Kotaku Originals: Early Builds R Us

So we had a little drama regarding the fate of Ghostbusters and other titles at Activision, and lo and behold an early build landed in his mail to prove that all things Gozer and Zuul are still going forward. They didn't even mind if Brian wrote about the preview code, and he did in a spoiler-filled post. We also had a big bodyimage discussion week, as Tuesday saw Soulcalibur IV's boobalicious release, and Fat Princess continues to stir shit, with its title alone. In all, pretty newsy week around these here parts. Some highlights below, with the full list of original reporting on the jump.

Ghostbuster The Video Game Very Much Alive, Sitting on My Desk
SoulCalibur IV Review: Polishing The Stage Of History
Forget Wii Fit, It's Mario Kart That's Buttering Nintendo's Bread
Art Apocalypse: Blizzard's Wilson Talks Diablo III Design Decisions
Battlefield Heroes Not Coming This Summer
A Weighty Debate: Discussing Fat Princess
Why Penny Arcade Took so Long to Go PSN and May Never Go Wii Ware

Kotaku Originals: ピシング・マッチ

Updated: That headline means "pissing match" in Japanese, according to commenter stargateheaven. But in any language, the Itagaki-Tecmo split got beyond bad-breakup nasty this week. Itagaki wants his money back, Tecmo's heaving shit out the front door. Just bad. And like giggling gossiping schoolkids we intercepted much of the paperwork and read it aloud to you, class. So we'll lead with those highlights and give you much more on the jump.

L'affaire Tecmo
Listen To The Secret Tecmo Tape
Here's The Documented Evidence Itagaki Submitted Against Tecmo
Secret Tecmo Tapes Reveal Number of the Beast, Insulting Tecmo President
Itagaki Didn't Leave Tecmo, He Was Fired
Tecmo Withdrew Itagaki Gag-Order Weeks Ago

Other cool stories
What's All This "PlayStation Wars" Business?
Jim Lee Dishes On DC Universe Online
Things We Wish We'd Seen At E3, But Didn't
Nintendo's Patent Case: The Unanswered Questions
The Force Unleashed: Epic Moments And Mindless Slaughter

This being the E3 week, we churned out a huge amount of reporting and you consumed it in record-breaking numbers. Knowing that this post would serve as an E3 recap of sorts, I've categorized some things out in the jump. This covers stories that we tagged original; there might have been some others from the conference that didn't get that tag. Either way, this is our comprehensive E3 coverage list, so if you're not seeing something below, check that.

As a part-timer and the least experienced game writer on this staff, I had my own impressions of E3 which I will write up later, from an outsider's perspective. (I was only there Sunday and Monday). We all work in separate cities, and this event allows us a time to work together, in person. And the Kotaku staff of Fahey, Bash, McWhertor, Leigh, Adam, Maggie and of course, Crecente — with help from Gawker managing editor Noah Robischon in Los Angeles, and Jim Reilly working offsite on multimedia assets — came together like a team of superheroes to put out one hell of a report for you this week. They're all recovering this weekend, but show the Supa-Kotakufriends a little love in the comments.

Highlights
Nintendo Introduces Wii Motion Plus
Xbox Division FINALLY Reports Profitable Year
Tretton: Sony Considering PSP with Harddrive
Mario & Zelda Teams Both "Hard At Work" On Wii Games
The New Xbox Experience: Just The Facts (And Maybe Some Conjecture)
Ladies And Gentlemen, We Have Booth Babes

Much more after the jump.

Kotaku's Pre-E3 Party

With most of Kotaku Tower emptying out to fly to Los Angeles this weekend it would be a crime not to throw a party. So of course we are. Come join us for a some pre-E3 libations on Sunday July 13 at LA's historic Golden Gopher.

Among the guests will be weekend warriors Maggie Greene, plus yours truly (in the I Heart Hot Moms shirt from the GTA:DUI video). Also appearing are Brian Crecente, Brian Ashcraft and Mike McWhertor. You'll also be able to catch up with Leigh Alexander and Mike "Mountain Man" Fahey, plus Intern Adam Barenblat, who interrupted me amidst a phone call with a ladyfriend last night and now must buy me a beer. (What, that cost me $5.99 a minute. Damn right I'm making the intern pay.)

The thing kicks off at 8 p.m., when the place opens, and we will, for a time, have an open bar. The place isn't gigantic, and in Tokyo we managed to burst Mother at the seams, so you may want to try and get there on the nose.

If you plan on making it, make sure to obtain a wristband from one of us once you arrive for the free drinks. The party is 21 and older only, unfortunately. Sorry.

Golden Gopher

Epic week for the KO-riginals, friends. And this is just the runup to E3. Only next week could make this week's avalanche of fresh reported copy pale in comparison. Lots of pre-E3 leaks and reportage dominated Originals, not to mention Leigh digging into the bitchslap handed Jack Thompson to tell us he faces a fat fine, and Bash's hee-larious translation smash of the faek Wii HD. It was a lively half fortnight of reporting in Kotakopolis, refresh yourself with these highlights (and more after the jump.)

Body Types: Why Ivy's Boobs Are Such A Big, Big Deal
Will Sony Inflict Massive Damage At E3 08?
Rare Denies X-Waggle Rumor, Chastises Kotaku Comments
Inside The 169-Page Thompson Report: Judge Recommends $43k Fine Also
Nintendo's E3 Lineup - Oh, So Quiet
Kotaku's E3 2008 Predictions
Leaked Screens Of Duke Nukem 3D XBLA
Rock Band 2 Features Drum Trainer, Wireless Instruments, Full Backwards Compatibility
This Wii Hard Drive Is So Damn Phony (And Funny)
GameStop's Leaked Xbox 360 Price Drop Info
2.41 Firmware Brings New PS3 Platinum Trophy
Hands-On The Force Unleashed Impressions

Another One For The Topless Wii Fit Pile

You know how this works. Physically attractive girl gets on Wii Fit, physically attractive plays Wii Fit, things jiggle, someone else posts video of it on the internet, boys get horny, massive page views ensue. It worked for Wii Fit Girl, who has an impressive 5 million views on YouTube, and it worked for Playboy's Jo Garcia. Now, UK men's mag Zoo is giving it a go with someone known as Emma Frain, hoping lightning strikes for the third (or fourth, fifth, whatever) time and that they can catch that lightning in a bottle as thousands of dudes diddle their unmentionables.

If this sounds like you, hit the jump for the cleaner, but still packed to the gills with jiggles version.

Kotaku's Pre-E3 Party

With most of Kotaku Tower emptying out to fly to Los Angeles this weekend it would be a crime not to throw a party. So of course we are. Come join us for a some pre-E3 libations on Sunday July 13 at LA's historic Golden Gopher.

Among the guests will be Kotaku's own Maggie Greene and Owen Good as well as such surely editor types as Brian Ashcraft and Mike McWhertor. You'll also be able to catch up with Leigh Alexander and Mike "Mountain Man" Fahey. I'll be around as well, probably demanding things of Intern Adam, like having him fetch me sammiches.

The thing kicks off at 8 p.m., when the place opens, and we will, for a time, have an open bar. The place isn't gigantic, and in Tokyo we managed to burst Mother at the seams, so you may want to try and get there on the nose.

Give a shout out in comments if you plan on making it and make sure to obtain a wristband from one of us once you arrive for the free drinks. Oh, 21 and older only, unfortunately. Sorry.

Golden Gopher

The Market Is Finally Ready For Wii Remote Dildo Peripherals

They're to be sold by a company by the name of oioo. No idea what games could ever support this. They come in his & her's varieties. Or her's and her's. Or his and...look, we're still a little unsure about the one on the left. It looks like it will cause injuries. And not the type that break a television. The type that makes medical textbooks, the type nurses and paramedics will joke about for years to come.

ooio [via Gizmodo]

The Five Finalists For Kotaku's New Comment Czar

Sorry for the delay, we've been having technical problems so I wasn't able to get the run down of the five most popular commenters until late yesterday.

Here for your approval and general discussion our the top five Kotaku commenters. I'll be posting a poll on Monday and then, after discussion with the other Kotaku writers, announcing the new Comment Czar on Tuesday.

If you're on the list and don't want to wield the mighty banhammer for some bizarre reason make sure to drop me a line and I'll cut you from the list.

EnigmaNemesis
TheIrishNinja
Spoony Bard
PapaBear434
DaiMacculate

Hit the jump to vote. And remember, we still have the final say.

Game Club Meets Tonight

Don't forget the first Beyond Good & Evil Game Club meets tonight. We're testing out some new software that has no limits and allows for some pretty decent comment controls. Make sure to check back at 7:30 p.m. Mountain Time tonight to discuss our first assignment. If you forgot to play check out the link and get on it. It took me about an hour to get to where I needed to be.

Game Club Beyond Good & Evil First Assignment

This reminds me of Sundays in Denver, when Crecente and I (mostly Crecente) would routinely confront an often hysterical editor raving about some sensational report from another news outlet, and then we'd have to go sift bullshit from reality. So, in the wake of yesterday's shooting in Florida, which authorities linked to an argument over a PSP, we have some other craziness out there:

• Up in Ohio, a guy confesses to his roommate that he killed a guy and invokes the Xbox 360 defense. According to the defendant, the victim was trying to steal his Xbox 360. An Ohio TV station reports on a transcript of the 911 call. It doesn't sound like it was a burglar, either, more likely that they knew each other and got in an argument. Anyway, one is dead, the other faces murder charges and potentially the death penalty. Why can't people pick something prosaic, like a stamp collection, when trying to cop out of a homicide?

• In the UK, a 40-man homicide unit is looking for the person or persons responsible for the grisly knifing deaths of two French exchange students. The Mirror — so, consider the source — says "the two may have been butchered for a pair of games consoles," as two PSPs (and not just PSPs, but "black PSPs" because they're so uncommon) were taken from the scene. I think the fact the victims were stabbed more than 250 times speaks more to a motive for the crime than the theft of £260 worth of electronics.
Brutal Murdered Pair May Have Been Killed for Playstation [The Mirror]
911 Call Released in Fatal Springfield Shooting [WHIO-TV, via GamePolitics ]

That's right, four score and seven years ago today at Valley Forge, John F. Kennedy and the Lone Ranger chopped down the cherry tree that Squanto ate at the first Thanksgiving, and Paul Revere hung a light in the Alamo to alert Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders: "N00B, red team has taken teh control point, FAIL." Then Batman crossed the Atlantic in an X-Wing Fighter to accept the Heisman Trophy from Winston Churchill, and Martin Luther King Jr. said "God bless us, every one of us."

Oh wait, today's July 5th. Shit.

Well, for those in the USophile-speaking world, this is a three day weekend and you should still be burning large amounts of animal flesh on a grill for the next two days, or else you hate freedom. And for that reason, Kotaku's U.S. staff is on an abbreviated schedule today and tomorrow. Our updates will come every two hours today and tomorrow, then it's back to full-strength when Luke Plunkett and the freedom-hating Australians take up the cause late Sunday evening. Until then, I regret that I have but these stories (more after the jump) to give to my country:

Battlefield: Bad Company Review: Going For The Gold
Once a Labor of Love, Sales of Football Rosters Now Inflame Passions
Former CEO Of Struggling Atari Got One Hell Of A Golden Parachute
Is Chrono Trigger DS Coming To America?
Xbox 360 Getting a 3D Dashboard Make-Over?
Too Human Hands-On: Six Hours In And Half-Way Home
The Man Behind Diablo III Talks Plot, Lore and Battle.Net

Come Party With Kotaku

With most of Kotaku Tower emptying out to fly to Los Angeles later this month it would be a crime not to throw a party. So of course we are. Come join us for a some pre-E3 libations on Sunday July 13 at LA's historic Golden Gopher.

Among the guests will be Kotaku's own Maggie Greene and Owen Good as well as such surely editor types as Brian Ashcraft and Mike McWhertor. You'll also be able to catch up with Leigh Alexander and Mike "Mountain Man" Fahey. I'll be around as well, probably demanding things of Intern Adam, like having him fetch me sammiches.

The thing kicks off at 8 p.m., when the place opens, and we will, for a time, have an open bar. They place isn't gigantic, and in Tokyo we managed to burst Mother at the seams, so you may want to try and get there on the nose.

Give a shout out in comments if you plan on making it and make sure to obtain a wristband from one of us once you arrive for the free drinks.

Golden Gopher

It's OK, everyone. Developers drink coffee too! While filming a vox pop piece in Seattle on the closure of 600 Starbucks stores across the US, local news channel KING5 inadvertently got the scoop on not only where Valve get their coffee, but who's allowed out for coffee runs and even what everyone drinks. As you can see, Gabe Newell does not fuck around, clutching what looks like a Venti Mint Mocha Chip Frappuccino. A mysterious "other guy" keeps things straight with a Grande Espresso Macchiato, while Doug Lombardi - who is surprised, but not shocked at the closures - doubles up on beverages, while lying on camera that it's for a "co-worker" to make him feel better about his cheeky afternoon "seconds".

Starbucks closing hundreds of stores [KING5, thanks Ryan!]

George Romero Clueless About Dead Rising?

Back in late February, we brought word of a Dead Rising lawsuit. Capcom was being sued over the game by the MKR Group, which holds the rights to George Romerso's Dawn of the Dead film. MKR claimed that Dead Rising was essentially an unlicensed adaptation of the Romero film. Over the weekend, George Romero appeared at the Chicago Horror Convention, and Kotaku reader Tyler was on hand to get his copy of Dead Rising autographed by the famed horror director. According to Tyler:

I went to a horror movie convention here in Chicago on Sunday because George Romero was due to show up for autograph signing and I was hoping he would grace my copy of Dead Rising with his signature (not expecting that he would at all). Lo and behold he actually did, and on top of that, he was not even aware of Dead Rising...i had to explain to him what it was and he was happy to sign it. Makes me wonder if he is even aware of the legal battles Capcom has had to endure.

Makes us wonder, too. If you can't read what Romero wrote, it is: "Tyler Stay Scared George Romero."

I know the headline and the picture should try to say something about the story, but in truth, neither are in any way related. I just wanted to quote from Crecente's brilliant backhanded compliment to Ultimate Band for the Wii, which he said is "quite a bit of fun" despite acknowledging it "looks like a recipe for a douche simulator." I also could not resist repubbing McWhertor's awesome mashup (left) of Old Snake and the PS2, which ran in a report about Old Reliable's declining contribution to the Console Wars. Suffice to say that's my new comment icon. Because Playstation 2 is no hero. Never was. Never will be. Just an old killer, hired to do some wet work.

This Samsung Xbox 360 TV Looks Fake (But It's Not A Bad Idea)
Sony's Stringer Foresees Profitability This Year
First Shots Of PS3 Video Download Service, Due In "Summer 2008"
Crave's ESA Departure Due To Impending Acquisition
Increasing PS3 Sales, Strong PSP Helped Sony Narrow Losses In FY08
Console War Has Changed, PS2 Declines In Old Age
Hands On With Ultimate Band: Disney's Peripheral-Free Band Game

More highlights after the jump.

Sunday's major security breakdown in a marketing research firm's website opened up a flood of info and set Kotaku Originals off to a strong start early in the week. McWhertor then came up for air from leak coverage to give you a full breakdown of the epic (in scope, and in length) Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots.

Also, Tecmo asked everyone to be extraspecialcareful with rumors, and denied Team Ninja is bolting and suing everyone in sight, expecting that to be the end of that. Bash responded by digging up lawsuit docs and other reportage, with voluminous translation, that shows, yes, this is in fact about more than two semigruntled coders.

Major news week here at Kotaku, people. It pays to stay informed, and here's a roundup in case you missed anything. Full list follows highlights after the jump.

Hard Proof That Tecmo Japan Is Lying? (This Seems Like It)
Tecmo Says Team Ninja Exodus Rumors False, Calls Out U.S. Media
Microsoft: Leaked Concepts "May Or May Not" Be Real Products
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots Review: Kept You Waiting, Huh?
SCEE: We're Dedicated To Our First Party Studios, No Problems Here
Legal Mess Over Euro Alone In The Dark Reviews
"DS Hardware Demand Has Now Peaked Globally, Software Downturn To Follow"
EA: Best Of Luck To Former EALA Head Young In Amicable Parting