Videogames

Rock Band Bot Can Get 100% On Expert Song, But You Still Suck

Robotics maker Mark Single hooked up a Rock Band guitar to Christmas light show software and scored 100% on Green Grass and High Tides on Expert, one of the hardest songs in the game. He's detailed how he did it so you n00bs can try your hand at it too. I've never really understood the point of modding a game to play itself, but in case you were one of the lame asses who needed to cheat to get sweet scores in Guitar Hero III and panicked at the thought of actually playing to pass songs in Rock Band, Pure Pwnage has got you covered. Though, at the end of the day, is it really worth it to get a perfect and still feel so empty? [Pure Pwnage via HacknMod] More »

6:30 PM on Sun May 4 2008
By Elaine Chow
5,483 views, 30 comments

Latest by mrAnderson: I wouldn't mind making a robot that can play the game using a webcam to watch the screen. I think that would be a great project to learn about image analysis and robotics control. But learning new things more »

gaming

Super Genintari 4-in-1 Console Jams Nintendo, SEGA, and Atari

Super Genintari is the latest mega-console mod by Richard DaLuz, a perfect cocktail of Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, Genesis and Super NES enclosed in a retro-'80s bronze acrylic case, "formed and shaped on a homemade stript heater." It connects to a TV using a single cable, running four games simultaneously, and probably cooks bread with the generated heat—like the video shows after the jump. We talked with Richard about his superconsole mod: More »

11:20 AM on Mon Apr 14 2008
By Jesus Diaz
32,047 views, 31 comments

Latest by cjlopez: Wan't 1, pretty baaaaaaad more »

military

DARPA Wants Contact Lenses to Turn Real-Life Combat Into Call of Duty 4

The problem with cool strap-on heads-up displays a few lucky soldiers get to use on the battlefield today is that they're bulky affairs that make them look like half-assed cyborgs. Plus, the interface is limited. The Pentagon wants to develop contact lenses that'll put "first-person-shooter-type video game" graphics on top the soldiers' vision. Yes, they want to make real-life combat the realest Halo match ever. More »

5:45 PM on Thu Mar 20 2008
By matt buchanan
7,900 views, 42 comments

wii

First Hands-On Video of Wii Wheel with Mario Kart Wii

My buddy Stephen T over at MTV's Multiplayer blog scored the first video demo of the Wii Wheel in Mario Kart Wii game play. Melvin at Nintendo shows him how to insert a Wiimote into the Wheel, then head to the races. Watch T manage to execute a wheelie and a powerslide, then—in the second video in the link below—try the same maneuvering sans Wheel, with far less enthusiasm. He doesn't say whether or not it's a true winner or a waste of plastic, but my guess is, he likes it better than this guy. His biggest gripe? No horn to honk, Maggie Simpson style. FYI: If you live in Canada, UK or Japan, MTV hates your guts. [MTV Multiplayer]

9:00 PM on Tue Mar 18 2008
By Wilson Rothman
7,428 views, 19 comments

Latest by twilight-arc: @Joseph: Looks like this is for you then: [technology.newscientist.com] more »

game crime

Teen Strangles Father with Gamepad Cable

A 18-year-old was arrested this week after trying to kill his father by strangling him with the cable of his videoconsole gamepad. While the videogame console brand hasn't been disclosed yet, the police have been able to establish the circumstances that lead to the almost surrealistic (but strangely understandable) murder attempt: More »

8:30 AM on Thu Jan 10 2008
By Jesus Diaz
44,574 views, 112 comments

Latest by tokiwartooth: @jesusdiaz: Going apeshit because you've been reprimanded by a parents? I think you might need to evaluate the meaning of hyperbole considering you noted the kids attempt to kill someone was "understandable". more »

drunk driving

Xbox Racing Games To Combat Real-Life Drunk Driving

The country that invented Scotch is paying to have virtual billboards implanted in Need for Speed: Carbon, Project Gotham Racing 4 and other titles, telling 15-to-24-year-olds not to drink and drive. At least not in real cars. It's probably okay for them to drink and drive virtual cars, because all they risk there is hitting those virtual "don't drink and drive" billboards. This comes on the heels of the British government putting intelligence-agency employment ads in games like Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent. The Scottish transport minister says that if this $20,000 pilot project is a success, other road-safety messages may soon appear, too. Like "Don't Drive Like You're Playing Need For Speed." [Kotaku]

10:00 AM on Wed Dec 26 2007
By Wilson Rothman
1,036 views, 3 comments

Latest by Daimyo Nintendo: That is a sweet photoshop image! more »

oldie but goodie

Brain Age Creator Developing Intelligent Toyotas for Old People

First he developed Brain Age, a hit Nintendo DS game that helps keep people's brains fit well into their golden years. Now, the same guy, Ryuta Kawashima, is working with Toyota to make cars that help the older folks who perhaps didn't do all the mental calisthenics they should have. More »

9:14 AM on Tue Dec 18 2007
By Wilson Rothman
1,645 views, 9 comments

nintendo

Nintendo's Wii Rainchecks Mean You Get the Console Plus the Agonizing Wait

Kotaku's Brian Crecente is liveblogging a chat with Nintendo US honcho Reggie Fils-Aime, where the first order of business was the availability of Wii "rainchecks" at GameStop stores. If you go in on December 20 or 21 and make a full payment, assuming they are out of actual Wiis, you will get a raincheck certificate which guarantees a Wii by the end of January. Though Fils-Aime told Crecente that the GameStop has "many tens of thousands" of rainchecks across their 3,000 or so stores, they may of course run out of those as well. Fils-Aime confirmed that Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart were releasing lots of Wiis this weekend, but if none of this works, there's always cryogenic freezing. [Kotaku]

11:38 AM on Fri Dec 14 2007
By Wilson Rothman
4,254 views, 8 comments

Latest by mortanius4: "Fils-Aime has also confirmed that six national retailers, including Best Buy, Target and Wal-Mart, will be releasing large supplies of Wii this weekend." Confirmed. In Green Bay, Wisconsin: Target recieved 72, Best Buy recieved 21, unknown count for Wal-Mart but the people more »

guitar hero

Fully Functional LEGO Guitar Hero Controller Shreds Other Plastic Guitars

This Gibson Explorer-modeled, fully functional LEGO Guitar Hero controller is definitely one of the better DIY video game peripherals we've seen—it's exponentially more attractive than the last homemade GH controller we saw, anyway. How does it work?
More »

8:30 AM on Mon Aug 6 2007
By Matt Buchanan
9,015 views, 6 comments

Latest by Brian B: Damn that image looks pixelated. Oh, wait ... more »

virtual war

Army Uses Videogames for Civilians and Soldiers

The Army has been using their videogame America's Army to attract civilian youth demographics for sometime, but now actual soldiers are playing it with live ammunition for real combat training. More »

1:05 PM on Sun Jul 29 2007
By Mark Wilson
4,169 views, 9 comments

Latest by ThirdType: OOOh, Ender's game. Thanks for the flashback lol. So how long until I see this in the arcade? more »

proletarian fun

Soviet Arcade Machines Fully Explain Russians' Vodka Addiction

While Russian president, former KGB agent and failed comedian Vladimir Putin polishes his ICBMs, a group of friends at Moscow State Technical University has decided to do the same with a whole bunch of video game machines from the Soviet Era. And like the USSR's old missiles, these primitive Japanese arcade crude knockoffs look to be just as fun. I know this is all about nostalgia, but someone should tell them that some things are better left in the graveyard. At least the ICBMs. – Jesus Diaz More »

6:22 AM on Thu Jun 7 2007
By Addy Dugdale
3,243 views, 11 comments

Latest by vertigoh: One of your photos is flipped horizontally ...that means the videogame name is backwords more »

ps3

Sony Style Store, Best Buy Website Dump 20 GB PS3

For the 20GB PS3, it looks like the end is near. Sony's official store, Sony Style, as well as the websites of Best Buy, Gamestop and EB are no longer carrying the 20GB model, instead only offering its buffer, more expensive brother. While it remains on Amazon for the time being, there's no telling how much longer it will stick around. Add this to the fact that the 20 GB version was never available in Europe, and it smells strongly of an SKU execution. More »

7:51 PM on Tue Apr 10 2007
By Matt Buchanan
4,203 views, 25 comments

Latest by ganjjjj: I think you must've forgotten Vista Ultimate in that version count. more »

gadgets

Grandma Takes On PS3

If you are not a heavy gamer, you may not have heard of Old Grandma Hardcore. And if you are so blessed as to experience her signature videos for the first time, we will not ruin them for you. More »

12:35 PM on Sun Mar 18 2007
By Mark Wilson
6,355 views, 17 comments

home entertainment

Wii Turns Elderly Into Addicts

I remember people laughing at Nintendo's blue ocean strategy, where they said they were going to go after the untapped sections of the game market like the elderly. More »

5:54 PM on Thu Feb 22 2007
By blongo3
11,036 views, 18 comments

announcements

VP of Blizzard: "You Won't Need a Console"

They must be putting something in technology exec's water this week. First Steve Jobs turns into the DRM Terminator, and now, Itzik Ben Bassat, VP of Business Development at Blizzard is claiming that there won't be a need for consoles by 2012. More »

8:06 PM on Wed Feb 7 2007
By blongo3
182 views, 12 comments

e306

E3 '06: Team Kotaku Brings Gaming Noise, Funk

Don't miss Kotaku's on-the-scene coverage of E3 '06, with stories like these polished, possibly collectable gems: More »

5:22 PM on Wed May 10 2006
By Joel
53 views, Comment

portable media

High Score: The Best of Kotaku

This Week in Kotaku: A blogger lets top secret World of Warcraft expansion info slip and is promptly silenced. On the heels of a security update, Sony's PSP gets TV capabilities. In the wake of X05, Microsoft unveils yet another viral campaign, Hex168. Kotaku goes interactive with comment launch. More »

3:30 PM on Mon Oct 17 2005
By Noah R
183 views, 1 comment

Gizmodo

The Top 5 Android Developer Challenge Round 1 Winners

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