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Look Ma, Sudoku
To: Luke From: Owen Out for a jog on the Willamette today I was passed by a kid, riding no-hands on a BMX bike – and doing Sudoku. If that’s not multitasking, I don’t know what is. I’m off in about 10 days. I’ll be in here next weekend though. Here’s some highlights of this…
By Owen Good Published March 7, 2010 -
A-Ha! ESRB Outs Lips: I (Heart) the ’80s
Yes, yes, simmer down, I know you were all dying for another installment of konsole karaoke. Happily, the ESRB issued another of its fabulous spoiler alerts, letting us know we’ll be wailing along with one-hit wonders sometime soon. It’s rated T for “Lyrics, Mild Violence, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol and Tobacco,” but any objectionable…
By Owen Good Published March 7, 2010 -
Week in Games: Finally
This is Final Fantasy XIII’s week, as the game arrives in North America on PS3 and Xbox 360. Other releases of note: Assassin’s Creed II, DRM and all, on the PC, BlazBlue on PSP, and the BioShock 2 DLC. Let’s not forget Mega Man 10 on the PS3, Yakuza 3 getting its North American and…
By Owen Good Published March 7, 2010 -
Kotaku’s Top Five List of Top 10 Lists
Each week throws off several new video game lists ranging from the humorous to the trivial. What’s better? A list of those. Here’s a roundup of the rundowns out there. •Top Commercials with Video Game References [The Kartel] I don’t know how you top the Pontiac Spy Hunter ad. Not only was it a great…
By Owen Good Published March 7, 2010 -
Javelins, Zerg Rushes, Ninja Looting and Other Social Dilemmas
It’s there, and you know how to use it. It’s an exploit or a glitch or some imbalance in the AI. Morally, it’s wrong. But what if everyone else is doing it? Or just the potential for them doing it? Jamie Madigan, well known as the gamer with the Ph.D in psychology, tackles an adaptation…
By Owen Good Published March 7, 2010 -
Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Hard Times Edition
Some recent weekend screengrabs of Sonic and Mario engaged in vice and loansharking supply fodder for the latest edition of Kotaku’s ‘Shop Contest. Three weeks ago, reader Aaron S. sent us that picture of a pawn shop on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Sorry, Mario, but our hunting knife, stereo and moped are in another…
By Owen Good Published March 7, 2010 -
Blur Devs Promise “Massive” DLC Strategy, Just Not at Launch
Blur‘s developers do have plans for DLC but they don’t intend to put any out at launch. In fact, no dates have been set, and they’ve made clear they’re not going to tackle DLC until the main game’s finished. Bizarre Creations is still putting the final coat of polish on the arcade racer, which entered…
By Owen Good Published March 7, 2010 -
Kotaku Off-Topic: Oh, Hell, When is Daylight Saving Time Again?
Surprise, it’s not today. Made you look! Which I had to do because, once upon a time, we had these things called “newspapers” and on the day of the switch, if all else failed, the front page reminded you. Instead it is next week, March 14. That’s when you take that bonus hour of sleep…
By Owen Good Published March 7, 2010 -
Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Next-Gen Cereal System Edition Winners [Update]
The Shop Contest, it’s for breakfast now! Our call for entries for new game-themed cereals produced another raft of strong entries, including two from the same commenter, a first. Update: I apologize for the deleted comments in the original post. This was an erroneous double post and unfortunately the only one the system let me…
By Owen Good Published March 6, 2010 -
Nintendo Patent Implies a New DS Cartridge Design
Siliconera found a patent application from Nintendo that is one of either two things – a new cartridge for existing DS configurations, or a new cartridge for a new DS. Or it could be both, come to think of it. Although the DS is not named in the application, and the outline of one shown…
By Owen Good Published March 6, 2010 -
Xbox 360 Hard Drive Transfer Kit Now Sold Separately
Time was, if you bought a used 360 hard drive, you could call a toll-free number and dupe Microsoft into sending a free transfer cable. Then they got wise and charged $12. It’s now a fully listed accessory, for $15. The cable went up on the Microsoft Store, sold separately, for $14.99 this past week.…
By Owen Good Published March 6, 2010 -
Nintendo Power Reveals Scribblenauts 2, Due Out This Fall
A sequel for last year’s breakout DS hit Scribblenauts graces the cover of the latest Nintendo power, promising a look at what 5th Cell has in mind. Scribblenauts 2 will add 10,000 more words, with adjectives playing a big role in what you summon (“Super Einstein?” “Electric Werewolf?” Not saying that’s confirmed for the game,…
By Owen Good Published March 6, 2010 -
Tinker to Chance: Game Makers Rethinking an Orthodoxy?
2K Sports caught plenty by surprise when it said it was taking a break from its NHL series, not killing it outright as many suspected. I hold out hope that it’s a sign the orthodoxy of sports publishing is changing. For roughly 15 years, games of NHL 2K‘s classification – a league-licensed team sports sim…
By Owen Good Published March 6, 2010 -
The Case of the Indie Devs and the Medical Marijuana Mixup
IllFonic, the Denver-based developer of Ghetto Golf, happens to have a medical marijuana dispensary for a next-door neighbor. Last night its alarm went off, the fuzz showed up at the wrong address, and three devs were cuffed at gunpoint. Now, this all has a happy ending; no police brutality was committed or alleged, and IllFonic…
By Owen Good Published March 6, 2010 -
Be Kind, Rewind With This Low-Def Mega Man 10 Ad
This trailer’s commitment to quality is evident in its shoddy quality. Anyone can don 1980s threads and lampoon the unintentional physical comedy of those old ads. But VCR-esque discoloration and poor tracking is a cut above.
By Owen Good Published March 6, 2010 -
Weekend Coupons: Bundles of Joy
Big-ticket items lead the latest roundup of values and savings, but if you’re just here for the games, we’ve got plenty of deals there, too. Onward Weekend Coupons! Hardware • As McWhertor pointed out yesterday, Amazon’s cranking out a value-added Xbox 360 Elite bundle on Tuesday; it gives you the console plus Halo 3: ODST…
By Owen Good Published March 6, 2010 -
Microsoft CEO Hints at New Forms, Options for Xbox 360
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer was supposed to be talking about cloud computing on Thursday, but an offhand remark during a Q&A session hinted that additional “form factors” for the Xbox 360, with price points to suit them, are being considered. By “form factor” Ballmer evidently means something vastly different from a hard drive or HDMI…
By Owen Good Published March 6, 2010 -
Kotaku Originals: Insanity Ward
The onslaught of news this week was enough to send anyone to the nuthouse. Activision sacking Infinity Ward’s founders takes the gold, the PS3 clock error the silver, and Portal 2 a hard-fought bronze. The week in Kotaku’s original reporting: Activision vs. Infinity Ward Founders Ex-Infinity Ward Heads Claim “Orwellian” Moves By Activision Infinity Ward…
By Owen Good Published March 6, 2010