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Kotaku
Winner
Winner
Contest
The End of the Year and $500 Contest
The $500 contest is officially wrapped up. Make sure you check back later tonight (or tomorrow morning, depending on what state I am in when I return to the homestead) for the winners name. It's fun giving away $500, I can't wait. More »
PS3
More Dirt on the PS3 Problems
As the year of the Xbox 360 launch wraps up, the year of the Revolution and PS3 launches (maybe) is already beginning to show some signs of juicy gossip. We reported Friday about what a man named Fishie claimed was his first hand experience with what he called a very not-ready-for-prime-time Playstation 3. Today I've got an interesting conversation between an in-the-know and a friend that occurred a few months ago. More »
Itradevideogames.com
A Barter Solution for Used Video Games?
I'm the kind of guy who buys a game, plays through it once or twice, then sells it on Amazon Marketplace. Most of the time I get a good price. But other times I don't, or Amazon won't let me sell titles that have been recently released. More »
Moonfighter!
Hey, Didn't I Meet You in 1983?
I just had the hugest sense of deja vu after coming across this. Pazzazz Games just released a game for Palm and Pocket PC devices called Moonfighter!, in which you pilot your spacecraft around lunar terrain collecting energy spheres to keep your mission going. It's a side scroller, which makes it pretty darn close to a title called Jupiter Lander for the Commodore Vic 20. I can't remember much of 8th grade because I played that stupid game for hours on end, and daydreamed about it when I wasn't home. More »
Xbox
Microsoft's Online Strategy "Absolutely Flawed"?
The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the business strategy behind the Xbox Live service. Microsoft is betting big — to the tune of $200 million — that online gaming will be the killer app behind the Xbox 360. Fine and dandy. But I came across this quote:
Added Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities: "At the end of the day, we don't play games for social interaction.... We play games to escape." Microsoft's strategy is "absolutely flawed," he said.
Don't play for social interaction? Absolutely flawed? I beg to differ. I can't think of a reason to buy half the current titles available for the Xbox 360 — Perfect Dark Zero, Project Gotham Racing, Madden — if they didn't have an online component. Plus, hasn't he heard of a little game called World of Warcraft? More »
Business
Profile of a Video Game Tester
Ran across this profile of Peter Chan, a quality assurance tester at Insomniac Games. The article details how Chan spent eight months playing nothing but Ratchet: Deadlocked. I hope he gets paid a lot. But it beats copyediting Crecente's copy. More »
Podcast
Me on Me: Podcast Interview
I'm a talker. I know it and everyone I know, knows it. And now the guy from Revogaming knows it. Anthony Sarni intereviewed me for a podcast on his site earlier this week. The resulting 45 minute podcast covers everything from video games as art to how I landed my job at Kotaku and life at the Rocky Mountain News. Like I said, I'm a talker. More »
Sony
Pissed Off Residents Paint Over PSP Ads
Man, Sony just can't take a clue that using graffiti isn't the best idea to reach an "urban" market. This article might slap the clue club upside the marketing people's heads. It says, neighbors in three neighborhoods around Philadelphia have painted over the ads in anger. A city manager even says the ads are "illegal" in that Sony didn't get the proper permissions. "They are disrespectful of the neighborhoods where Sony thought it could get away with this conduct." More »
Rumor
Another Shipment of Xbox 360s Heading to Best Buy?
The red phone, which should just be labeled the 360 phone, rang today and we got a tip about a potential shipment of Xbox 360s heading to Best Buys Jan. 3. The tip points to this link, which has store numbers and shipment quantities, as usual. The only thing that makes me hesitant is that the numbers are taken from GameFAQs. My area Best Buys adamantly refuse to tell me anything, but here in the battlefield that is Detroit, that's no surprise. More »
Speculation
Gaming Predictions for 2006
Over the holidays, I did not score a new Magic 8-ball, so these predictions just have to be shot from the hip. Hopefully some of you can help me come up with some, too. What can we look forward to in 2006? More »
Xbox 360
Quake IV Demo Hits Live, Other Goodies, Too
In the name of consistency, I wanted to point out that in addition to the Condemned demo that was added to the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft slapped Quake IV up. There's some multiplayer functionality to experiment with. Additionally Major Nelson listed a bunch of new pictures and themes live on the M'place (you think if I keep calling it the M'place, it will catch on?). Major Nelson's list of themes and pictures, which includes the "Ballas! Picture Pack," is after the jump. More »
Sponsors
Pop the Champagne, Sponsors
Briefly at least - while we're drinking - the drinks are on our tab. So bottoms up, Sponsors and consider this your Holiday present and New Year's toast our gift to you. The ones sitting around blushing while they open their present this week are: Texas Instruments, Rockstar Games presents The Warriors, Sprint, Nokia, 2K Sports, Microsoft's Xbox, American Apparel, Battlefield 2, Logitech, Shure and Mini. More »
Year in Review
Five Trends from 2005
Over at Game Girl Advance they've published a year-end write-up of their own. There are no "game of the year" choices here. Instead, they choose to look at the biggest trends of '05. Their top five? "Sex and Games" (ooh, Hot Coffee, it burns), "Wireless Online Gaming", "There's Room for Both of Us" (the DS and PSP can coexist), "Console Indie Development" and Gamers Fight Back Against Critics. More »
Law
Hoosier State Getting Game Legislation
Ugh. Game Politics posts about an overzealous Indiana senator who is seeking to pass video game legislation based off of an Illinois bill that was overturned by the courts. Dennis Kruse is the Republican senator pushing the button for this latest bit of legislation. The bill's digest is after the jump or you can read more here. More »
Contest
Last Chance for $500
This is it, the last day of the last contest of the year. Hit the link below, vote for your favorite game and fill in the email box to be entered for a chance to win a $500 gift certificate. Only enter once or receive the eyebrow of ridicule. Wow, 2005, going, going, gone. I’ll announce the winner of the contest New Year'’s Eve, if I'’m sober enough. More »
Phoenix Wright
Rumors Swirl Around Phoenix Wright Shortage
Wild rumors about Phoneix Wright shortages have begun circulating on a few gaming forums, so of course I must write about it. According to the posters over on Gamespot Forums, the courtroom DS game is no longer listed online anywhere and it s hard to find at stores. Some posters have also noticed that if you visit Capcom s release list and click on the Phoenix Wright link you re sent to an empty page. I m no fancy game publisher, but I can t imagine success would somehow lead to a game s demise. I m guessing that Capcom was caught off-guard by the wacky game s success and is trying to get more copies shipped out to fulfill the need. More »
In Brief
