All Topics Gaming older than one year ago

Jason West and Vince Zampella discuss their new EA publishing deal with IGN.

Jason West and Vince Zampella discuss their new EA publishing deal with IGN.

#rainydayfun Today's kids need to know how to go about getting revenge for the murder of their daughter using the skills they acquired as a top-secret secret government operative. The Splinter Cell Activity Book for Kids can help. More »

#xbox360 The greatly anticipated Halo: Reach multiplayer beta is just weeks away, so Bungie is delving deeper into just what that frenzied sci-fi shoot 'em up preview will be like, focusing on the four available maps and exciting new info. More »

A true rarity of the Neo Geo library, made available to the masses.

Jason West and Vince Zampella discuss their new EA publishing deal with IGN.

Check out the official trailer for WiiWare's upcoming platform/adventure game.

#ea Having despaired over technology complaints involving the PC-only first Crysis game, the main man behind Crysis 2 now dares to withstand the harsh judgments of console gamers. More »

Still not sold on Fable 3 as an iterative improvement over the last game in the series? Well, you might just change your mind when you hear about the game's latest feature, which was recently revealed in the latest Official Xbox Magazine: When you're not busy building a monarchy and roaming the wild landscape of Albion, you'll "be able to enjoy, ahem, intimate moments with your co-op friend and eventually produce offspring together," according to the mag.

We hope this isn't another one of those "no, really, the trees will grow" scenarios, because this is quite possibly the sexiest thing we've ever heard. Sure, it might lead to some horrifically awkward Xbox Live voice messages, but its raw sexiness is undeniable.

You only get one shot; do not miss your chance to blow... in a good way.

#xbox360 Former Tonight Show host Conan O'Brien is headed back to television this fall, inking a deal with cable station TBS to establish a new late night show. One report says that Conan was in talks for a very different deal. More »

#downloadables Who needs the arcade version of Sega's Zaxxon or online multiplayer strategy game Military Madness: Nectaris, when they can have cerasus media's 7 Card Games for DSiWare? No one, that's who. More »

A report late last week on XBLAFans.com claimed that Czech game studio Amanita Design had been "refused" a publishing deal to bring the critically-acclaimed Machinarium to Xbox Live Arcade, because the game was not an Xbox exclusive. While the quotes in the article were incendiary, they echoed information Joystiq received from developer Golgoth Studio earlier this year, when it too was denied a publishing deal from Microsoft for Toki HD. (Microsoft decided Toki HD didn't fit with its current portfolio.)

The key is that neither game has been refused space on the platform -- Microsoft has simply decided not to publish the games itself. Microsoft requires all XBLA titles be attached with a publishing partner, meaning neither Amanita Design and Golgoth Studio can self-publish the games on the XBLA platform. Sony and Nintendo do not have the same policy for the PlayStation Network and WiiWare, respectively.

Joystiq contacted Amanita Design founder Jakub Dvorský for to clarify the situation. "They told us, 'It's not Microsoft-exclusive, we don't want it.' They didn't cite the Mac and Linux versions [as reasons for the refusal] but it's quite clear that's the reason," Dvorský told Joystiq via email. As it did with Toki HD, Microsoft recommended Amanita Design pursue other publishers, an idea the team doesn't appear intent on exploring. "It means if we want to release the game on XBLA we must throw, probably, most of the profit out of the window -- to the publisher. Just because we created Mac and Linux versions."

Microsoft's official stance -- and policy, according to Dvorský -- is the company does not publish games that are not exclusive to its platforms. During the year-long process of waiting for a response from Microsoft, Amanita Design never expressed interest in submitting Machinarium to Sony's PlayStation Network. Now that Microsoft has decided against publishing the game, Amanita is exploring Sony's platform. "We submitted the game to Sony after Microsoft refused it," Dvorský said.

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory was the last Splinter Cell game to hit the Cube. It also happened to land on the DS. From what I remember of the game, it was another fun Sam Fisher adventure. The problem is, all the previous games tend to blur together in my mind. I [...]

Second video feature here More posters here - soundtrack due out May 25, 2010. - music composed by Harry Gregson-Williams - end credits song by Alanis Morissette, co-written and produced by Mike Elizondo “It’s an honor to write from the voice of an empowered princess about a love that empowers them both to new heights, healing and consciousness. [...]

Sharp isn’t the only company that Nintendo could be working with. We’ve just come to learn that Hitachi is also offering a parallax barrier technology that would work in the same what the Sharp’s tech does. Keep in mind that all the talk of Sharp was nothing but speculation, and now we’re throwing [...]

Once again, from Kojima’s Twitter… “The next project will challenge a certain type of taboo. If I mess up, I’ll probably have to leave the industry. However, I don’t want to pass by avoiding that. I turn 47 this year. It’s been 24 years since I started making games. Today, I got an ally who would [...]

Konami's first DSiWare title leaps onto handhelds for an all-new adventure this spring.

#contest Impress us! You can create some pretty amazing games with WarioWare: D.I.Y., but can you create some pretty amazing Kotaku games? More »

#respawnentertainment They say they don't even know what their next game will be yet. But the former lead men behind Modern Warfare 2 tell Kotaku that their new company, Respawn Entertainment, will make something big that won't be "exploited." More »

After five long years of development, Remedy Entertainment is weeks away from delivering on one of the "most anticipated titles of 2010." Alan Wake's long journey comes to an end on May 18 (in North America) and the Finnish developer is in full "promo" mode -- when it isn't partying it up, that is.

During a press stop in Toronto, Joystiq pressed Remedy's head of franchise development Oskari 'Ozz' Häkkinen on the hard-hitting questions: How much like a homeless Vin Diesel does the new Max Payne look, and when can players expect Alan Wake Wars to ship?

We also grabbed a few tidbits about Alan Wake's New York City flashback, dreams of Alan Wake 2 and more on Wake's planned DLC. If that kind of stuff is important to you.