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1.8 Million Square Enix Accounts Were Hacked
Square Enix stated yesterday that somebody “may have gained unauthorized access to a particular Square Enix server” and took its members service offline in both Japan and the U.S. Today, the company clarified that 1.8 million customer’s accounts had been affected. The breach hit one million Japanese members and 800,000 U.S. ones. The hack impacted…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 15, 2011 -
Skyrim, Japan Likes You
During this year’s Tokyo Game Show, this one Japanese dude I met kept going on and on about the game he was looking forward to most. That game was The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. He was not alone. For a foreign game, heck for a domestic game, Skyrim posted an impressive entry in the Japanese…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 15, 2011 -
John Lee Hooker: The Waterfront
It’s that time of night again. That time when we gather around and sing songs together. Yes, together. It’s time for Soundtrack Tonight, John Lee Hooker plays “The Waterfront”, one of this best—and moving—solo recordings. The Waterfront [YouTube]
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 15, 2011 -
Nintendo Already Died When….
Nintendo isn’t the king of gaming. It’s the cat, and it seemingly has nine lives. Yet, even after every “disaster”, there Nintendo is, still churning out games and hardware. This list does a decent job of striking that nerve—even if some of the things listed are reaching just a bit. Nintendo is Dommed! [NintendoFuse]
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 15, 2011 -
How an Old Japanese Anime Broke a Twitter Record
Japan loves anime. It also loves Twitter. And this past weekend, the country showed what it could do when it combined both: set a world record. Over the weekend, classic Studio Ghibli anime Castle in the Sky appeared on television. And Japan held what it calls a “Balse Festival” (バルス祭り or “barusu matsuri”), which is…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 15, 2011 -
Impale Your Feet in these Assassin’s Creed Sneakers
These custom, hand-painted AC sneakers are the work of Sole Junkie, who was asked to create a pair of shoes inspired by the game. “After doing some research and sketches…I came up with these,” Sole Junkie blogged. “Nike Air Force One Mids with the Altair on the sides with logo hits… I think my rendering…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 15, 2011 -
Does DOTA 2 Fan Art Get Better Than This? How About Sexier?
Stanley Lau is one talented artist. Kotaku previously featured him on Fine Art for his wonderful Street Fighter work. Today, it’s time to look at some stunning DOTA 2 art. DOTA 2 is, of course, the Valve-produced sequel to Defense of the Ancients (DOTA), a mod of real-time strategy game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 15, 2011 -
Famous Japanese People Holding PS Vitas
Bita | TOKYO, JAPAN: Akina and comedian Kendo Kobayashi promote the PS Vita. (Photo: 4Gamer) This Wii Remote Exploded. Why? A family from Belleville, Michigan came home the other night to find their living room full of smoke. The culprit? One of their Wii Remotes had quite literally exploded It’s lucky nobody had been home…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 14, 2011 -
This Xbox 360 Sleeps with the Fishes. No, Really.
The Red Ring of Death claimed many original Xbox 360s. Some of them were fixed. Some of them were recycled. And this one ended up a saltwater aquarium with live corals, fish, crabs, snails, and shrimp. Spencer of Blue World Aquariums purchased and gutted a broken Xbox 360 for the purpose of turning it into…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 14, 2011 -
How Sony Made a Truly Amazing Ad
Sony recently released a handful of jaw-dropping commercials that looked straight out of sci-fi. In the commercials, Sony created a real holodeck—like out of Star Trek. Today, Sony revealed how it did this. As previously posted, there was no post-production work done on the footage. All the effects were done in the room, using 3D…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 14, 2011 -
Westerners Almost Made Metal Gear Rising
As revealed over the weekend, Konami roped in Bayonetta developers Platinum Games to make Metal Gear Rising, because it couldn’t. Originally, Kojima considered bringing in a Western developer after first planning on cancelling the game in late 2010. But, since this is a ninja game, he ultimately decided a Japanese developer would be the best…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 14, 2011 -
Japanese Lady Explains The Empire Strikes Back
Mika is studying English, and in her pursuit of the English language, she’s been appearing in videos, explaining movies. Here, she explains The Empire Strikes Back. And she does a wonderful job. Previously, Mika explained Star Wars. Also, delightful. Mika-san Explains The Empire Strikes Back [Kirai]
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 14, 2011 -
The Link Statue of One Man’s Dreams
In 2006, what were you doing? I was working at Kotaku. Derek was thinking about how he could get the greatest Link statue to ever grace this spinning blue ball we call Earth. If you ask me, he did just that. Derek commissioned artisan Emily Fiegenschuh to sculpt Link, a process that took from 2006…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 14, 2011 -
Proposing in Left 4 Dead, Gnome in Hand
Left 4 Dead isn’t exactly the most romantic game. It’s not romantic at all. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a wonderful place to ask for a lady’s hand in marriage. That’s exactly what one gamer did. In the above video, things start out normal enough, then the level is ripped apart, and then things…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 14, 2011 -
Zelda Players Get Long Overdue Bling
Nintendo released a golden Wii Remote for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword. Yet, Skyward Sword isn’t only played with a Wii Remote. It’s played with a Nunchuk. And now, Japanese Club Nintendo members can finally own one to go with their matching Wii Remote and gold Wii classic controller Earlier this year, Nintendo nixed…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 14, 2011 -
Five Things Japanese Women Don’t Want To Find in Your Room
Only five! There are probably many, many more, but let’s start with with five. Web research site My Navi News polled nearly seven hundred of its online readers, asking them to list the things they did not want to find in a guy’s room. Some of the results might surprise you. Some might not. Number…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 14, 2011 -
The Full Game Boy Advance Ambassador List for the 3DS
Nintendo’s Amabassador Program is its way of rewarding Nintendo 3DS owners who purchased the device before its pricecut. There have already been a whole host of Famicom (Nintendo Entertainment System) games released free of charge. Up next, Game Boy Advance games. But which ones? According to these photos, the following games will available for download…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 14, 2011 -
Skyrim‘s Infamous Bucket Exploit. In Real Life.
There’s an exploit in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim that allows players to put a bucket on characters’ heads and take their stuff. This video not only asks what that would be like in real life, but also, what would it be like doing that to a man in a flannel shirt? Something like this,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published December 14, 2011
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