Kotaku is lucky if they break 1,000 views on their YouTube videos these days. OUCH. Then we talk about how Kotaku said JRPGs were dead and they got roasted FIERCELY on Twitter / X for it. Supposedly this gaming news site still brings in millions of views per month, but will its owner G/O Media opt to sell it off or shut it down soon?
Additional Context:
Kotaku, a popular gaming and entertainment website, has faced several controversies and missteps throughout its history. One notable incident occurred in 2007 when attorney Jack Thompson sued Gawker Media and Kotaku’s editor, Brian Crecente, over the site’s refusal to remove threatening user comments, though the lawsuit was dismissed the next day.
In 2010, Kotaku criticized the Japanese magazine Famitsu for what they perceived as a conflict of interest in its endorsement of Konami’s game “Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker.” This led to Kotaku being revoked from the game’s launch party invitation by Konami.
Another significant controversy involved an article published by Kotaku on October 9, 2021, about the game “Metroid Dread,” specifically its performance on Nintendo Switch emulators. The article initially praised the game’s emulation performance and thanked “pirates, emulators, modders, and hackers,” suggesting readers emulate older or expensive games. This was criticized for promoting piracy, particularly of newly released games, and sparked wider discussions about video game preservation. Kotaku later revised the article to focus on game preservation and, after a complaint from Nintendo, removed all mentions of piracy and issued an apology.
Kotaku has also experienced blacklisting incidents with major gaming companies. In 2007, Sony temporarily blacklisted the site following a story about rumored features on the PlayStation 3. In 2015, Kotaku claimed to have been blacklisted by Bethesda Softworks and Ubisoft, leading them to opt-out of participating as a jury member in The Game Awards. Additionally, in 2023, Nintendo reportedly blacklisted Kotaku over articles that covered leaks of unreleased Nintendo games.
Kotaku was also involved in the Gamergate in 2014. A writer from the site, Nathan Grayson, was accused of writing a favorable review of the game “Depression Quest” due to his relationship with its developer, Zoë Quinn. This incident became a focal point for the Gamergate community, particularly on the subreddit /r/KotakuInAction, which its creator attempted to shut down in 2018, claiming it had become “infested with racism and sexism.” However, the subreddit was reinstated by a Reddit administrator due to the site’s guidelines.
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