Photo: Luke Plunkett Microsoft have applied for a patent that, while not a perfect solution for every gripe you may have with modern consoles and digital ownershipmay nevertheless be a great step forward for anyone who has a catalog of games they own on disc but have bought (or are thinking of buying) a digital-only … Read more
Once, long ago, buying and playing a video game was pretty easy. You bought the disc or cart, stuck it in the console, and hit play. Not so much anymore. Case in point: The not-so-great cloud-streaming-only versions of Kingdom Hearts released on Switch earlier this year recently got an update, and now feature a warning … Read more
The Metroid series took a little nap during the N64 era, with Nintendo unable/unwilling to release a single home console game between the success of the SNES’ Super Metroid in 1994 and the GameCube’s Metroid Prime in 2002. So a fan is stepping in—and back in time—to make one for themselves. What you’re seeing here … Read more
In 2009, THQ pulled a publicity stunt by covering a Nintendo Wii in 24 karat gold and trying to get it delivered to Queen Elizabeth II. Her Majesty never actually got her hands on the console, but now, after a year of hijinx auction, you might be able to. I actually wrote about this last … Read more
Photo: Luke Plunkett You will have seen a lot of Reggie Fils-Aime news lately. The man has a book out, telling stories about the notoriously secretive video game industry, so that’s to be expected. Much of it is insightful, some of it emotionalsome of it even a little puzzling. One section, though, simply has me … Read more
Image: Gearbox / Xbox / Kotaku Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands was released on March 25. At launch, the game suffered from numerous server issues and problems with lag. Eventually, a lot of that was fixed. However, 38 days later, crossplay across certain platforms is still a mess. And so, tired of waiting for the crossplay woes … Read more
Screenshot: Crows Crows Crows / Kotaku 2013 PC indie darling The Stanley Parable released its revised, multiplatform, expanded Ultra Deluxe update yesterday, which in itself is a remarkably strange act. This version of the game, which may as well be considered a sequel given how much is new, is a Möbius strip of meta within … Read more
Screenshot: FoamPunch The delineation between console generations is muddier than ever. Microsoft’s two next-gen machines, the Xbox Series X and the slightly lower-powered Xbox Series S, have been out for about a year and a half. In that time, you can count the number of true next-gen Xbox games on one hand. The rare qualifier: … Read more
Image: Apple Although the mobile gaming ecosystem is known for hosting live-service games that monetize more aggressively than standalone console games, there’s no shortage of creators making mobile games that don’t call for constant updates. Now, some indie developers are finding out what can happen when you put your finished games on the Apple app … Read more
Microsoft’s head of Xbox research and design, Chris Novak, will leave the company after nearly two decades, he announced yesterday. The veteran console architect was a leading creative force in a division that oversaw the creation of everything from achievements to Game Passa service that upended the way many people buy and play games. “I … Read more