Assassin’s Creed Toys Intended to Introduce the Brand to Kids

A Ubisoft brand manager has made some eyebrow-raising comments about Assassin’s Creed’s Mega Bloks range at a conference in Toronto, GamesIndustry reports. This post originally appeared on Kotaku UK “For big IPs, smart brands are the best partners,” said Splinter Cell international brand manager Yannick Spagna said on a panel. “[Assassin’s Creed] do a line…

The Xbox One and PS4 Aren’t Really Rivals in China

It’s official folks: in China, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will be operated by the same conglomerate, Shanghai Media Group. How’s that for friendly rivals? Chinese media sites such as Sina Games and People’s Dailyare reporting that the proposed merger is going along as planned. Bloomberg Business reported today that shares of BesTV and…

Smash Bros. Characters Sure Suck at Swimming

Good at fighting? Yes. Good at swimming? Nope. Not at all. Via YouTuber Master0fHyrule, this compilation shows swimming—and drowning—animations for the characters in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U Obviously, the reason why the characters die so quickly is so the game doesn’t grind to a halt. This isn’t water sports! Watching the clip, it…

Track: New Beat | Artist: Mariachi El Bronx | Album: Mariachi El Bronx (III) Kotaku Soundtrack is a selection of the stuff we’re listening to – and gaming to – at the moment.

In Space, Nobody Can Hear You Say “This Is Beautiful”

Space Engine is a free download that lets you fly around the universe, without any aliens or trade federations getting in the way. It was a pretty thing the last timewe looked at it, in 2011, but this new video is just gorgeous I said it then and I’ll say it now: as attractive as…

Excellent PC Strategy Game Also Wants To Be An RPG

And here I was, only just sayinghow good Crusader Kings II – nominally a strategy game – was at depicting inter-personal relationships. Guess I’m not the only one who digs that aspect of the game, because developers Paradox are now going to double down on it, announcing an expansion that’s all about role-playing. Crusader Kings…

New Civilization Game Does Not Look Like A Civilization Game

I’m still not quite sure what I just watched. Civilization Online was first announceda couple of years ago, but this is the first actual look we’ve got at the game. And it’s…well, it doesn’t look very Civilization, does it? The fact it’s an MMO explains most of this away, especially the combat, but watch closely…

The Week In Games: Stocking Up For The Winter

There aren’t a lot of games coming out between now and the new year, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t any good games left for 2014. One of this week’s releases has Persona in the title. That’s always a good thing, right? I won’t say it’s a really empty week — not yet. I’m saving…

RIP Justin Costello

Justin Costello, a prominent and well-loved figure in the Australian cosplay scene, has sadly passed away over the weekend. In addition to his own amazing personal work, Justin was also a member of Gotham’s Finest, a team that uses cosplay to help with things like fund-raising and visits to children’s hospitals. Justin is survived by…

Where Were You When World Of Warcraft Started Running?

If your answer is something along the lines of “sitting in front of my computer cursing”, you certainly weren’t thinking Blizzard’s MMORPG would make it ten years, yet here we are to the day. When World of Warcraft first launched back on November 23 of 2004, I was busy playing EverQuest 2, which had come…