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PlayStation Store Update: Happy Birthday, Sackboy
Celebratory LittleBigPlanet costumes may get the headline in this week’s North American PlayStation Store update, but there’s much, much more to this week’s new batch of digital goodies than just cake and spacesuits. There’s Military Madness, Numblast and a Trine demo for PlayStation 3 owners to enjoy, with a little something for the PSP crowd…
By Michael McWhertor Published November 5, 2009 -
Activision: Improvement In Consumer Experience Will Outweigh Modern Warfare 2 PC Complaints
On an earnings call today, Activision president Mike Griffith said his company is “not overly concerned” about gamer complaints regarding the lack of support for dedicated servers in the PC version of Modern Warfare 2. “We’re, of course, watching this very carefully and paying attention to it,” he said in response to a financial analyst…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 5, 2009 -
Valve: Left 4 Dead 2 Pre-orders 4 Times The 1st
Despite the boycotts, despite the un-Valve-like speedy turn around time, despite complaints that Left 4 Dead 2‘s cast of Survivors can’t possibly live up to the first, pre-orders are four times that of the original, says Valve. The developer tells CVG that perception about the sequel seems to have changed since the original E3 2009…
By Michael McWhertor Published November 5, 2009 -
Guitar Hero, WoW & World At War Give Activision Better Than Expected Q3
Things are lookin’ up for old Activision Blizzard. The publisher announced today that business is good, better than expected, even, resulting in a $755 million quarter for the company. Activision Blizzard had kind words for the Guitar Hero and Call of Duty franchises, which apparently many of you bought over the last three months, helping…
By Michael McWhertor Published November 5, 2009 -
Old News ’96: BioWare Started For $100,000
Before they were a part of Electronic Arts and bringing Dragon Age: Origins to the masses, BioWare was small and scrappy. And one of their founders walked around the office barefoot. You are reading Kotaku’s once-weekly (sort of) journey back to yesteryear. We’re back in 1996 and the Calgary Herald paid a visit to the…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 5, 2009 -
Halo: Reach Beta Shots Sneak Out Of MS HQ [Updated]
Somewhere, somehow, someone managed to get blurry digital camera shots of what appears to be Halo: Reach, Bungie’s next Xbox 360 game then post ’em all of the internet. Those shots appear to have originated from Bungie’s own forums, reposted at Bungie.org and finally at NeoGAF, offering a look at what may be Reach’s arsenal,…
By Michael McWhertor Published November 5, 2009 -
Ultimate Alliance 2 DLC Magnetically Released
Master of Magnetism Magneto joins the lineup of five new heroes as Activision releases a new downloadable content pack for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. The new DLC adds five new heroes to the Ultimate Alliance 2 roster, along with four new challenge missions for those craving a…
By Mike Fahey Published November 5, 2009 -
The Incredibly Bizarre Kane & Lynch 2 Teaser
It might be the least graphically impressive video game trailer we’ve ever seen, clearly by design. It might also be the first teaser for Eidos’ sequel to Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. A sequel is certain, reported to have been in development as early as October 2007. The likely name of that sequel, Kane &…
By Michael McWhertor Published November 5, 2009 -
Free LEGO Rock Band With Your Performance Fleece
Picking up that Old Navy gift card for your little sister could pay off this Black Friday, when the clothing retailer will be giving away free copies of LEGO Rock Band with every $20 purchase. Old Navy isn’t known for its video game deals, but they’ll be handing out copies of LEGO Rock Band on…
By Mike Fahey Published November 5, 2009 -
Announcing The Return Of Kotaku’s Game Club, For Modern Warfare 2
Attention to those of you planning to play Modern Warfare 2. Read this first, so that you can play — and discuss — the game with the rest of Kotaku. Last year, Kotaku experimented with its own version of a Book Club and we will be bringing that back next week for Modern Warfare 2.…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 5, 2009 -
Bayonetta Brushes Back Pokemon, Tops Japan’s Game Charts
PlatinumGames and Sega’s Bayonetta kicked her way to the top of the Japanese game charts, moving nearly 200,000 copies during week one, making it the country’s bestselling game. So long Pokemons! It was the PlayStation 3 version of Bayonetta, responsible for 135,000 of those copies sold in Japan, that secured the top spot on Media…
By Michael McWhertor Published November 5, 2009 -
Atlus Brings Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Stateside
Atlus, publishing a Shin Megami Tensei game in North America? I know, I was pretty shocked too to learn that Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey, the company’s first-person science fiction RPG, was being localized for a stateside Nintendo DS release. The latest in the SMT series, already released in Japan to favorable reviews—the highest Famitsu-rated…
By Michael McWhertor Published November 5, 2009 -
Giant Wine, Autographed Items, Vinyl, At Upcoming Charity
What you are looking at here are most of the items we plan to auction off during Kotaku’s Child’s Play Fundraiser later this month. Let’s walk through what here: Three copies of the rare Marvel Vs Capcom 2 vinyl mix tape. A Brutal Legend statue. A copy of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Fortune Hunter’s Edition…
By Brian Crecente Published November 5, 2009 -
PS3 Greatest Hits Get A Facelift
Like the console’s appearance, logo and full-price game boxes, the PS3’s line of budget titles – the Greatest Hits range – has also had a bit of a face-lift recently. It’s nothing drastic, but those long put off by the “cheap” appearance of the line on both the PS2 and (til now) PS3 should appreciate…
By Luke Plunkett Published November 5, 2009 -
Game Boy Enters The National Toy Hall Of Fame
It’s time to celebrate chunky black and green portable gaming, as the Nintendo Game Boy becomes the second video game platform to be inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. The Strong Museum of Play‘s National Toy Hall of Fame has been celebrating the playthings that have had a profound effect on how we…
By Mike Fahey Published November 5, 2009 -
Diaries Of Game-Shunning Children
“Day 15 – I wanted to play on the Wii but cooked a banana cake instead.” That’s an excerpt from a diary of a nine-year-old who gave up video games for 30 days. The UK’s Daily Mirror has published the diaries of a few children who dared to keep themselves from TV, computers and video…
By Stephen Totilo Published November 5, 2009 -
Sam Fisher Makes His Own Rules
This developer diary for Splinter Cell: Conviction demonstrates how badass a Sam Fisher devoid of Third Echelon control can really be, and how badass Ubisoft developers can look under the right lighting. Sam Fisher is a walking, talking action movie cliche in Splinter Cell: Conviction. The super secret agent set free from all of the…
By Mike Fahey Published November 5, 2009 -
How Much Did Gran Turismo 5 Cost To Make?
Gran Turismo 5 has been years in the making. Last time we checked, years are not cheap. Years are expensive. When asked by AutoWeek about the game’s budget, Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi dropped this price tag: $60 million. “There are other games that cost more,” Yamauchi added. “Considering the size and scale of the…
By Brian Ashcraft Published November 5, 2009