8GB Wii U Basic Nixed?

A reliable retail source tells us that some GameStop chains will no longer be selling the 8GB Wii U as of June 18, exactly one week after Nintendo’s big E3 kick-offevent. Our source says GameStop has contacted stores with the following message: Nintendo Wii U Basic Recall – Two Week Preparation On Tuesday, 6/18, all…

SpyParty, the excellent asymmetrical multiplayer game we’ve been raving about for years, is finally going into open beta. Go sign up! $15.

The Story Behind Those Two Controversial South Park Screenshots

It’s a funny thing, working as a reporter who covers the video game industry. Often, video game publishers try to treat you like you’re part of their marketing arm. Sometimes they ask for some very strange things. This morning, Ubisoft sent us a handful of screenshots from their upcoming role-playing game, South Park: The Stick…

A Man, Dressed In A Paper Sailor Moon Outfit, Dancing Awkwardly

Last time we checked in with Evan McIsaac, he was dancing and lip synching to “Do My Thing” by Estelle and Janelle Monáe…all while dressed like Sailor Moon characters. Now he’s back with a number to accompany to Hi Fashion’s “Amazing.” It’s terrible. And that’s exactly what makes it amazing. I can’t get over how…

It Doesn’t Matter That Remember Me‘s Main Character Is a Black Woman.

I wasn’t sure that I was going to write about the race of Remember Me‘s heroine because I wasn’t sure there’d be anything to write about. And after having played the game, I can say that Nilin’s ethnic make-up plays no part in the world-building of the new Capcom adventure. But wait a minute, some…

Company of Heroes 2 has begun its open beta, which will run through June 18. To sign up, head over to the game’s Steam page.

Hip Hop Gamer’s New Journalist Championship Belt Has No Platform Bias

Hip Hop Gamer, a fixture of New York gaming press events and a man of boundless enthusiasm, has traded in his trademark WWE replica John Cena title belt for something cooler and… a little different. I believe it was two years ago, walking through a crosswalk near the Los Angeles Convention Center, when I informed…

Shadow of the Eternals Stops Kickstarter, Plans to Restart It

The crowdfunding campaign for Shadow of the Eternals, a sequel to Eternal Darkness, has been suspended, says Precursor games, the studio formed from the ashes of original developer Silicon Knights. Precursor says they’ll “be re-launching the Kickstarter in just a few short weeks.” The reason for the suspension is “a host of new exciting opportunities…

How The Fantasia Game Plans to Live Up Disney’s Animated Classic

Look, I know there’s disappointment that the new Fantasia: Music Evolved video game revealed this morning isn’t a lush, hand-painted cartoon. And some people have bemoaned the fact that it’ll be using licensed music from best-selling pop acts. So, no: this game isn’t going to port a 70-year-old animated classic onto Xbox game consoles. But…

This Mesmerizing Version of Tetris Can Draw Anything You Want

Two years ago, the Internet stumbled across a guy who would work upwards of two hours to create virtuoso sprite patterns within Tetris. Well, anything humans can do, a computer can do better, right? Here’s the Tetris Printer Algorithm. Showoff … The creation of Michael Birken, this algorithm uses eight different-colored tetrominoes plus the empty-space…

Spawning is back in StarCraft II: in other words, if you don’t have Blizzard’s real-time strategy game but you still want to play it, you can now mooch off a friend online. More info on battle.net (and in the video).

The Moneysaver: Rayman Origins, Crysis 3 Lost Island, Sealab 2021

I shall grant you these deals on this, the day of my daughter’s wedding. It’s already been a busy day for deals, and it’s not anywhere near over. PS3, PC, and even Vita owners can all grab the awesome Rayman Origins for big discounts today. We’ve also got lots of blu-rays and keyboards to choose…

Why is the PSP Getting Pro Evolution Soccer, and not the Vita or 3DS?

Pro Evolution Soccer won’t have Xbox One or PlayStation 4 versions. No surprise there. It won’t have a Wii U version. Even less of a surprise there. It won’t publish on the Nintendo 3DS or the PlayStation Vita, either. So why is it still coming out on the PSP? That’s right, the PSP. Of the…

Deadline Hollywood says that Microsoft’s trying to get Hollywood bigwigs excited about the Xbox One. CEO Steve Ballmer reportedly said that Microsoft “doesn’t want to be a cable channel.” Well, that’s a relief.

Animal Crossing: New Leaf: The Kotaku Review

Let me tell you, I’ve done some fantastical things while playing games. Saved the world. Visited galaxies. Destroyed evil—you know, that sort of thing. And yet none of that has baffled me as much as the idea that there’s a game where I accrued a home mortgage and was able to sit down and go,…

[It’s Over] Moneysaver One-Shot: Injustice: Gods Among Us For $10

Gamestop’s Power Hour Sale is Injustice: Gods Among Us for $10 on PS3, 360, or Wii U. Go!

What We Can Learn From Paul McCartney’s Awful Video Game

Sir Paul McCartney had a video game. It is pretty awful, but it’s also fascinating. In the video above, I talk about Give My Reguards to Broad Street, a game by Argus Press Software for the Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum based on an equally terrible movie of the same name. I talk about why…

Watch a Room Full of People Cheer on a Giant Video Game Snail

Listen: when you’re watching two teams go to war in Killer Queen, you don’t have to join in the crowds yelling for an oversized cephalopod gastropod to make it to one side of the screen. But you want to. “SNAIL! SNAIL! SNAIL!” It just comes out of you. The video above comes from the first…

Hey, The South Park RPG Still Looks Really Good [UPDATE]

Yes, it’s changed publishers and been delayed a few times, but South Park: The Stick of Truth still exists, and it still looks amazing. Here are some new screenshots from the Obsidian-developed RPG, which is written by the show’s creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Originally slated for last year (and then earlier this year)…

Together We Can Ace This 120 Question Nerd Equivalency Test

At last weekend’s Denver Comic Con, animator and syndicated cartoonist Rich Moyer assembled a team of 120 characters from games, comics, science fiction and fantasy, and challenged children to name each one. Are you guys going to let children show us us? Moyer provided a numbered answer sheet for this limeted edition poster, available now…