Brian Ashcraft

Look At These New StarCraft II Screenies

Because they look really great. Blizzard’s released three new (very pretty) SCII images that should hopefully tie you over. Until when? Well, that’s up to you decide, not us. StarCraft 2 Screenshot Update: Fire and Rain [Shacknews]

Microsoft Announces More Platinum Collection Titles, More iDOLM@STER

In Japan, next February sees three more titles to Microsoft’s Xbox 360 budget Platinum Collection line. They are: • Battlefield: Bad Company ¥2,940 2/26/09 • Halo 3 ¥2,940 2/26/09 • Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2 ¥2,940 2/26/09 The following month brings a budget iDOLM@STER and a new iDOLM@STER: • THE iDOLM@STER: Life For You!…

Bionic Commando Will Be Out Before Winter 2009

Yesterday, we discovered on the Capcom press site that Bionic Commando was dated “Winter 2009.” That seemed like a sizable delay for a game we were expecting last year. Fret not! We contacted Capcom, who told us: “We’re slow to update our press site. It’s just the first six months of 2009 at the moment.…

Japan Getting Star Ocean 4, Resident Evil 5 Xbox 360 Bundles

Microsoft today announced two new Xbox 360 bundles for Japan: Star Ocean 4 and Resident Evil 5. Slated for February 19, the Arcade Star Ocean 4 bundle is priced at ¥24,800 (US$265) and comes with a Star Ocean 4 soundtrack and faceplate. The Resident Evil 5 bundle comes with a 60GB HDD, a 48 hour…

Here Are 15 Famitsu.com Stories That Shook Japan In 2008

While print mag Famitsu ran the ten biggest stories of 2008 according to it’s readers, Japanese website Famitsu.com has listed its most accessed stories from 2008 according to page views. According to Famitsu.com, the top 15 are: 1. PSP-3000, First Hands On! 2. [Play Report 1] Street Fighter IV They’re Back!! 3. In A Ba-Ba-Bath…

Erotic Game Makers In Female Manga Form

Manga with saucy female content is nothing new at all. Ditto for erotic games. But a manga about female erotic game makers making shojo erotic games? R18! follows Rikako as she gets a job… at an erotic game company. The entire company is staffed with the types of ladies one would expect in a manga…

Which Is Your Favorite Alone In The Dark Boxart?

Voting time. We’ve picked the contest finalists, and now it’s up to Kotakuland to select the best Alone in the Dark boxart. The winner will get a copy of the game. Here’s the rules: Note which boxart you want to vote for in the comments section directly below by saying which one you are voting…

Salman Rushdie Killed Time With Computer Games

After novelist Sir Salman Rushdie published The Satanic Verses, many deemed the book blasphemous. The Ayatollah of Iran issued a decade long fatwa, calling for Rushdie’s death. How did he spend that time? “Like everybody else I played a computer game or two,” Rushdie tells The Times. (Well, like everyone else who has to go…

Dan Vs. Dan (Oh, The English…)

Seeing joke character Dan Hibiki fight Dan Hibiki in the home console version of Street Fighter IV? Pretty darn cool. Hearing the English voice work? Not so cool. No worries, there’s still time for Capcom to fix. We think. We hope. Click to view Exclusive Street Fighter 4 Console Character Videos [1Up]

Learn, Or Re-Learn, How To Comment On Kotaku

Why, hello there. It’s that time again, time to remind seasoned vets and newcomers alike how to comment right here on Kotaku. Things to keep in mind: We ban. A lot. Every second of everyday. And that’s not all! We disemvowel, too. (Bcs n vwls s fnny!) We also reward stellar commenters with stars, and…

This Early Copy of Dragon Quest IX Is So Not Real

Dragon Quest IX might be out until March, but someone on the Japanese internet claims to have obtained an early copy. Thing is, it’s totally fake for two reasons. They are: • The cover art illustration has already been released by Square Enix as previous promotional material. • The package’s barcode is the same as…

Has 2009 Hit You Yet?

To: Crecente From: Bashcraft Don’t know about you, but it takes me a good month to get used to the year change. Pretty much all of January, I’m still in “2008” mode. Never really hits me until early February. I mean, 2009? That’s close to 2010 — twenty ten. No more of this “two thousand…

Hideo Kojima Thinks “Way We Make Games Won’t Translate Globally”

It’s foreign game panic day! Like Jun Takeuchi, Hideo Kojima is worried about Western games and Western developers. He tells Japanese magazine Famitsu what he’s going to do about it. Kojima mentions that he plans to “start from zero” this year in hopes of competing globally. The game creator says that his company Kojima Productions…

Last Year, Japanese Game Market Experienced Shrinkage

According to Famitsu‘s publisher Enterbrain, the Japanese game market is, like a frightened turtle, getting smaller compared to last year. But what was the biggest selling game hardware? Games? The data for 2007 reflects the period from January 1, 2007 to December 3, 2007. The data for 2008 reflects the period from December 31, 2007…

Massive Gundam Pod Arcade Game Getting PSP Version

Japanese arcade title Gundam Senjou no Kizuna is rumored to be getting a PSP version. Interesting (odd, even) as the original has pod-shaped networked arcade cabinets with panoramic screens. Nothing’s been confirmed by Namco Bandai or the arcade game’s site, this PSP reboot is apparently slated for next March. If this is true, this does…

Resident Evil 5 Producer: “Japan Is Target Of Western Developers”

Watch out, Japan! Western game developers are out to getcha. This concerns Resident Evil 5 producer Jun Takeuchi a bunch. But should it? Takeuchi confesses to Japanese magazine Famitsu: “I’m worried about the movements of Western developers. Japan is now their target — it’s the last big marketplace. The truth is that Western studios are…

Square Enix President Sends New Years Greeting In Poetic Prose (No, Really)

Doom! Gloom!! Bittersweet optimism!!! Square Enix president Yoichi Wada rallies the troops with a New Years message titled “Riding The Current.” It’s corporate poetry. Riding the Current Season’s Greetings to everyone and a Happy New Year. This year has begun with a torrent of economic difficulty. A continuous cycle of recession will accelerate the process…

Famitsu Editor-In-Chief Makes Lofty Dragon Quest IX Sales Estimate

Famitsu Editor-in-Chief Hirokazu Hamamura has looked into his crystal ball and has opinions about how Dragon Quest IX will do in 2009. And it’ll do mega, he forecasts. According to Hamamura, “March [DQIX‘s launch month] will be bigger than the year-end sales war. Even side-stories (such as Dragon Quest Monsters) have sold a million copies,…

Japan’s Best And Worst Sellers By Platform

The best of the best! The best of the worst! Here’s a look at the sales tallies for the biggest sellers (and not sellers) in Japan broken down by platform. Oh, the suspense. Eds Note: This sales data appears crunched from Enterbrain and Famitsu source data. We’ve marked this story as a “rumor” since the…

My New Year’s Resolutions Are…

To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Kotaku Resolutions Happy New Year’s! Last night we spent the evening watching a music program on NHK and trying to teach Mini-Bash how to say the Japanese New Year’s greeting — he kept putting it in the past tense for some kooky reason. Regarding New Year’s resolutions, I have only…