Kotaku, the Gamer’s Guide

Microsoft Introduce MS Point Gift-Giving

Not to be outdone by those charitable bastards at Nintendo, Microsoft have kicked off a (beta) scheme whereby any Xbox Live, GFW Live or even Zune user can donate MS points to a friend as a gift. As it's a beta, the service is somewhat limited at the moment, as you need to know the person's Windows LIVE ID, but Microsoft spokesman Larry Hryb says a request to be able to gift points to someone using just their gamertag is in the pipeline.
Gift Microsoft Points [MIcrosoft]

4:30 AM ON MON DEC 24 2007
BY LUKE PLUNKETT
90 views, 4 comments

Latest by pokebud: All I wanna know is why Nintendo can let you buy points in base 10 and Microsoft makes you buy them in base 8. more »

Gallery

BioWare Christmas Card Wins Christmas

Best Christmas card of 2007? Don't be silly, we wouldn't award prizes for seasonal greetings. That would be shallow. Hypothetically speaking, though, if we did, then yeah, this would be the best Christmas card of 2007, if only for the extra yard they went in coining a Mass Effect Christmas poem.

GameSetWatch's 2007 Game Company Xmas Card Countdown: PopCap To BioWare [GSW]

3:00 AM ON MON DEC 24 2007
BY LUKE PLUNKETT
887 views, 17 comments

Latest by Youlikeyams: Hahaha, wonderful card. @juliopalio: Happy Xmas! more »

orange box

Orange Box Soundtrack Can Stuff Someones Stocking

Valve have released, to their online store, an official Orange Box soundtrack, upon which you'll find all the hits you've grown to know and love from the year's orangest (and bestest) compendium. Like some of the haunting score to Episode 1, for example. An Episode 2. And Portal, with the catchy electronic score joined by two versions of "Still Alive". If you're less of a Half-Life fan and more of a Team Fortress kind of guy/gal, you're also covered, with its "troop-rallying anthems" also making their way onto the CD. The Orange Box Original Soundtrack is available now, and is selling for $9.95.
The Orange Box Original Soundtrack [Steam]

1:30 AM ON MON DEC 24 2007
BY LUKE PLUNKETT
611 views, 20 comments

Latest by Mokai: Two versions of Still Alive? Can anyone comment on what the second version is? more »

Papercraft

Papercraft Pelican Is Smaller, But More Durable

Halo's Pelican dropships look Tough. Rough. Built to withstand the toughest conditions and the most dangerous missions. Pity, then, that all they ever seem to do is explode and/or crash. Fans of the series, and of the dropship in particular, should thus be interested in this papercraft model, which is not only more moderately-sized, but also won't explode randomly in your house, inconveniently spilling frag grenades and sniper rifles all over your bedroom floor.
D-77 Pelican Dropship [Planet Starfreak, via Giz]

12:00 AM ON MON DEC 24 2007
BY LUKE PLUNKETT
652 views, 23 comments

Latest by Witzbold: @Leighroy: Ah yes the page has finally loaded and you are right. Man that is a damned fine papercraft too. D: Even seen the Front Mission ones Square Enix had up a while back. Those were friggin awesome if you are a more »

weekend note

Weekend Note: Happy Holidays

To: Ash & Luke
From: Flynn
Subject: Hard Freeze

Happy Holiday my fine gentlemen! Holiday weekends are always an odd time to be writing, but this one seems particularly barren. I feel like one of those animals you see on the nature shows, foraging through the frozen tundra for any sort of insect or sprout that has seen fit to bust through the crust of the snow. Seeing as everything from the weekend is sitting right on the front page, it seems a bit odd to point things out, but what the heck, why fly in the face of tradition, eh?

We finally get to hear Ken Levine's VGA acceptance speech

Rockstar and the BBFC go for another round

Rock Band 360 gets holiday DLC, PS3 waits a week

I hope you guys have a great holiday, whatever and however you celebrate it. Personally I will be spending a quiet week playing games and searching for an apartment. See you next week!

7:00 PM ON SUN DEC 23 2007
BY FLYNN DE MARCO
1,926 views, 97 comments

Latest by ruslander: Happy holidays to all the Kotaku Staff and Kotaku commenters! more »

new games

Week in Games: Holiday Black Hole Edition

Fortunately, the last few months have given us a glut of awesome titles to play over the holiday break. I say fortunately because to say that this week's list is anemic would be a huge understatement. A few titles are trickling in, but considering the season and the fact that Christmas Day lands in the middle of the week this is hardly surprising. So to the game industry I say, take a break and get ready to knock our socks off in the new year. We're looking at YOU Super Smash Brothers Brawl! more »

5:00 PM ON SUN DEC 23 2007
BY FLYNN DE MARCO
3,203 views, 38 comments

Latest by thejakeman: @thejakeman: *crickets chirping* erm. KH2 is a good game... more »

Rumor

Rumor Smash: SOE Not Being Sold to Indian Company

When I am cruising the interwebs for news, I usually tend to breeze right by ridiculous headlines like India's Zapak set to buy Sony Online, but apparently things like this are taken very seriously by some.

Website Massively received an email from none other than Sony Online Entertainment CEO, John Smedley himself. The tip regarded a rumor that had begun circulating regarding SOE being purchased by Indian company, Zapak Digital. Reports of the rumor had gotten to Smedley via concerned emails from SOE employees and he immediately stepped forward to nip it in the bud.

This story is 100% false. We aren't for sale and never have been. Nothing like this has ever been discussed with the Zapak guys. The truth is we were talking to them about distribution rights to one of our games. And we have no idea how this story got started.

Frankly I'm a little surprised something this far fetched ended up on Reuters. Thank you, interwebs, for yet another completely blown out of proportion rumor.

John Smedley: Sony Online is not getting purchased by Zapak [Massively]

3:00 PM ON SUN DEC 23 2007
BY FLYNN DE MARCO
1,310 views, 42 comments

Game Design

'What's In A Death Penalty?'

The death penalty of various MMORPGs is a topic of interest to many people - I've seen a number of thought provoking posts, and what more cheerful topic than death of your virtual avatar right before the holidays? Elder Game has a look at the death penalties of WoW and EQ2 and the ramifications of the death penalties, which often spin off to unexpected territory (like the way people play the game): more »

2:00 PM ON SUN DEC 23 2007
BY MAGGIE GREENE
11,162 views, 84 comments

manhunt 2

Manhunt 2 Continues Uphill Battle for UK Release

Embattled Rockstar Games title Manhunt 2 got dealt another blow in the British Courts this week. As you know, the game was banned by the British Board of Film Classification for sale in the UK back in June, but Rockstar was able to revamp the game enough to get an appeal on the ban and convince the UK Video Appeals Committee to reclassify it with a new rating. But, it seems that the BBFC isn't ready to give up the fight just yet. more »

1:00 PM ON SUN DEC 23 2007
BY FLYNN DE MARCO
1,180 views, 29 comments

Latest by Youlikeyams: @ceilingfanboy: RUUUUUE BRITANNIA, BRITTANIA RULES THE WAVES etc etc more »

year end

2007 - the Year of 'Accessible' Games?

Leigh Alexander has an interesting '07 wrap up of sorts that's not a top 10 list, but a look at some of the major trends in gaming this year - which can be summed up in the word 'accessibility,' which she defines as many different things. Making the 'entry barrier' to console gaming low with the Wii; allowing people to play in bite sized chunks instead of hours-long grinds; the line between the gamer and the non-gamer is becoming increasingly slim (maybe?): more »

12:00 PM ON SUN DEC 23 2007
BY MAGGIE GREENE
3,217 views, 69 comments

Latest by JoopTang: @Icharius: It's going to be interesting to see what Nin does next but I don't expect to see any new system for a very long time. I'm thinking simple alterations to the Wii in the manner their handhelds have progressed. more »

Megaman

Inafune Says No Megaman in Brawl

Smashing the holiday hopes and dreams of MegaMan and Smash Bros. fans everywhere, Keiji Inafune has stated uncategorically that at this time, Megaman is not going to be a character in Super Smash Brothers Brawl. In the most recent Bionic Commando podcast, Inafune says: more »

11:00 AM ON SUN DEC 23 2007
BY FLYNN DE MARCO
8,347 views, 122 comments

only in china

Shanda Sued, Forced To Pay For 'Stolen' Virtual Items

Shanda - one of Mainland China's heaviest hitters in the MMORPG world - was asked by police to remove virtual items from a player's account during an investigation into the sale of stolen virtual items. Shanda did - then forgot to give them back like the police had told them to. When the player discovered his missing virtual items, he flipped his lid and sued them. Shanda lost and has been ordered to apologize and pay a restitution of 5,000 RMB (a little less than $700 USD) - but to add insult to injury, the player has even more lawsuits in mind: more »

10:00 AM ON SUN DEC 23 2007
BY MAGGIE GREENE
3,774 views, 16 comments

Latest by Tarislar: @DigitalHero: ....and sell your organs. more »

Megaman

MegaMan Turns 20

This week is not only notable for the Christmas holiday but (possibly even more importantly) this week also happens to be the 20th Anniversary of MegaMan (aka RockMan). Website Platformers.net has taken a little look back at the long running franchise. It's a nice medium length retrospective that will be perfect for holiday reading if you want to learn a little bit more about the man in blue and all his various games.

Happy Anniversary, MegaMan. May you see twenty more without becoming boring and repetitive.

Japan Focus| Happy Birthday Rockman! [Platformers.net]
The Official MegaMan Website [Capcom]
[Thanks, Graham]

9:00 AM ON SUN DEC 23 2007
BY FLYNN DE MARCO
3,100 views, 73 comments

Latest by danzigeevil: Well, the latest DS game was quite tasty. Let's hope the trend of non-sucktitude continues. more »

Happy Holidays

A Sleigh is so Old Fashioned...

Jeff Rubenstein, Social Media Manager for SCEA has posted a little holiday video greeting from Polyphony Digital, the folks who created the Gran Turismo. It features Santa who has turned in his sleigh for a fancy sports car. Is it an attempt to make his Christmas duties faster or just a sad mid-life crisis? You be the judge! more »

7:00 PM ON SAT DEC 22 2007
BY FLYNN DE MARCO
3,947 views, 31 comments

ken levine

The Ken Levine Acceptance Speech You Didn't Hear

The folks at 1Up were able to pin down Ken Levine to speak with him a bit about the aftermath of BioShock, his upcoming projects and his thwarted GOTY acceptance speech at the Spike VGAs. When asked what he was going to say on that momentous occasion, Levine had this to say: more »

5:00 PM ON SAT DEC 22 2007
BY FLYNN DE MARCO
14,700 views, 58 comments

Shoes

Ugly Halo 3 Kicks to Kick Things With

So, apparently these things have been out since October but this is the first I've actually seen ~~their hideousness~~ them documented. That's right, custom Halo 3 branded Nike Dunks! Now you can carry your love of Halo with you wherever you go just in case that Xbox, controller, RSS reader, Mountain Dew soda, cap, man purse and twenty three different t-shirts weren't enough. Wear the cap, shoes, t-shirt and bag all at the same time to unlock the Uber-Dork achievement!

Halo 3 Dunk Low Custom [nikeskateboarding.org]
[Thanks, Vinh]

3:00 PM ON SAT DEC 22 2007
BY FLYNN DE MARCO
6,100 views, 88 comments

Latest by acrnym: soup /b/ hell guys. it could be worse. they could be final fantasy x-2 shoes. more »

Game Design

On Academic and Industry Collaboration

It frequently seems, when looking at the academic research side of things and the 'real world' applications, that never the twain shall meet - academics are notorious for floating about in their own little world (it's practically part of the job description some days ...), while everyone else wants to know how academic research can be applied to real world situations. There's an interesting post up on Game/AI - especially the comments - talking about the problems of bridging the industry/academic gap in gaming. Are we all too beholden to our institutional obligations? Is there any way to bridge the gap? Will academics ever get their heads out of the theoretical clouds? Will designers ever start thinking academics have something to offer beside star gazing? more »

1:00 PM ON SAT DEC 22 2007
BY MAGGIE GREENE
1,090 views, 15 comments

Latest by spade135: The problem with industry/academia colaboration lies with satisfying the demanding time scales of industry. This challenge can only be met by bringing together the leaders in video game technology supply chain, and getting them to work together. At the end more »

Dlc

Rock Band DLC Available Next Week on XBLM; PS3 Has to Wait

In a post on the Rock Band Forums, Harmonix Developer hmxsean reaveals that there will be Rock Band DLC next week over the holiday. No announcement what the tracks will be yet, but we do know one thing: PS3 owners will have to wait.

There will be DLC next week. An announcement will go out today or Monday.
Sony's offices are closed next week and the DLC will be postponed for a week until they come back (but they'll be back on schedule the following week when they get a double-dose of DLC awesomeness). It will go up in the Xbox Marketplace as regularly scheduled.

Nothing like waking up the day after Christmas to find yet another gift under your tree, especially one that will keep you rockin' through the new year. If you have the 360 version that is....

12:00 PM ON SAT DEC 22 2007
BY FLYNN DE MARCO
6,950 views, 116 comments

Latest by Psudonym: That's some pretty lousy flame bait there Flynn. It worked, but I still think it's pretty damn lousy. more »