Culture Archives - Page 1510 of 1557

Some Things You May Not Know About Mario

You know he’s got a moustache, a red beret and a penchant for jumping on people’s heads, but have you ever stopped to wonder what you maybe didn’t know about Mario, the world’s most popular and iconic video game character? He’s Had Three Names In Mario’s first ever video game appearance, as the hero of…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 2, 2012

Culture

Nobody Can Finish (Or Bomb-Moonwalk Through) Majora’s Mask Faster Than This Guy

Speed-runs of video games can be hypnotising. Not to simply see people run through a game flawlessly, but because in order to get through them quickly, players think up weird and wonderful ways to get their digital asses moving. Take ZeldaFreakGlitcha, for example, who just set a new world record for getting through The Legend…

By Luke Plunkett Published July 2, 2012

Culture

This Week in the Business: ‘We might see an Xbox 720 for $99’

What’s happened in the business of video games this past week … QUOTE | “We might see an Xbox 720 for $99” – Analyst Michael Pachter, talking about how the Xbox 720 might sell for as little as $99 if you buy a two-year cable TV subscription QUOTE | “They have a major issue with…

Steve Peterson Published June 30, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Let’s Settle This Once and For All: Genesis Aladdin or Super NES Aladdin?

It’s time. It’s time to settle this. A while back, I got into a HEATED EXCHANGE with Kotaku columnist Lisa Foiles about her flagrant proclamation that the Super Nintendo version of Aladdin was superior to the Genesis version of Aladdin I did not remember this to be the case—from my recollection, the Genesis version was…

By Kirk Hamilton Published June 30, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Things Sure Got Steamy (And Sandy) in This Insanely Cheesy Atari Commercial

Oh, where to begin with this bit of gaming nostalgia. This commercial for the Atari 5200 is just all kinds of amazing, featuring the beach, surfing, hot girls in bikinis, and some hot! Joystick! Action! Seriously, I kind of wish video game commercials were still this joyfully dorky. I ALSO wish I could play video…

By Kirk Hamilton Published June 29, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Get a Load of This Super-Hot Game of Thrones NES Game Cartridge

Last week, I wrote about the 72 Pins collection of amazing custom NES art, done in a classic style and affixed to real NES cartridges. They looked plenty cool in pictures on the 72 Pins site, but I didn’t anticipate that they’d be so cool-looking in real life. The people behind 72 Pins were kind…

By Kirk Hamilton Published June 29, 2012

Culture

A StarCraft II Marine Won’t Shoot Monsters This Pretty

Former Blizzard man Fausto De Martini is an award-winning artist who has worked on the cinematics for games like Diablo III, StarCraft II and World of Warcraft. In addition to some of his 3D model work for StarCraft II, in this gallery you’re also going to see some of the coolest aliens, monsters and future…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 29, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

The Spice Girls & PlayStation Just About Sum Up The Late 1990s

Just in case you woke up this morning feel good about life, music or the PlayStation, here’s Spice World, released in 1998. It featured the vocal talents of all five Spice Girls! Which is about all it featured, really.

By Luke Plunkett Published June 28, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

The Mario Games That Were, For Some Reason, Released on PC

Being Nintendo’s principle mascot, you’d think that Mario would only ever appear on Nintendo consoles. And for the most part, you’d be correct! But, as with most things in life, there are exceptions. I thought with the sad news today of the cuts at Radical Entertainment that we’d look back another one such exception: the…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 28, 2012

Culture

A Game of Thrones Concept Art Banished to The Wall

Cyril Tahmassebi is a French concept artist and visual designer who has worked on games like Darkworks, I’m Alive, Project Kane and, most recently, Dishonored and Cyanide’s Game of Thrones RPG. While that lost one might not have been much of a game, the art Tahmassebi put together for it is terrific Every piece you…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 28, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Um, It’s Not Really Atari’s 40th Birthday

There was much fanfare today as Atari celebrated its 40th birthday. Only, it’s not really Atari’s 40th birthday. I hate to be that guy, but the Atari of 2012 has about as much in common with Nolan Bushnell’s original company as my beard trimmings do. Maybe even less, since Nolan has a killer beard. The…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 28, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

What’s the Deal With All These German Cyborgs?

One game featuring a German with extendable robot arms is a thing. Two is a coincidence. But three? All starring in games developed by Japanese studios? OK, three is a pattern. This post over on GameWTFs, highlighting ten cyborgs starring in Super Nintendo games, contains not one, not two, but three Germans with robot arms.…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2012

Culture

Concept Art From The Last of Us, Prey 2, Tomb Raider…

James Paick is a freelance concept artist who has worked on more big games recently than I could fit in that headline. Since I’ve got more room down here, here’s a continued selection: The Last of Us, Uncharted 2, Prey 2, Infamous 2, Medal of Honor, Tomb Raider, Lost Planet 3… ...Resistance 3, Tron, City…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 27, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Q: Why the Sega Saturn Never Really Took Off in the West

A: Because this ad, and this console, never appeared outside Japan. Many people blame the Dreamcast for Sega’s exit from the console market, but that’s a harsh point for both the console and the company. Really, it was the Saturn that marked the beginning of the end. The market share the Saturn ceded to Nintendo…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 26, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Nintendo Made a Poker Machine. That You Shot At.

Regular Kotaku readers will of course know that Nintendo hasn’t always made video games. The company has dabbled in everything from love hotels to badass “LEGO” sets. It also, in the early 1970s, tried its hand at electronic card games. In about the most bizarre way imaginable. This is Electro Poker, released in 1971. It…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 26, 2012

Culture

From Hawken to…Totoro, the Art of Khang Le

Khang Le is the boss of Adhesive games, the studio behind the promising Hawken, a multiplayer mech shooter on PC. But he’s not just the boss. He’s also the game’s creative director. There’s a few Hawken pieces here, as well as some other mechs and robots. But there’s also some beautiful environment pieces featuring fantasy…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 26, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

Captain Waffle, Video Gaming’s Unsung Hero

Don’t try and make sense of Spinal Breakers, a 1990 coin-op game. It’s got a story that centres around nuclear war, something called “hildroids” (which look a lot like Nazis to me) and the alteration of the Earth’s axis. What’s important is that you play as a man (and walking Michael Biehn tribute) called Captain…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 25, 2012

CultureTotal Recall

That Time a Porn Star Appeared in a Video Game About Giant Space Cats

Like anyone else who played PC games in the early 1990s, I was, and still am, madly in love with Wing Commander III, perhaps the finest moment of the period’s fixation with using real actors. One thing always seemed a little weird to me though: why was there a porn star on the ship? Yes,…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 25, 2012

Culture

Kids Build Their Own Tiny Worlds of Warcraft

Last year, World of Warcraft developers Blizzard asked university students to “submit an original 3D environment piece fit for World of Warcraft”. Basically, a digital diorama of a new WoW setting. After compiling entries for a few months, Blizzard has now revealed the Grand Prize winners, who each receive one hell of a prize package.…

By Luke Plunkett Published June 25, 2012

Culture

Action is His Reward

The adaptation of the new Amazing Spider-Man movie swings onto shelves this week, joined by the brooding military drama Spec Ops: The Line In downloadables, Skyrim‘s first expansion debuts on the Xbox 360. Monday • Penny Arcade’s On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 (360) • Dungeons & Dragons Online: Menace of the Underdark (PC)…

By Owen Good Published June 24, 2012