Kotaku

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**Kotaku**
Kotaku, the Gamer's Guide
URL	http://www.kotaku.com
Commercial?	Yes
Type of site	Gaming Blog
Owner	Gawker Media
Created by	Brian Crecente
Launched	March 4, 2002
Current status	Active

Kotaku.com is a blog which focuses on video and computer games, written in a humorous and often snarky tone. Kotaku is one of Gawker Media’s 'Glocker' network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Lifehacker.com and Consumerist. The official description: "As if you don't waste enough of your time in a gamer's haze, here's Kotaku: a gamer's guide that goes beyond the press release. Gossip, cheats, criticism, design, nostalgia, prediction. Don't get a life just yet." The website is often seen as an alternative for news and reviews to bigger sites like IGN or GameSpot - it is seen as having a more friendly, entertaining style and a less corporate attitude.

Kotaku is currently edited by Brian Crecente. Contributing editors include Brian Ashcraft, Michael McWhertor, Flynn DeMarco, Luke Plunkett and Michael Fahey. Other contributers include Alice Taylor and Colette Bennett. There is also a "This Day in Gaming" feature, covering releases of games or game events in previous years, edited by Mark Wilson. Occasionally, due to Kotaku's relation to Gawker Media site Gizmodo, some features are credited to Jason Chen, one of Gizmodo's writers.

Graduates of the site include 1Up's Luke Smith and Wired.com's John Brownlee (writing as Florian Eckhardt) and Eliza Gauger.

[edit] Sony blackballing

On March 1, 2007 Kotaku released a rumor to the public from an anonymous source, as a follow up to an interview with the Game Developers Conference 2007 executive director Jamil Moledina, that Sony's Phil Harrison would be announcing that PlayStation 3 owners would be "very happy". This rumor stated that the PlayStation 3 would be releasing "PlayStation Home", an achievement and virtual avatar add-on. Kotaku after approaching Sony for information, was told "(we) do not comment on rumors or speculation." and then asked Kotaku to not to publish the story under threat of being blackballed. Kotaku went ahead with the story while omitting Sony's threats, only to update the situation's full status as it developed, posting the dialog and emails between the two and Sony's response. A public Internet outcry occurred in defense of Kotaku. Later that day, Sony's PR head, Dave Karraker and Kotaku's Editor Brian Crecente exchanged phone calls and sorted the mess out, reinviting Kotaku to the GDC events and meetings.^[1]^[2]