Kotaku

Today's Video Gaming Kids Don't Know How Good They Have It [Speak Up On Kotaku]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:00:00 EST

In today's completely grown-up edition of Speak Up on Kotaku, commenter DukeofWulf muses on how easy it is for kids today to fill all of that free time they've got with copious amounts of free gaming, the little snots. More »

Fifth Annual SOE Competition to Award $10,000 Scholarship [G.i.r.l.]

Kate Cox — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:40:00 EST

Sony Online Entertainment has just announced their fifth annual "Gamers In Real Life" (G.I.R.L.) scholarship competition. Although the acronym has always mildly annoyed me, I think the program itself is great. Winners receive $10,000 in scholarship funds and the opportunity for a paid internship at SOE's San Diego headquarters. More »

Talk Amongst Yourselves [Official Kotaku Forum]

Evan Narcisse — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:20:00 EST

What madness is this, then? This is Kotaku's official forum, known affectionately as Talk Amongst Yourselves, where we gather on a daily basis to discuss the joys and wonders of gaming all rolled up into one. More »

Bethesda: Skyrim DLC Will Feel More Like Expansion Packs [The Elder Scrolls]

Stephen Totilo — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:00:00 EST

We've been promised substantial downloadable content for last year's blockbuster Skyrim, but it sounds like Bethesda is thinking really big. More »

Video Games Could Be Super Effective Against Congenital Cataracts [Science]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:30:00 EST

Once considered the enemy of the child's eye, recent medical research has shown that video games can have a beneficial effect on vision. Now a psychologist at McMaster University in Canada says the 40 hours of action-packed gaming could significantly improve the vision of people born with cataracts. More »

L.A. Noire and Batman: Arkham City Lead Nominations for British Video Game Awards [Batman]

Evan Narcisse — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:00:00 EST

Just like a comic-book plotline where two crimefighters battle it out to find out who's best, the members of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts will decide whether Cole Phelps and Batman had the better video game. More »

Vita Launch Feels Like the "Last Dinosaur" Says Duke Nukem Forever Designer [Pullquote]

Mike Fahey — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:30:00 EST

If anyone would know what it's like to show up late to a party it's the man that worked on Duke Nukem Forever for over a dozen years. More »

Kinect. Coming Soon to a Japanese Arcade Near You. [Note]

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:00:00 EST

Kinected | CHIBA, JAPAN: Konami showed off its new coin-operated Kinect game today. (Photo: Richard Eisenbeis | Kotaku)

The Girl's Eyes Were Just Too Freaky [3ds]

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:55:00 EST

Upcoming Nintendo 3DS role-playing game for girls Girls RPG Cindere Life featured a hostess-type heroine with heroine with comically huge eyes. "Featured" because at some point, the game's developer changed them. More »

Lady Blames Anime for Suicides. I Blame Her for Stupidity. [Russia]

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:45:00 EST

Over the past two weeks in Russia, six kids have committed suicide. They apparently came from good homes. They did well in school. So why did they kill themselves? More »

Gravity Rush Makes You an Accidental Mass Murderer [Video]

Richard Eisenbeis — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:32:08 EST

At its heart, Gravity Rush is a steam-punk superhero adventure. Of course, Kat isn't exactly the ideal heroine, despite her obviously pure intentions. Perhaps she just needs to take a moment and look up the term "collateral damage." More »

A Broken Back. Checking into the Hospital. [Postcard]

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:25:00 EST

Earlier this week, my mother-in-law visited our place to give my boys and me some Valentine's Day chocolate. When she was leaving with my father-in-law, she slipped and fell. She broke her back. More »

Tekken Tag 2 Has a Surprising Option [Video]

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:00:00 EST

With Tekken Unlimited Tag Tournament 2 (temp title), Tekken Tag 2 is coming to Japanese arcades. Besides tag team, it also allows players to play one character vs. one character—which defeats the purpose of tag, no? More »

It Was a Whole Day of Japanese Arcade Games [Arcade]

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 06:30:00 EST

Today, AOU (All Nippon Amusement Machine Operators' Union) kicked off its annual show AOU Expo in Chiba, Japan. More »

What a Rush! Gravity Rush Impressions [Gravity Rush]

Richard Eisenbeis — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 06:00:00 EST

I wonder how Sir Isaac Newton would feel if he were to play a game inspired by his own legend where real-world gravity physics have been crafted into an interactive playground. Well, if that game were Gravity Rush, I'm sure he'd be amazed—and not just by the existence of a glowing interactive box in his hands. More »

Amazing Wii Battles. No US Release in Sight. [Video]

Richard Eisenbeis — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 05:30:00 EST

With The Last Story getting its European release next week, let's take a few minutes to talk about its action-packed battle system. More »

Let China Show You How to Chun-Li and Final Fantasy [Cosplay]

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 05:00:00 EST

You might not know how to Chun-Li. You might not know how to Final Fantasy or SoulCalibur. Chinese photographer Mengjie Luan sure does. More »

This is China's iPad. The One Apple Is Getting Sued Over. [Ipad]

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 04:30:00 EST

Apple's iPads are disappearing from Chinese stores shelves. The reason is that a Chinese company called Proview is contesting the use of the iPad moniker. More »

Do You Want To Do It? With This Japanese Meme? [Culture Smash]

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 04:01:00 EST

Whether it's a Japanese video game or a comic convention, he's bound to pop up. He even appeared on fan-made Valentine's Day chocolate. He is the Yaranaika Guy, and he's keen to know if you'd like to screw. So, would you? More »

More Gears of War 3 DLC Coming [Blip]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 03:30:00 EST

A new set of downloadable content for Gears of War 3, Forces of Nature, will be out on March 27. It includes three new character skins, three new maps, two old maps, seven weapon skins and Gears of War 2's Guardian Mode. Forces of Nature will cost 800 MSP. [GameTrailers] More »

Half-Life 2's Strider Comes to Life With This Custom Action Figure [Toys]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 03:00:00 EST

Actually, calling it an action figure does it a bit of a disservice. The term "action figure" conjures all sorts of images, mostly of very small men. This custom Strider from the Half-Life universe is not very small at all. More »

Buy Yourself a Real Dragonborn Helmet [The Elder Scrolls]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 02:30:00 EST

You've seen Dragonborn helmets made out of yarn. You've seen Dragonborn helmets made out of bacon. Both were awesome, but hardly practical. Now, this real Dragonborn helmet, you could crack some skulls with this. More »

The Dinosaurs, Robots and BioShocks of Artist Ben Mauro [Fine Art]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 02:00:00 EST

Ben Mauro is a concept artist from New Zealand who has recently worked on The Hobbit. The new Superman movie, Man of Steel. Neill Blomkamp's Elysium. Even the upcoming Star Wars TV show, Underworld. More »

Valve's $100 Joke Ends in Half-Life Delay Gags [Valve]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 01:30:00 EST

Valve's $100 Valentine's Day gag was actually taken up by a lot of people, who figured the money was well spent since it gave them a chance to broadcast a message to the entire Team Fortress 2 community. More »

Make Yourself Sick on Adorable Zelda Art [Zelda]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 01:00:00 EST

Artist OMOCAT takes Zelda and dials the cuteness up as far as it can go without making you puke. Even the Zelda stuff that's already cute, doesn't matter, it gets cuter. More »

KOTOR, Mass Effect & Dragon Age Writer Leaves Games Behind [Bioware]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:30:00 EST

Drew Karpyshyn, who's been a writer at BioWare for over a decade now, will be walking away from the games business to focus on his novels. More »

Why People Give a Shit About a 1988 PC Role-Playing Game [Video]

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 00:00:00 EST

Brian Fargo, whose credits include Bard's Tale and the original Fallout, wants to make a new Wasteland game. This is a very good idea. More »

Retro Rumble Episode 1 - Don't Pee in the Pool [Video]

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:30:00 EST

You know how outfits like Major League Gaming are full of sponsored kids playing the latest game at breakneck speeds? More »

We Asked The Red Carpet: Were Old Video Games Actually Bad? Or Good? [Video]

Stephen Totilo — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 23:00:00 EST

I have a nearly irrational dislike for retro video games. I assume most of the old "classics" wasted my youth with their needlessly bottomless pits and/or a hunger for my quarters. More »

You Better Think! [Open Thread]

Kirk Hamilton — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:30:00 EST

Hello, Kotaku! It's been a wild day—we launched our first installment of Kotaku Melodic, and I think it went really well. I hope you were out there reading. More »

Reset Glitch May Wipe Out Gotham City Impostors Data [Gotham City Impostors]

Owen Good — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:00:00 EST

A glitch coming when a user updates Gotham City Impostors' trial version to a full game is causing reset of some players attributes and statistics, developer Monolith has said, which is particularly troubling since some players have boosted their attributes with paid upgrades. More »

Insomniac Programmer Michael Kuehl Passes Away [Rip]

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:53:00 EST

Michael Kuehl, a programmer with Resistance developers Insomniac - and who had also worked at Infinity Ward and Electronic Arts - has tragically passed away at the age of 32. More »

His Creations Come to Life [Note]

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:30:00 EST

For Reals | COPENHAGEN, DENMARK: Minecraft creator Notch witness his work made real through the magic of Lego. (Photo: Imagur)

Looks Like the Persona Fighting Game is Coming to the West [Video]

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:20:00 EST

Earlier today, Atlus teased an announcement for it loyal fans in North America by sending an image of a giant black rectangle. A little PhotoShop work reveals that image to be a teaser for what looks like Persona 4 The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena. More »

Why the Chrono Cross Soundtrack is My Favorite [Video]

Leigh Alexander — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:00:00 EST

I think I know part of the reason Chrono Cross is less acknowledged than its predecessor, Chrono Trigger. It's because it's a sequel in spirit only, keeping some conceptual commonalities and a sparse few plot ones. More »

Fallout 3's Tunnel Snakes Rule, and So Does This Amazing Classic Remix [Video]

Kirk Hamilton — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:45:00 EST

Who could forget the Tunnel Snakes, the dorkiest, least menacing group of post-apocalyptic greaser wanna-be gangsters to ever grace a role-playing game? I sure couldn't. And who could forget this classic video, which though it's a few years old, still holds up remarkably well? More »

The Mind-Numbing Music of the PlayStation Vita [Video]

Kirk Hamilton — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:30:00 EST

Every time I boot up my Vita, I get into an elevator. This elevator takes me to all kinds of cool places—fun games, great graphics, really cool online features, and a highly functional and enjoyable PSN experience. But there's a catch: on this elevator, they're playing incredibly tedious background music. It loops over and over until I'm ready to head for the emergency hatch and take my chances climbing cables. More »

Check Out the Wicked-Grooving New iOS Game Beat Sneak Bandit [Blip]

Kirk Hamilton — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:20:00 EST

Today, Simogo's rhythm-puzzle game Beat Sneak Bandit arrived on the Apple App Store. Our own Evan Narcisse already wrote it up for us, but I've been playing it too and it is terrific. I highly recommend checking it out. More »

A Lovely Video Game Ballad To Invigorate Our Jaded, Shrunken Hearts [Video]

Kirk Hamilton — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:15:00 EST

Last year's To The Moon was an emotional game, a throwback storybook that really wore its heart on its sleeve. I liked it a lot. More »