Kotaku

Barack Obama Campaigns on Burnout Paradise

Don't look to video game Burnout Paradise for escapism from real life politics. Democratic candidate Barack Obama has in-game campaign billboard with a "Paid for Obama for President" tag on it. EA has confirmed that the advert was paid for by Obama:

Like most television, radio and print outlets, we accept advertising from credible political candidates. Like political spots on the television networks, these ads do not reflect the political policies of EA or the opinions of its development teams.

Politics in your games aside, it's certainly breaking new ground in how presidential campaigns are targeting voters. And why not, politicians have been using television and the internet to garner votes.

Confirmed: Obama Is Campaigning on Xbox 360! [GigaOM via Politico via Jalopnik]

Kojima Might Announce New Game At Next Year's TGS

Faith From Mirror's Edge Fan-Designed For Asian Tastes

That's Faith, lead character of first-person-parkour game Mirror's Edge. The game is designed by Swedish dev D.I.C.E., and naturally, the character exotic looks certainly look skewed towards Western tastes. The game, out in North America and Europe next month, is getting a Japan release in mid-December.

The language will be localized in Japanese, but not the character design. As reader Torokun points out: "There is always a huge complain from Asian gamers whenever Western developers design Asian female characters..." As Torokun continues, this is mainly because many Westerners' definition of what is considered as "Asian" beauty is very different from what Asians consider beautiful." Hit the jump for a fan-created "doctoring" of Faith if she was created specifically for the East and not the West.

Japanese Retail Not Keen On Used MGS4 Copies

Never mind that Metal Gear Solid 4 trailers have been popping up at the Tokyo Game Show for eons now. The game was first publicly shown at the 2005 TGS, and the ensuing years brought new trailers to boot. It all culminated in a hands-on MGS4 demo last year. This year there was still a MGS4 trailer — even though the game has been out for months. This year's MGS4 promotion at TGS was more a thank you to fans and an attempt to garner more interest in Metal Gear Online.

While in Tokyo for TGS, game site Siliconera tried gauging lasting retail shop interest in MGS4: Shinjuku shop Tsutaya is offering ¥500 (US$4.88). There's one word for that and that is "ouch". For comparison sake, the same store is paying ¥3,800 ($37.07) for Cross Edge, ¥1,200 ($11.71) for Dynasty Warriors: Gundam, and ¥2,500 ($24.39) for the almost three-year-old Animal Crossing: Wild World.

Image after the jump.

If Miyamoto Designed A Motorcycle...

...this is what it would look like. Probably. Unsurprisingly, it's Nintendo-themed. The "Miyamotorcycle" makes good use of the Virtual Boy, as well as the "Oh Shit!" handle from the Game Cube, which adds a bit of safety and protection. But you have to question the practical uses for the tires. I mean, a Warp Pipe won't do you any good on slick roads, and the DK Barrel for the rear is just asking to break apart if you hit a bad pothole. Having problems identifying everything? The folks over at The Minus World made the list for you to check out after the jump.

Girl Gamers To Compete At Grl Gmr Tournament

As part of the London Games Fringe (an indie adjunct to the full-blown London Games Festival), female gamers will be able to compete head-to-head in the first Grl Gmr Tournament.

Taking place on October 25th at the Rocket on Holloway Road, the tournament will consist of Wii Tennis, Tekken, Unreal Tournament, Kuri Kuri Mix and Mario Kart competitions. Five individual winners will be named, with one overall winner being crowned Champion.

The event is free and supporters and spectators of either sex are welcome.

grl gmr tournament[ThinkMakePlay]

Full press release after the jump

Dead Mountaineer's Hotel Stranded Until 2009

Lighthouse Interactive has announced that their PC-based whodunit Dead Mountaineer's Hotel has been pushed back until early next year to allow the developers to "further polish the game and deliver a great experience."

Dead Mountaineer's is an atmospheric-looking mystery title based on the novel by Russian sci-fi writers Boris and Arkady Strugatsky. The Strugatskys also wrote Roadside Picnic - a tale of post apocalyptic scavengers that was a major influence on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games.

The game is described as a "character-driven, non-linear game with multiple endings" and looks - to us at least - like it might be a 3D point-and-click style adventure.

New Release Date Announced for Dead Mountaineer's Hotel [Lighthouse Interactive]

Perilar - Ultima-esque Turn-based iPhone RPG

!'ve said it before (although possibly not in public) and I'll say it again - turn-based games are a natural fit for mobile gaming. Any gaming device that you have to slip quickly in your pocket in case you get mugged demands a stable of games that you can take at whatever pace you like.

Perilar is a nostalgic nod back to the early Ultima games, without which we would arguably not have Fallout 3, Ultima Online and Richard Garriot being sick all over a cosmonaut. Turn-based RPG adventuring, quests, leveling up, the whole kit and kaboodle.

The iPhone bereft need not despair - Perilar is a conversion of a freeware Java game - JPerilar - still available for download here. If only there was a decent Java VM for the iPhone you could save yourself $5.

Perilar RPG for iPhone, a Tribute to Early Ultimas [Touch Arcade]

Otomedius, Konami's attempt to lure the masses back to Gradius-style sidescrolling shooting, was on hand at this week's Tokyo Game Show, coming home as Otomedius Gorgeous! for the Xbox 360. What Otomedius Gorgeous! brings to the table, a concept only briefly explored in titles like Parodius and Sexy Parodius, is boobs. Impossibly perky, voluminous cartoon boobs.

Otomedius Gorgeous! is part of the cute-em-up sub-genre, full of missile launching penguins, deadly flying fish, super-deformed space ships and, most relevant to gamers' interests, the adorable anime girls who pilot each ship.

Blizzcon 2008 Round-Up

BlizzCon 2008 has come and gone. We've laughed, cried, loved, learned, and broken expensive props. For those of you who lost track of BlizzCon amidst the whirlwind Tokyo Game Show weekend, here's the final round up of all the stories spawned from Blizzard's yearly celebration of all things them.

BlizzCon 2008 - The Kotaku Griffon Has Landed
Diablo III Playable On BlizzCon Floor, New Class Reveal
Inside The BlizzCon 08 Swag Bag
Liveblogging The BlizzCon 2008 Opening Ceremonies
Diablo III's Third Class - The Wizard!
Diablo III's Wizard - Behind The Magic
StarCraft II Single Player Is A Trilogy!
The Best Of Blizzard - Retro Arcade
StarCraft II Lead Producer On The Split Single Player Campaign
And BlizzCon 2008 Continues, As Foretold By Prophecy
Behold The New Diablo III Logo T-Shirt
When Talking Plush Murlocs Attack
The Obligatory BlizzCon 2008 Cosplay Post
Hands On With Diablo III: Everything Old Is New Again
Look Kids, It's The Cast Of The Guild
WotLK's Death Knight Experience - One Of The Best Things We've Ever Done
Rubie's Costumes Make Even Bigger WoW Geeks
Diablo III's Coolest Feature - The Rune System
World Of Warcraft: The Bean Bag Game