They're good because of Owen's background in journalism and especially sports journalism, which is ultimately about revealing the humanity, and developing a storyline, in what could easily just be a bunch of numbers, and because of his willingness to touch on his own experiences. He's Kotaku's secret weapon.

I do appreciate not being limited to the TV, but I truly do prefer it. I have a 3DS, and I love it, but having sold for a pittance my Wii to my ex when it was still a wildly popular platform, so that they could be gamers in both their homes, I miss playing Nintendo games on the big screen. And I prefer the precision…

Sheperd's jump into the sea and conversation with Leviathan was amazing, I couldn't believe there was so much awesome packed into an optional quest.

Dulce et Decorum est the death of this game, but great to see a link to a Michael McWhertor story. Would love to see the Mega Man FPS concept explored in a more appropriate manner.

Prisons are unable to prevent prisoners from obtaining cell phones, which can be used as hotspots. I'm not sure how you would keep your hotspot hidden, but there's probably a way. My favorite thing about this post is the reference to the prisoner as "Mr. B" which makes him sound like the patriarch in a 70's or 80's…

Thank you for writing this up... Nintendo & Intelligent Systems will probably never get credit for how amazingly brilliant this concept is, but at least you've called attention to it. I love how it combines that awesome meta-ness with such a down-to-earth scenario, but then calls attention to the inherent creepiness…

Quake with fear, children... for soon comes the day of the Taco-flavor Doritos Taco Loco.

I like salmon (my local purveyor serves a version of nigiri-style salmon with a little bit of chili oil and a few slivers of white onion on top), fatty tuna and uncooked sweet shrimp (amaebi) the best, then maybe uni and yellowtail (hamachi), but I'm open to most sushi (other than rolls, which I eat less frequently…

The back-and-forth between Padawan and Master relationship reminds me of my experience listening to Rush's 2012 album Clockwork Angels. As a teenager in the eighties and early nineties, I was a fan during Rush's transition from a band that was at the peak of its powers and relevant to a band that remained a live…

Now, I'm as cynical about internet 'facts' as anyone, but I love to see someone willing to dig a little rather than just deciding to believe or not because of what they prefer to be true. This, in combination with the youtube video posted by someone else does seem to make SenseiMonkeyboy's claims highly plausible.

There was a time when that was definitely true. The original Pinball FX tables are mostly unplayable today, whereas there were some very nice tables in the Gottlieb collection. Nowadays, both groups are putting out excellent tables, and they are having success by filling different niches. Any hardcore fan follows both…

Absolutely, I didn't mean to imply that women are the only ones who suffer from the aggressive gendering. Maybe, if we worked on *one* thing to tell our kids about education, personal ambition and the world of work, we would come up with something better to say. On this, it should be said, there has been much progress…

I don't believe I assessed blame, except for those who refuse to see any problem... and, I guess regarding Sony, in a counterfactual hypothetical. I pretty clearly indicated that at the hiring and promotion level (I do think there are sometimes problems there, but it varies from organization to organization. Many…

Medically, 'narcotic' is a hazy term, but usually refers to opiates. Legally (in the U.S.), the term actually refers to the illegality of a substance or its misuse, not its pharmacological properties. Where I live, used medically and with a prescription, neither use of the word would apply. The "intensity of the…

You know what, a big component of defining addiction/abuse is harm. It sounds like Mr. CandyFLIP is self-medicating where there is no real pharmaceutical drug that addresses his condition. If it is true that his ability to engage with the world has improved (whereas the opposite was true for Mr. Scimeca), then I fail…

Mine, too! Well, my son will be 18 in a little more than 2 years. So I guess not that much older.

I was only giving examples, but yeah there is a whole chain of self-reinforcing factors involved, probably starting with the aggressive gendering of children in terms of what entertainment and toys they are presented with and what they are expected to excel at, all the way up through the education system and ending…

"The reason there were no women on-stage is because the presidents and developers who happened to develop the software being presented happened to be male," wrote commenter hsuadfhaspodhf on Kotaku. "It is not part of some sexist agenda, it just so happens that the people behind the creation of the content being…

I wasn't talking about the value of the material to the work (which I discuss in replies to other commenters... spoiler alert: we pretty much agree), but rather the extent to which the depictions of sex, due to the misogyny and brutality make the work inappropriate for younger viewers (in my case, teenagers, in…

I don't think it's a fault of the viewer if they are unnerved by intentionally disturbing material. Just because you're upset by something upsetting doesn't mean you're morally outraged at its presentation. I think Blue Velvet is an amazing movie. I think Bamboozled is a very good movie. But if you can watch those…