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Legal Tender
To: Luke From: Owen Re: Flight to Tokyo GO! It’s funny what the mind archives sometimes, and the reveries these things inspire. This week I found a 1968 Swiss franc in a pile of quarters dispensed by the laundromat coin changer. I looked it up online, halfway fantasizing I’d found something rare. I’ve never seen…
By Owen Good Published September 20, 2009 -
Gift Card, Free Action Figure with ODST
Toys ‘R’ Us is sexing it up for Halo 3: ODST – buying it from the retailer between now and Sept. 26 gives you a $20 in-store gift card and an action figure, both free. This deal is in-store only, unfortunately, so those with no TRU are SOL on ODST. The retailer ran a similar…
By Owen Good Published September 20, 2009 -
Rare: “We’re Long Past the Stage” where Goldeneye Deal is Feasible
The long, sad tale of bringing the groundbreaking shooter Goldeneye to Nintendo’s Virtual Console, or Xbox Live Arcade, appears to have ended long ago, with a whimper. Addressing a reader question about Goldeneye ever getting an agreement between Nintendo and Microsoft, releasing it to current generation consoles, Rare said, alas, no. That was some time…
By Owen Good Published September 20, 2009 -
SoCal Alarm Service About to Get a Letter from NorCal Games Publisher
As seen by Kotaku reader Teh Emo Penguin.
By Owen Good Published September 20, 2009 -
When “Head Start” Means “Wait Seven Hours”
We’re hearing the Aion servers are struggling to manage the hordes who preordered the MMO – 400,000 according to NCsoft – leaving some in the headstart program crestfallen and dreading what happens when the general public comes online Tuesday. “There are more people waiting in cues to start the game than there are in the…
By Owen Good Published September 20, 2009 -
Heavy Channels Lady Gaga in ‘Babyman’
Ah, the TF2 soundfile, the gift that keeps on giving. Here’s a remix of Heavy crooning “Babyman,” a sendup of Lady Gaga’s chart-topper “Pokerface.” Warning, 30 seconds of this is enough to get both songs stuck in your head. Credits also to Medic and Spy for some of the vocals. But Heavy makes it clear…
By Owen Good Published September 20, 2009 -
Scrapped Halo MMO’s title: ‘Halo Universe’?
Dylan Cole, an artist formerly with Ensemble Studios, has on his personal Web site some concept pieces for a canceled Halo project that may or may not have been called “Halo Universe.” Ensemble of course was the muscle behind a Halo MMO that was greenlighted and then scrapped sometime last year. Cole’s pictures (two are…
By Owen Good Published September 20, 2009 -
Week in Games: ODST is OTW
The list isn’t nearly as long as the last one, but the upcoming releases for Sept. 21 are packed with star power, led of course by the week’s marquee drop, Halo 3: ODST. Aion arrives for the PC Tuesday; the PS3 gets a downloadable double, Zombie Apocalypse on Thursday, and Fallout 3: Broken Steel on…
By Owen Good Published September 20, 2009 -
Kotaku’s Top 5 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. • 12 Advertainment Video Games [oobject] Not really a ranking, but a look back at a dozen nutshots to gamers’ intelligence over the years, beginning…
By Owen Good Published September 20, 2009 -
News of a New Street Fighter Coming from Capcom?
After a certain number, a sequel is foregone conclusion. Rocky IV assured Rocky V. Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar’s 18th baby guaranteed a 19th. So an announcement of an announcement about a possible Street Fighter sequel is not stop-the-presses news. Still, the Japanese Street Fighter IV official blog promised last week that they’d speak about…
By Owen Good Published September 20, 2009 -
Report: Yakuza 3 is Coming West
Citing unnamed sources “close to the project,” 1Up reports that localization on Yakuza 3 is underway and the PlayStation 3 exclusive will be released in U.S. and European markets. 1Up points out that Sega announced Yakuza 2 for the American market at 2007’s Tokyo Game Show, implying that more news about Yakuza 3 could be…
By Owen Good Published September 20, 2009 -
Buddhist Monk: Games Satiate My Desire for Aggression
Trinley Dorje (pictured) is a pretty hip guy. Like many 24-year-olds, he’s into popular music and video games. He’s also the Karmapa Lama – the only senior Buddhist leader recognized by the governments of China, India and Tibet. Giving an interview to The Times of India, Dorje doesn’t find his interest in violent video games…
By Owen Good Published September 20, 2009 -
Is GameStop a Best Buy for Best Buy?
Dow Jones cornered Best Buy’s CFO at an investor conference and asked if he’d comment on speculation the retailer might buy GameStop. Ryan Robinson declined to do so, but said some things that still keep the subject alive. “What I think is something that we’ve missed in the industry and is something other participants have…
By Owen Good Published September 20, 2009 -
Will the Madden Curse Strike Fitzgerald? You Bet! (Literally)
The so-called Madden Curse, which doesn’t involve witch doctors as much as it does wacky concepts like “regression to the mean” and “injuries in a full-contact sport,” claimed one of this year’s two cover boys in week one. A Costa Rica casino is now taking proposition bets on when the Madden Curse strikes Larry Fitzgerald…
By Owen Good Published September 20, 2009 -
Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves
Kids, just like this picture, some important friends came over at the last minute to have a big barbecue with Uncle Owen. And right now he’s sleeping it off. Hard. So amuse yourselves while I prepare to face the day. Confused about commenting on Kotaku? Read our FAQ.
By Owen Good Published September 20, 2009 -
Turbine Honcho: Consoles a ‘Superior’ Platform for MMOs
At GDC Austin, the vice president for product development at Turbine said the next generation of MMORPGs will be on consoles, and if that wasn’t concession enough, he went so far as to say consoles are a “superior” mode. Specifically, in the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, “We really finally have the hardware and the…
By Owen Good Published September 19, 2009 -
Walking the High Iron with Halo 3: ODST
These two minutes of gameplay show you the enemy aircraft in Halo 3: ODST are not only polite enough not to knock you off the top of a construction site, they’ll hover around and wait to be blasticated. Rooftop Gameplay [GameTrailers]
By Owen Good Published September 19, 2009 -
Capcom Users Ask What About New IP; Brass Replies
Comments lack a tone of voice (hint hint, dear readers) so a Capcom-Unity user’s query: “Do you guy [sic] ever think about starting a new game franchise??” might sound chippy. Instead, Capcom’s Christian Svensson answered politely that yes, they do. “We’ll always be experimenting with new IP,” Svensson replied, then he ticked off nine new…
By Owen Good Published September 19, 2009 -
Pokémon Menstrual Pad, Yours for Eight Bucks
If you’re an environmentally conscious Pokémon fan on the rag, or know someone who is, have I got the gift for you. That, dear readers, is a blue flannel custom made Pokémon-themed menstruation pad. Don’t worry, Pikachu won’t end up like Sissy Spacek in Carrie, he’s on the other side of the battle. I think.…
By Owen Good Published September 19, 2009