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On the Obligations of Video Games
Steve Gaynor, a designer at 2K Marin, understands that he works in an entertainment field, and provides a product nonessential to basic human needs. That doesn’t mean video games – and their makers – have no obligation to the public. News reports frequently mention studies that indicate some benefit to playing video games, whether in…
By Owen Good -
Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: Proto-Natal Edition
McWhertor begged and pleaded and enlisted readers to get me to put this Johnny Five-looking Project Natal prototype into our latest ‘Shop Contest, and I’ve willingly complied. I don’t think I’m going to find a sillier, timelier starting image. Here is a prototype Project Natal camera, wearing an expression I expect to see on a…
By Owen Good -
Unsurprisingly, Dante’s Inferno Not Available in Middle East
Electronic Arts has elected not to offer Dante’s Inferno for sale in the Middle East, for reasons that should probably be obvious. That makes three of the first four big action games for 2010 officially unavailable in that region. Note that’s “officially unavailable” because as Arab-language site GamesLatest notes, bans or other types of restrictions…
By Owen Good -
Kotaku Off-Topic: Old Hoaxy
That was the nickname of the Cardiff Giant, history’s greatest humbug. If only Barnum had Photoshop and Internet access, who knows what he’d have pulled off. Some items making the rounds this weekend deserve a little skepticism, too. Considering the subject matter this very likely could be a hoax, but a Polish newspaper publishes an…
By Owen Good -
Kotaku ‘Shop Contest: What’s He Really Playing? Edition Winners
Hit a little snag this week. There were some strong entries in week three of Week three of Kotaku’s ‘Shop Contest but I need to lay down some resizing restrictions, due to technical difficulties I have grabbing the images. So if you didn’t see your pic in here but felt you had a strong entry:…
By Owen Good -
DLC Removal Threatens Halo 2 Farewell
Downloadable content for the original Xbox has been taken offline as Microsoft prepares to terminate the console’s online support. One problem: Matchmaking restrictions require all Halo 2 DLC to play it online. That could make for a small going-away party. Here’s the situation: Matchmaking requirements mean those playing Halo 2 on the Xbox 360 need…
By Owen Good -
Are You a Bad Enough Dude to Listen to This with Speakers On?
This hardcore Bad Dudes rap is one of three game homages put out so far by the group Action Adventure World, all of which are chock-a-block full of filth-flarn-filth. That means I’m a-watchin’! You can check out Mario World and Castlevania II by the same act, but the same warning applies: If it’s coherent, it’s…
By Owen Good -
Judge Tosses Shareholder Suit Against Midway Board
A federal judge reluctantly threw out a creditor claim against the former board of Midway, which alleged that the debt-saddled company pursued loans it couldn’t pay and arranged a sale that screwed company stakeholders while enriching a well-connected few. “The defendants oversaw the ruin of a once highly successful company, only to hide behind the…
By Owen Good -
Fair or Foul, MLB 10 The Show Still Looks Great
Gametrailers put up a few exclusive videos of MLB 10 The Show, one of which is 90 seconds of gameplay featuring cover man Joe Mauer. This game looks very good. It’s a CPU-vs.-CPU sim so we don’t see pitching meters or batting controls and can’t tell if they’ve been modified for this year. But to…
By Owen Good -
Stick Jockey’s Super Sim Spectacular
Earlier this week, EA Sports ran its annual Madden Super Bowl simulation, predicting New Orleans to be tomorrow’s winner. But there are plenty of contigencies and scenarios – some less plausible than others – that they didn’t take into account. Here then is Stick Jockey‘s inaugural Super Sim Spectacular, in which we start with a…
By Owen Good -
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Will Feature WWII Level
The newly published ESRB ratings certificate for Battlefield: Bad Company 2 mentions that “players conduct missions on an unnamed Japanese island during World War II and then move into the modern day.” Earlier, we mentioned that Battlefield: Bad Company 2 would support weapons from last spring’s Battlefield: 1943 (pictured above). It sounds like this could…
By Owen Good -
Just Don’t Call This “Bling”
Though Super Mario coin boxes do make that sound, A.B. Frazier at The Koalition reminds us that hip-hop retired that term. But hip-hop producer Pharrell is very much active with this Super Mario jewelry. A.B. also boasts of a owning an “oversized diamond studded Metal Gear Solid exclamation mark,” whose existence may be theoretical but…
By Owen Good -
Weekend Coupons: Preeeee-cola!
My lord, they’ve already started preorder bonuses on Madden NFL 11. And of course, Tuesday’s big releases also get inducements. Clear your throats and hit the jump for Weekend Coupons. RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-COLA! Software • Amazon offers $10 credits with pre-orders of two games launching this Tuesday: Dante’s Inferno (PS3/360 $57) and Bioshock 2, which is $5, $4,…
By Owen Good -
BioWare Responds to Self-Censorship Charge on Mass Effect 2 Sex
Mass Effect 2’s tamer (and sideboobless) sex scenes led some to believe that BioWare held something back, after the 2008 uproar over Mass Effect started by the Network That Must Not Be Named. But a dev sternly denies that charge. User Menelaos1971 opened a forum thread on the subject, calling the sex scene in Mass…
By Owen Good -
Kotaku Originals: Rated C for Creepy
Impertinent remarks – calling Sony’s motion controller “Arc” and the ESRB’s bluntly accurate description of the activities in Dead or Alive: Paradise – highlighted our front page this week. Dante’s Inferno sneaked in underneath it. Our original news coverage: K Monthly – January 2010 Kotaku Talk Radio Top Stories We Shall Mourn The Following Xbox…
By Owen Good