BioWare's Radical Anti-Piracy Strategy
Downloadable content to push back the evil that is piracy?

Gears of War 2 Cryptically Dated By Epic
Oh Epic, you're so sneaky!

SCEE Explains Firmware 2.40 Problems, Says Everything OK Now
You mean it won't brick my PS3 now? That is good news.

Activision Blizzard Merger Official
It's taken months on top of months, but Activision Blizzard is almost reality.

Cannabalism, Slavery and Sex in Fallout 3
As long as they're not combined, it should be fun!

Marvel MMO: Gorgeous, Fantastic, Still Very Dead
Oh well, we still have City of Heroes and City of Villains.

The Best Team Fortress 2 Dispenser Case Mod We've Ever Seen
So you can have that authentic Team Fortress 2 experience right in your bedroom!

Hands-On The Force Unleashed Impressions
Is LucasArts' next saber-swinging action title worth a look? See for yourself.

Daily Mail: Elite RRODs Have Cost Microsoft '£500 Million'
That's a lot of Xbox 360s...

To: Crecente
From: Bashcraft

Man, it's Monday! And a pretty quiet Monday, post holiday. Went to my kid's soccer practice, where another little kid crapped in his pants and had to be taken off the field by the coach. Ah, yes, youth.

Been listening to a lot of Bowie recently, a lot -- well, up to Scary Monsters, after which he seemed to lose the plot for a while (warm fuzzy Labyrinth soundtrack memories aside). Heroes just might be in my top five albums of all time...

I always seem to go in phases where I begin listening to one artist or genre, listen to that to death and then move on..........

What's on your playlist? Gonna need some Tunes to listen to on the plane.

What you missed last night
2.40 Fix Coming "Midweek"
David Hayter Begged Konami To Change MGS4 Stuff
Let's Watch The First Mega Man 9 Footage
New Prince Of Persia Screens
Japan Presents Foreign Dignitaries With...A DS Lite

Yes, This Is The Chrono Trigger DS Trailer
Hopefully the US release isn't too far removed from the Australian one.

Kotaku Originals: We Hold These Truths to Be Self-Evident
Original stories from the great beyond. And by great beyond, I mean Kotaku.

Yes, A Console Diablo III Is (Theoretically) Possible
I would still have a PC ready to go if you're keen on Blizzard's RPG hack'n'slash.

PAL PlayStation Store Update: July 4 Was Just Another Day
Goodies from Sony, to you.

Wonder if Beijing 2008 will feature photorealistic smog effects or take incorporate the stupefying algae bloom in the nautical events. Still, pretty ambitious of Sega to put out a sports game featuring events that even sports fans don't follow except for two weeks out of a four year span (and dropping it less than a week before NCAA Football 09). If the spirit of brotherhood and competition isn't your thang, Unreal Tournament 3 comes to 360 this week also. Or maybe you prefer Sports Party on the Wii. Or Purr Pals. Let us know what you're buying/renting in the jump.

That's right, four score and seven years ago today at Valley Forge, John F. Kennedy and the Lone Ranger chopped down the cherry tree that Squanto ate at the first Thanksgiving, and Paul Revere hung a light in the Alamo to alert Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders: "N00B, red team has taken teh control point, FAIL". Then Batman crossed the Atlantic in an X-Wing Fighter to accept the Heisman Trophy from Winston Churchill, and Martin Luther King Jr. said "God bless us, every one of us".

Oh wait, today's July 5th. Shit.

Well, for those in the USophile-speaking world, this is a three day weekend and you should still be burning large amounts of animal flesh on a grill for the next two days, or else you hate freedom. And for that reason, Kotaku's U.S. staff is on an abbreviated schedule today and tomorrow. Our updates will come every two hours today and tomorrow, then it's back to full-strength when Luke Plunkett and the freedom-hating Australians take up the cause late Sunday evening. Until then, I regret that I have but these stories (more after the jump) to give to my country:

Battlefield: Bad Company Review: Going For The Gold
Once a Labour of Love, Sales of Football Rosters Now Inflame Passions
Former CEO Of Struggling Atari Got One Hell Of A Golden Parachute
Is Chrono Trigger DS Coming To America?
Xbox 360 Getting a 3D Dashboard Make-Over?
Too Human Hands-On: Six Hours In And Half-Way Home
The Man Behind Diablo III Talks Plot, Lore and Battle.Net

Playfire Launches PS3 Trophies Gamercard Service
Best Buy Ad Shows Xbox 360 Price Drop
Can You Really Win A Wii As A Carnival Prize?
Ninja Gaiden II Mission Mode Coming This Month
Come Party With Kotaku
Call of Duty: World at War Figures Show Off U.S., Brit Might
Too Human Online Co-op Hands On: Does Double The Baldur Mean Double The Fun?
Alpha Protocol Aims Ambitiously For RPG, FPS Fans
Frankenreview: Battlefield: Bad Company (Xbox 360)
Infogrames-Controlled Atari Gets 49 Percent Of Publishing Revenues From DBZ
Devil May Explode BAM! BOOM! POW!
George Romero Clueless About Dead Rising?
Minority Report Designer Behind New, Motion-Controlled 360 GUI?
Aussie 360 Price Cut Official, Now Cheaper Than Wii<br />
Pachter: Rumoured Xbox 360 Price, Feature Set Sprucing Could Squeeze Sony'
Game Club Beyond Good & Evil: The First Assignment
GameTap: Myst Pass-Back Benefits Fans
Sporelebrity Contest Kicks Off
Playing Spore: A Lesson in Teabagging
First Look At FIFA 09, PS3 Gets Exclusive "Game Mode"
Bling Gnome Pays Visit with Golden Offering
I Meet The Band, Get Sauced At The GH: Aerosmith Launch Party
Neil Young Launches iPhone Games Company
List of First PS3 Trophy Supported Games
$US 299 Price Drop Xbox 360 Is Refurbish? (Bwah?) [Updated]
Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: Level 70 Elite Tauren Chieftain Level Up
Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: "There Is No Penguin Level."
Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: Day One
Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: How Much Is Your Goody Bag Worth?
Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: Diablo III In-Depth

To: Crecente
From: Bashcraft
RE: Happy Third!

Actually, kinda miss the 4th. Well, the way it's done in America. People pretty much set off fireworks all summer here -- like you can buy them at your local 7-11. So, they're more of a summer thing, which is nice. Not sure about the laws regarding them, but people tend to go down by a river and shoot 'em off at all hours of the night with no problems from the police.

We planned on shooting off fireworks tonight, but ran out of him. The afternoon was spent at the doctors. Going into this, Mini-Bash wanted a girl, but after a ding-dong popped up on the ultrasound, it looks like we'll be adding yet another young lad to the Ashcraft clan. Afterwards, he remarked: When the baby boy is a baby, it'll be cute. But when it grows up, it won't be cute anymore. Valid point.

Now, we just have to think of a name....... And a name that "works" in both English and Japanese and has Japanese kanji. Tricky!

What you missed last night:
Five Games That Matter In Kojima's Life
New Halo Game For E3 (Master Chief Not Included)
Dyack vs. NeoGAF, Part II
360 Rock Band Guitars Work With GH: Aerosmith [Update]
DualShock 3 And Xbox 360 Frankencontrollers
64 Percent of Those Polled Gave Up Wii Fit
Led Zeppelin Uncomfortable With Licensing Songs To Rock Band, Guitar Hero

By Kotaku Time, it's officially July 4th. So, happy July 4th! And to celebrate, we're giving away a copy of Civilization Revolution in a very, very easy contest. Use each of the letters that appear in the title Civilization Revolution to spell out countries names. So, for example, "Canada", "Ireland", "Vietnam"... None of the countries can repeat -- well, save for "OMAN." So put that in an email and and send it to kotakucontestATgmailDOTcom. The two hundredth and thirty-second email we get, wins a copy of the game. Winner will be announced over the weekend. Good luck!

Civilization Revolution [Official Site]

Wrath Of The Lich King Beta Sign-Ups Open
Has your class been buffed? Nerfed? Here's the best way to find out.

Behind the WGA Nominees: Where Were Portal, BioShock?
Writing: not only is it entertaining, it can win you awards!

Battlefield: Bad Company Review: Going For The Gold
The good, the bad and the shiny of EA DiCE's latest shooter for consoles.

WoW Tyrael Pet In The Polygonial Flesh
Oooooooh... pretty white wings...

Dark Sector Devs Helping With Bioshock PS3
Who thought optimising for the PS3 would be so hard?

New Gears Of War 2 Singleplayer Shots
And by shots, we mean screenshots.

Yes, you guys are awesome. Kotaku Australia is quickly approaching the one-year old mark, and in that time its reach, and the size of its community, have grown tremendously.

There's no way this could have happened without your participation, be it an entry to a competition, 500 words on the state of games classification, or an entire essay on how fire mages have had a raw deal in World of Warcraft. Every contribution helps, and I hope to maintain Kotaku AU's position as one of the top gaming blogs in the country, if not the best. So continue sending in tips, making thoughtful comments, pointing out my mistakes and, especially of all, reading.

Now, onto June! Well, back to June.

Last month saw the debut of a unique Kotaku AU feature called Game A Week, where I endeavour to code a new game every seven days, then make it available for free. I've managed three games so far, with a fourth due next Monday. The latest one in development is called "SimMMO" - feel free to have a guess as to what it's about.

If you'd like to check out any of the Game A Week entries, I've linked them here:
Game A Week 3: Blockshooter
Kotaku AU's Game A Week 2: Zafehouse, The Zombie Survival Simulator
Kotaku AU's First Homemade Game A Week: Wizkill, A Roguelike

Age of Conan saw a lot of attention. Horse griefing, small boobs - whatever, the MMO had its time in the spotlight. Rock Band 2 was announced, causing Australians to wonder if EA had forgotten the fact that the first game isn't even out here yet. The publisher also provoked some ill feelings by forcing Australians to use the NZ EA Store to purchase the Spore Creature Creator.

Finally, Shellshock 2 was refused classification, and perks galore were uncovered for Fallout 3.

That's June in a few paragraphs Time to brace ourselves for July.

Hey EA, No One In Australia Cares About Rock Band 2

Girlfriend Plays Age of Conan, Wants Tiny Boobs

Another Perk & The First Ever Fallout 3 Cheat Code?

Fallout 3 CE Exclusive To EB Games? I Don't Believe You!

Shellshock 2 Refused Classification In Australia, No Plans To Resubmit

Rumour: Australian PS2 Price Drop Incoming?

Who's Having Problems With Super Smash Bros. Brawl?

Some Fallout 3 Swag

DJ Uses Castlevania Name, Has Nothing To Do With Castlevania

How Do The Xbox 360 & PS3 Compare To The World's Fastest Supercomputer?

Three Fallout 3 Perks

Fallout 3 Collector's Edition Only A Retailer Exclusive In Australia?

Fallout 3 CE Bobblehead Made Out Of PVC (Trust Me, It's A Good Thing)

What's Infinite Interactive Made With The Spore Creature Creator?

Australians Can Only Buy Spore Creature Creator From... NZ EA Store?

Greg Bondar Speaks About Resignation, Potential Tax Rebate

Pre-Owned MGS4 From EB Games, Just $US 999.95

Finding The Funny In The R18+ Rating For Games Debate

Tantalus Working On 'Unique' Next Gen IP, Funded By 'Top Tier' Publisher

Australia Has Two Different Fallout 3 Collector's Editions? Kinda.

Stores Now Dealing Cocaine In Australia & NZ

Red Tribe Made A Jumper Movie Game?

Meet Scarygirl, The Flashy Lady From Victoria

Jobs On Offer At Nnooo, Developer Of Pop

Age Of Conan: Making Horses Look Bad Since 2008

Intel GM965 X3100 Drivers Are Bugged, Cause Memory Corruption On Dells & Macbooks

Zero Punctuation Takes On Ctrl+Alt+Del
I've never seen Yatzhee unload on a web comic before, but hey, there's always a first time.

Suicide Girls Taps Into GTA IV Fetishism
Not my cup of tea. If it does something for you, don't let me know.

Sony Pulls PS3 2.40 Firmware After Reported Problems
PS3's 2.40 firmware not so magical after all. More dangerous, actually.

Frankenreview: Battlefield: Bad Company (Xbox 360)
Is Battlefield: Bad Company good company on a rainy day? Let's find out!

Diablo III Producer - 'Colour Is Your Friend'
Colour is great, as long as it's not pink. Or anything related to pink. Which means Diablo III is safe as far as I'm concerned.

Bastard Thieves Steal PS3 From Disabled Teenager
Before you say "those silly Americans", it might help to know this happened in Australia.

To: Ash
From: Crecente
Re: What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up, Kiddos?

Wow it's been a crazy day. I've spent much of it trying to finalise our E3 plans, which includes that reader party we've been talking about. The appointments are mostly booked for the show. I just have a few companies left to finalise with. Even though there are less attendees this time around, the fact that there really is only two days to see stuff (Tuesday is packed with press conferences) makes fitting all 40 or so companies a real task.

As for the party. I just got off the phone with the bar and we've got everything locked down. The party is going to be at the Golden Gopher in Los Angeles on the Sunday night before E3. I even managed to squeeze Gawker Media up for a little open bar monies. This one will be like the ones we've held in New York and Tokyo. A low-key affair that gives us a chance to hang with all of the people who make our jobs possible.

I'll be posting the official announcement tomorrow sometime. Can't wait!

What you missed:
Resistance 2's Leviathan Unveiled
Blizzard WWI WoW Pet Revealed
Square Enix Confirms Chrono Trigger DS
Infogrames-Controlled Atari Gets 49 Percent Of Publishing Revenues From DBZ
Frankenreview: Battlefield: Bad Company (Xbox 360)
American McGee Gives Gamers Free Grimm
Alpha Protocol Aims Ambitiously For RPG, FPS Fans
Sony Pulls PS3 2.40 Firmware After Reported Problems
One "Mortal Kombat Killer" Avoids Prison Term

To: Crecente
From: Ashcraft
RE: Vacation: Cuff Links, Readers and A Swamped Pool

Sounds like you had a nice vacation! And I dig the cufflinks. (And the brilliant reader Photoshops in the comments.)

Earlier this evening we went up to Mini Bash's school for the Star Festival. Next week is the Tanabata, which you can read about it here if yer interested. Anyhoo, Mini Bash and all the other kids in his class told the teacher want they wanted to be when they grew up. The teacher then wrote these wishes on slips on paper which we attached to bamboo leaves. Mini-Bash's read:

When I grow up, I want to be Squirtle from Pokémon.

Yep, we're pretty proud. o_0

What you missed last night
Yakuza 3 Announced (No, Not Again, A New Yakuza 3)
Is This Official Chrono Trigger DS Confirmation?
Is Chrono Trigger DS Coming To America?
Minority Report Designer Behind New, Motion-Controlled 360 GUI?
An Elegant Stylus For A More Civilised Age
Namco Bandai Says Soulcalibur IV Install Size "Significantly Overblown"
Rock Band 2 Preview Shows Journey, Foo Fighters, Motorhead And More

Rumour: Soulcalibur IV Requires Xbox 360 HDD, Needs 8.5GB Of Disk Space On PS3
8.5GB? Ouch. Looks like we'll have to start uninstalling some of those pre-installs!

Another Resident Evil Movie 'A Possibility'
Anderson, for the love of all that is holy, just stop. Your movies are awful.

Xbox 360 Getting a 3D Dashboard Make-Over?
As long as it comes with cool cyber-gloves, I'm in.

Blizzard Worldwide Invitiational Wrap-Up
In case you missed all the Starcraft II, World of Warcraft and Diablo III coverage over the last few days.

Diablo Fans Petition Against Diablo III
You would think they'd be happy!

Playing Spore: A Lesson in Teabagging
It's not about teabagging. Well, not much. It's more of a hands-on. Okay, that didn't sound any better.

Activision Boss Wants Cheaper Consoles
Hey Activision, how about cheaper games for Oz first?

Too Human: 'This Has To Be The Worst Game I've Played In The Last 5 Years'
Oh well Silicon Knights, there's always your next game.

To: Crecente
From: Bashcraft

So, yeah, everyday I've been playing soccer when the kid. When I was younger, I played soccer for a few years, but later, got more interested in baseball. The kid really likes soccer, and man, I'm quite enjoying it! Don't remember liking soccer this much. It's really a great game — love the passing, love it.

What you missed last night
Two New Tatsunoko vs. Capcom Characters Revealed!
Sony Files Multi-Touch Portable Patent
Microsoft: If We Launch A Game On 360 & PC Simultaneously, We Shoot Ourselves In The Foot
Too Human: "This Has To Be The Worst Game I've Played In The Last 5 Years"
Let's Dress Up Chun-Li
Rock Band 2's Guitar Is Easy On The Eye"
Too Human Hands-On: Six Hours In And Half-Way Home

Have a QR-enabled phone and a burning desire to win a PS3? Then head over to our sister site, Gizmodo AU, and check out its exclusive PS3 competition! Things wrap up on July 4 (this Friday), so there's really no time to dilly-dally!

If you're wondering if your phone is QR-enabled, here's the info you need (taken from the Giz AU post):

... Either a NextG handset from Telstra (you'll probably have to download the software to make it work), or certain Nokia phones (with additional software).

Sony's First QR Code Is A Giz AU Competition To Win 10 PlayStation 3s! [Gizmodo AU]

Does Solid Snake Have... A Solid Snake?
Do you really want to know?

The Soul Calibur IV Ladies In Action
Out of proportion? Yes. Computer generated? That too. Do these facts bother you? Not in the slightest.

Age Of Conan - A Million Shipped, 700K Registered
Some numbers on Funcom's MMO, Age of Conan.

The Man Behind Diablo III Talks Plot, Lore and Battle.Net
With Diablo III announced, Starcraft II well on its way and Wrath of the Lich King drawing closer, it's nice to take a look at the bigger picture.

Metal Gear Solid 4's Nude Actor Motion Capture
It's all about the butts, apparently.

Guess what was announced on the weekend? That's right, it was Diablo III. To help you get up-to-date on everything that went down, I've collected all our Diablo III and Blizzard Invitational content here.

Blizzard Worldwide Invitational (includes some Diablo III stuff):
Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: 'There Is No Penguin Level'
Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: Day One
Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: How Much Is Your Goody Bag Worth?
Blizzard Worldwide Invitational: Diablo III In-Depth

Diablo III screenshots, trailers and info:
One Stop Shopping For Your Diablo III Trailer Needs
Just ... Forget About Diablo III on a Console, Mmkay?
Diablo III Videos (Trailer, Gameplay Footage)
Diablo III Webpage Filled With Trailers, Screens, Evil
A Blurry Screen From Diablo III
Blizzard Announces Diablo III

Everything else not Blizzard-related:
Crytek's CEO: Piracy Threatens PC Exclusivity
Kotaku Originals: Recipe for a Douche Simulator
New Soul Calibur IV Screens: Tits

Thin week for The Week in Games. You can sense the pattern, big week of console releases, then thin week with mostly handheld drops. The pattern continues. Let us know if any of these get your gamer coin.

I know the headline and the picture should try to say something about the story, but in truth, neither are in any way related. I just wanted to quote from Crecente's brilliant backhanded compliment to Ultimate Band for the Wii, which he said is "quite a bit of fun" despite acknowledging it "looks like a recipe for a douche simulator." I also could not resist repubbing McWhertor's awesome mashup (left) of Old Snake and the PS2, which ran in a report about Old Reliable's declining contribution to the Console Wars. Suffice to say that's my new comment icon. Because Playstation 2 is no hero. Never was. Never will be. Just an old killer, hired to do some wet work.

This Samsung Xbox 360 TV Looks Fake (But It's Not A Bad Idea)
Sony's Stringer Foresees Profitability This Year
First Shots Of PS3 Video Download Service, Due In "Summer 2008"
Crave's ESA Departure Due To Impending Acquisition
Increasing PS3 Sales, Strong PSP Helped Sony Narrow Losses In FY08
Console War Has Changed, PS2 Declines In Old Age
Hands On With Ultimate Band: Disney's Peripheral-Free Band Game

More highlights after the jump.

Survey Leaks Guitar Hero IV Playable Rockers Including Hendrix, Ozzy, And Sting
Rock Band 2 To Get A Jolt Of AC/DC, Survey Says
Will Half-Life 2: Episode Three Be At E3? Valve Says 'No'
I Beat Harry Potter's Executive Producer In A Wand Duel
Actually, Zubo Is Fun For All Ages
Blizzard Splashwatch Day Five - Death Knights, Protoss, And Purple Penguins
Hirai: "True Generation" PS3 Titles To Come
Frankenreview: Alone In The Dark (Xbox 360)
A Terrifying Glimpse Into The Future Of The Halo Franchise?
Square Enix Classics Start Hitting Japanese PSN
ESA Responds To Crave Departure
Red Alert 3's Cocktail Menu
Skate It Wii May Get Skateboard Frame for Balance Board
NECA's Ninja Gaiden II Figure
MGS4 Ships A Million In Europe
Left 4 Dead Impressions: Sloppy Seconds
Hasbro Family Game Night Invades the Wii
Industry Apologetics: It's Not Just A Game
Sony Lost Over $AU 3.12 Billion To PS3 Cost, Pricing Imbalance
Zubo Hands-On Impressions
Gabe Newell: Left 4 Dead is All About Directing Action
Call Of Duty 5 Screens, Details (4-Player Co-Op)
PSN Cards FINALLY Hitting Stores

Got your talking hat on? If you're going to talk, you need a good hat don't chu know. And if you're going to talk, talk to us. That's right, here it is, TELL US DAMMIT. How it works: We ask a question, you answer it. Simple and no strings attached! This isn't some marketing survey or whatever. It's an emotional investment in you. Yes, we're interested in knowing you, Kotaku reader person. You probably know fucktons about us -- more than you even want to, we're sure. But, hey, we'd like to know about you. That way you won't be some faceless blob -- and we might feel a tinge of guilt when we ban your arse. Or not, because really we're incapable of human emotion. We think.

Earlier in the week I asked if I should take a break from GTAIV and start MGS4. Being the impatient bastard I am, I went ahead and started Metal Gear Solid 4. It's a nice game! Quite enjoying it.

Question: Granted, MGS4 *is* of course a Metal Gear Solid game, but do you think the cutscenes are too long?

Connecticut Senator Searching For "Rape Scene" In GTA IV
Comment by: Nobuyuki
Nominated by: Kokatu

Oh man, you guys totally missed the rape scene. You get like a million points for it too.

To: All of Kotaku
From: Stephen
Re: Nobody Knows Good Pasta Like Stephen Totilo Does (Photo Proof!)

Well, this was a fun week. And a hard one.

Juggling a day job and Crecente's shoes isn't easy. (Oh, but the smell -- wow!) A fan of Kotaku and my MTV blog said the past week was like the Jetsons Meet The Flintstones. That was a good cross-over, right?

I enjoyed my time posting for the readers here and rubbing elbows with the fine Kotaku editorial staff. You're all an impressive bunch and terrific group to write for. I always try to do work that I'd like to read -- that is interesting, respects people's intelligence, and, when suitable, enjoyable. I'm glad it seemed to hit the mark here.

I hope all you Kotaku readers out there will never lose sight of the influence you wield. Your decisions about what you consider important and worth reading direct the reporters and bloggers who ultimately serve you. Go with your gut and please keep helping the coverage of games improve, as I think it has, year after year.

And, if you didn't do so already, please drop by MTV Multiplayer blog next week and beyond to see what we're up to over there. I won't even force you to take a quiz or read about Jimmy Olsen.

See you in the comments section.

What you may have missed

New Details On DC Universe Online
My Game Collection Is This Small
Was There A Better Way To Pitch A Lego: Transformers Game?
Yes, I Really Did Watch A Guy Play Boogie Superstar
I Beat Harry Potter's Executive Producer In A Wand Duel
This Samsung Xbox 360 TV Looks Fake (But It's Not A Bad Idea)

While wrangling coverage of Blizzard's Worldwide Invitational will consume a portion of my weekend, spending more time hands-on with Silicon Knights' Too Human will swallow up quite a bit more of my Saturday and Sunday. Expect extended impressions on that game throughout next week. To wind down, I'll be devoting some personal time with Team Fortress 2, playing as one of the many Pyros clogging the ranks on the hunt for Steam Achievements and new weapons. Oh, and there's Soul Bubbles to finish. Lordy!

Other than that, it's time for serious Summer fun. We'll be bandying about shuttlecocks and grilling lots of meat in the greater Los Angeles area, working on our third sunburn. What have you got planned for this regular sized weekend? Any gaming gettin' done?

To: Totilo
From: Bashcraft
RE: Missing Handheld Gaming's Golden Age

Ah yes.

Haven't been playing portables much of late as I'm at home all the time, so if I can squeeze in a game, it'll be GTAIV, CoD4 or MGS4 (yes, I started it, and yes, it's quite good!) Hrm, Mrs. Bashcraft plays Mario Kart DS like every damn day, so.................. She still seems to be in the thick of it. (If the thick of it is the year 2005.)

It's your last day at Kotaku Tower! We had a delightful time and appreciate you filling in while Crecente rides around in a boat. I'm sure next week will seem way more relaxing as you helm one site and not two. Also, while I can't speak for everyone, I forgive you for Hogan Knows Best. Maybe.

Thank Luke for the Photoshop. It's brilliant.

What you missed last night
New Adventure Island Coming, Maybe Star Soldier As Well
Blizzard Splashwatch Day Five - Death Knights, Protoss, And Purple Penguins
Arise, Sirs Dan And Sam Houser?
Soul Calibur IV Features Hot Tag-Team Action
Ubisoft + Prince Of Persia + DS Is What You'd Expect
Big Exclusive White Knight Chronicles Coming Financial Year 2008
Did A Boy Really Kill Himself After His Wii Was Taken Away?
MGS 4 Moved Eight Times More PS3s In Release Week
Wii Castlevania Revealed! It's A Fighting Game?

Wii Castlevania Revealed! It's A Fighting Game?
Hey, at least it's not a DJ game...

Metal Gear Solid 4 Ships Out 3 Million
Not a bad number at all, but it makes you think how well it'd have done if it wasn't a PS3 exclusive.

This Is How You Make A Lara Croft Action Figure
Now this is the sort of thing I like waking up to in the morning.

Spore Creature Creator fun. Or weirdness.
When Spore Wii-mote Monsters Attack!
When Spore PS3 Controller Creatures Rumble!

To: Bashcraft
From: Totilo
Re: For Your Consideration

I'm sure that if my computer didn't refuse to play audio from YouTube clips I'd have loved your friends show. Sorry.

Now I know the PSP is all the rage again in Japan. And the DS trucks along too. But I find myself with less and less to play on my handhelds. I went to L.A. last week and didn't pack any portable gaming machine. That hadn't happened in years.

It seems like just last year, and certainly the year before that, when the DS-PSP were locking horns and providing us quite a lot of good games. Now the releases seem to have slowed quite a bit. Maybe it's the summer? Or maybe the big companies are focusing on the consoles more again. I don't even have a backlog anymore, even though I do on consoles. Just Space Invaders Extreme and then... nothing I'm excited about.

Are you playing your DS and PSP less? Did a golden age of handheld games just pass us by?

What you missed

Variety Troubled By Sid Meier's Next Game
This Is How You Make A Lara Croft Action Figure
Old School Mega Man 9 Coming To WiiWare
Retailer Ad Shows Xbox 360 Price Drop Hits Before E3
Sony's Stringer Foresees Profitability This Year

P.S. Did you hear that? That's Jimmy Olsen mutating once again, below the jump. Hey, the people demanded it.

To: Totilo
From: Ashcraft
RE: The Jimmy Olsen Question

Ha! Nice comic.

So, a friend of mine who shall remain nameless (Hi Jim!) has passed along some promotional clips he made for a TV I have never seen. (Think the show is called The Middleman from the writer-producer who did Lost — so it's a real show and everything.) Anyway! The clips are pretty darn good, I think, and my nameless friend Jim would really like to know what you, Average Kotaku Reader Person, thinks of them. Hit the jump for a couple of the clips. And be gentle! Happily ban anyone who dips into douchebagsville.

What you missed last night
Metal gear Solid 4 loses top sales spot
Just How Many PLAYSTATION Network Registrants Are There?
How Sony Plans For 2008 Financial Profit
First Shots Of PS3 Video Download Service, Due In "Summer 2008"
Blizzard Splashwatch Day Four - Lost Edition
Another Akihabara Stabbing Today
Otomedius Gorgeous Trailer Loaded With Shooting, Boobs
Connecticut Senator Searching For "Rape Scene" In GTA IV
Denis Dyack Tells Too Human Trolls "Put Up Or Shut Up"

To: Totilo
From: Bash
RE: Spare a Rodent?

This morning wife and mother-in-law took the train to a Buddhist temple to ask for a healthy birth. As you may or may not know, this pregnancy has been rather tough on her. It was like that for Mini-Bash's, but this time seems to have more teeth that dig in and bite. The baby, says the doctor, is healthy and strong. Wife still has bad days. Today, for instance, her mother said the moment Mrs. Bashcraft got off the train, she threw up. When she got to the temple, she threw up. After lunch, ditto. When she got back on the train, and so on. (She seems fine right now as she watches TV! Just going out of the house seems to take a lot out of her.)

At the temple, she bought two talisman or amulets — what the Japanese call "mamori". The orange coloured one in the picture is for the unborn baby, to protect it. When Mrs. Bashcraft went to the temple today, she took the one she kept for Mini-Bash while he was in her belly, returned it and said thank you for a healthy birth. (Yeah, I know, she was five years late, but whatever.) The other amulet, the yellow one, is to protect Mini-Bash. At the temple, she also bought a white cloth called "haraobi" which pregnant women wrap around their stomachs to keep them warm. It's basically an old fashioned maternity girdle. She won't be able to start wearing it until the 27th of this month, because according to the Buddhist calendar that the "Day of the Dog". Since dogs give birth easily, it's advised to start wearing the haraobi starting from that date. (Note: This "Day of the Dog" changes every month, so I think it's the 4th of next month, but I'm not sure.) Fingers crossed this stuff works.

In case you are curious, hit the jump for look at the back of the envelope from the Temple that the haraobi came in.

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