Kotaku

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Kotaku
Type of site
Gaming blog
OwnerUnivision Communications
Created byBrian Crecente
EditorStephen Totilo
URLkotaku.com
CommercialYes
LaunchedOctober 2004; 19 years ago (2004-10)

Kotaku is a video game website and blog that was originally launched in 2004 as part of the Gawker Media network.[2] Univision Communications bought Gawker Media in August 2016 and rebranded it as Gizmodo Media Group.[3]

History

Kotaku was first launched in October 2004 with Matthew Gallant as its lead writer, with an intended target audience of young men.[4][5] About a month later, Brian Crecente was brought in to try to save the failing site.[6] Since then, the site has launched several country-specific sites for Australia, Japan, Brazil and the UK. Previous contributors to the site include Luke Smith.[7] Crecente was named one of the 20 most influential people in the video game industry over the past 20 years by GamePro in 2009[8] and one of gaming's Top 50 journalists by Edge in 2006. The site has made CNET's "Blog 100" list[9] and was ranked 50th on PC Magazine's "Top 100 Classic Web Sites" list.[10] Its name comes from the Japanese otaku (obsessive fan) and the prefix "ko-" (small in size).[11]

In April 2014, Gawker Media partnered with Future plc to launch Kotaku UK, and with Allure Media to launch Kotaku Australia.[12]

Kotaku is currently run by Stephen Totilo, who replaced Brian Crecente in 2012.[13]

Kotaku was one of six websites that was purchased by Univision Communications in their acquisition of Gawker Media in August 2016.[14]

Controversy

In 2007, attorney Jack Thompson sued Gawker Media and site editor Brian Crecente over concerns that Kotaku declined to remove threatening user comments,[15] but the lawsuit was dismissed the next day.[16] In 2009, Business Insider reported that Hearst Corporation sought to buy Kotaku from Gawker Media.[17] In 2010, Kotaku criticized Japanese magazine Famitsu's glowing endorsement of a Konami game as a conflict of interest; Konami subsequently revoked Kotaku's invitation to the game's launch party.[18] In 2013, Forbes criticized Kotaku over what they called an inflammatory headline in a story about Hideki Kamiya; Kotaku rewrote the headline.[19]

Blacklistings

In 2007, Kotaku ran a story about rumored upcoming features on the PlayStation 3, and Sony responded by temporarily blacklisting the website.[20] The site claimed in 2015 that they had been blacklisted by major game companies Bethesda Softworks and Ubisoft.[21]

References

  1. ^ "Alexa Ranking". Alexa Internet. Archived from the original on March 1, 2017. Retrieved March 1, 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 22, 2016. Retrieved December 21, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 18, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2017. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ Carr, David (October 4, 2004). "At These Web Sites, It's a Man's World". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Parker, Pamela (October 4, 2004). "Gawker Media: We're Where the Boys Are". ClickZ. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  6. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20041109094627/http://www.kotaku.com/
  7. ^ "GAMING'S TOP 50 JOURNALISTS". Edge. October 17, 2006. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Shuman, Sid (May 2009). "20 Most Influential People in Gaming: #20 – Brian Crecente". IDG. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved July 12, 2009.
  9. ^ "CNET News.com'S Blog 100". CNET. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ "The Top 100 Classic Web Sites". PC Magazine. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ "Kotaku FAQ". Kotaku. Gawker Media. July 2, 2004. Archived from the original on July 15, 2007. Retrieved July 6, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  12. ^ Reynolds, John (March 13, 2014). "Gawker links up with Future to launch Lifehacker and Kotaku in UK". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 22, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Caoili, Eric (January 3, 2012). "Consumer gaming blog Kotaku loses key staff". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Calderone, Michael (August 18, 2016). "Gawker.com Ending Operations Next Week". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on October 16, 2016. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ McCarthy, Caroline (April 26, 2007). "Gaming foe Jack Thompson sues Gawker Media". CNET. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ McCarthy, Caroline (April 27, 2007). "Judge tosses out Jack Thompson's lawsuit against Gawker Media". CNET. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ Carlson, Nicholas (November 13, 2009). "Hearst Eyed Videogame Blog Kotaku For Acquisition". Business Insider. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  18. ^ Quillen, Dustin (April 26, 2010). "Konami Shuns Blog Over Metal Gear Review Controversy". 1up. Retrieved January 24, 2014.
  19. ^ Kain, Erik (January 9, 2013). "Kotaku And The Problem With Inflammatory Headlines In Video Game Blogging". Forbes. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  20. ^ Kohler, Chris (March 1, 2007). "Sony and Kotaku In Blacklist Flap". Wired.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ Totilo, Stephen. "A Price Of Games Journalism". Kotaku. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)

External links