To: Crecente
From: Ashcraft
RE: Lounging

Geez. Lots of birds! It's like you are posting from a wildlife reserve. Amazing.

Dangnabbit. Wanted to get Funde Razor goodies, but didn't have time.

Mini-Bash is still feeling kinda icky. Feel really bad for the kid. He's had this stomach bug for like a week, can't go outside, can't go to school, can't see his friends, can't eat food he wants to. Lots of can'ts. Pretty frustrating! Today, he was visibly so. Like depressed even. I'd actually never seen him so down — he's usually really upbeat. We played with his Pokémon toys together, which brought a smile to his face. I read Peter Rabbi to him (in English). Oh, I also let him beat me in Paper Rock Scissors — if only 'cause he's sick. (Kid's gotta learn to toss more than Scissors if he's ever gonna hold his own on the schoolyard!) Hopefully, tomorrow he'll be feeling better.

What you missed last night
Get second Rock Band guitar
DS demo channel
Kutaragi getting award
Wii eBay prices are crazy

Greenpeace have just released their sixth "Guide to Greener Electronics", which looks at electronics manufacturers and grades them according to how environmentally sound their manufacturing and product recycling processes (ie how they dispose of outdated technology) are. Where's this start getting relevant to you? For the first time the report covers thew manufacturers of games consoles, so Microsoft and Nintendo have for the first time come up for inspection alongside trusty old warhorse Sony. So how'd they all do?

Read More »

Deary me oh my. Something's up in Ol' Blighty. Almost as if someone took the real charts and messed them all up like a sick, sales-based jigsaw puzzle. Brain Training above Mario Galaxy? Need for Speed at only #10? No football games? Let's chalk it up to pre-Christmas madness.

1) Assassin's Creed (360)
2) Brain Training
3) Mario Galaxy
4) Mass Effect
5) More Brain Training
6) Call of Duty 4 (360)
7) Mario & Sonic At The Olympics
8) Assassin's Creed (PS3)
9) High School Musical (PS2)
10) Need for Speed: Prostreet (PS2)

[charts courtesy of GfK]
[Image: Adrian Dennis/Getty]

The BBFC have been in the news a bit lately. Tonight, even! And for mostly the wrong reasons. This won't help their cause. Taking their turn to speak at the appeal over Manhunt 2's ban in the UK, Andrew Caldecott, who is representing the BBFC, said:

The board's position is that there is insufficient evidence to prove, as a fact, there is a causal connection between violent games and behavioural harm... It's a perfectly fair point, and one which we accept, but it's not by any means a complete answer to the question the [Video Appeals Committee] has to decide.

So... the rest of their answer is made up of the personal opinion and conjecture of a small group of nutty fuddy-duddies instead? Wonderful.

No evidence connecting games and violence, says BBFC [GI.biz]

Too many Rock Band stories for one day. Making me dizzy. Gonna go have a lie down. But before I do, one more. You all know that, perhaps in the rush to get the game out before Christmas, Rock Band's guitar controllers aren't exactly up to scratch. In other words, they're breaking. All the time. And in the same place, too, with the majority of affected users complaining that their downstrum wasn't working. Handily, there's a DIY fix for the problem if you can't be bothered sending your guitar back for repairs, which you can check out at the link below.

Rock Band: My strummer broke... AND I FIXED IT [Quarter to Three, via Homotron]

Bit over a month ago, THQ delayed a bunch of games. Then they said they were lowering their financial outlook for the year. Now Chief Financial Officer Edward Zinser has quit his job at the company. Co-incidence? Doesn't look like it, but THQ say otherwise:

[Zinser's resignation] is in no way related to the financial condition, results of operations or future prospects of THQ.

Maybe he just got sick of the sell sell sell corporate lifestyle and moved to Alaska to live in a wooden hut, write haiku and fish all day. Who knows, they're not releasing the reason for his departure, saying only that it was by "mutual agreement". Vice president and controller Rasmus van der Colff will sit in Zinser's rapidly-cooling chair until a replacement can be found.
THQ CFO Resigns for Unspecified Reasons [Shacknews]

Today's Amazon "Deal of the Day" is Halo 3's Legendary Edition. Normally $US 130, if you get your hurry on you can grab it for $US 60. Many, including us, would say that constitutes a considerable saving.

Americans have already forgotten about Manhunt 2. Mostly because it's rubbish. It's still clawing out coverage in Britain, however, where Rockstar's appeal against the British Board of Film & Literature Classification's ban of the game is only just warming up. Called in for opinion yesterday was Tiga (The Independent Games Developers Trade Association) boss Fred Hasson, who argued that it was sensationalist tabloid media coverage of the game, and not its content, which saw it double-banned in the UK:

[I was] surprised at how tame it is compared to some very graphical scenes I've seen in other games which have received certification. I expected it to be a lot worse... I can't believe that this has been singled out as something that is worth banning.

We, on the other hand, can't believe Rockstar are still bothering with all this.
Tiga boss, psychologist defend Rockstar's position [GI.biz]

Ryan Shrout owns PC tech site PC Perspective. He is also a scoundrel. Guy's found a way to cheat Harmonix into sending you a second official Rock Band guitar, so that loser in the corner at your Rock Band parties, who you'd only trust to play bass, can be included in the festivities. Here, straight from Ryan's hand, is how you do it:

Go to the Rock Band support page and tell them you have a broken guitar. Then, use the shipping method that requires a credit card to ship you the guitar first before returning the bad one. It tells you the card is used to "charge you if you don't return the broken guitar within 20 days" I think. So, when you get the second one, don't return it. Blam-o, two guitars and its not stealing, just cheating the system. Of course, no idea how much they charge yet...

First in, best dressed. Mostly because there's probably not many of the guitars in stock, but also because you can bet they're sewing that loophole shut as you read this.

Need a second Rock Band guitar? Here is one way to get it [Ars Technica]

It was promised at the Nintendo Fall Conference, and lo, it has come to pass: Japanese Wii owners can now download DS demos via their Wii. It's part of the just-launched Everyone's Nintendo Channel, which also sees things like Wii trailers and a buyer feedback form (with global stat-tracking, of course) made available directly over the console. It's Japan-only for now, but if you'd like to begin a blue-light vigil in your living room we're not going to stop you.

Everyone's Nintendo Channel [Nintendo]

The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences have bestowed their 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award on former Sony exec and, yes, we'll wheel it out again, Father of the PlayStation Ken Kutaragi. The award is, obviously, for his role in the creation of the original PlayStation and subsequent models. AIAS Presidnet Joseph Olin:

Ken Kutaragi's passion, innovative thinking and business savvy sparked a monumental movement that was unstoppable.

If it wasn't for Ken and his concept of the original PlayStation, there wouldn't be the billion dollar industry there is today. His contributions have clearly set new standards for developers, publishers and consumers worldwide.

The gong will be handed out in February during the D.I.C.E. summit, and is the second award he's picked up in the past two months. Bravo, Ken! Write us sometime, we miss you. :(

Kutaragi given AIAS Lifetime Achievement Award [GI.biz]

Don't be judgmental: Different strokes, different folks. Some people are into playing the DS. Others are into the Game Boy. Then some (see above) are into wrapping Game Boys in Japanese rope bondage shibari [NSFW]. I feel slightly sad for the shameful way this Game Boy Color is being abused.

SM Game Boy [Hobby Blog]

Hitman didn't go down very well with critics. And we can't blame them - Timothy Olyphant is great as a cold, brooding sheriff, but as a cold, brooding assassin? He's lousy. Mostly because without a moustache and hat (and hair) he looks like a big sulky baby. Seems to have gone down... OK with you lot, however, with the movie coming in at #4 in last week's box office takings, earning $US 21 million from 2458 screens. For those more interested in princesses and/or 3D Danish blood-spillers, the movie was beaten by Enchanted, The Christmas and Beowulf.

[Variety]

To recap, the recommended retail price for a Nintendo Wii in the United States is $US 249. Not pocket change, but then for a games console so early in its lifespan, pretty cheap. Note, however, that's recommended. Christmas, hype and the frantic spending habits of desperate parents are ensuring that many Wiis are going for a lot more than that. A look on eBay shows prices for the console already reaching $US 350-$US 450, and that's just for a vanilla console with one controller, Wii Sports and no Zack & Wiki. How 'bout them market forces, huh?

[via gkrykewy @ NeoGAF]

Take-Two? Not for sale. Back in March, current Chairman Strauss Zelnick led a group of investors in ousting the then Take-Two management. Strauss Zelnick has turned the company around! It's now efficient! Better yet, Strauss Zelnick is a super name! He's known for fixing up company companies and selling them off. This time is different. Strauss Zelnick explains:

I'm much more interested in growing the business than in selling it, to be clear. I would say for the next five to seven years this is a terrific time to be in the video game business.

That's swell and all, but do you think Strauss Zelnick is his real name?

Take-Two Plans [Reuters]

Perpetual Entertainment's new purse-string holders haven't only shaken up (read: cancelled) development on Gods & Heroes: Rome Rising, they've got their dirty fingers in Star Trek Online, reports Shacknews. The results? They're a bit expectations-lowering. According to Shacknews' anonymous internal source, Star Trek Online is going in a new, "more casual" direction, a move that doesn't seem to be sitting well with some of Perpetual's employees, and one that drops monthly subscriptions for an in-game item buying model.

Little has actually been shown of Star Trek Online, but development resources were shifted from Gods & Heroes to the game and the developer's MMO platform according to Executive Producer Chris McKibbin. Further details on the dev's financial situation at the link.

Star Trek Online to Become "More Casual," Developer Perpetual Acquired by New Ownership [Shacknews]

In an interview with Reuters, Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos reaches a point where he grows tired of repeating the same sales pitch over and over again, and busts out with something new. A tease. A tease designed not to make fun of the poor, faceless Reuters reporter, but to set our imaginations ablaze:

We're pretty optimistic about what this game is going to do. But our next big announcement, which is coming up fairly quickly, is a move to a whole other realm.

So...big announcement, coming quickly? Sounds exciting! And it's another realm. What ever could it be? Rock Band: Rainbowland? Rock Band: Eternia? Our fingers are well and truly crossed.
MTV's "Rock Band" takes on "Guitar Hero" [Reuters]

To: Ash
From: Crecente
Re: Too Ill to Eat, Not Blog (Ban Hammer Fun)

Wow, so that was a fast first day. Being on the other side of the world from Denver, I did my morning posts around midnightish and set them to go live later in the day then I went to bed and woke up at 6:30 a.m. in time to start doing the afternoon posts. Confused? Me too. I meant to spend the day leisurely posting from a lounge chair near the pool in my in-laws backyard, but I tend to get lost in Kotaku and ended up sitting at the breakfast table most of the day.

I did remember to pop out on the porch to write this one. My mother-in-law feeds the local birds from this porch so often that they tend to hang out all day. Flocks of lorikeets, kookaburra, magpies, butcherbirds, Minor Birds, all fly in and out of the yard all day. If you don't feed them they can get pretty loud and they expect their morning meal at 5 a.m.... sharp! On the bright side Tristan has been feeding the birds out of his hand and can even pet the wild kookaburra.

Till tomorrow... or is that today?

What you missed:
Win $US 500
Sony: PS3 Sales Up Nearly 300 Percent
Midway Confirms UTIII Is Coming In December*
Xbox 360 Fall Update Coming Dec 4th, Adds Social Networking
Puddy Explains Why Videogames Aren't Funny
Fahey And The Holograms
Me and My Shadow

Read More »

And by Xbox Live, I really mean "the internet", the hateful underbelly outlet of many a lonely existence. The above clip, via GayGamer, recorded over the course of 11 nights of Halo 3 online gaming, was captured and edited by an Xbox Live gamer who went by the handle xxxGayBoyxxx. According to the YouTube details on the greatest hits compilation of tacky behavior, the openly gay gamer writes that the responses were unprovoked, but that "not everything in this video was said with hate." The audio is, unsurprisingly, not safe for work, but is very illustrative of the maturity levels in public matches of many online games.

With a new Ghostbusters game in the works, plus hints of an EA-published G.I. Joe game based on the upcoming movie and a cruel tease of a new Knight Rider title by guest editor Ian Bogost, it would seem we're on the verge of exhausting our 80s heroes. Enter Magnum P.I., the mustachioed, Ferrari 308 GTS-driving private dick who solved Hawaiian crimes amid the company of pretty ladies. He's taking his U.S. Navy SEAL training and detective skills to mobile phones, unfortunately, courtesy of Ojom GmbH.

The game promises lady-wowing and crime-fighting, but reads more like a platformer that sees Thomas Magnum hopping about like a madman in search of coins and life-giving team rings. Looks good enough—for a casual title—but only serves to make my hunger for someone to snap up the rights to Automan and Manimal. I'll daydream-design it while I read the press release.

Read More »

Nick Breese, a Kiwi researcher, believes the PS3 could be the next great (and affordable) hacking tool, according to a story over at The Sydney Morning Herald.

We all know the Synergistic Processing Units, or SPUs, in the Playstation 3's Cell processor are capable chunks of hardware. Although the Cell chip in the PS3 has only six of its eight SPUs accessible (one is locked to improve yields, and the other handles console security), that's still a respectable amount of grunt. 14 Tony units, to be exact.

While Nick is confident this power is more than enough to brute-force simple eight-character passwords, he says your bank account's 128-bit SSL will give it a lot of trouble.

From the article:

The gaming console is perfect for cracking passwords because the chips it uses are optimised to rapidly perform the calculations required to model 3-D environments. The computing techniques used to crack passwords are similar.

Read More »

With so very many games to get this holiday season we here at Kotaku thought it would be nice to help out. So we've decided to cough up the cash, not Kash, to buy one lucky reader a $US 500 gift certificate to help them on their way to catching up with all of those great games hitting by the end of the year... and beyond.

Since I feel like I owe so very much to the three guest editors we had on the site, I've decided to tie the contest, or at least part of it, to the oodles of posts that Geoff Keighley, Ian Bogost and Simon Carless wrote while they took time away from their busy schedules to take up residence in the Kotaku Tower.

Hit the jump to read the rules for entering this latest contest. Make sure not to miss the deadline, which looms this very Friday.

Read More »

I say this without a hint of sarcasm or humor, but it would seem that we have another fatal Wii contest on our hands. In the case of Patrick Coulter from Scituate, Massachusetts, however, it wasn't due to negligence on the part of others, but a longtime heart condition. The 14-year old was attending a Providence Bruins game and was the winner of a Nintendo Wii giveaway. Coulter suffered from a fatal heart attack while running to claim his raffle winnings following the American Hockey League game.

More on this sad story at the local Fox News affiliate.

Scituate Boy Dies at Providence Bruins Game [MyFox Boston - thanks, Andrew.]

Wal-Mart has long been known for its liberal return policy, but one Xbox 360 owner took it too far. Probably wondering exactly what to do with the discarded chassis of his Xbox 360, presumably following a chromed out shell installation, the owner capitalised on a lazy returns department and walked away with cash, leaving his refuse in Wal-Mart's hands. Looks like he's a med school drop out or something, as the eviscerated console came stuffed with a used copy of Comprehensive Medical Assisting and some random cables. It's all terribly upsetting, the kind of deplorable behaviour you wouldn't wish upon your least-liked local Supercenter employee.

So someone returned an xbox at our store.... [YouGamers Forums via CVG]

McWhertor isn't the only one addicted to episodes of Street Fighter: The Later Years. I eagerly anticipate waiting to learn what will happen next when a bunch of troubled former video game stars try to put aside their differences and staggering personal demons to reinvigorate the Street Fighter tournament. Prepare yourself for the worst Chun-Li sex scene ever.

Street Fighter: The Later Years Episode Six [College Humor]

Don't worry, we're still getting updated graphics with our PlayStation 2 port of Sega's Saturn era hit NiGHTS Into Dreams. However, Sega looks to have stayed true to the 1996 original, including the game's original presentation in the remake. It's probably designed to make you appreciate the new coat of paint.

Good thing, too, as Sega's other Saturn-era remakes released under the budget Sega Ages line were starting to make the PlayStation 2 version of NiGHTS Into Dreams look like a bit of a rip-off. Non-postage stamp sized screens are available at Gpara.

NiGHTS Into Dreams [Gpara]

Following reports of random freezing and "white screens of death" in the PlayStation 3 version of Assassin's Creed, fingers pointed at the 2.00 firmware update as the culprit, Ubisoft writes that it's addressing the issue with a forthcoming patch. On the company's official Assassin's Creed forums, the UK community manager writing that an update to the title "will help improve the stability of the game and will be released as soon as possible." When? "As soon as possible." Can you be more specific? "As soon as possible."

No word yet on if that patch will address the double trouble of dealing with a pair of Altairs at once...

Game update on Assassin's Creed PlayStation 3 [Ubisoft Forums]

Does the headline sound dirty? It shouldn't. Honest.

There was actually quite a bit more cosplay strolling around the show floor than what I managed to snap, but I like to think I got the best of the bunch.

After the jump there's a guy in a blue robe and a chick with a fan. I know they're from something, but my exile (nasty situation with the furries, gave a whole new meaning to the expression "Let sleeping dogs lie") from the cosplay scene means I have no idea who they're supposed to be.

Tell you what - first person to detail all four characters presented in the photo above and the one past the jump, will win themselves a copy of Mario Party DS (thanks Nintendo!), just because it's a nice thing to do. Just post your answer as a comment, and we'll be in touch.

Specifically, we want to know the name of the character, and any one game/anime they've appeared in.

Read More »

The Playstation 3 saw a nearly 300 percent increase in sales since the 40GB and 80GB models hit on Nov. 3, Sony Computer Entertainment of America let us know today in a press release.

The short release goes on to say that PS3 sales were up 245 percent this Black Friday compared to last year's Black Friday. Of course last year Sony was still having stock issues with their shaky launch of the console.

Here's the full press release:

Read More »

We know only a few details about the Namco Bandai's Fragile for the Wii. Development is being handled by tri-Crescendo—they of Baiten Kaitos and Eternal Sonata fame—and it's packed with fabulous anime hairstyles. Plus, that flashlight from Fragile's teaser clip? It just screams Wii remote controls. One less mini-game collection for serious Wii gamers.

* But may be arriving in "limited quantities", most likely due to the elves at the PlayStation 3 game processing plant being unprepared for the game's last-minute gold status. The official word—as predicted by Epic Games-smith Mark Rein alongside the good news that Unreal Tournament III will ship in 2007—is that the PS3 first-person shooter will start showing up in stores on December 11th, arriving with a trickle, not a torrent. For those desperate for a copy on day one, a pre-order won't hurt your chances of securing a copy.

As the Writers Guide of America strike continues to eek its way toward a very unhappy holidays, Variety has put together a little list of things striking writers can do in their spare time.... no they didn't include playing through BioShock. They did include writing video games though.

While the WGA has made no secret that it would like to eventually cover vidgame writing, it hasn't pushed the issue yet and is allowing members to work on games during the strike.

"It has been an interesting shift," says one tenpercenter who focuses on vidgames. "The literary agents are now saying, 'Why don't we get our clients over there during the strike?' even though in the past they thought the money wasn't good enough or the work is too demanding."

While the article says that the pay isn't that good comparatively, they list the typical fee as $US 50,000. Man, maybe I should change jobs. The article has a lot of other interesting insights into the process of writing the story for a video game, like how long it takes and how disjointed it can be.

This pen's for hire [Variety]

When we first posted about the Desert Bus For Hope drive, in which a few unlucky charitable types would be forced to play through the bore-torture game Desert Bus for days upon end for a good cause, donations were at $US 2,000. As of this post, the outpouring of money from sadistic do-gooders is over $US 12,000. Even with the painfully low US dollar, that's darn impressive. Donations don't appear to be slowing down either, so make sure to do your part to keep that bus a-rollin'.

If you haven't cursed the fate of the already long-suffering bus driving team members shackled to their computers, go on and drop 'em a couple bucks in the name of Child's Play. They'll hate you for it!

The Support Has Been Amazing! [Desert Bus For Hope]

The marketing geniuses at, I assume, at EA's UK offices may be on the receiving end of some advertising awards this year, as they've cleverly combined breasts and cars for a recent promotion for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 racer Need For Speed ProStreet. The promotion, featuring Page 3 girls Amii and Becky, explores what happens with four breasts are positioned within posing distance of a red Ferrari. We're still studying the results here at the Kotaku Media Labs, but at first blush, it seems that EA may have something here. We applaud them for being brave enough to think outside the box, looking forward to more bold endeavours from those responsible for this important Need For Speed ProStreet promo.

It should go without saying that this is 100% not safe for work. Observe scientifically only when off the clock, as some folks just aren't ready for something this progressive.

Need For Speed ProStreet (NSFW) [Page 3 via Polygamia]

Not sure yet how we're going to go about tormenting you for this short, but sweet contest, but I wanted to give everyone a heads up that we will be kicking off a week long contest either later today or early tomorrow. We're going to be tying it to our Holiday Gift Guide and Wishlist and the winner will receive a not insignificant $US 500 to spend on gaming loot. Keep in mind, even when we were talking about imaginary Kotaku Kash, we only had $US 300 to spend on our games.

What would you spend $US 500 on?

Pros and Cons of WoW Powerlevelling, Part 2
Pros and Cons of WoW Powerlevelling, Part 3

We usually don't post this sort of content on Kotaku AU, but this was far too interesting to pass up.

As you might expect, the author has asked to remain nameless. The piece has also been edited for clarity, readability and flavour.

Disclaimer: Kotaku AU does not advocate the use of powerlevelling services, or the use of any service that violates the Terms of Use or End User License Agreements (EULA) of any game. If you decide to indulge in any such service, you do so at your own risk.

---

By Anonymous
It was after I quit World of Warcraft that I made the decision to powerlevel.

Not me personally - that would defeat the purpose. The whole point of powerlevelling is for someone else to do it. They do the hard work, you reap the rewards. Even if those rewards aren't exactly tangible or alluring to the opposite sex.

When I quit, I'd been playing WoW on-and-off since its release in November 2004. Just like everyone else back then, I couldn't wait for Blizzard's very first MMO. Before WoW, the only other MMO I'd invested significant amounts of time in was PlanetSide.

It was hardly an MMO, though. For one, it didn't have elves. Every half-decent MMO has to have elves. Without them, PlanetSide was but methadone compared to the sweet hardcore opiate that is World of Warcraft. And, like nine million others today, I shot up regularly.

But time has a funny way of, well, moving forward, and I soon realised that all those hours spent playing WoW I could have been doing a bunch of other things. Productive things. Things that weren't just slowly incrementing numbers in a massive database.

And, for a time, I managed to pull away from its siren call. But WoW's like a drug, right?

Read More »

This week's newcomer to the Xbox Live Arcade service is actually a bundled pair of virtually identical games, as Asteroids and Asteroids Deluxe will hit Xbox 360s this Wednesday, November 28th. The original versions of each, a strictly black and white, low-fi affair, will be joined by "evolved" versions of the game, retaining the same gameplay but spit-shined with pretty sparks and lighting effects that we've come to expect from things that are evolved. There's even a hyperspeed "Throttle Monkey" mode that will hopefully help you justify the 400 Microsoft Points required to buy in. As a side bonus, your purchase of Asteroids and Asteroids Deluxe comes with free bitter tears from Jeff Minter. That's value.

Asteroids & Asteroids Deluxe [Xbox]

Deus Ex 3 Teaser
One of the greatest FPS/RPGs is back and looking to kick arse.

Fallout 3 Perk Winner Announced
Grim Reaper's Sprint? The perk itself is cool, but what sort of crappy name is that?

$5 Australian Pac Man Shirt
Let Pac-Man caress your nipples with the softness of his fabric.

Trading in Games, Is It Worth It?
If you're willing to take a loss of up to 50%, sure!

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Devs Get 360 Certified
I'm all for GSC Gameworld working on 360, but STALKER will never work on console.

Ninja Gaiden 2 Is A BLOODFEST
I thought blood was like hard currency to a ninja?

More Wii Furniture To Dork-Up Your Living Room
It's only dorky if people can see it. Which defeats the purpose of owning it, I guess.

Feature the interesting tagline "Who we are is a stepping stone to who we can become", this Deus Ex 3 teaser doesn't really give us much of a sense of what the game will be about, other than it will be a Deus Ex sequel... and I suppose that's all we need to know.

The good people at Bethesda threw a perk party an everyone was invited. The winner would get their own perk immortalised in Fallout 3 (along with a sweet PC or Xbox 360 pack). 17,000 entered. One won.

The grand prize went to:

Grim Reaper's Sprint
Everytime you kill an opponent, all your action points are automatically restored.

And yeah, that's a great freaking idea for a perk, so it's cool that it won. But our favourite may have been the runner up entry:

Read More »

The Xbox 360 Fall Update will be coming Dec. 4th, and its biggest new features is "Friends of Friends." Now you can check out the friends of anyone on your friends list, ala Facebook. To limit who can see your friends list, there will be a "Friends List" setting right on the dash. It will have three settings for those allowed to see your friends that can be set now on Xbox.com:

-Everyone (only available to members 18 and older)
-Friends only (available to members 13 and older)
-Blocked (available to all members, and automatic for anyone under the age of 13)

Apparently, along with Xbox Originals, there will be more features in the update (*cough* DivX please *cough*) announced at a later date. Here's the full press release:

Read More »

by John Gaudiosi

LOS ANGELES--To millions of gamers, actor Patrick Warburton is best know as David Puddy, a character that appeared in only 11 episodes of NBC's hit comedy series, "Seinfeld," but left an indelible mark in that time. Many fans probably recall the episode that featured that colorful, ugly leather jacket.

"I thought when I did that episode that the jacket might be worth something some day so I asked if I could have it," said Warburton. "The wardrobe people said they'd sell it to me for $US 1,000. I remember thinking even back then, before Ebay was around, if I paid $US 1,000 in 10 years I could probably sell it for $US 1,000. Is it really worth $US 1,000? I know it's real leather, but come on. I would never wear it. I didn't buy it, but for $US 500, I would have bought it. It'd be fun to have today. I even have my 'Seinfeld' crew jacket that stays in the closet. You can't wear that around, it's kind of gaudy. 'That's right, I was on 'Seinfeld.' Read my jacket.'"

Warburton, who currently can be heard on television as Joe Swanson in "Family Guy" and can be seen on the sitcom "Rules of Engagement," spent time in the recording studio bringing Ken to life for Jerry Seinfeld's "Bee Movie" and Activision's "Bee Movie Game." When told the new game was out, Warburton said he was going to Best Buy to get the Wii version of the game so "Daddy can play."

Read More »

The Nintendo DS may be a crazy-successful piece of hardware, but the side effect is that the R4 DS game loader, equipment that allows one to load DS games that were downloaded/pirated/backed up, is pretty successful, too. The Times has just gotten wind of the R4 DS, and points out that its ease of use (from their "testing") means it could make a major impact on DS game sales.

So how did Nintendo respond?

Read More »

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo wanted to make an impact with the announcement of the new Philippine National Innovation Strategy. So what did she do to commemorate the occasion? What anyone would do—she created her own Second Life avatar to hang out in IBM's Second Life Innovation Center. For now, that's the entire story. But we'll keep you apprised to any developments as to her choice of virtual penis manufacturer.

Arroyo activates virtual self in Second Life [via gamepolitics] [image]

We run developer quotes a lot here on Kotaku, but this one might go down in history as extra special. From Dungeon Siege/Supreme Commander/Total Annihilation's Chris Taylor, this is what it should feel like to play a video game:

When I ride the lawnmower I don't think about steering and cutting grass... I think about life. I think about work. I think about things I have to do. I recharge - charge my batteries up.

He c