Kotaku Australia

See How Handheld Sales Stack Up…

Mark Serrels — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:00:59 +1100

This handy little infographic made by Venturebeat was a real eye opener for me, personally. Mainly because I assumed that the PS Vita had made much less of a sales impact than the PSP, when the reality is that it was quite close. In fact, I had a lot of assumptions questioned through this neat sales chart. The above only shows some of the story (you can check out the full thing here) but what I fo ...

In Memory Of Ralph McQuarrie, The Artist Who Designed Darth Vader & R2-D2

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 14:00:00 +1100

I run this regular Fine Art feature on Kotaku because it’s an aspect of the creative process that I have a big interest in, and the utmost respect for. Indeed, there was a point in my life where I hit a fairly substantial crossroads, and if I hadn’t gone down the path that led me here, I’d have ended up pursuing a career in production/concept art instead. The single bigg ...

Super Metroid Completed In 12 Minutes!

Mark Serrels — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:30:52 +1100

Ever since trying beat my buddy’s records on Super Punch Out!! for the SNES, I’ve loved the idea of speed runs. The Super Metroid speed run is perhaps one of the most hotly contested — now with some new sequence breaking, OmnipotentEntity appears to have gotten the time down to an incredible 12 minutes… The run will seem almost ridiculous to Super Metroid veterans — m ...

Fable: Heroes Turns The RPG Series Into A… Brawling Party Game?

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:30:00 +1100

Seemingly jumping the gun ahead of next week’s Game Developers Conference, a listing on Xbox.com has appeared for a game called Fable Heroes. Here’s the product description: Fable Heroes is a fresh spin on the beloved Fable franchise in which up to 4 players play both cooperatively and competitively in this hack-and-slash adventure. Work together as heroes of Albion to defeat ...

Reader Review: PlayStation Vita Software

Mark Serrels — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:00:05 +1100

It has to be said — this is one of the most in-depth reviews I’ve seen in the history of reader reviews. BlueMaxima has already talked about the PS Vita itself, this time he’s discussing the software itself — how everything handles, the user interface, etc. If you’re thinking about picking up a PS Vita, this is a great resource. Nicely done Mr Maxima! PlaySta ...

Remember This?

Mark Serrels — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:00:30 +1100

Oh man, you guys really got me good last time. PLEASE DON’T GET THIS ONE IN FIVE MINUTES! ...

Community Review: Metal Gear Solid HD Collection

Mark Serrels — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 11:00:13 +1100

Until I played Journey, I’m almost embarrassed to say that my game of 2012 so far was a HD remake of an eight year old game: Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. Have any of you guys managed to pick up the MGS HD Collection yet? How did you find it? So far I’ve played a fair amount of the HD Collections released this generation, but this MGS effort is by far my favourite, with the Ico/Shad ...

This Week In What? Mass Effect 3 Is Coming Out This Week!

Mark Serrels — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 10:00:36 +1100

Well everyone, it’s been a long time coming, but finally the week has come. The time is almost here. It’s hard to believe, right? After all this waiting, all the trailers, all the developer diaries, the rumours — finally The Sims 3 Showtime Katy Perry Collector’s Edition is here. And boy, am I hyped! Apparently there’s this other game being released. Something about a ...

Ask Tim Schafer Anything!

Mark Serrels — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:45:27 +1100

We typically run an ‘Ask Me Stuff’ post every Wednesday, and that’s pretty cool and all, but we’re no Tim Schafer. Currently, on Reddit, Tim Shafer is running his very own ‘Ask Me Stuff’, and he may actually be better at answering questions than us! But if you’re thinking about being all funny and stuff, and going in their to ask Tim about Loom? Sadly some ...

Is This Valve’s Control Pad Design?

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:40:00 +1100

It’s beginning to seem entirely possible that PC gaming powerhouse Valve is working on its own “console” (or at least custom PC). Especially when you consider that it’s been working on control pad designs for nearly three years. This patent, first filed in 2009 and published in 2011, is for a “Video Game Controller” featuring “user swappable control compon ...

The Mystery Of The Australian Battlefield 3 PS3 Servers

Mark Serrels — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:30:23 +1100

Since the beginning of February PlayStation 3 owners have been having major difficulties getting online with Battlefield 3, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find out precisely what’s going on, and what’s being done to fix it. Problems arose as early as February 1, with PS3 Battlefield players seeing a massive reduction in servers online. In most games players were stru ...

While You Were — OMG What’s A Steam Box?

Mark Serrels — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:00:09 +1100

Sleep is important, but the world? It keeps on spinning while you’re catching some shut eye. That’s where we come in — with a rapid round up of what went down while you were sleeping. Man, the Steam Box. If this thing exists, it’s sure to be a pretty big deal. If you’re playing catch up, it’s probably worth starting here, with the initial rumour. Following up he ...

Signs Getting Stronger That SimCity 5 Is Coming In 2013

Owen Good — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:00:00 +1100

There are so many “leaked” trailers that have survived multiple days on YouTube, it’s hard to believe this isn’t deliberate. Whatever the case, this silent slideshow of SimCity 5 concept art is alleged to be source material for a GDC announcement, and the game will release in 2013. Earlier this week, seven images published in a German magazine hinted at a sequel, r ...

How One Teacher Turned Sixth Grade Into An MMO

Ben Bertoli — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 09:00:00 +1100

Editor’s Note: Ben Bertoli is a long-time Kotaku reader and commenter, a lifetime, dedicated video gamer and a sixth-grade teacher in Indiana. He reached out to Kotaku this past week to share the story of how he turned his class into a role-playing game. The enthusiasm and motivation of the children in Bertoli’s class evoke the success stories seen in gamified experiences such as F ...

Talk Amongst Yourselves

Mark Serrels — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:30:16 +1100

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. ...

Here Is Modern Warfare 3′s Definitive ‘Chuck Norris’ Kill

Owen Good — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 08:30:00 +1100

When some terrorist arsehole’s got everyone pinned down, there’s only one way to solve the problem — up close and personal. Put another way, you can’t kill Chuck Norris at close distance; close distance to Chuck Norris always kills you. ...

Sunday Comics: First-Person Problem

Owen Good — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 07:00:00 +1100

Welcome to your regular read of the week’s best in web comics. Make sure to click on each comic to see the full-size version. Dueling Analogs by Steve Napierski published Feb. 28. — Read more of Dueling Analogs Awkward Zombie by Katie Tiedrich published Feb. 27. — Read more of Awkward Zombie Nerf NOW!! by ...

Whatever A ‘Steam Box’ Means To Video Games, Only Valve Knows For Sure

Owen Good — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 06:30:00 +1100

Steam Box. Gabecube. Steam Engine. And, of course, Orange Box. If Valve Corporation is planning to offer a so-called PC gaming “console”, the gaming community has already focus-grouped the brand names for it. “Companion Cube” would also seem to be perfect. Nothing is confirmed. Valve’s intentions in hardware are as opaque as its timetable for Half-Life 3. So ...

PlayStation Network Is Down For Maintenance For The Next 14 Hours

Owen Good — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 06:00:00 +1100

Regularly scheduled maintenance on the PlayStation Network was postponed on Thursday and will begin right now. The service will be completely offline until about 5am EST (9pm AEDT). The maintenance extends to the PlayStation Blog itself, so if you’re looking for updates on the network and when it may return, follow the official PlayStation Twitter feed, which will send a notice when PSN is b ...

On Sport Games And Box Shots

Owen Good — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 20:15:00 +1100

Looking over the field of candidates for the Madden NFL 13 cover, I’m thinking of what William Munny said before he shot Little Bill in Unforgiven: Deserve’s got nothin’ to do with it. That’s not to say all of the 40 candidates announced so far are meritless underperformers or lack star power. But when you’ve got a kicker and a punter in this contest ...