Reviews & Features
Newsfeed Selector
» GameSpot Headlines
EA engineer says ‘the Wii U is crap’
18 May 2013 |Before deleting tweets, senior engineer at Electronic Arts blasts struggling platform, saying "Nintendo are still operating like it's 1990."
Layoffs at Defiance dev - Report
17 May 2013 |Trion Worlds confirms job cuts as part of company reorganization, says 80 percent layoff figure "definitely exaggerated"; development on Rift, future titles unaffected.
Microsoft to show off ‘smaller and denser’ Xbox console at next-gen event
17 May 2013 |Sources say Microsoft to reveal trimmed down Xbox system with "flattened" controllers at media briefing next week.
GungHo: Japanese devs must go ‘back to basics’
17 May 2013 |No More Heroes, Killer Is Dead studio owner says Japanese developers need to remember why they make games in the first place.
Team Fortress 2 adds first community-made update
17 May 2013 |Robotic Boogaloo update for Valve's free-to-play shooter introduces 57 new items and is 100 percent fan-made.
Metal Gear Solid: The Legacy Collection delayed
17 May 2013 |Sony pushes PlayStation3-exclusive bundle from June to July, reveals $50 price tag for comprehensive compilation pack.
Rainbow 6: Patriots pulled from GameStop database
17 May 2013 |US retailer cancels preorders; tells GameSpot it is waiting to "hear further" from Ubisoft about Rainbow 6: Patriots.
Total War: Rome II fastest preordered game in franchise history
17 May 2013 |Sega reveals preorder figures for upcoming strategy game are over six the number for Shogun 2 during its "first official week."
Insomniac ‘seriously considered’ Resistance 4
17 May 2013 |Developer says it could have made fourth entry in first-person shooter series but was wary of "franchise fatigue."
Yakuza 1 & 2 HD bundle hitting Wii U in Japan
17 May 2013 |Upcoming action game collection coming to Nintendo's latest console in Japan this summer; no word on Western release.
» IGN Headlines
» 1UP Headlines
Listen to the Final 1UP Podcast Ever
7 April 2013 | <!--Begin feature--> <!-- for syndication --> As you know, 1UP.com has breathed its last. Such are the vicissitudes of business. Happily, Jose Otero ...
Review: Bending Genres in Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon
22 March 2013 | <!-- Begin Template_OpenHtml --> Feature <!-- Begin socialTools --> Share it: Tweet [removed][removed] [removed] window.fbAsyncInit = ...
Review: Shambling Mirror of Fate Signals Time to Jam a Stake in Castlevania’s Heart
8 March 2013 | <!--Begin feature--> <!-- for syndication --> Castlevania: Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate brings the series back to Nintendo's portable systems, ...
An Unflattering Boll Cut
7 March 2013 | <!-- Begin Template_OpenHtml --> Feature <!-- Begin socialTools --> Share it: Tweet [removed][removed] [removed] window.fbAsyncInit = ...
The Trials and Tribulations of Gears of War: Judgment
6 March 2013 | <!--Begin feature--> <!-- for syndication --> <body> As the next generation of home consoles slowly emerge into the limelight and enter the ...
The Cinematic Nature of Parasite Eve
1 March 2013 | <!-- Begin Template_OpenHtml --> Feature <!-- Begin socialTools --> Share it: Tweet [removed][removed] [removed] window.fbAsyncInit = ...
A Plea for the Gaming Industry to Respect Gamers
1 March 2013 | <!--Begin feature--> <!-- for syndication --> Although the economy might not be in the thick of a recession as it once was, that doesn't mean things ...
Moving Forward and Looking to Indies, Not Better Graphics
28 February 2013 | <!--Begin feature--> <!-- for syndication --> Excited as I was to finally see a next-generation console, much of the PlayStation 4 software we saw ...
Urban Trial Freestyle Review: Where Flash Trumps Substance
27 February 2013 | <!--Begin feature--> <!-- for syndication --> There is no getting around the similarities between Urban Trial Freestyle and the Trials series. The ...
The Orwellian Superheroes of Watch Dogs and inFamous: Second Son
23 February 2013 | <!--Begin feature--> <!-- for syndication --> <body> Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. Asleep or awake, working or ...
» GameDaily Headlines
Mass Effect 2: The Engineer
26 April 2013 |Unleash combat drones and hack your enemies with Mass Effect 2's nerdy Engineer class.
MW2 MP Broken?
26 April 2013 |Xbox 360 version plagued by cheaters and 18 person deathmatches. What's Infinity Ward doing about this? Based on our experiences this week...nothing.
NES Stress Test
26 April 2013 |Can Super Mario Bros. withstand subzero temperatures? GoNintendo hopes to find out.
Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Trailer
26 April 2013 |Ubisoft releases a teaser to its much-anticipated Tom Clancy game.
Blur Beta Key Giveaway
26 April 2013 |Enter to win a chance to play Bizarre Creations' latest speedster three months early.
GDC 2010 Coverage
26 April 2013 |Check out the latest videos from this week's feature packed show in San Francisco.
Red Dead Redemption Trailer
26 April 2013 |New video details life in the Wild West.
Gears of War 3
26 April 2013 |Epic Games confirms the inevitable. Better ready the chainsaw.
Left 4 Dead 2: Realism Versus Here to Stay
26 April 2013 |Thousands of frag happy gamers vote to make experimental Mutation an official part of the L4D2 multiplayer scene.
NBA Jam Facebook Contest
26 April 2013 |Immortalize your latest one-liner in arcade basketball history.
» Gamasutra Headlines
Check out this supercut from Ludum Dare 26
18 May 2013 |Make yourself comfortable. This supercut compiles nearly all of Ludum Dare 26's over 2000 submissions into an intense 20 minute video. ...
New Team Fortress 2 update is completely user-made
18 May 2013 |The newest free content update for Valve's Team Fortress 2, Robotic Boogaloo, is entirely the creation of the game's fans, with more than 50 modders contributing to the project. ...
New layoffs reach Trion
18 May 2013 |Trion Worlds has confirmed for Gamasutra that it has laid off yet more of its workforce. Several teams have been dramatically reduced, with Trion's Defiance team said to be "obliterated." ...
Do all games need big audiences?
18 May 2013 |"It might be ok for some games to really be for other game makers, or only for literature buffs, and not the general public," writes Adam Saltsman (Hundreds) on the fickle nature of indie curation. ...
How developers mess up immersion (you might be doing it wrong)
18 May 2013 |Adrian Chmielarz (Bulletstorm) takes a tour through Metro: Last Light to expose a common way developers try to foster a sense of immersion -- and why they miss the mark. ...
Video: Curating the do-it-yourself revolution
18 May 2013 |Developers Terry Cavanagh (Super Hexagon) and Porpentine (Howling Dogs) highlight innovative games from 2012 and call for other developers to join in the curation. ...
Get a job: Cryptic Studios seeks multiple programmers
18 May 2013 |"Cryptic Studios is a leading developer of massively multiplayer online role playing games. We are currently looking for full-time Programmers. Multiple positions available!" ...
Building a games-as-a-service studio from the ground up
18 May 2013 |Jeremy Blum tells the story of the founding of New World Interactive, developers of Insurgency, explaining how his background boosted his effort to build a community-focused studio. ...
‘Coercive’ free-to-play, or treating your players like a disease
18 May 2013 |Monetization consultant Ramin Shokrizade explains how many free-to-play games are "coercive" towards players -- and how, inevitably, these business models will stop working. ...
The $3 million (per day) man
18 May 2013 |Kazuki Morishita, president of GungHo Online, had the original idea for smash mobile hit, Puzzle & Dragons, which rakes in a reported $3 million each day. Where does GungHo go from here? ...
» GamesIndustry.Biz Headlines
Ubisoft reaffirms its faith in Nintendo
18 May 2013 |Publisher confident that "Nintendo will take steps to ensure that the Wii U is successful in the market”
Battlefield project manager moves to Call of Duty team
18 May 2013 |Kevin Flynn leaves the Battlefield to join the Ghosts
Trion hit by mass layoffs
18 May 2013 |Defiance developer reportedly makes deep cuts to staff, Rift and other games "unaffected"
Galaxy S4 sales approach 10 million
18 May 2013 |Samsung says latest smartphone is outpacing the S3, expects it to hit milestone next week
Obsidian and Mail.ru Games partner up for Skyforge MMO
18 May 2013 |Obsidian and Allods Team's new game coming in 2014
How Nintendo Can "Win" E3
18 May 2013 |"Effectively, Nintendo needs to relaunch the Wii U and make sure the audience understands what it is"
Sega Europe hands Sonic publishing duties to Nintendo
18 May 2013 |New partnership for three exclusive titles as publisher continues transition to PC market
Nintendo Wii U: Death By Apathy
18 May 2013 |With no support from Electronic Arts, the Wii U just experienced its Dreamcast moment. Will other publishers now follow suit?
Selling Your Children: Game Entrepreneurs On Letting Go
17 May 2013 |Trip Hawkins, Alex Seropian, and Tony Goodman on regrets, emotional trauma, and what drives them to keep starting new companies
Defense Grid 2 finds angel investor for final development
17 May 2013 |XE.com exec Steven Dengler provides the funds
» GamePolitics Headlines
Apple Celebrates Over 50 Billion App Downloads
18 May 2013 | On May 3 Apple said that it was very close to hitting 50 billion app download mark on its App store. Today the company announced that its App Store has surpassed the ...
Hackers Talk CISPA, Anonymous and More
18 May 2013 | Motherboard (part of VICE - which you may know better from their new weekly news show on HBO) has an interesting interview with two hackers - Dragon and PhäntömZ ...
Report: GameStop Has Delisted Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Patriots
18 May 2013 | Is Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Patriots dead? We're not sure, but GameStop made a dramatic move today that might indicate that something bad has happened to ...
First Lady Sees Culture as an Obstacle to Higher Education for African American Youth
18 May 2013 | First Lady Michelle Obama recently gave a commencement address at Bowie State University encouraging more young African Americans to continue their education. She does ...
Six Games Greenlighted by Steam Community
18 May 2013 | Valve announced six new titles to be greenlighted by the Steam community. The new games that will eventually make their way to Steam thanks to the community's support ...
Nintendo to Offer Unreleased Playable Demos at Select Best Buy Stores During E3
18 May 2013 | Nintendo has a novel way of getting gamers (who do not already own a Wii U) excited about the games it will be showcasing at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles ...
Four UK-Based LulzSec Members Sentenced for 2011 Security Breaches
18 May 2013 | The BBC reports that four members of the hacktivist group LulzSec based in the United Kingdom have been sentenced this week. They are Ryan Cleary, Jake Davis, Mustafa ...
EA Abandons Wii U Completely
18 May 2013 | Say the name of an Electronic Arts title you'd like to see come to the Wii U. Okay, now let me break the bad news to you as gently as I can: There are no games from ...
Nintendo: 3DS First-Party Software Sales Up 52 Percent in 2013
18 May 2013 | Nintendo says that first-party game sales for the Nintendo 3DS were very strong in the first four months of 2013. The company claims that within that time period it moved ...
Video Game Sales Down 25 Percent in April
18 May 2013 | Video game hardware and software sales were down by 25 percent during the month of April (April 4 - May 7, 2013) in North America, according to data released by the NPD ...
» Joystiq Headlines
Team Fortress 2 ‘Robotic Boogaloo’ update tangos with Steam
18 May 2013 |<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="298" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/GKLYJIU7vuA?wmode=opaque" width="530"></iframe> The first community-created updated for Team Fortress 2 has ...
Dust: An Elysian Tail scampers onto Steam May 24
18 May 2013 | Next week marks the Steam debut of Humble Heart's XBLA darling, Dust: An Elysian Tail. Dean Dodrill, animator and creator of Dust, took to Twitter to announce the May 24 launch date; though there is currently no Steam product ...
Dungeon Defenders 2 begins character profiles with ‘Man and Machine’
18 May 2013 | <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="337" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/q7uZl0WZP_M?rel=0&wmode=opaque" width="599"></iframe> Trendy Entertainment's Dungeon Defenders 2, which is ...
Report: Remastered Final Fantasy VIII coming to PC in Japan
18 May 2013 | [Rough translation of the above dialogue: "...whatever."] The ever-sullen Squall and his friends are set to make a high-resolution return, as Famitsu reports that Square Enix is developing a remastered PC version of Final Fantasy ...
Lionhead job openings point to Unreal Engine 4 powering next game
18 May 2013 | Fable series developer Lionhead Studios is currently seeking a gameplay programmer and an automation engineer for an upcoming unannounced project, emphasizing that knowledge of Epic's Unreal Engine 3 or 4 is required for ...
Greenberg teases Xbox reveal, says E3 is ‘all about the games’
18 May 2013 | Microsoft Interactive Entertainment Business Chief of Staff Aaron Greenberg recently stopped by the Major Nelson podcast to discuss next week's Xbox reveal event and how Microsoft will show its "vision for the future of ...
WRUP: Xbox 720? NeXbox? Xboxfinity?
18 May 2013 | The next generation of Microsoft's Xbox console will be revealed next Tuesday, May 21. Swing on by here (and set those calendars, Siri reminders) to join us at 1PM Eastern (10AM Pacific, 6PM UK) for whatever happens. What's ...
Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault launches for PS Vita next week
18 May 2013 | The once-delayed PlayStation Vita version of Insomniac's hybrid tower defense-action game Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault will launch next week as a downloadable PlayStation Network title in North America and Europe. ...
Ron Gilbert’s Scurvy Scallywags gets trailer, screens
18 May 2013 |<iframe frameborder="0" height="318" id="viddler-445bbbe3" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="http://www.viddler.com/embed/445bbbe3/?f=1&autoplay=0&player=simple&secret=105927749&loop=0&nologo=0&hd=0" ...
Just jargon through Remember Me
18 May 2013 |<iframe frameborder="0" height="318" id="viddler-d4107c0a" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="http://www.viddler.com/embed/d4107c0a/?f=1&autoplay=0&player=simple&secret=19817019&loop=0&nologo=0&hd=0" ...
» Kotaku Headlines
While You Were Sleeping
23 August 2011 |Sleeping can be fun — necessary even. But what if stuff happens when you’re sleeping — game stuff? What are you supposed to to do then? Thankfully we have a solution — While You Were Sleeping, a quick round ...
Talk Amongst Yourselves
23 August 2011 |This is where Kotaku readers go to talk about the stuff we’re not already posting about. Think of it as the official unofficial Kotaku community forum. (more…)
Finally! Video Game Clothing That’s Stylish And Perfect For Daily Wear
23 August 2011 |Deus Ex: Human Revolution is already getting great reviews, though it doesn’t release until tomorrow. And now a Deus Ex clothing line has been announced for what promises to be a blockbuster game. (more…)
Deus Ex: Human Revolution’s Review Scores Are Perfectly Natural
23 August 2011 |In the year 2000, Ion Storm unleashed the perfect marriage of futuristic shooter and skill-based role-playing in Deus Ex, a game so unique that even its own sequel couldn’t replicate its success. Can any follow-up possibly do ...
The Gaming Tragedies That Didn’t Kill Us (But Nearly Broke Us)
23 August 2011 | My proudest moments as a tap dancer are displayed in my parents’ house in the form of sparkly, obnoxious trophies. (more…)
On The 8th Day Atlus Gave Us A Good Reason To Buy Devil Survivor Again
23 August 2011 | With only one more day before the 3DS remaster of Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor comes out, Atlus gives fans one more day to consider replaying one of the best role-playing games of 2009. (more…)
The Rare Angry Birds Theme Guitar Remix Spotted In The Wild
23 August 2011 | When musicians decide to take video game music and make it better, the results are almost always fantastic. (more…)
Death Of PC Gaming Scheduled To Be Disproven On August 26
23 August 2011 | We’ve heard it said time and time again, PC gaming is not dead, but sometime just saying something isn’t enough. This Friday, PC peripheral maker Razer plans to prove it. (more…)
Aliens: Colonial Marines Shows Why It’s Smart To Wait 25 Years To Make A Movie Game
23 August 2011 |While we’ve known for a while now that Gearbox’s upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines makes extensive use of original concept art from the movie it’s based on, 1986′s Aliens, it’s still a surprise to see ...
The Trailer For Dark Souls Comes With Fair Warning
23 August 2011 | The new trailer for Dark Souls comes with a simple warning: Prepare to die. (more…)
» Next Generation Headlines
The limits of videogame interaction
17 September 2012 | Nuanced and subtle game design is meaningless if the player can't respond in kind, says Clint Hocking. A few ...
World Of Warplanes: free-to-play dogfights from the creator of World Of Tanks
17 September 2012 | Developer Wargaming on taking its free-to-play fight to the skies. World Of Tanks was a freak success. Not even ...
Introducing Free-To-Play Week
17 September 2012 | A thorough investigation of the industry's fastest-growing business model kicks off today. Throughout this ...
Joe Danger 2: The Movie review
17 September 2012 | Hello Games' sequel layers on the polish without losing the original's scrappy small-team charm. At ...
Sleeping Dogs tops UK chart again
17 September 2012 |read more
Time Extend: Super Metroid
16 September 2012 | "The last metroid is in captivity. The galaxy is at peace." Thankfully, that's just about the only thing Super Metroid ...
The Making Of: Spacewar!
15 September 2012 | The first ever videogame ran on a $120,000 piece of hardware - we go back to the summer of 1962. It's a ...
Hide&Seek;Weekender offers drop-in gaming to London public
15 September 2012 |read more
Tokyo Jungle review
15 September 2012 | Bold and strange, Crispy's underdog adventure daringly attempts to upset the natural order of things. Novelty ...
Gamestation stores to be rebranded under Game name
14 September 2012 | 122 Gamestation outlets to be unified with parent company, rebranded stores to combine "best of both brands". ...
» Digg Headlines
» Slashdot Headlines
Nintendo Hijacks Ad Revenue From Fan-Created YouTube Playthroughs
18 May 2013 |mcleland writes "The BBC reports that Nintendo is now using the content ID match feature in YouTube to identify screencap videos of people playing their games. They then take over the advertising that appears with the video, and ...
Used Game To Survive? EA Plans To Drop Online Pass
17 May 2013 |Krazy Kanuck writes "Introduced in 2010, Online Pass was marketed as a way to 'preserve' online content or DLC as titles were sold in the used game market. Many saw this as a way to cut out the second hand game market. EA has now ...
NeuroGaming Conference Profiles the Rise of Brain-Computer Interfaces
15 May 2013 |kkleiner writes "The first NeuroGaming Conference and Expo took place at the beginning of May to showcase the convergent technologies that are paving the way toward gaming with your mind. Tech news has been dominated with stories ...
Google Play Games Leaks Ahead of I/O
12 May 2013 |Android Police reports on an information leak out of Google in the lead-up to their I/O conference, which starts on May 15th. A new version of Google Play Services contains information about "Google Play Games," the company's ...
Vulnerability Found In Skyrim, Fallout, Other Bethesda Games
12 May 2013 |An anonymous reader writes "The author of this article goes over a format string vulnerability he found in The Elder Scrolls series starting with Morrowind and going all the way up to Skyrim. It's not something that will likely be ...
World of Warcraft Loses 1.3 Million Players in First Quarter of 2013
10 May 2013 |hypnosec writes "World of Warcarft, the gaming industry's most popular franchise and one of Blizzard's cash cows, is bleeding subscribers with 1.3 million defecting from the game in the first quarter of 2013 alone. Blizzard ...
Ouya Game Console Retail Launch Delayed Until June 25
9 May 2013 |PC Mag is one of several outlets reporting that the Kickstarter-funded Ouya Android game console has been delayed by a few weeks; the new target date for launch is June 25. Says the article "The delay does not affect early backers, ...
Integer Overflow Bug Leads To Diablo III Gold Duping
9 May 2013 |Nerval's Lobster writes "Online economies come with their own issues. Case in point is the Auction House for Diablo III, a massively multiplayer game in which players can pay for items in either in-game gold or real-world dollars. ...
Oculus Rift Guillotine Simulation
7 May 2013 |An anonymous reader tipped us to news of an interesting hack for the Oculus Rift: a simulation of being beheaded by a Guillotine. Thrown together in a couple of days at the Exile Code Jam, the simulation lets you... "look around to ...
EA Is the Game Company Disney Was Looking For
7 May 2013 |An anonymous reader writes "Electronic Arts announced today it has landed an exclusive multi-year agreement to develop and publish games based on Lucasfilms' Star Wars universe. EA said the it will create and publish Star Wars ...
Latest Blogs
Blogs Have Moved!
| 3 November 2010
Blogs can now be found in the vBulletin blogging tool, located here.