Tuesday, January 1, 2008
What Are Your Gaming Resolutions For 2008?
1:30PM Michael McWhertor | Some of the Kotaku staff, those who live in the future, have already rung in 2008. But many of us in the tower are anxiously awaiting a thrilling night in of TV watching, complete with copious amounts of sparkling, non-alcoholic cider enjoyed in our footie pajamas. Fifteen minutes of partying, then we head off to bed around 12:01 AM and wait for the sun to rise to get started on our chores. While we wait for New Year’s Eve festivities, resolutions are being made—get that third nipple removed, finally cancel our subscription to Grit magazine, and spend more time gaming! Personally, I’m going to make the effort to play more with my friends, wherever they may be. A multi-hour session of Team Fortress 2 that’s due to happen as you read this with two of my best friends will make sticking to that one a bit easier. I’m also planning on spending less, buying only exactly what I plan to play and leaving nothing in the shrinkwrap. There will be more downloadable gaming in my future, more online gaming and more attention paid to indie and homebrew wares. Let us know what you’ve got planned for a self-improved 2008, whether it’s less fanboyism, more time with your SNES or even the shedding of that unsightly 80 pounds gained at college. More »
Pock!!!
1:00PM Brian Crecente | To: Someone, Anyone? From: Crecente We left the family home today heading north through Georgia, Tennessee and finally into Kentucky to rest for the night. My son spent a lot of time sitting quietly in the back marveling at the wonders of Wii in a van. I sat up front game-free working all day via a cell connection and my poor wife drove all day. About 6 p.m. my son, who had been eying a box of Pocky I received for Christmas, suddenly broke the silence by begging me for some “Pock!” I’d been promising him a taste for two days and finally decided I probably should go ahead and give him a stick or two. Looks like I’m going to have to start stocking up on more of those now. He LOVED it. What you missed: Wii Officially Hacked, Lies Naked And Defenceless First Tiberium Screens Jade Empire 2 In Development At BioWare Fake PSP Selectively Electrocutes The Club (Demo) Impressions Reader’s Choice Winners Left Brain Right Brain Surprisingly Brainless Man Uses Live to Stalk, Threatens Rape Frankenreview: Top 5 Games of the Year Edition Calling It: The Xbox 360 Won 2007 Microsoft: We’re Investigating the Recon Armor Hack Major Nelson: All Hands on Deck Working on Live Problem The Year’s Most Popular Stories Gates to Announce DVR 360 at CES? Meet Your New King of Komments More »
Win A Copy Of Grand Theft Auto III, Signed By Jack Thompson
12:00PM Michael McWhertor | We’ve seen people go to extreme lengths for both charity and eBay auctions, but this particular item, a copy of Grand Theft Auto III signed by fan fave Jack Thompson at VGXPO, combines the two in an attractive package. According to the listing, the PlayStation 2 version of the game can be yours (we think) for the low, low price of $US 4,000, the proceeds of which will be redirected in full to the Child’s Play charity. There’s even a picture of the signee and auction lister—who we’re told is not TV’s famous Wil Wheaton—to aid in the proof of authenticity. What is suspect, however, is whether you actually get the signed copy of the game for your four large, seemingly the entire point of dropping this much cash on a used PS2 game. The eBay listing comes with the unclear note “Please note: I do not actually want to sell this. I am just listing it for show and to hopefully win a contest. However, if you want to spend $US 4000 on this then I will donate 100% of the proceeds to Child’s Play Charity.” The seller does have a 99.9% positive rating, so I wager you’ll be satisfied. If you do decide to give up the cash, let us know when (and if) you get it. Grand Theft Auto III Signed By Jack Thompson (PS2) [eBay - thanks, Rick!] More »
Library Tricks Kids Into Reading By Promising Wiis
11:30AM Michael McWhertor | In an effort to get the kids to read books, Cape Coral, Florida libraries are bringing in Wiis, in a classic bait and switch scam that will get the youth hooked on “learning.” The lure of Nintendo software will probably be more successful than clubbing them on the head and transporting them to the library via gunny sack, think local parents. “If each kid plays for 15 minutes, the rest of the kids are going to be waiting and they’re going be talking. They’re going to be picking up books,” said a concerned parent of a four-hour-a-day gamer. These poor kids. They’ll be choosing their own adventures in no time, enjoying the works of R.L. Stein and J.K. Rowling and dozens of other child-friendly, initials-only authors like a bunch of book addicts. Library Wii’s [WRCB TV] More »
Kotaku AU Wishes You A Happy New Year
11:30AM Logan Booker | It’s true. I just had a D&M with the site and it wants to wish you all the best for the new year. Oh, and all the actual people who work at Kotaku do too. Including me. And my hands.
I hope you guys had a kicking night las night and managed to get out and see the fireworks. I managed to find a perch near my place in North Sydney, so I had a great view of the bridge. I spent most of my time though trying to figure out if the hourglass was counting down to anything. It wasn’t – it was just meant to look pretty.
And look pretty it did.
More » 
2007’s Best Freeware Games Chosen By The Authority
11:00AM Michael McWhertor | The world’s best gaming deals can’t beat “free!”, so for those without a gift card in hand this post-holiday season, you may want to take a gander at The Independent Gaming Source’s best freeware games of 2007. The number of titles, across an amazingly broad 30 categories, point out the year’s best shooters, platformers and RPGs that can be had without anything more than some disposable bandwidth. Topping the list is a game that I only recently discovered myself while searching for Gradius pics, a Warning Forever-style top down boss fight-only shooter named Fraxy. The Japanese freeware game lets players create their own levels (bosses) with an intuitive editor. Other titles you may already be familiar with, including Knytt Stories, Guxt, Sam and Max: Abe Lincoln Must Die and the now free Command and Conquer. Best Freeware Games of ‘07 – 30 Categories! [TIG Source] More »
Super Mario Galaxy at 80 MPH
10:30AM Brian Crecente | You’d think with modern vehicles, especially the ones pre-loaded with built-in entertainment systems, it would be easy to play modern video games on the go. Unfortunately, I haven’t been so lucky. While planning our driving trip from Colorado to Georgia I just assumed it would be simple to plug a PS3, 360 or Wii into the van’s ceiling-mounted DVD player. But when I tried the 360 and PS3 both just freaked out when I tried plugging them in to the heavy duty inverter I picked up for the van’s back seat power outlet. The 360 nearly gave me a heart attack by flashing angry red rings at me and the PS3 just sat there, quietly refusing to power up at all. Dejected I plugged the Wii in and it popped to life immediately. More »
Online Worlds Do It For The Kids
10:00AM Michael McWhertor | Second Life may pull in big numbers, attracting furries, virtual real estate moguls, corporations desperately appearing to appear “hip” and Something Awful forum goons raining penises down upon the unsuspecting, but it’s online worlds targeted at kids that are drawing attention from executives. Take Webkinz, for example, the online world that sees wee lads and lasses logging on to the tune of six million uniques per month. That’s three times the amount who logged on a year ago. Similarly, according to the New York Times, Club Penguin, which involves dressing up penguins platonically, has seven times the traffic of Second Life. Everyone’s getting into it, for those of you not aged in the single digits, including Disney, Lego, and Mattel. The goal? Shill wares to kids while they play free games, establish brand recognition, then help them “graduate” to the next-generation of online worlds, whether it’s Pirates of the Caribbean Online, World of Warcraft or simply fantasy baseball. Oh yes, it’s quite dastardly. Good thing I’ll be raising my kids with good Quaker morals and no electricity. Web Playgrounds of the Very Young [New York Times - thanks, Duane!] More »
Meet Your New King of Komments
9:30AM Brian Crecente | We’ve been running this contest into the ground throughout the month, so I think it’s about time to announce who the new king of comments will be. If you remember we had narrowed down the list to these five: Witzbold TheIrishNinja EnigmaNemesis Kirbytheslayer PapaBear434 Each of these commenters are daily readers, heavy commenters, people who spend an inordinate amount of time reading our stories and calling us on our bullshit and for that we love them. But unfortunately, we could only pick one for the new position of Commenting Czar, a person who will be giving the mighty banhammer, a tool which has both the ability to strike down lesser tools and to give life to once bannified accounts. The new czar will also earn $US 200 a month for their hard work. Hit the jump for the name. More »
