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So How’s That Non-Nintendo Pokémon Game?
As of today, Pokémon is available on non-Nintendo hardware, namely smart phones. Pokémon Say Tap? was released on the Apple App Store, and sister site Kotaku Japan checked it out. Pokémon Say Tap? is a free rhythm game for the iOS and Android. It’s free, so you get what you pay for. The point here…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 15, 2011 -
Nintendo, Let a Skateboard Show You How To Do 3D
Nintendo is having problems putting old games in 3D. Don’t fret, Nintendo! Artist Jason D Ault is here to help. With a skateboard. Ault recreated retro title Skate or Die in 3D. On a skateboard. How awesome is that? You know what else is awesome? The Skate or Die theme songs. The theme song for…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 15, 2011 -
No More Heroes Cosplay Has a Heroic and Revealing Bodysuit
When she’s not cosplaying as Metal Gear Solid characters, Omi Gibson is cosplaying as No More Heroes characters. And when she’s not doing that, she’s cosplaying as other things Just as No More Heroes is getting an adults-only PS3 version, Omi’s uploaded some pics of herself dressed as NMH2‘s Cloe Walsh Omi has a new…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 15, 2011 -
When Nintendo Is Your Penpal
Remember life before email? Like when people wrote letters? On paper? Kotaku reader Matthew does. Because during the early 1990s, he was a little kid writing them to Nintendo. While going through his old things for a yard sale, Matthew (not pictured) found a couple letters from Nintendo of America—replies. Matthew did things like ask…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 15, 2011 -
Can Anyone Replace Hello Kitty?
In 1975, a coin purse featuring an expressionless cat with its head turned sideways and sitting next to a fish bowl went on sale in Japan. The company was Sanrio. The designer was Yuko Yamaguchi. The cat became known as “Kitty-chan”, and outside Japan as Hello Kitty. Decades later, is the cat still cute? Hello…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 15, 2011 -
What Is Japan’s Fetish This Week? Catgirls
Damn, they’re cute. Not the girl—her ears. She is a catgirl—a female with cat ears. To underscore their feline traits, some have cat teeth,and even cat eyes. In Japan, the cat ears are called “nekomimi”, and they’re more than a simple personification of cats. Bikini models don cat ears when they want to be cute.…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 14, 2011 -
Does This Make Up for the Delay, Japan?
Shadows of the Damned is out in the West. Kotaku‘s Game Club has been playing it. Japan hasn’t. The game won’t be out in Japan until this fall. No worries, Japan, EA will make it up to you. EA is offering Japanese players the chance to get some Shadows of the Damned goodies when they…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 14, 2011 -
Do You Have Ten Hours? Over a Hundred? This Post Is for You.
YouTube user TehN1ppe posts ten hour clips. Ten hours! Ten hours of endless loops, like Mario climbing a vine. For ten hours. Or Mudkip. Yep, Mah, Hiep, Mah, Hiep. For ten hours. Or Nyan Cat. For ten hours. Or epic sax guy. For ten hours. Trololo? Ten hours. As website Game Set Watch points out,…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 14, 2011 -
Puyo Puyo Is Hilarious. I Guess.
So Funny | JAPAN: A still from Sega’s upcoming TV spot for its puzzler. (Photo: Sega) Where Does Batman Get All This Wonderful Concept Art? There may be over seventy years worth of Gotham City imagery to draw from, but that doesn’t mean the developers of Batman: Arkham City were allowed to get lazy. Lady…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 14, 2011 -
Lady Goes Bananas over Zelda Commercial Appearance
Robin Williams and his daughter are in a commercial for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. They both were probably pretty stoked, but did they go mental? Like this? This is nerd heroine and Pokémon queen Shoko Nakagawa, who previously freaked out on her blog when she bought Ocarina of Time 3D. Now…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 14, 2011 -
Does Working at Square Enix Suck?
Square Enix makes Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest. Making those games might not be easy. It might be hard. Really hard. No fun hard. Making video games is not easy. But some companies, like Insomniac are supposedly terrific places to work, with employees skipping to work. Singing. But does working at Square Enix totally bite?…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 14, 2011 -
Let’s Look at Nintendo Video. Together!
It might not be exciting, but Nintendo Video is free. And that’s all that counts, no? Nintendo recently launched a new video service cleverly called Nintendo Video. Geddit? In the above clip, I check out some of the new clips and recommend that you attend a fashion show in Tokyo. You really should. Really.
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 14, 2011 -
Bread. In a Can.
Mmm. Bread. Delicious (well, somewhat) canned bread. In Japan, canned bread is a tasty treat for otaku. Don’t believe me? Among the t-shirts and hug pillows being offered at an upcoming event for Xbox 360 game Dream Club, there are cans of bread. The cans feature characters from the virtual hostess game. If you’ve never…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 14, 2011 -
An Arcade Game with Teeth
Jaws | JAPAN: Sega shows off its latest 3D shooting game. (Photo: Sega) Middle-Aged Man Arrested over Plastic Schoolgirl (Stupidity Ensues) Ruiko Saten is not real. She’s a flower-in-her-hair schoolgirl character in anime To aru Kagaku no Railgun. Earlier this spring, in Shizuoka, Japan, one of her plastic figures was stolen! Let’s Pour One Out…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 13, 2011 -
This Isn’t Bullet Hell. It’s an Adventure Game.
Cave is famous for its bullet hell shooters. Not every game Cave makes is a shmup, but those games are what made Cave, well, Cave. And the Tokyo-based game maker’s latest title certainly isn’t a shooter. Dubbed Instant Brain, it’s an adventure game for the Xbox 360—Cave’s first. As the Japanese internet is quick to…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 13, 2011 -
Very Important Advice for Stinky People
PAX. E3. Comic-Con. Gamescom. The Tokyo Game Show. What do all of those shows have in common? The smell Large numbers of humans packed together in a convention hall produces odors. That’s just how it is. But, as this song points out, there is a way to mute that somewhat. The song is by Savage…
By Brian Ashcraft Published July 13, 2011
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