance takes some liberties of its own to shill coverage to “tough guys.” Thanks, Killer_Walrus!
By Michael McWhertor Published June 30, 2010 -
Nessler Knows Your Name in NCAA Football 11
The return of college football means the return of tradition, pageantry, and the voice of an old friend on Saturday afternoons – such as Brad Nessler welcoming you to another classic showdown between the Death Bats and the Cash Money. Eat your heart out, Keith Jackson. Following last year’s unexpected enthusiasm for NCAA Football 10‘s…
By Owen Good Published June 30, 2010 -
This is Not a Perfect Game
To: Ash From: Crecente I am trying to finish off a PSP game that is said to be perfect. I disagree. What you missed: Weighing Morality in Gaming Farmville, World of Warcraft Are Divorce Lawyers’ Latest Weapons in Court Who Cheers For War? Did Buying Your Gaming Console Help Fund War Atrocities in the Congo?…
By Brian Crecente Published June 30, 2010 -
Not So Fast My Friends: Lee Corso’s Not Done with NCAA Football
In last week’s impressions of the NCAA Football 11 demo, we reported that EA Sports and the game’s longtime analyst, Lee Corso, had mutually parted ways for this year’s game. That’s not the case. Corso, 74, is not a part of the booth team in NCAA Football 11‘s PS3 or Xbox 360 versions. But he…
By Owen Good Published June 30, 2010 -
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Beta Is A Go! Invites Out!
The next big expansion to Blizzard’s massively popular massively multiplayer online game World of Warcraft is, officially, in beta and ready to be tested by you. Did you get an invitation for the Cataclysm beta? Better check your Battle.net account. Blizzard says it has begun issuing invites to WoW players from around the world who…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 30, 2010 -
Don’t Give Up Hope On That BioShock Movie Just Yet
No one can stop Mr. Bubbles from making his big screen debut, not even the underperforming Prince of Persia. Gore Verbinski, the man desperate to bring BioShock to the big screen, is still slaving away at it. Verbinski, the director of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean movies and now producer on BioShock’s film adaptation—Juan Carlos…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 30, 2010 -
Science Proves Facial Hair Is Sexy…On Fish
Here at Kotaku, we’re big proponents of facial hair, even if some of our esteemed colleagues aren’t with the program yet. Now science proves that a bushy moustache does indeed make males more attractive to females. Well, female fish at least. Science is all about answering unanswered questions. Why is the sky blue? Why do…
By Mike Fahey Published June 30, 2010 -
With Video Games Around Them, They Did Push-Ups
Two men walked into a giant circus of video games in June and walked out with a 90-minute movie that shows them, sometimes, doing push-ups in the middle of E3. That would be Robert Pelloni (in black) and Tim Rogers (in green), the latter of whom wrote about his E3 adventures for Kotaku earlier this…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 30, 2010 -
Your Portal 2 Education Continues
Get ready to think harder with portals in Portal 2. Now at your disposal in the first-person puzzler that we can wait to wrap our brains around is the “Thermal Discouragement Beam.” It’s like a laser, but with more syllables. When paired with the Weighted Pivot Cube, Portal 2’s Thermal Discouragement Beam will add something…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 30, 2010 -
Speak-Up On Kotaku: Pokémon Rematches, The New WWII, Kids Reviews, And A Blizzard Love Letter
In this week’s episode of Speak-Up on Kotaku is here, with Chewblaha, Senselocke, and Pat Chan ramble on about how efficient Blizzard customer service is, easier Pokémon rematches, reviews for kids, and post-apocalysm. Don’t like the gallery layout? Click here to view everything on one page. About Speak-Up on Kotaku: Our readers have a lot…
By Mike Fahey Published June 30, 2010 -
A One-Hour Quest To Decide The Best Games Of 2010… So Far
We talked about the best games of the first half of 2010 on Kotaku Talk Radio today and took your nominations by phone. What did we pick and why? Download and listen. In this episode of Kotaku Talk Radio, we go month by month, so it’s easy to following along and yell at us about…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 30, 2010 -
Sega ‘Thinking About’ Saturn Games For Downloadable Releases
Sega is bringing back its beloved Dreamcast this fall—or at least two of its more memorable games, in downloadable form—but what of its predecessor, the sometimes spectacular but relatively unsuccessful Sega Saturn? Sega has not forgotten it. In fact, Sega is “thinking about ports of Saturn games” for future releases. It has already ported a…
By Michael McWhertor Published June 30, 2010 -
Final Fantasy XIV PC Gets Two Release Dates
The first steps players take into the world of Eorzea will be wide ones, as Square Enix reveals two September release dates for Final Fantasy XIV on the PC; one for the normal edition, and an earlier one for the lavish collector’s edition. That’s right, Final Fantasy XIV for the PC is coming out on…
By Mike Fahey Published June 30, 2010 -
Tak Fujii, You Were Robbed
Two weeks ago, something unusual happened in Los Angeles. Something amazing. And today I will agree with video game producer Tak Fujii that the man deserves an award for it. That something was what I called the WTF Video of E3 2010 This is the video proof, in which Fujii steals the show (he’s the…
By Stephen Totilo Published June 30, 2010 -
Angry Birds HD’s Big, Buggy Update Might Make You an Angry Person
If you’re a fan of Angry Birds on the iPhone, it stands to reason that you’d enjoy angrier, higher-definition birds on your iPad. That app just got a pig-popping, 45 level update, but it’s reportedly crashing just like its birds. The big iPad update finally justifies the $5 price tag (as opposed to the $1…
By Kyle VanHemert Published June 30, 2010 -
Did Buying Your Gaming Console Help Fund War Atrocities in the Congo?
Do you own a video game console? Then you might have more to do with the bloody, brutal war in the Congo than you realize. While the availability of blood diamonds, those rare minerals mined in war zones and sold to build armies, has begun to dwindle under international scrutiny, a new set of conflict…
By Brian Crecente Published June 30, 2010