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Confused About Commenting? Consult This Chart
Late to the party on the latest development? Weekend friends B-Miggs and Agent B have broken down the orthodoxy of each console’s partisans and their most common reactions to the most common industry news. Predictably, most of the reactions have less to do with one’s favored console, and more to do with another. Lovely how…
By Owen Good -
Online Gaming Up 22 Percent as Console Revenue Down 23 Percent
ComScore’s data by itself suggests that gamers are seeking cheap, if not free, online games in greater numbers. Compared to other metrics, does it mean movement away from consoles? VentureBeat reports the figures, which show online gaming posting a 22 percent year-over-year boost in players from May 2008 to May 2009. Coincidentally, the number fits…
By Owen Good -
Not Everyone Thrilled by Ubisoft Toronto Deal
News of a $260 million incentive package to bring a new Ubisoft studio – and 800 jobs – to Toronto has not received universal applause. One columnist depicts studios as faithless corporate welfare recipients. Writing for Toronto’s Globe & Mail on Saturday, Marcus Gee rips Ontario’s government as trying to be more hip than responsible,…
By Owen Good -
The Most Bizarre 5 Minutes You’ll Spend This Morning
This video is a documentary intro, and even though 1) the creators are German, 2) they show Mario peeing and 3) everyone has sex at the end, it still doesn’t explain what’s going on. You’re just gonna have to see this for yourself – but it’s more than 5 minutes long, and doesn’t start getting…
By Owen Good -
Xbox UK Boss: The 360 is not a Child’s Toy
In an interview, Neil Thompson, Microsoft’s regional Xbox director for the United Kingdom, says console makers have a responsibility to educate the public on the meanings of game ratings and the ability to restrict them. Asked if most parents still held the impression that a game console is, primarily, a kid’s toy, “the simple answer…
By Owen Good -
Weekend Talk Amongst Yourselves
You’ve been bombarded with enough advice and instructions already. You know how to comment by now. Sit at keyboard. Think of something intelligent. Type. Use Kotaku’s official open thread as your muse and your canvas. But if you still have questions commenting on Kotaku, you may always read our FAQ.
By Owen Good -
Toad Revealed to be Ungrateful A-hole After All
Blah blah blah, thank you Mario, another castle, etc. … But magnify the sprite and we see the rancorous contempt Toad has had for us for more than a quarter-century. Some folks claim those are Toad’s thumbs, not the double-barreled bird. I think it goes either way. Toad has been Giving Us the Finger since…
By Owen Good -
Bethesda Re-Teases PS3 FO3 DLC
Owners of the PS3 version of Fallout 3 noticed June come and go without any DLC – as originally promised – released for their console. What gives? Bethesda Softworks spokeshoncho Pete Hines zipped word over to G4 to say we can all expect an update “next week.” Note that’s an “update” – which may or…
By Owen Good -
Gizmondo Honcho Gets 18 Months in Fängelse
That’s Swedish for “the slammer.” Bo Eriksson, lesser known for his role heading the failed portable called Gizmondo, more known for bizarre behavior including wrecked cars and arson threats, is headed there. According to the translation from a Swedish radio Web site, Eriksson is looking at 1.5 years in the pen. Some of the charges…
By Owen Good -
Ultracade Cabinet Founder Faces Federal Fraud Charges
The former owner of Ultracade Technologies, a maker of MAME-style arcade cabinets, is looking at a 35-count federal indictment for fraud, theft of trade secrets, and trafficking counterfeit goods. David R. Foley, who founded Ultracade in 2002, is accused of copying the “game packs” – multi-game software that ran on the cabinets – from his…
By Owen Good -
Uncharted 2 Full of Cliffhangers, Literally
Who has the most badass phalanges – Altaïr, or Nathan Drake? My money’s on Drake. Both can arrest a flying 20-foot leap with just their fingertips, but Drake repeatedly does it in freezing temperatures. Barehanded. Not to get all physics-y on you guys again, but with this kind of strength and bone structure, I’d bet…
By Owen Good -
Rumor: Tomb Raider Reboot Art, Details Leaked
A site claiming to have a mole inside Eidos has published pictures purportedly of concept art and other collateral for a Tomb Raider reboot sequel, which figures to be both open-world and survival horror. It’s hardly shocking that Eidos – bought out by sequelmeisters Square Enix of course – would be planning another Tomb Raider.…
By Owen Good -
Trademark Troll Is At It Again [Update]
“Edge of Twilight” was announced more than two years ago. Just last month, Tim Langdell, notorious for claiming all uses of the word “edge,”in video games, filed a trademark application for exactly that name. In case you missed our discussion of Langdell’s history on May 30, he’s a onetime developer whose studio, Edge Games, was…
By Owen Good -
MLB Sim Picks Tuesday’s All-Star Winner
If you trust that MLB 09 The Show is the most realistic baseball simulation out there, feel free to bet on the National League in the All-Star Game. Unless you’re a future hall-of-famer, of course. Despite not taking a game off the American League since 1996, the Senior Circuit is expected to win 5-2, according…
By Owen Good -
Weekend Coupons: Value Adder
Hunting up weekend coupons is sometimes like looking for a snake. You don’t know that you’ve really got one until you wade into the tall grass and step on it. Let’s take a gander at some of this weekend’s deals: Hardware • Granted, this is a highly specific need, but the Cordless Mediaboard for PS3…
By Owen Good -
Study Examines Boom Blox for Benefits to Elderly Cognition
The National Science Foundation has given two universities a million dollars to study whether video games can improve thinking skills in the elderly. They’re using Boom Blox in the research. The grant to the universities – N.C. State and Georgia Tech – is part of the federal stimulus package and will span four years of…
By Owen Good -
360, PS3 Stand Better Chance of Seeing Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Sequel
You’re more likely to see Xbox Live and PSN get a sequel of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars than a port of the original, says a Capcom producer. That’s because “the game is optimized for the Wii system, especially the graphics features,” Capcom’s Ryota Niitsuma told VideoGamer.com. “So if we were to port it…
By Owen Good -
Kotaku Originals: Comment is Free, but Stars are Earned
Not to brag, but the biggest change in your life this week had to be the new commenting structure, amirite? Starred or not, editing capabilities means no more humiliating typos or icky oops-was-that-my-out-loud-voice moments. After bestowing such begged-for powers, and others not even demanded, we did our damndest to serve up some stories worthy of…
By Owen Good
