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The Company That Paid $300K To Not Make Millions on Guitar Hero

Guitar Hero is a franchise that catapulted Red Octane and Harmonix directly into the money pit, but not everyone associated with the launch of the popular rhythm game came out of it crazy rich. There was a reason the original Guitar Hero only launched on the Playstation 2, and that reason was Mad Catz. “Guitar…

Heavy Rain Release Date Trudges Sadly Into View

Don’t be sad! Quantic Dreams’ interactive cinematic exploration of sorrow now has an official release date of February 23rd. At least don’t be sad now. From what I gathered from Stephen’s impressions of the game, there’ll be plenty of time for that once Heavy Rain is spinning half-heartedly inside your PlayStation 3. I’ve already bought…

In A Twist, It Was Capcom’s Cheerful Wii Game That Flopped

Despite sharp graphics, fun gameplay, creative Wii controls and unprecedented use of a weird shirtless cartoon boy to demonstrate said controls, Capcom’s 2007 Wii game Zack &Wiki never sold big. Hey, it’s only the 13th best-reviewed Wii game ever. The news comes via Gamasutra’s coverage of the struggles third-party companies continue to face on the…

Toobin’ Controller? Super Hang-On Motorcyle? What isn’t Mad Catz Working On

Mad Catz, once known for concentrating more on quantity than quality, is turning over a new leaf, the company’s president told Kotaku. “Mad Catz used to do high-end quality, all of the controllers had rubber grips and all of those kinds of things and then in the early 2000s we became kind of became the…

Would You Be A Pepper For EA DLC?

Starting this week, specially marked 20 ounce bottles of Dr Pepper will contain codes good towards exclusive downloadable content for popular EA games, including The Sims 3, Spore, and Mass Effect 2. Dr Pepper isn’t a soft drink you’d normally associate with video games. The soda brand and EA are looking to change that now,…

Talk Amongst Yourselves

There is a time and place to talk about video games. That time is now. That place is right here in the comments section. Confused about commenting on Kotaku? Read our FAQ.

The Littlest Fight Stick

This snazzy Mad Catz Street Fighter fight stick keychain doesn’t just keep track of your keys, it also includes a slide away allen wrench perfect for popping open a life-sized fight stick case.

Bwah, Today is Friday?

To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: See. Eeeeee! Es? I…honestly had no idea. Did you know? What you missed last night Neill Blomkamp “Stressed Out” By Idea of District 9 Game So, Who’s Behind Microsoft’s New Game Room Service? More Hands-on Details From Xbox 360’s Game Room Rumor: Dead Or Alive 5 Heading For PlayStation 3?…

Brutal Legend’s Eddie Riggs, Now In Action Figure Form

To cash in on the launch of Brutal Legend last year, EA had 1000 statues of the game’s star, Eddie Riggs, made up. They were nice, but then…they were too nice. Too clean. Not metal enough. Reader Hugo thus decided to take matters into his own hands, and built himself an Eddie Riggs figure that…

EA Looking to “Take On” Modern Warfare

Right now, Modern Warfare is top of the war shooter hill. The game’s publisher Activision stands atop that hill — a hill rival companies like Electronic Arts are eager to climb. “In March we will launch Battlefield: Bad Company 2, which is our first strong attack on Call Of Duty,” EA Europe boss Jens Uwe…

Darksiders Banned In The United Arab Emirates?

Darksiders seems to be the flavour of the month so far, its rugged charms leading to good review scores and media opportunities. Just don’t tell that to the United Arab Emirates, who have reportedly banned the game. No reason was given (because it seems no reason is ever given by the authorities), but if this…

Target To Offer $99 “Video Game Setup” Service

We’ve been told by helpful sources that Target will later this month begin offering you the chance to allow somebody else to install your brand new console for you. All for the low, low price of $99! No joke now; they’ll come to your house, plug it in, set up some accounts and any relevant…

Lost Planet 2’s CES Screens Stick To The Formula

Perhaps mistaken that the Consumer Electronics Show going down in Las Vegas this week is all about giant bugs and robot suits, Capcom have released some new screenshots for upcoming shooter Lost Planet 2.

But Is Infinity Ward Doing Modern Warfare 3? [Update]

With two games, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and its sequel, Infinity Ward brought shooters out of the World War II ghetto and into the modern era. Rumors are swirling that the developer won’t be developing the inevitable third MW. Each year, publisher Activision releases Call of Duty games like clockwork. Set during World War…

Ninety-Nine Nights II Dated for Japan

Xbox 360 hack-and-slash exclusive Ninety-Nine Nights II has been dated for Japan. According to the title’s official site, the game will be out this spring — expect the exact date to be announced later. The game is developed by feelplus, a Japanese development studio with close ties to Microsoft Game Studios. Sporting the tagline “The…

The Latest Ar tonelico III Trailer Looks Like This

Ar tonelico III, the third Ar tonelico…game, has a new promotional trailer. You can watch it! The trailer is cutscene and animation heavy, but there is footage of in-game combat and costume options. The potboiler also features plenty of melodrama and underpants. The voice actress who voices Pokémon’s Pikachu will be lending her talents to…

PAL PlayStation Store Update: A Guilty Pleasure

What this week’s PAL PlayStation Store update lacks in new content it more than makes up for with its retro offerings, as the original Guilty Gear will be available for download tomorrow. Just in case you don’t already own the classic 2D fighter, either in its original form or as one of its many revisions,…

New Fist of the North Star Screen (Yes, They’re Already Dead)

Following up on Tecmo Koei’s exact dating for the release of upcoming title Hokuto Musou, the company has released new screens. The game, releasing in Japan on March 25, is based on post-apocalyptic manga Hokuto no Ken, or Fist of the North Star. If you’ve been wondering what the heck is with the “already dead”…

Dark Void’s CES Trailer Is Wet Wet Wet

This is a new trailer for Capcom’s Dark Void. You know, for all its allusions to The Rocketeer, I’ve never really noticed how much it looks a lot more like Mass Effect. If Shepard used Super Soakers.

Neill Blomkamp “Stressed Out” By Idea of District 9 Game

At one time, director Neill Blomkamp was just the guy who was going to helm the now-on-ice Halo Hollywood flick. That movie never happened. Sci-fi hit District 9 did, and Blompkamp’s career took off. In the short time since District 9 has hit theaters (and taken off), Blomkamp has shown street smarts about the Hollywood…