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The Debate Around Mafia III‘s Depiction Of Racism

Racism is everywhere in Mafia III, in a way never before seen in a major video game. It’s gotten people talking. The game is set in a fictional version of 1960s New Orleans. In it, white computer-controlled characters (NPCs) regard the player’s character, a black Vietnam veteran named Lincoln Clay, with suspicion and fear. Some…

Like The Rest Of The Internet, PSN Has Been Struggling Today

Half the internet has been unreliable today as the result of what seems to be a major attack by unknown parties. Adding to that list of annoying outages now is PSN, given that many users are reporting issues with it since this morning. If you’ve been having trouble connecting a PlayStation console to PSN today, you…

Destiny’s Festival of the Lost will return next Tuesday, October 25. It’ll run through November 8. Hope you’ve kept space in your vault for a whole shitload of masks! I want the eyeball one.

Soon, you’ll be able to buy indie games, in real life, at a local GameStop. Indie game distribution service IndieBox will be sending physical copies—in actual boxes—to 1,200 GameStops as a part of their GameTrust initiative. Nuclear Throne, Rogue Agency, Axiom Verge and Chariot (all $19.99) and others will be available with instruction manuals, discs, soundtrack…

What It’s Like Inside A Pokeball, According To A Pokémon Developer

For years, Pokémon fans have argued over what happens when a monster is recalled into a Pokeball. The theories are endless. Does a Pokémon simply shrink down in size? Is a Pokeball just an empty prison? Does a Pokémon transform into pure energy, or perhaps information, once inside a Pokeball—meaning there’s no “inside” of a…

A Powerful New World Of Warcraft Boss Hides In One Of Its Oldest Dungeons

More players are dying in the depths of World of Warcaft’s Gnomeregan dungeon than there’ve been in years, thanks to the revelation of a ridiculously powerful new boss tucked away in its depths. Say hello to Endgineer Omegaplugg, and then goodbye very quickly. The recently-introduced uberboss has has been making the rounds over the past…

Following an announcement on Monday, voice actors within the Screen Actors Guild‐American Federation of Television and Radio Artists have begun their strike against certain video game employers as of 3:01 AM EST today. Kotaku has reached out to the involved parties. Update—2:45 p.m: The negotiator for the games companiesreleased a statementthis afternoon that claims their…

Pokémon Sun and Moon’s Pikachu Imposter Has A Heartbreaking Theme Song

It was sad enough to read about how Mimikyu dresses up like a popular Pokémon because it also wants to be loved. It’s another thing entirely to hear Mimikyu sing about its woes. A Japanese version of Mimikyu’s song was uploaded by the official Pokémon channel yesterday, and YouTuber Tobias went ahead and subtitled the…

Nintendo Mum On Switch’s Battery Life, Whether It Has A Touchscreen

Nintendo has shown that its new gaming machine can be used as a portable but it’s not ready to say how long the machine can run in that mode without needing to be plugged in. “We will announce more hardware details later,” a rep for the company told Kotaku in a statement, when we asked…

Hitman’s 12th Elusive Target, the Identity Thief, goes live today in Paris for a week. Surprise target! You can watch the briefing video here

Eagle Flight Is The VR Experience I Was Hoping For

For as long as humans have dreamed, we’ve dreamed of flying. We’ve built machines to launch us into the heavens, ever aware that we’re merely visitors. Reality falls short, but virtual reality brings us a bit closer in Ubisoft’s Eagle Flight. Eagle Flight takes place in a post-apocalyptic Paris. Nature is slowly reclaiming the city,…

A Solid Gold Pikachu Card, Only $2,000!

Only! To mark the 20th anniversary of the Pokémon trading card game, here is a solid gold Pikachu card. Priced at 216,000 yen (US$2,081), the card is 11 grams of 24k gold and is a collaboration between the Pokémon Company and jeweler Ginza Tanaka.  Nothing quite says twenty years of Pokémon like pure gold. Nothing.…

Pikachu Plushies Dressed Up As Mario And Luigi

Want. Badly. At Pokémon Centers in Japan, limited edition Pikachu-meets-Super Mario goodies are going on sale October 29. Have look! The following items are limited to the Pokémon Center Kyoto and the online shop. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond.…

Late Afternoon. San Francisco, California. By Thomas Nolle. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

So, Civilization VI Is Out

That’s one hell of an intro for a turn-based strategy game you’ve got there, Civilization VI After six years—six years!!—we’ve finally got our hands on a brand new Civilization game. I only started playing the final release today, though, so if you’re expecting a full review of the game in the next few days, sorry,…

Guy Plays Overwatch Using Bow As Controller

Rudeism likes to play video games with weird controllers. So yeah, here he is playing Overwatch—as Hanzo—using a nerf bow. He’s done something similar recently, playing as D.Va using joysticks and as Winston using bananas, but there’s something about that pissy little bow that’s more entertaining. It just…fits playing as fucking Hanzo In case you…

Nintendo Switch Partners Are So Secretive That They Won’t Even Confirm The Game That Was In The Console’s Official Trailer

You’d think that the appearance of Skyrim in the trailer for Nintendo’s next gaming machine today would confirm that, oh, perhaps, Skyrim is coming to Nintendo’s next gaming machine. Not necessarily. The great open-world role-playing game Skyrim is not confirmed for the Switch. Maybe it’s coming. Maybe not. A rep for Bethesda Softworks, publisher of…

Nintendo Shows Off New Splatoon Footage, Unclear If It’s A New Game

Today’s trailer for the Nintendo Switch, coming in 2017, showed off some new Splatoon footage that looks a little different from the ink-painting squid game we know and love. Never-before-seen features indicate that Splatoon is due for some fun new additions or a sequel on the Switch. Nintendo has not publicly confirmed either yet. The…

A Pro-Grade Mic Made For Console Streaming

Normally, if you want really good voice on your console game stream, you’ve got to run through a capture card to a system equipped with a nice mic. Turtle Beach’s new Stream Mic promises professional results while connecting directly to an Xbox One or PlayStation 4. Most headset microphones sound like ass. Even the really…