Kotaku: Pranks

It's Your April Fools' Day Round-Up

Mike Fahey — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 16:00:00 EDT

Never trust anything you read on the internet, and that goes doubly today. It's April Fools' Day, and we're rounding up the very best and very worst of what the gaming industry thinks is funny. More »

The Creator of Resident Evil Gets His Own Truly Bizarre Action Figure

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 15:40:00 EDT

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Shinji Mikami, the video game creator behind games like Resident Evil, God Hand and Vanquish, is finally getting his own action figure, now available for pre-order at the web site of Tango Gameworks, the developer's new studio. Featuring "real shaving action," 256 points of articulation and alternate zombie heads, it may be the best Shinji Mikami action figure of all time. More »

For Electronic Arts, It Means 'Mothers I'd Like to Frighten'

Owen Good — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 14:00:00 EST

A Dead Space 2 viral campaign launching this weekend took plenty of chutzpah, I'll give it that. Electronic Arts brought in 200 middle-aged mothers under the auspices of a focus group looking at a new game. They were, aptly, horrified. More »

Donkey Kong Columbia Prank Called Off

Owen Good — Sat, 11 Sep 2010 17:00:00 EDT

That student who was scheming to turn the student center at Columbia University into the girder level of Donkey Kong ended up like the dog who caught the car. The scheme's been called off, and all donations have been refunded. More »

Turn An Ivy League Building Into Donkey Kong's First Level

Owen Good — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 21:30:00 EDT

Lerner Hall is Columbia University's student center, opening in 1999. Its ramped interior, visible through the glass facade, also resembles the girder level of Donkey Kong. You see where this is headed. More »

Prank Redecorates Sega Desk As Green Hill Zone

Owen Good — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 22:30:00 EDT

Aaron Webber, Sega's community manager, went on a three weeks vacation, and came back to find his cubicle completely remade into the Green Hill Zone from Sonic the Hedgehog. Check out the video, the attention to detail is impressive. More »

No Mercy in Left 4 Dead Hospital "Reviews"

Owen Good — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 21:30:00 EDT

Mercy. The hospital in Left 4 Dead's "No Mercy" campaign, and the name of a real one in Pittsburgh. And Louis, Zoey, Francis and Bill are sowing panic about its conditions, the access to medication, and patients you'll find there. More »

Sega's Office Prank Doesn't Think Too Much of Game Informer

Owen Good — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 00:30:00 EDT

Jen Groeling went off on a two-week vacation and came back to find her cube at Sega cordoned with plastic wrap and filled with about a zillion pages from Game Informer magazines. See for yourself in this video. More »

Game Characters Looking for Love in All the Creepy Places

Owen Good — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 19:30:00 EDT

Game characters putting ads on Craigslist personals? Why, that idea sounds familiar. Asylum wrote ads from Solid Snake, GLaDOS and others, trolling for replies. Wait til you see what someone wrote to the Little Sister. More »

Prank Rated A for Blood, Comic Mischief, Cop Involvement

Owen Good — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 11:00:00 EDT

Cops at an Atlanta shopping center recently found a box of clothes covered in fake blood - and "Grand Theft Auto in China" promo material. A GameStop employee contacted Kotaku to claim responsibility. More »

w4m? m4w? ... L4D ...

Owen Good — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 15:00:00 EST

After a lonely Valentine's Day, let's head over to the infamous Craigslist Casual Encounters, see if we can find some zombies to join some hot w4mmm action. I'm clean and real, you be too. More »

Sage Advice, but Not Viral Marketing

Owen Good — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 17:00:00 EST

Lots of you have pointed us to this - a highway roadside sign in Austin, Texas, warning of ZOMBIES AHEAD. Is this viral marketing for Resident Evil 5? I checked with a source at Capcom. More »

Drawn To Life Devs Punk Vacationing Staffer With Drawn To Life Desk

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 22:00:48 EDT

This will teach Matt Cox to take a vacation. Two of the more sadistic employees from Drawn to Life and Lock's Quest developer 5TH Cell cruelly, but amusingly, gave their lead designer something to tear through upon his return from recent down time. They encased every bit of the 5TH Cell team member's desk in sturdy-looking brown packing paper, then drew to life everything contained within. More »

Spaniards Ship Poo To Sony Europe

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 21:40:11 EDT

Discontented, Spanish-speaking PlayStation fans at game site Gamerah—probably most famous for their outlandish and fictional interview with former Nintendo boss Hiroshi Yamauchi—have made good on their threat to Sony. They've shipped them a box filled with 45 plastic turds, each with an attached complaint. More »

The 1UP Show's Wii Prank

Mike Fahey — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 15:40:30 EST

The guys over at the 1UP Show combined a wiimote-shaped TV remote, recorded footage of Auto Modellista and Metroid Prime Echoes, and several unassuming coworkers together to create one very amusing practical joke. More »