The Year I Gained The Courage To Ignore Video Game Music

I used to think badly of some of the people I saw on the New York City subway. They were misusing video games. They didn’t know what I was sure I knew: the proper way to enjoy video games. These folks would would sit on the bench in the C train, playing a video game…

Size Matters When You’re The Former Planet Pluto

Nearly four and a half years after Pluto was demoted from planet to dwarf planet, astronomers are still trying to figure out how big it is. The title of Largest Dwarf Planet in the Solar System hangs in the balance! Six years ago professor of planetary astronomy Michael E. Brown saw an object in the…

A Still Life For Gamers

Submitted for your perusal, this digital painting gives a modern day-twist to the classic still life typically packed with fruit. Designer and illustrator Marco Luna says it took him 8 hours to complete.

This Video Game Looks Awfully Familiar

This is not Call of Duty. This is a game made by Gameloft, a company that has mastered the art of flattery. Modern Combat: Domination — Launch trailer (PS3) [YouTube, via Twitter]

Facebook Hits The Links With PGA Tour Golf Challenge

PGA Tour Golf Challenge, the third Facebook game produced by EA Sports over the past year, is now live on the social networking site, bringing real-time 3D gameplay elements to a genre with few console-style games. Club type, shot direction, distance and even ball spin are controlled by players on a shot-by-shot basis in EA…

PGA Tour Challenge Screenshots

Dead Space Mixes It Up With Battlefield Heroes

EA’s free-to-play online Battlefield Heroes game is filled with players running about in ridiculous outfits they’ve cobbled together out of scraps. Nothing a healthy injection of Dead Space 2 shouldn’t cure. These two new outfits for Battlefield Heroes allow players on either side of the conflict to transform themselves into sleek and sexy cartoon representations…

Minecraft, FarmVille, What’s The Difference?

Colorfully named Kotaku commenter BubbleF**kingBuddy keeps it short and sweet in today’s Speak-Up on Kotaku, asking why our readers love Minecraft but hate FarmVille. Does it seem fair that Kotakuites often shit on Farmville for being “casual” or “pointless”, and then go on to play Minecraft all day? Why the double standard? About Speak-Up on…

Bulletstorm Mocks Halo With Evocative, Projectile-Vomiting Diorama

Nothing says serious business like a slow pan through a minutely detailed diorama set to moody music. A little projectile vomiting? A hot dog on a stick, shoved through a guy? A fireball about to enter an orifice? How can that hurt? Thanks for the Bulletstorm-laughs People Can Fly and Epic, now deliver a fantastic…

Show Tunes, Shit Hogs, And My Other Favorite Gaming Moments Of 2010

From exultant triumphs to powerful rushes of nostalgia, my 2010 gaming experience was peppered with memorable moments. Here are my favorites. Presented to you here in no particular order are my favorite gaming moments from last year. It bears noting that this is not a list of my favorite games of 2010. While several of…

It’s Official: Verizon Gets the iPhone, Now With MiFi

For those of us who like to game on the iPhone, we just got a second choice for who to use as our cell phone provider. Verizon this morning said that they will begin carrying Apple’s game-friendly iPhone starting on February. The provider’s website lists the launch date as Feb. 10. “Qualified” Verizon customers get…

Microsoft’s Answer to Portable Gaming is Windows Phone 7

Don’t expect a portable, dedicated gaming platform from Microsoft anytime soon. There will be no answer to the DS or PSP, no portable Xbox 360. That is unless you count the Windows Phone 7. “This is our mobile platform for games,” Kevin Unangst, senior global diretor of PC and mobile gaming at Microsoft, told Kotaku…

Real Life Barely Looks Better Than Gran Turismo 5

We know that Gran Turismo 5 looks realistic. The people who made the PlayStation 3 game wanted us to see how close they got. This is their racing game splitscreened with real life, on Germany’s famous Nürburgring track. Gran Turismo 5 Official Nurburgring Reality Check [YouTube]

Talk Amongst Yourselves

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President of Nintendo to Keynote GDC

Satoru Iwata, President of Nintendo, will keynote the 2011 Game Developers Conference this March in San Francisco. His topic: “Video Games Turn 25: A Historical Perspective and Vision for the Future.”

This Is Either The Best Or Worst Video Game Shopping Advice

All this one gamer wants is some help to decide which video game console he should buy. In a rare and curious display or near-unanimity on the Internet, he gets an answer. (Click to enlarge this image) And then, for the twist, there’s page 2. Update: And… as a reader points, out… the fact that…

Who Was First, The Beautiful Lady Or The Handsome Man?

To: Crecente From: Bash RE: Zombie Snow Apocalypse II Went to a shrine on Sunday. As you can see towards the end of the video, there is a man standing at a table with bananas on it. The man was asking the audience riddles. His question was this: Both a beautiful woman (美人の女) and a…

Ninja Lego Game On The Way

They don’t just make Ninja Lego sets — Ninjago — they’re now making a Ninja Lego game. Lego Battles: Ninjago will be an “epic family friendly adventure” focused on the martial art of “Spinjitzu” for the DS this spring, according to publisher Warner Bros. Interactive.

Earn Virtual Nintendo Chump Change For Walking

Sad, but true. The image of video gamers is of those overweight and adverse to exercise. With Wii Fit and Wii Sports, Nintendo tried to change that, but the Kyoto-based game company ain’t done yet. The upcoming 3D-glasses-free Nintendo 3DS seems to be outfitted with a pedometer (of course, Kotaku is no stranger to pedometers).…

Sorry, You Can’t Buy Your Way Into E3 Anymore

For the past few years, there’s been a tidy little black market operating around the fringes of E3 for those who wanted into the trade-only event but didn’t have official tickets. That market is now under threat. Sorry! The Electronic Entertainment Expo, held annually in Los Angeles, is in many ways the centre of the…